Vélez was born in Puerto Rico but raised in New York City. He started writing in the early 80s as a freelance photographer/writer. He studied Communication Arts at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York. He is a movie lover, a photographer, and an active Salsa and Latin Jazz musician. Author of sixteen books, he teaches "On Becoming an Author" at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he currently lives.    

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Artistic & Publishing Credentials:

~ Freelance Photographer/Writer for “El Nuevo Amanecer” Newspaper.                  1981 - 1987

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~ Featured Poet in "6 Silver Poets & the Bullets Proof Chapbook.”                           Poetry - 1999

~ Featured Poet in Saad Ghosn's "Poems and Drawings on Peace and Justice"

    Cincinnati local poet's collection.                                            November 2005, 2007, and 2008

 

~ Stage Performance: Directed "Escandalo Poetico I and III." 

    Performed at the  Cincinnati  Playhouse in the Park.                       February 2005 and 2006  ~ "Escandalo Poetico II."                                                                 Cincinnati Public  Library, 2005

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~ Wrote and Directed “If I Were a Tree,” a children’s bilingual play

    at the Strauss Theatre, Northern  Kentucky University.                                 September 2006

~ Wrote and Directed "My First Christmas Tree" for Winton Hills Academy School.

                                                                                                                                        December 2008

Feature Videos:

~   National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Videos

     “What is Freedom,” 2003 and, “Freedom Heroes,” 2008 

   

Published Books:

~ "A Quest for Answers: A Personal Journey"                                                Poetry - Xlibris, 2003

~ “Conga Blues”                                                                                                  Poetry – Xlibris, 2008

~ "Salsa on the Square: A Summer of Pictures"  (sold out)           Berman Printing Company, 2010

~ “Images, Vol. I"                                                                                        Photography – Blurb, 2011

~ "La Hora Latina" Collector's Edition (not for public sale)                                               Music - Blurb, 2012

~ "Donde Estas, Senor?"                                                                        Spiritual Poetry, Blurb, 2013

~ “Divine Reflections”                                                                                          Poetry – Blurb, 2016

~ “Wandering Soul"                                                                                              Poetry – Blurb, 2017

~ “Salsa in the ‘Nati: The History of Salsa and Latin Jazz Music in Cincinnati”

                                                                                                                             Musical History, 2020

~ “The Triduum of All Hallows”                                                     Fiction / Novel - Amazon, 2021

~ “The Twelve”                                                                            Short Non-Fiction – Amazon, 2021

~ "New York City Salsa Scene in Photos"                                     Music Photography, Blurb, 2021

~ “You Live Inside”                                                                             Children’s Book - Xlibris, 2022

~ "Short Thoughts"                                                                         Inspirational Poetry, Blurb, 2022

~ "Roaming New York City, Vol. I"                                                            Photography, Blurb, 2023

~ “Forecast”                                                                                                     Fiction –Amazon,  2023

 

Vélez is currently working on his second novel, a suspense-thriller, "Jennifer's Notes."

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