By John Kuebler

April is festival time for Denver’s El Centro Su Teatro. The 9th Annual XicanIndie FilmFest will take over the Starz FilmCenter on the Auraria campus April 12-15, while the 8th Annual Neruda Poetry Festival returns to El Centro ’s home space April 26-28.

The XicanIndie FilmFest is the premier Latino film festival in the Rocky Mountain region. The four-day event will feature groundbreaking independent Latino films, classic Mexican cinema and new cutting edge films from Mexico and Latin America ’s hottest new filmmakers.

There also will be appearances by visiting filmmakers, actors and luminaries, including legendary Chicano filmmaker Jesús “Chuy” Treviño who has directed episodes of TV shows ER, Dawson’s Creek, NYPD Blue, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Crossing Jordan and Resurrection Boulevard. Treviño will receive the XicanIndie Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s festival.

XicanIndie director Daniel Salazar is excited by the growing popularity of the festival.

“In the age of home theaters, film festivals create community,” Salazar said. “They offer audiences the opportunity to interact with filmmakers and other artists – not to mention each other.”

A diverse community also gathers each year for El Centro Su Teatro’s Neruda Poetry Festival. What started as a small student literacy project has grown into one of the region’s most exciting literary events, featuring Denver’s best-known poets from the city’s most renowned poetry vehicles (Café Cultura, Café Nuba, and the Mercury Café). They will compete Friday night, April 27, for a $500 “Barrio Slam” prize.

The festival also will include a Thursday night tribute to Denver ’s first poet laureate, Lalo Delgado, featuring readings of Lalo’s work by local poets, actors and activists; a Saturday afternoon literary salon honoring Chicano women in literature; and the Saturday night main event featuring legendary California performance artist Paul S. Flores.

Festival organizer Valarie Castillo said the Neruda Poetry Festival is “for the reals.”

“Spoken word encompasses so much,” she said. “It’s smart, it’s dumb, it’s funny, it’s provocative, it can make you cry, and it’s accessible. The poets are real. They are true to themselves."

Editor’s note: For more information about the XicanIndie FilmFest and the Neruda Poetry Festival, call El Centro Su Teatro at 303-296-0219 , or visit www.suteatro.org and www.myspace.com/elcentrosuteatro.