The Land of Enchantment: A Poetic Journey

Olga García Echeverría

Georgia O'Keefe: Pedernal 1941

I’m in New Mexico on a do-it-yourself writing retreat with three kindred spirits—Our Lady of Birds, Snake Woman, and Little Dog.

We’re here because we are of the philosophy that hibernation is critical to artistic germination. No one is going to give us a week of our own to create poems or carve prayer sticks; we have to seize the time and create those opportunities.

This week away from daily routines and city noise is ours to nurture the artistic soul. No formal itinerary. No outrageous fees or application process. Just some planning on our part, poquitos sacrificios, a lovely borrowed house at the edge of Sandia Mountain (what a gift!) and we’re here encantadas: eating, resting, reading, writing, talking, congregating regularly around la mesa en la cocina, our hearth. A reminder that sometimes, as Joy Harjo say, The world begins at the kitchen table.

Afuera, white puffy clouds drift across bright blue sky. Every now and then nubes bunch up and turn a watercolor gray, teasing rain. There’s thirst for water in the air. Our bodies feel the arid shift from California. Our eyes sting and tear throughout the day. Our skin tingles. From our balcony on the second floor, we can see the soft reddish and sandy hues of Sandia Mountain. It doesn’t look like a Sandia to me, but it’s so pretty, I want to bite it. 

Being in New Mexico these past days gives me a hint of the encanto effect. Maybe it’s the cottonwood floating like little mariposas in the air or a lingering elevation buzz, but everything feels a bit lighter here. Despite all the desert rock, there’s a sense of buoyancy. We’ve been on short walks around the neighborhood, and the New Mexico “músico,” el viento, has brushed up against our face and hair. It feels like being lightly strummed. We are like the wild grasses of this area, the aspen leaves and the cottonwoods trees, instruments in the hands of the enchanting wind. 

Yesterday, we took a break from our hibernation and ventured to Santa Fe to check out the Georgia O’Keefe Museum. Like all great art, her paintings are visual poems that inject creative fuel. 

O'Keefe: Photo by Alfred Stieglitz 1928

It’s not surprising that O’Keefe fell under New Mexico's spell the first time she visited in 1929. Everything, she said, was different in New Mexico, the wind, the color of the earth, the sky. She had never seen anything like it. Enchanted, she returned regularly for the next 20 years, each visit influencing her artistic style and work greatly. In 1949, after her husband died and O’Keefe had settled his estate, she moved to The Land of Enchantment permanently. Although not religious, O’Keefe saw New Mexico as her spiritual home, that special place in the world where she felt integrally connected and where her art blossomed. 

O'Keefe: A Street 1926

Landscape as encantador is visible in O’Keefe’s paintings. New York, her previous home, had inspired paintings like A Steet, a windowless metropolis where edges and shadows transform buildings into a stark city canon. The only breath in the painting is a crack of sky and a lamppost at the end of the urban tunnel. 

New Mexico, however, brought forth a dramatic shift in O’Keefe’s colors, texture, focus and overall feel. Her painting, Black Mesa Hills, illustrates this artistic shift. It was wonderful to see these originals up close and appreciate the richness of O'Keefe's brushstrokes.

One of my museum favorites, Ram’s Head, Morning Glory. I love the juxtaposition of fossil and bloom in this piece. It captures the harshness and the beauty of the Southwest desert in such a Zen way.

Black Hollyhock Blue Larkspur 1930

Also at the museum were a few of O'Keefe's magnified, voluptuous flowers. There was an interesting footnote about these iconic paintings at the museum. Whereas male Freudian interpretations of O’Keefe and her work have long equated her flowers with vulvas and female sexuality, Georgia herself found the interpretations ridiculous, if not somewhat offensive. There's no denying the sensuality in her paintings, but sometimes a flower is just a flower. 

From 1931-1942, O’Keefe drew and painted various Katsina Tithu, carved wooden figures depicting Hopi spirit beings. These figures are commonly referred to as Kachina or Katsina dolls. O’Keefe seldom exhibited these Katsina works and kept most of them in her personal collection till the end of her life, so it was a treat to see some of these at the museum. Ironically, three of these Katchinas had a striking resemblance to the animal spirits I came to New Mexico with.

Our Lady of Birds

Snake Woman

Little Dog

O'Keefe painted her heart out and lived to be 99 years old. Although we aren’t all as privileged as O’Keefe (I would love to settle an estate and move to New Mexico), there is something to be said about giving our art (whatever it may be) a revered place in our daily lives. 

Our Week of Our Own is coming to an end. It has been way too brief, but hibernating in New Mexico and standing in front of O’Keefe’s originals have pumped us with creative endorphins. We’ve revised stories and poems, outlined ideas, and most importantly watered our artistic souls. Nos vamos de aquí llenas de cantos y encanto. Gracias to the Land of Enchantment and to the two generous mujeres who loan us their home. We are grateful.

  

Entrando al Encanto

Santa Fe Magic 

Hot jazz. Hot cubana. Hot art. Hot fighting the heat.

Denver's Five Points Jazz Festival today

Experience the music, culture and roots of Denver's historic Five Points neighborhood at the free 10th Annual Five Points Jazz Festival today, Saturday, May 18. Along Welton St. from 11am to 8pm, six stages present many of Denver's finest jazz musicians. Other events include tennis lessons for kids under 10, food vendors, beer and wine, kid-friendly lectures, art exhibits and more. Click here to see the music lineup!

KUVO Denver 89.3FM station's founder Florence Hernández-Ramos [aka novelist Manuel Ramos' wife] will be recognized for her significant contributions to jazz with a Five Points Jazz Tribute Award. Flo helped to found KUVO and became the first female Hispanic president of a public radio station, holding that position for 23 years. She is now Executive Director of the Latino Public Radio Consortium. Other award recipients will be drummer Nat Yarbrough, posthumously, and vocalist Hazel Miller.

Rebel – 

A Voces on PBS Special

Friday, May 24, 10:00 PM ET

[Rec'd from Kirk Whisler, Hispanic Marketing 101]

Rebel is the story of Loreta Velazquez, Confederate soldier turned Union spy. She was dismissed as a hoax for a hundred and fifty years, but new evidence shows Loreta, a Cuban immigrant from New Orleans, was one of an estimated 1000 secret women soldiers of the American Civil War. Deftly weaving lush dramatized scenes of Loreta's riveting tale, vivid storytelling, archival material, and animation, this is a film about a woman, a myth and the politics of national memory. Who was Loreta Velazquez? Why did she fight? And what made her so dangerous she was erased from history?

Art in Sacramento:

Global warming fight ready for more Latinos

• 1,000,000th public comment opposing the Keystone XL pipeline was submitted to the U.S. State Department. At about the same hour President Obama put out an Earth Day proclamation saying "nothing is more powerful than millions of voices calling for change." Now we see if he means it! If not . . .

• Students at Rhode Island School of Design, occupying their president’s office last week to demand divestment, lowered a banner out the window: “We May Be Art Students, But We Can Still do the Math.”

• Mayors announce commitment to fossil fuel divestment

11 cities committed to divestment, to keep city funds out of fossil fuel stocks and push their employee pensions to divest from polluting corporations. Cities extend from tiny Bayfield, Wisconsin, which has just 530 residents, to international icons, like the City of San Francisco, where Supervisors voted unanimously to push the city’s retirement fund to divest $583 million from fossil fuels.

In Ithaca, NY, Mayor Myrick, one of the country's youngest mayors committed to divestment after high school students asked him to protect their shared future.

Since last fall, this divestment campaign has spread to over 300 colleges and universities. Now, there are over 100 petitions on the GoFossilFree.org website targeting cities, states and religious institutions. Sign a petition, here.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in helping end apartheid in South Africa, said:

“The divestment movement played a key role in helping liberate South Africa. The corporations understood the logics of money even when they weren’t swayed by the dictates of morality. Climate change is a deeply moral issue too, of course...Once again, we can join together as a world and put pressure where it counts.”

Chief Theresa

From 350.org: In June, Fearless Summer protests will take place at mining and drilling sites around the country. In Canada, First Nations peoples connected to the Idle No More movement are hatching plans for Sovereignty Summer to coordinate nonviolent direct actions on Indigenous lands in the midst of fierce anti-extraction battles.

As the planet lurches past 400 parts per million concentrations of CO2, the moment has come. The following phase of the fight is called Summer Heat.

During the final weeks of July, from the Pacific Northwest to the coast of Maine, from the Keystone pipeline route to the White House, to the Utah desert where they’re getting ready for the first tar sands mine in the US, there's one essential message: it’s time to stand up – peacefully but firmly — to the industry that is wrecking our future. Click here for more info: joinsummerheat.org/map

Summer Heat will be a powerful focus for thousands to show the courage needed to lower the temperature, before your home is demolished by the next Hurricane Sandy or an oil pipeline bursts in your backyard.

This summer can be an historic show of solidarity not just with the Americans who suffer most from fossil fuels, but with people across the planet whose lives are at risk as the world warms.

Es todo, hoy,

RudyG

Review: The Old Man's Love Story/Rudolfo Anaya - Desperado News

The Old Man's Love Story
Rudolfo Anaya
University of Oklahoma Press - April, 2013


Patricia Anaya died in 2010. She and Rudolfo Anaya had been married for forty-four years. Each excelled individually as teachers and writers, and together they created a strong team devoted to one another and committed to making the world a better place. They established scholarships, literary awards, and other charitable projects as they worked with various organizations such as the Rio Grande Writers Association. They were a force to be reckoned with, major players on the cultural and educational stages, not only of the U.S. Southwest but worldwide.

Patricia encouraged and nurtured Rudolfo's writing. He has often acknowledged the important roles she played in his writing: muse, editor, reader, critic, fan. His latest book, The Old Man's Love Story, is a deeply personal account of life without his beloved wife.

The narrator is an "old man," never named but Anaya does not hide that he is writing about himself. Several references in the book refer directly to Anaya's previous literary works. For example, the old man speaks about one of the characters in a work in progress, Randy Lopez (Randy Lopez Goes Home, 2011). Other comments in the book reference early works such as the pivotal childhood accident from Tortuga (1979), and youthful adventures on the streets of Albuquerque that frame Heart of Aztlan (1976.)  Of course, the back story from his first novel, Bless Me, Ultima (1972), also makes an appearance.

The old man's emotions are raw and brittle. At times, his story drifts into a dreamland of memory and yearning, and we can only guess whether the old man is living what he talks about or simply thinking about it, fantasizing. One passage retells how the old man thought he saw his wife in a downtown mall. He had driven, slowly, of course, to the mall and immediately regretted his decision. The place was too loud, too busy, with too many rude young people. But out of nowhere he recognized a bright-patterned blouse and colorful Mexican skirt. The clothes had been worn by his wife, of that he was sure. He became tremendously excited and anxious. He called after the woman wearing the clothes. "Amor! Amor!" She ignored him. She obviously was a homeless person of the streets. It made no sense to the old man, who was almost traumatized by the incident. Only after his shock subsided did he remember that he had given his wife's clothes to a shelter.

Anaya's writing is infused with his uniquely religious understanding of the natural world and of the spiritual nature of existence. The Old Man's Love Story exists in the spirit world, but it is a very real world to the old man. Spirits and living memories exist along the banalities of life for a seventy-five year-old man. The spirit of his departed wife eventually visits him and guides him through the stages of grief. She encourages him to move on, to preserve her memory by making new memories, and to escape his sadness by living life with the same exuberance and hope they once shared. She talks with him, comforts him, listens to his prayers. His pain is deep and Anaya does not shy away from opening his wounds for readers.

It is a difficult time, exacerbated by the old man's aging process. He complains about his aching body, his dwindling memory, his lack of appetite. The personal gives way to the universal. Some of his comments are litanies of problems that all of us over fifty recognize. The simple activities of daily life torment him. Here's his take on showering:

"Everything took time, especially reaching down and scrubbing his feet. His back hurt. Need a stool in here, he thought. Hard to bend down.  Even taking a shower had become a chore. Took forever. When he was done he sat on the toilet seat and towel-dried himself. He wouldn't shave. What for?"

The old man is haunted by the spirits of his past life with his wife. He imagines and re-imagines their numerous trips to other countries, especially Mexico. He submerges himself in remembering the most minute detail of their life together, including sensual and erotic lovemaking. Some of the passages were difficult to read because it seemed as though I was prying into very private territory, into Anaya's heart and soul. I can only imagine how difficult it was for him to write the words. And yet, it is obvious that Anaya wanted this story told and preserved.

Eventually the old man begins a new relationship. The spirit of the deceased wife tells him that it is time for a "new phase." A transition. A time to learn to love again. Establishing the new relationship is not a simple matter, and guilt and self-pity play their part in the evolution of the story, as well as a few humorous observations about love and sex among the elderly.

The story is not quite done when the book ends. In fact, the journey of the old man and his wife continues on various levels. But the old man accepts that love can conquer grief. "He knew the only way out of an existential crisis was to get going. That meant caring for family, community, and the poor of the world. Care for the earth, mother of all. Not to receive, but to give, as long as he could."

The Old Man's Love Story doesn't solve the Great Mystery, as the old man refers to the puzzle of the interaction of life/death, but it does give us essential tools for dealing with that mystery: hope, humor, a bit of sadness, and, most important, love.

Desperado News

Crimespree Magazine Presents a Desperado Give Away. Plus a New Short Story. Interview

Crimespree Magazine has this announcement on its website:

This week (May 17), in conjunction with Friday Reads Facebook page, we are giving away copies of Chelsea Cain’s KILL YOU TWICE audiobook,  Dana Cameron’s SEVEN KINDS OF HELL ,  Manuel Ramos’ DESPERADO and Daniel Stashower’s THE HOUR OF PERIL audiobook.

To be entered in the drawing shoot an email over to Jon?@crimespreemag.com (remove the question mark) And put CONTEST in the subject line. Also please put your address in the body of the email
We will pick the winners on May 24th. When we do the drawing we will be sending an extra something for one lucky winner to be picked from the comments section of the Friday Reads face book page, so after you enter, go leave a comment!
____________________

The latest issue of Crimespree (#51) includes an interview of me conducted by fellow crime writer Steven Torres, as well as my short story When the Air Conditioner Quit. A bit of border noir. Hope you pick up a copy of the magazine. You can look at the interview online at this link.

Finally, I'll be readin', signin', and talkin' on May 19 at 7:00 PM at West Side Books, 3434 W. 32d Avenue, Denver. Come by for an informal evening of conversation about readin' and writin'. Should be fun.

Keep on Readin'

Later.

The Dream is Now, Denver!

The Upsilon Gamma Chapter of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity at the University of Denver will host the first Denver-screening of The Dream is Now on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 6:30pm.

The Dream is Now is a documentary that follows 4 undocumented youth in America and focuses on the personal stories of Dreamers and their families. It calls for common sense reform that gives all undocumented immigrants the chance to earn their citizenship and contribute fully to society.

If you are interested in federal comprehensive immigration reform, if you want to learn more about it, or if this systemic issue has affected you and your loved ones-- come share your story!

The film screening will take place on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 6:30pm in Davis Auditorium (2000 E. Asbury Ave., Denver, CO, 80208) with a panel discussion to follow. You can also visit the Facebook event page right here.

Please reserve your tickets on Eventbrite here in advance if you plan on attending as we are expecting to fill the venue!

Please visit The Dream is Now website for more information about the film http://www.thedreamisnow.org/stories or for a preview of the documentary visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUx62UBoOoU

LéaLA- Feria del Libro en Español de Los Angeles

As part of its ongoing commitment to extend its culture and arts programs for the Latino community in Los Angeles, California, the University of Guadalajara is set to once again hold one of the most ambitious events ever host to promote Spanish: LéaLA, the largest Spanish-language book fair in the U.S. 

This three-day event seeks to encourage reading and promote Spanish-language books together with the recognition of the Latino population, their culture and customs. LéaLA is an initiative backed by the University of Guadalajara Los Angeles and by the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL).



At LéaLA you’ll be able to find book presentations and signings, lectures on popular culture and the historic roots of Latin American countries, meetings between Latin American writers and authors from other parts of the world, forums on the challenges associated with selling and distributing Spanish-language books in the U.S. participation by Latino celebrities in a range of literary and cultural activities, including readings of children’s books, as well as an Education Pavilion designed to promote secondary and higher education.

 

***

Ven a mi presentación

Contando Cuentos y Uniendo Culturas

Autores: René Colato Laínez y James Luna

Fecha: Sábado 18 de mayo

Lugar y hora: Salón Rómulo Gállegos- 10:00 a.m.

Guest Column from Switzerland. Reading in the Park. On-line Floricanto for Mothers

Guest Columnist
Editor's Note: Sarah R. García is studying in Europe this summer. This is the first in a series of dispatches from the European front. mvs
Xicana Travelogue: Xocolate en Suiza

Sarah Rafael García

I cannot remember the last time this Xicana purchased chocolate for herself. I recall sipping on a Mayan Mocha a few years back in San Diego, but that was merely to taste the Mayan. There was also that time in 2008 that my chef friend made a chocolate mold of the Aztec calendar and Mexican chocolate truffles for my book signing, pero that was part of the event décor and to guilt la gente into purchasing my book.



Prior to my recent travels, I was not a chocolate person. I may have snacked on a Snickers bite or chipped off a piece from Abuelita’s chocolate in nostalgia, but really I was not a chocolate aficionado. Nevertheless, upon arriving to Spiez, Switzerland, I was greeted with a pound of the local, fancy chocolate. I smiled to show my appreciation but my taste buds nearly dried up at the sight. I must admit I was a bit disappointed, I was hoping to be gifted some of the local cheese instead.

The chocolate was nestled in an expensive gift bag embossed with the letters “Läderach.” I gently postponed the consumption by expressing that I was not hungry. The chocolate bearer frowned at my disinterest. And at what I perceived as a loss for the correct English words, he sat back in his chair, grabbed a meeker piece of chocolate from a mound sitting on his coffee table and scratched his head.

Later that evening, after watching him consume a third of the chocolate squares on the coffee table, I peeked into the “Läderach” bag. I pulled out a transparent bag tied with a pretty brown ribbon. The bundle contained twelve layers of chocolate; each cocoa sheet was quite different in color and texture. I compared each piece to the next and decided to break off a corner of the pink one with red specks, which sat at the top of the stack.

Now let me remind you, I was not a chocolate person, esta Xicana antes prefería enchiladas de mole o tacos al pastor. I would rather devour savory plates than nibble on processed cocoa beans. I figure if I’m gonna wear the calories on my Xicana hips, they better be spicy and robust like me.

So, with some hesitation I placed the piece of pink cocoa on my tongue. Immediately, my eyelashes batted with excitement and my mouth began to water. My host was in the kitchen, without thinking I shouted, “Oh my god, this is so good!” The silky substance melted on my tongue, introducing me to the mixed flavors of white chocolate and raspberries. I had never tasted a chocolate so rich and silky. I continued to break off a piece from each assortment, tasting all twelve blends, ending with the white chocolate and pistachios.

When asked, I could not choose one that I preferred more than the other.

After visiting the Läderach store to explore all that they have to offer, I walked out with another pound of xocolate, which I sent to mis hermanas for Mother’s Day. I also bought six different truffles balls, one made with champagne, which I savored after visiting a Swiss cheese factory. The original twelve layers are now broken squares and triangles that reflect the Xicana that I am, a mixture of diverse flavors with a memorable past. Todos los sabores mesclados en una bolsa: pieces of pistachios, peanuts with dark, white and milk chocolate. Ironically, I still hesitate to eat the Swiss xocolate but only to make sure I have moments of pleasure at my fingertips throughout the rest of my trip. To my surprise, Suiza has turned this Xicana into a xocolate aficionado…


Reading in the Park, Floricanto in the Yard

Michael Sedano

Mothers Day weekend seems as good a weekend as any to schedule a local book fair, and that's what organizers of Pasadena LitFest decided, holding the second annual LitFest on Saturday before Mothers Day.

Daniel Olivas

The hundred-degree weather would have magnified the unpleasantness of navigating through shoulder-to-shoulder teeming crowds like those at the LA Times bookfair. Crowding wasn't a problem Saturday afternoon.

The exhibitor list included numerous small publishers, and book entrepreneurs like indie booksellers and Des Zamorano, who engagingly marketed her novel, Human Cargo. Organizers promised a smorgasbord of locally-flavored writing and writers, including the high-powered panel, Omnipresent: The Vibrancy of Latino Literature, where bloguera Melinda Palacio and blogueros Daniel Olivas and Manuel Ramos were sharing the Julia Child Stage with La Bloga friends Reyna Grande and Alex Espinoza.

Manuel Ramos

Melinda Palacio

Reyna Grande

Panel moderator Daniel Olivas put together a highly effective authors panel. The key idea was to keep it moving. Olivas allowed each writer a minimum of minutes to showcase their work.

Alex Espinoza

Olivas avoided the "any questions" approach to Q&A by offering his own set of well-considered prompts that turned the set of sequential remarks into a running conversation among the writers.

For a writer who's just given their all in a public reading, the book signing offers a measure of satisfaction that the oral presentation worked and gente lined up to have their copy signed.

Front: Manuel Ramos, Melinda Palacio, Reyna Grande, Alex Espinoza
Standing: Daniel Olivas, Manuel Urrutia, Concepción Valadez, Marrio Guerrero, Angel Guerrero

With this host of writers in town, we decided to have an open-air floricanto after feasting on chicano hot dogs and chicano hamburgers. That is, I cooked them.

The difference between a reading in the park on stage, and a reading for the camera while surrounded by relaxed listeners, makes for enjoyable readings. Latinopia's Jesus Treviño videographed the La Bloga Backyard Floricanto and will release the segments in upcoming updates at Latinopia.

Alex Espinoza

Xochitl-Julissa Bermejo was on an earlier poetry panel at LitFest and she was ready for an impromptu presentation of two poems. Treviño didn't need an applause sign to generate the enthusiastic response that erupted after Bermejo's reading.

Julissa-Xochitl Bermejo

Melinda Palacio

Manuel Ramos' Desperado, A Mile High Noir has enjoyed several weeks on the best-seller list in Denver. I'm sure Pasadena and all of LA will turn on to the chicano detective novel after enjoying the couple's engaging reading of a fictive tete-a-tete, as well as their spontaneous repartée after one of them got lost in the fun on the page.

Flo and Manuel Ramos

Flo and Manuel Ramos

La Bloga On-line Floricanto Celebrating Mother's Day

"Strong Women" By Rosalie Robles Crowe
"Madre árbol / Mother Tree" by Francisco X. Alarcón
"To My Working Mom, thank you (Mother's Day 2013)" by Patrick Fontes
“My Castle” by Ramon Pinero
"mama" by Iris De Anda


Strong Women
By Rosalie Robles Crowe

I stand on the shoulders of a long line of strong women
Who refused to accept artificial limitations
Imposed by "superior" men and restrictive society.

Great grandmother Ladislada adjusted to life
On the Texas frontier but insisted her daughters needed
To know more than cooking, cleaning and sewing fine seams.

She sent them to be educated in a convent school in El Paso.

Isabel assumed her mother's mantle of independence,
Becoming a teacher and ignoring strictures
From her husband's family when she was widowed.

She refused to cede responsibility to her father-in-law
And took in washing to support her children.

Amparo, my mother, wanted to join the tennis team in school
But the other girls wouldn't play with "the Mexican"
So she practiced with the boys.

She won a state mixed doubles championship.

Cecilia, my aunt and a teacher, was told her first-graders
Couldn't speak Spanish in school. On Friday afternoons
She locked the classroom door, turned the radio to Mexican music
And gave each child penny candy to eat during art class.

The legacy they passed on was this:

Live your life on your terms.
Don't let the whims or prejudices of others govern your actions.
Seek your own truth, your own beliefs and act with compassion.

This, then, is the legacy I pass on to my daughters,
My granddaughters and yes, to my son and grandsons.

Stand tall.
Believe in yourself.
Set strong personal standards
And hold to them — regardless of what anyone else says.



Madre Árbol / Mother Three
Francisco X Alarcón

To My Working Mom, thank you (Mother's Day 2013)
by Patrick Fontes

No gold medal prize awarded to you
by cheering crowds at the end of those years
burdened by three jobs one for each child
waiting tables served a million grand slams
to strangers while your own yearned hungry
for you alone at home during sunset

Sacrifice is a word tribulations
teach us looking back at life’s worn tracks
by your feet years of waitressing hardened
but not your undying spirit flying above
greasy plates piled high to the Lord’s throne
you cried to each night I heard you weep
for strength as you rubbed your wearied heels

This morning a cool summer breeze blew
through your kitchen as you rolled tortillas
at dawn I sat in awe at your soul’s sinew
indomitable through long decades worked
back and forth your forearms created perfect
white circles then bubbled to perfection
moved my reverent heart to ovation
cheered your undying love's constant toil



My Castle
by Ramón Piñero

I live
in a
castle
surrounded
by an
estrogen moat
surrounded by
mothers
and sisters
daughters and
wives.

surrounded
by medicine
women
curanderas
santeras
dancers and
singers
teachers
and
lovers.

I live in a castle
surrounded
by an estrogen
moat

santeras protect me
La Caridad del Cobre
me lleva en
la mano
Santa Barbara
me canta
a dormir

in times
of worry
my grand
daughters
come running
full of
sunshine and
joy

My boys
and I
live in
a castle

surrounded
by an estrogen
moat and
protected
by love

© Ramón Piñero



mama
by Iris De Anda

querida madre
gracias infinitas
por darme la vida

you who wake early
to help me RISE
you who sleep late
to watch me DREAM

you who are my everything
from first breath to last
you hope for my future
& stood by my past

querida madre
sin ti no soy yo
te amo


Bios
"Strong Women" By Rosalie Robles Crowe
"Madre árbol / Mother Tree" by Francisco X. Alarcón
"To My Working Mom, thank you (Mother's Day 2013)" by Patrick Fontes
“My Castle” by Ramon Pinero
"mama" by Iris De Anda

Rosalie Robles Crowe, a third generation Arizonan, is a former newspaper reporter who has continued writing well after her retirement. She graduated in journalism from the University of Arizona and over her career has worked on Arizona’s major newspapers, including the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Citizen, Arizona Republic and the Phoenix Gazette. In addition, she also has written numerous articles based on Arizona history, co-authored a monograph (“Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame”) with Diane Tod, and compiled and edited “Early Yuma: A Graphic History of Life on the American Nile.” Currently, she is a member of Sowing the Seeds, a collective of women writers in Tucson, and is experimenting with other writing styles, including poetry. As an STS member, she has written one of three monologues for Sowing the Seeds’ dramatic presentation “Celebrating Women’s Voices Past & Present,” developed originally in 2012 for Arizona’s Centennial Year. Its focus is on unsung women heroes in the state’s history. She and her late husband, Tommy Keith Crowe, have three children and five grandchildren.


Francisco X. Alarcón, award winning Chicano poet and educator, born in Los Angeles, in 1954, is the author of twelve volumes of poetry, including, From the Other Side of Night: Selected and New Poems (University of Arizona Press 2002), and Snake Poems: An Aztec Invocation (Chronicle Books 1992), Sonetos a la locura y otras penas / Sonnets to Madness and Other Misfortunes (Creative Arts Book Company 2001), De amor oscuro / Of Dark Love (Moving Parts Press 1991, and 2001).
His latest books are Ce•Uno•One: Poems for the New Sun/Poemas para el Nuevo Sol (Swan Scythe Press 2010), and for children, Animal Poems of the Iguazú/Animalario del Iguazú (Children’s Book Press 2008) which was selected as a Notable Book for a Global Society by the International Reading Association, and as an Américas Awards Commended Title by the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs. His previous bilingual book titled Poems to Dream Together/Poiemas para sonar juntos (Lee & Low Books 2005) was awarded the 2006 Jane Addams Honor Book Award.
He teaches at the University of California, Davis, where he diurects the Spanish for Native Speakers Porgram. He is the creator of the Facebook page POETS RESPONDING TO SB 1070 that you can visit at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Poets-Responding-to-SB-1070/117494558268757?ref=ts

Ex Bay Area poet living in the buckle of the Bible Belt, aka Florida. Where good little boys and girls grow up to be republicans who vote against their own interest. Father of three and Grandfather to six of the coolest kids ever.
Nuff said...

Iris De Anda is a writer, activist, and practitioner of the healing arts. A native of Los Angeles she believes in the power of spoken word, poetry, storytelling, and dreams. She has been published in Mujeres de Maiz Zine, Loudmouth Zine: Cal State LA, OCCUPY SF poems from the movement, & online @ La Bloga. She is an active contributor to Poets Responding to SB 1070. She performs at community venues & events throughout the Los Angeles area. She hosted The Writers Underground Open Mic 2012 @ Mazatlan Theatre & 100,000 Poets for Change 2012 @ the Eastside Cafe. Follow her story @ http://irisdeanda.typepad.com/la_writer_underground/

Celebrating Words Festival, Mission College campus, May 18, 2013

“Celebrating Words Festival – Written, Performed, and Sung” is a free annual literacy, cultural & performing arts festival open to the general public of all ages and backgrounds with a special focus on underserved children, youth, young adults, women, families and communities.

The Celebrating Words Festival (CWF) is organized and hosted since 2006 by Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore with funding from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, support from LA City district representatives, and sponsorship from corporations and individuals.

Tia Chucha’s is passionate about enhancing and empowering people’s lives by promoting and providing a wide variety of literary, cultural & artistic programs and experiences, and CWF is an expression of this commitment.

There will be many wonderful activities including author panels and book signings...come see some of your favorite writers!

The upcoming festival date is set for Saturday May 18, 2013 at Los Angeles Mission College, 13356 Eldridge Avenue, Sylmar, CA. 91342.

For corporate sponsorship, organizational collaboration, volunteer opportunities and coordination questions, contact, 2013 CWF Coordinators, Melissa Sanvicente & Natalia Hernandez at: 818-939-3433 or celebratingwords@gmail.com. For other information regarding the event, visit the official website.

LITFEST PASADENA:

Thank you for supporting our wonderful panel of writers at LitFest Pasadena. I will post more pictures soon...feeling a bit under the weather today.

 

From left to right: Manuel Ramos (slightly out of frame but lookin' cool nonetheless),
Melinda Palacio, Reyna Grande and Alex Espinoza signing books at LitFest Pasadena