The Champions Stage
One stage. Eight finalists. One unforgettable night of poetry.
After two nights of preliminary competition, the top four individual poets and top four teams meet for the culminating event of the Chicharra Poetry Slam—and one of the biggest nights of the festival.
This is where the Southwest Regional Champions are crowned.
More than 80 poets from across the country come to Albuquerque to compete at Chicharra, but only eight finalists reach this stage. Over three rounds of Individual competition and four rounds of Team competition, they'll compete for championship titles, their share of Chicharra's $5,000 prize pool, and one last opportunity to leave everything they have on the stage.
You don't have to know anything about poetry slam to be part of the room. Come for the competition. Come for the poems. Come experience what happens when some of the country's most exciting performance poets meet a packed house with everything on the line.
CHAMPIONS STAGE 2027
Saturday, March 27, 2027
South Broadway Cultural Center
1025 Broadway Blvd SE · Albuquerque, NM
Doors: 6 pm
Champions Stage: 7 pm
Tickets: $20
GET TICKETS
HOW THEY GET HERE
Every team and individual poet competes in two preliminary bouts during the Chicharra Poetry Slam. Their results determine the overall preliminary standings, with the top four teams and top four individual poets advancing to the Champions Stage.
Once they reach the Champions Stage, preliminary scores are left behind and the championships begin fresh.
Individual Championship: 4 finalists · 3 rounds
Team Championship: 4 finalists · 4 rounds
The winners leave the stage as Chicharra's 2027 Southwest Regional Champions.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CHICHARRA POETRY SLAM
WHO WILL TAKE THE STAGE?
The 2027 Champions Stage lineup will be announced following the final preliminary bouts.
THE POINT IS POETRY.
Competition gets us here. Poetry is why we gather.
Whether you've followed every preliminary bout or you're walking into a poetry slam for the first time, you're invited to be part of the room when Chicharra's next Southwest Regional Champions are crowned.