Named for a Jackson Browne song, Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio is a veteran in the youth poetry community and on her way to becoming a strong voice in the adult scene. Since her emergence in 2007 in the Youth Speaks Hawaii scene Jamaica has contributed to bringing back-to-back Brave New Voices International Slam Championships to the islands (2008-09) and is heavily featured in HBO’s 2008 Documentary series, “Brave New Voices.” Jamaica claimed her first individual title in 2009 when she won the Youth Speaks Hawaii Grand Slam with two rounds of perfectly scored poetry. Since then, Jamaica has graced stages throughout the United States and abroad (Bogotá Columbia). One of her most memorable performances include the first Poetry Jam in The White House where she performed along side Joshua Bennet, Mayda De Valle, James Earl Jones, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Esperanza Spalding for the First Family and many other distinguished guest.
Currently, Jamaica is studying Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity and Creative Writing at Stanford University while touring throughout the United States as a Professoional Poet. Jamaica brings raw emotion to her poetry and music and spends most of her free time composing and writing poetry. Her commitment to the legacy of her Hawaiian people is marrow deep and can be seen through all of her art. Keep your eyes and ears open because there is surely more to come from this enthused performance artist.
Awards/Accomplishments
2008 Brave New Voices International Grand Slam Champion
2009 YouthSpeaks Hawaii Grand Slam Champion
2009 Brave New Voices International Grand Slam Champion
2009 Invited by President Obama to perform at the First Poetry Jam at the White House
2010 Stanford University Grand Slam Champion
Major Venues
Hawaii Theater- June 2008
Kennedy Theater (DC)- July 2008
The Historic Lincoln Theatre
The White House- May 2009
The Chicago Theater- July 2009
The Nuyorican Poets Café- November 2009
Toured Cities
Los Angeles, California
San Francisco, California
Honolulu, Hawaii
Bogota, Columbia
Waikato, New Zealand
New York, New York
Boston, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Providence, Rode Island
Madison, Wisconsin
District of Columbia (DC)
Colleges: UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, Clark University, De Anza College, Stanford University, Saint Marys, University of Hawaii, University of Wisconsin Madison
Publications
Featured HBO Docu-series Brave New Voices
Oiwi Journal-volume 5
Hapai Na Leo Anthology
Tangled Roots and Broken Hearts- Self Published Chap Book
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