Home Remedies, by Gina Cornejo

Poetry, chapbook, 20 pages, from Bottlecap Features. The balm for the ailment of homesickness is elusive. Home Remedies is a five piece collection dedicated to the collective ache of those seeking treatment for this ancient melancholy. Part travelogue diary, part nostalgic excavation, and part dreamscape protagonist, Cornejo is a deeply enthusiastic connoisseur of home; either grounded in it, departing from it, longing for it, or never knowing it, she examines the fascination between the alchemy and reality of where we might hang our hat. Home Remedies guides the reader from witnessing her immigrant father from Peru, readying himself with dignity for his singing gigs in the freezing Midwest winters to returning to the country of her father, and fumbling over her poor pronunciations of her first language. With layovers in Paris, France, and even connecting to her time in North Carolina, Cornejo is a guide that offers warmth in their confessions, and the encouragement to continue onward seeking your true remedy. Gina Cornejo, is a Milwaukee born, raised, and reunited autobiographical writer, immersive storyteller, solo performer, actor, and self-proclaimed professional feelings haver. Multidisciplinary artist Gina Cornejo (she/they) is an Americana Peruana, Milwaukee born, and Queer identifying creative. She aims for a pinnacle of honesty to be revealed by curating intimate autobiographical theatrical performances for our collective healing. For 17 years, claiming Chicago as her artistic home, Cornejo contributed writing, choreography, and theatrical concepts to a multiple Jeff Award winning Latinx/WOC company. Navigating the art scene in Asheville, North Carolina, she was chosen for the Revolve Gallery First Draft Residency, obtained an artist residency at Wortham PAC alongside Stewart/Owen Dance, and was the premier LGBTQ+/BIPOC artist selected for the Story/Arts Residency (Story Parlor). Their original writing and performance-based Artist-In-Residence at Tooth and Nail Gallery, titled, SCREWBALL secured her official arrival back into the community of Milwaukee creatives (with Curation by Bill Walker). Her writing, creative process, and distinct performances have been featured within podcasts, local newspapers, performed live on festival and theater stages, Audible, Blue Ridge Public Radio, Creative Mornings (AVL and MKE), Asheville Fringe Festival, and more. Gina Cornejo is also an Intimacy Choreographer for the stage with training from Theatrical Intimacy Education. The desire to amplify and champion emerging artists is a personal quest for Cornejo. They consistently strive for a platform in their hometown that will recognize and celebrate the wild hair of performance art, creative writing, and storytelling that they adore.