Daniel Jose Custodio

Artist Information

Biography

Daniel José Custódio is an award-winning slam poet, author and is quickly becoming one of the most recognizable names on the Spoken Word Scene. Daniel’s works take the audience on an intense journey from his experiences as a first generation Latino, battling socio-economic oppression, to his struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts, to heart-break, while always finding a way to take these darkest moments and extract the beauty from them. His writing is unique and quickly identifiable as it cuts through superficial flesh and hits bone. His performances are raw, thunderous and life changing. According to Susan Sanchez-Casal, Ph.D. of Latin American and Spanish Literatures,

“Custódio’s poetry is salvation, inspiration, truth, healing and weapon against the oppressors.”

Daniel is a three-time national slam competitor and is the founder of Slam Nahuatl, runner up in the 2008 PSi Group Piece Competition. In 2008, Daniel won the PSi Slam Master Slam and was also the runner up in the SoundBite’s Last Change Slam held at the Roy Arias theatre off-Broadway. Daniel has self-published two books, “Rising to the Surface” and “Hooked.” He has taught thousands of disenfranchised, inner-city youth poetry via independent grants and the Virginia Commission for the Arts and has also raised money to feed families in need in Richmond city via his art form.

Daniel is a graduate of Hamilton College where he studied creative writing and later graduated from Northwestern University with an MBA.

Instrumentation

Daniel Jose Custodio - Slam Poet

Discography

Links

• Vimeo
• YouTube
• Twitter
• MySpace
• Facebook

Audio

Lyrics

• “This Familiar Darkness”
• “Yankee Fitted”

Video

Daniel

Photo Gallery

Press

• Student at Scripps College [+ Show ]
  

  "I had the pleasure to be part of your audience this past Thursday at Pitzer College. I go to Scripp..."I had the pleasure to be part of your audience this past Thursday at Pitzer College. I go to Scripps college and I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to come perform for us. You were so sincere, likeable, and humble--not only was I impressed with your art, bu I was touched by it."

• "...I had never seen a slam poetry presentation before." [+ Show ]
  

  "I just wanted to let you know how strongly and passionately your performance at Pitzer College affe..."I just wanted to let you know how strongly and passionately your performance at Pitzer College affected me. I had no idea what to expect when I came to see your performance because I had never seen a slam poetry presentation before. To be honest, I came for a literature assignment. I sat there with my notebook open, prepared to take notes, when I found that I simply could not. The power of your words and the emotions behind them had me, to say the least, mesmerized.
  
  I admired how easily you let every audience member enter into you memories of sadness and love. Your openness was beautiful and your candid behavior had my attention, well, hooked. Though I could not relate to all of your subject matter (I grew up in Hawaii, far from the baseball hat wearing Yankee types) your messages were so clearly understandable and resonating to my age group. Know yourself, be yourself, know your name. Growing up in Hawaii, many Hawaiian names and traditions have been dumb-ed down simply for convenience’s sake. I thought of my own upbringing and feeling in your introduction about your name. The sadness I have experienced is different from yours, but it follows a similar message.
  
  Your poem “Hooked” could mean so many things, but what it meant to me was something completely unique. Knowing that some things are going to be difficult and painful to achieve, those are ideas that a college student can understand. Being taken advantage of and allowing your self to love someone, those are definitely subjects a college student can understand.
  
  Your poetry is beautiful, what you are doing for your community is amazing, and your talents appear to be endless. I just wanted to let you know that I have been thinking about your performance over and over again these past few days and no words can describe how I felt and how I was moved."

• "...your words are exquisite." [+ Show ]
  

  "Not only are YOU beautiful but your words are exquisite. Thank you for being your honest, naked se..."Not only are YOU beautiful but your words are exquisite.
  Thank you for being your honest, naked self for a somewhat anonymous audience. It was an incredibly brave thing to do and you are an absolute inspiration!"

• "...thanks for inspiring them!" [+ Show ]
  

  "Just wanted to say that I thought your performance was amazing and that later that night we had a r..."Just wanted to say that I thought your performance was amazing and that later that night we had a reflection session with the students and they were really touched by your words. Some students shared that they were inspired to give back to the community and some have even started putting words on paper. So I guess I just really want to say thanks for inspiring them!"

• An Inspiration [+ Show ]
  

  "Your work has been an inspiration as I've been reading it the last few weeks, and that's no bullshi..."Your work has been an inspiration as I've been reading it the last few weeks, and that's no bullshit. Keep it up."

• "Thank you for sharing your inner soul" [+ Show ]
  

  "I saw your show Valentine's night at Gallery 5 in Richmond. The show was highly entertaining. For m..."I saw your show Valentine's night at Gallery 5 in Richmond. The show was highly entertaining. For me the most moving piece was your recitation of Hooked. The words hit close to home. I was divorced last summer and am still reeling from the pain. The passion with which you spoke over powered me."

• Hamilton College
  

  "YES - you nailed it!"

• Poet for Intercultural Women's Empowerment Series (ICWES) [+ Show ]
  

  “Daniel José Custódio makes a passionate and elegant plea for a revolution of words, spirit, and act...“Daniel José Custódio makes a passionate and elegant plea for a revolution of words, spirit, and action. Custódio crafts a soul-wrenching, indictment of racist capitalism in the United States, and its effects on the hearts, minds and bodies of Latinos, young and old. Custódio tells us that "the Revolution starts with just one word," inviting the reader to rediscover the political in the poetic, placing himself in the tradition of other Latino writer/warriors such as Pedro Pietri, Miguel Algarín, Miguel Piñero and Ricardo Sánchez. Custódio offers his poetry as a corrective lens for a society that lives in the "blur," urging the reader to understand the connections between what we see, what we know, and what we do. Believing that poetry can be a political tool against oppression, Custódio asks us to use our ancestral memories to bring transformation and healing in today's world. From "Letter to Ramón Ayala" to "Yankee-Fitted" to "Familiar Darkness," Custódio produces a poetic mestizaje where English, Spanish and Portuguese verses pay homage to the multicultural, multilingual realities of the United States. Custódio’s great achievement, alongside his rich but devastating imagery of life in North American ghettos, is his constant reminder to us that another world is possible, and that the way to get there is through the truth. Custódio's poetry is salvation, inspiration, truth, healing, and weapon against the oppressors. Custódio will appeal to people of all ages and races who strive for truth, justice and love, and who believe that poetry has a function beyond the beauty of words. But he will especially appeal to those who bear the burden of the racist politics of American everyday life, those "whose hunger pays" for the comfort of those with full stomachs. If you're hungry, if you're hungry for revolution, Custódio is for you."

Setlist

Set List Varies

Basic Requirements

Calendar