Award-winning Afro-Latina author, poet, actor, and educator Franceli Chapman-Varela will be featured as one of the celebrated poets in “Poetry in Motion,” a special literary showcase taking place during UNSTOPPABLE 2026, the 9th Annual LATINAFest, on June 7, 2026, at Jesse Brewer Park in Los Angeles.
The festival is recognized as one of the nation’s largest outdoor celebrations of Latina culture, entrepreneurship, wellness, and the arts.
Chapman joins an accomplished lineup of poets that includes Alegria Zuluaga, Aruj Khan, and Mariana Franco, with acclaimed poet and cultural advocate Lupe Montiel serving as host. While the event will showcase a diverse range of voices, Franceli’s appearance highlights the growing influence of a literary artist whose work continues to resonate with readers and audiences across the United States and internationally.
A native of the Bronx with Dominican roots, Chapman has built a multidisciplinary career as a writer, performer, and storyteller. Her debut poetry collection, Between Spaces, explores identity, resilience, faith, belonging, and the immigrant experience through poems written in English, Spanish, and Spanglish. The collection invites readers to embrace their authentic selves and “take up space in the world.”
Chapman’s literary achievements include winning the Restoration Art & Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop 50for50 Letters to Our Daughters contest, curated by Tony Award-nominated playwright Dominique Morisseau. Her screenplay Brokenearned her a place in the writers’ room for Brujas, developed by acclaimed showrunner Tanya Saracho. She has also contributed to publications including Houston Style Magazine, Broadway Black, and Soul Essence Magazine, while her short story A Runner’s Heart was featured in the Audible collection Talking While Female and Other Dangerous Acts.
Since the publication of Between Spaces, Chapman has continued to expand her reach through author readings, educational workshops, literary festivals, and community engagements. Her work has been featured by organizations and events including the LA Times Festival of Books, the Dominican Writers Association, LA Poets Society, Paris Lit Up, Voices of Color, and LATINAFest itself.
For Franceli Chapman, the appearance represents more than another poetry reading—it is an opportunity to connect audiences through stories that bridge cultures, generations, and lived experiences.
“Between Spaces is for anyone who has ever felt caught between what the world says about them and what they know about themselves,” Chapman writes in her debut collection, a message that continues to define her work and her growing impact on contemporary literature.