Chicano Music Festival, Bilingual Review, Awards, Event

CHICANO MUSIC FESTIVAL
All events take place at Su Teatro's new space: 215 S. Santa Fe Drive, Denver

THURSDAY, AUG 6, 7pm - 9pm: Opening Night ($8) Su Teatro presents a special screening of the film Chicano Rock: The Sounds of East L.A. Hosted by XicanIndie FilmFest Director Daniel Salazar, and featuring guest commentators Pocho Joe (La Raza Rocks), Johnny "Ritmo" Rodriguez, and Joaquin Liebert (The Risk). Also, get a sneak preview of our annual auction!

FRIDAY, AUG 7, 7pm - 10pm: Noche Tradicional ($10) Musica de Colorado Hall of Fame inductions: folk musician Dr. Lorenzo Trujillo, radio pioneers David Gallegos and Paul Chavez, and KUVO's longstanding Sunday radio program Cancion Mexicana. Featuring performances by The Southwest Musicians and others. Also live and silent auctions.

SATURDAY, AUG 8, 6pm - 11pm: Pachanga! ($18) Pachanga madness returns with the best Chicano Rock and Roll in the state: Sangre Chicana, Next in Line, Johnny "Ritmo Rodriguez" y los Diamantes, and more! Exciting live auctions feature original artwork, resort getaways, spa packages, sports tickets, wine tastings, y mucho mucho mas!

SUNDAY, AUG 9, 5pm - 9pm: Mariachi Tardeada ($12) Enjoy a lovely summer afternoon with great mariachi music, food hot off the grill, and ice cold beer and margaritas. Maricachi Vasquez, Tony Silva and Trio Xochitl with Mariachi de las Artes.

Get a complete festival pass for only $35, or buy a Season VIP and get next year's festival pass plus 2 tickets/2 drinks for this year's festival, all for just $135. Call: 303.296.0219

BOOKS

A half-dozen titles (and blurbs) from the Bilingual Review Press Fall, 2009, catalog:

Anywhere But L.A.
Daniel Olivas
September

The stories in this collection range from contemporary narratives to more traditional cuentas de fantasma, giving readers a vivid and honest portrait of modern Latinos in search of their place in the world. Funny yet poignant, Olivas's characters frequently amuse, sometimes disturb, and often remind us of our own vulnerability. People who on the surface appear to be ordinary and uncomplicated reveal their deepest secrets and anxieties related to a variety of issues, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, and the human condition in general. We are given a glimpse into the complex emotions and attitudes of characters who are trying to cope with the mysteries of life. These stories ring with humor, insight, and power, and, like the city they describe, they shift and slide and refuse to be pinned down as they drive the reader to the very core of human existence through the colorful mural of a thriving Latino community.

Born in the Cavity of Sunsets
Michael Luis Medrano
July

Poet Michael Luis Medrano shows us life in Fresno, California, a city where one can never see the actual moment when the sun slips beyond the horizon because too many buildings block the view. The picture he paints is not always pretty. In edgy, sometimes angry verse, Medrano reveals a world of shadows and sacrifice. Never shying away from grim detail, he describes frustration, struggle, violence, and frief. But he also shows us light, hope and humor with a wry and refreshing voice. Through it all he remains sincere and versatile, letting the reader absorb intense emotion, from writhing agony to tender joy. Born in the Cavity of Sunsets is poetry for the people, from the initiated and well versed to the beginner who is just discovering the magic of a well-turned phrase.

Second Communion
Nash Candelaria
September

This memoir by renowned Chicano writer Nash Candelaria focuses on how and why he chose to become a writer. As he investigates his family's more than 300-year history in New Mexico, the author undertakes a more intimate journey that leads him to understand truths about himself: why he chose to become a writer and why he chose the topics he did. Part family history and part self-examination, Second Communion is a must-read for aspiring writers, those interested in Southwest history, and students and teachers of Chicano literature.

Simpáticos: San Miguel Stories
Elva Treviño Hart
September

Elva Trevino Hart introduces us to the people of San Miguel de Allende. Nestled in the eastern part of Guanajuato in Mexico's mountainous bajio region, the town has a mild climate and an accommodating culture that attract wealthy Americans and Canadians seeking relaxation and escape. In this picturesque setting, we meet a variety of well-to-do Anglo retirees: some are haunted by ghosts, others by their own pasts, some fine renewed meaning and purpose, and still others explore their sexuality. Witnessing it all are the maids of San Miguel, the women charged with making visitors' stays carefree and luxurious.The maids work magic to heal or redeem their employers, but sometimes the sorcery of others trumps their own. Simpáticos movingly describes two extreme socioeconomic conditions and reveals the universal journey we all ultimately share.

Not Myself Without You
Lourdes Vázquez
October

A working-class Puerto Rican family of the 1950s lives surrounded by spirits, ghosts, and witches, a result of incantations performed in their living room. Chronicling nearly two decades of the family's history -- including their occult activities -- the story involves characters who are centered in Puerto Rico but who move through the Caribbean, Central America, Spain, and New York as they are pulled by the economic, political, and social conditions of the times as well as by their own intense desires. Based on oral history and research, Not Myself Without You is the author's own memoir with a strong fictional twist.

The Scoundrel and the Optimist
Maceo Montoya
October

Nothing is easy when you are thirteen, and it's especially challenging when everyone thinks you're eight because you are tiny; your father is an abusive, tyrannical lout; your siblings are determined to strike out on their own to escape constant drunken rages; and your mother is deeply depressed. In The Scoundrel adn the Optimist we meet Edmund, a hapless but irrepressible redheaded teen whose magnificent strength of spirit makes him a giant among men. Despite roadblocks and bad advice, Edmund is determined to win the heart of Ingrid Genera and to become a great guitar player. But his most notable accomplishment is teaching his father, Filastro, the value of integrity and optimism.



AWARDS

Guillermo Saccomanno of Argentina and David Torres of Spain share the 2008 Premio Hammett Prize for the best crime novel in Spanish. Saccomanno's novel is entitled 77. The author dedicated the prize to his granddaughter and recalled that one of her great-uncles was one of the tens of thousands forcibly disappeared in Argentina's 1976-83 military dictatorship. David Torres won for Niños de Tiza. The award ceremony took place during this year's Semana Negra in Gijón, Spain. Also at this year's Semana Negra, Cuban writer Rodolfo Pérez Valero won First Prize for his short story Dioses y orishas (Gods and Orishas) The short story is about immigration, forced prostitution and mafias in Spain. This was the 5^th First Prize for Perez in 19 years. A complete list of the Semana Negra winners can be found at this site.

EVENT
Dance of the Flower Medicine - Danza Xochitl Pahtli
Featured will be curanderos from Cuernavaca, Mexico. On August 4th, the events will start with a Welcoming Ceremony at Cuernavaca Park hosted by the Sister City Council. This two hour event will include traditional dancers, singers, and drummers. Mayor Hickenlooper will present the opening. The following days will include speaking engagements throughout Denver and Lakewood. These events will also include events where the curanderos will offer healings and demonstrations. The events will end at Metro State College. The weekly events are free and open to the public. More information including a schedule of all events at this link.

Event Information Contact: Sofia Chavez-Federick 303-726-7119 Media Contact: Mavis Salazar, (720) 297-3522; e-mail: mavissalazar@comcast.net


Later.

Spanish Biographical Dictionary to be fully available online in 2010

From: ARS News

Spain’s Real Academia de la Historia (Royal Academy of History) will publish before the end of the year six volumes of the Spanish Biographical Dictionary, and within two years the remaining 44 volumes of the monumental work will be placed online so that the entire collection will be on the Internet probably in 2010.

“As soon as we have several volumes published, we will immediately ‘post’ the entire book on the Web. In this way, it will acquire a worldwide dimension,” said Academy director Gonzalo Anes, who added that the institution is publishing the Dictionary thanks to the sponsorship of the Marcelino Botín Foundation.

Anes also emphasized the Academy’s project to translate the Dictionary into English so that it can also be accessed online in that language. “Then, worldwide distribution will certainly be assured,” he said.

The Dictionary was a project that the Academy nurtured from its founding in 1735, but its complexity and the difficulty of communications delayed it for centuries.

The 50 volumes of the Dictionary, each of which consists of about 800 pages, and the more than 40,000 biographies it contains of personalities from all epochs of Spanish history “place Spain at the level of the most important countries of the world,” the director said.

The more than 40,000 biographies were made possible thanks to “the important collaboration” of 5,500 experts, among them a good number of Hispanic American historians and “Hispanicists from all over the world,” Anes added.

For the past six months, the Academy has posted on its Web page (www.rah.es) a preview of what the online Biographical Dictionary will be like.

Sopa de frijoles/Bean Soup

By Jorge Argueta

Illustrated by Rafael Yockteng

Publisher: Groundwood Books
Pub. Date: April 2009
ISBN-13: 9780888998811
Age Range: 4 to 7
32pp

Synopsis

For people who have left their homeland for a new country, comfort foods from home take on a huge emotional importance. This delightful poem teaches readers young and old how to make a heartwarming, tummy-filling black bean soup, from gathering the beans, onions, and garlic to taking little pebbles out of the beans to letting them simmer till the luscious smell indicates it’s time for supper. Jorge Argueta’s vivid poetic voice and Rafael Yockteng’s vibrant illustrations make preparing this healthy and delicious Latino favorite an exciting, almost magical experience.

LatinoEducators.com
A note from José Luís Orozco

Amigos,

I am writing to give you an exclusive sneak preview of www.LatinoEducators.com, an on-line community where Spanish-language/bilingual educators and parents can connect and exchange ideas concerning the educational needs of Latino youth. We've been working on the website for a while now and I am excited to announce that we will be publicly launch it before Back to School. Our goal is to create the world's best on-line resource for Latino educators and families.

You can use LatinoEducators.com to:

* Create a profile and meet other people who are passionate about bilingual and dual-language education
* Share videos, photos, lesson plans and experiences
* Keep up to date on conferences and events
* Interact with prominent Spanish-language authors, musicians, academics and thought leaders


Por favor, visit us at www.LatinoEducators.com and join the conversation around bilingual education!!

El poder de la palabra
Libera a la gente
Aqui la vamos a usar
Aqui decimos PRESENTE.

Jose Luis Orozco

Fourth Sunday of the Month Poetry Reading. Grrr....

Michael Sedano

Luis Rodriguez & Friends Read at La Palabra

Fourth Sunday of a month, Avenue 50 Studio and Gallery Director Kathy Mas-Gallegos opens its doors and ears to poetry. The recent event featured memoirist poet Luis Rodriguez and a lively Open Mic session in a worthwhile afternoon.

People arrive early to chat with friends, others to find parking on near-by streets. Hint: Free parking. Take the drive between the light rail line and the Avenue 50 Studio building to find ample parking.

Here artist Joe Bravo chats with open mic performer Henry Chavez.

Don Newton and Laura Longoria co-host the event, sharing various announcements to launch the day's performances, and introducing each writer as she or he steps to the lectern area to share one or two pieces.

Here, Longoria makes sure all open mic'ers are on the list. Photographers will note the hard backlighting coming through white curtains. Since flash can be a distraction to readers and audience, I open the lens two stops to challenge the setting. Mostly the images work well.

Luis Rodriguez reminds gente that his work and other writers comes from his Tia Chucha Press. In addition, Homeboy Industries publishes an arts magazine. Today's reading will take two parts. Before Open Mic time, Luis reads from work published in Homeboy Review.

Open Mic Readers Wow the House

Akira Yamamoto gives a rousing performance featuring a rhythmic, hard beat chanting style that I find arresting and delightful. Back some years, this would have been called "rap" or "rapping". Maybe young poets still use that term. It feels too inadequate, three letters only to encompass such power and attention-holding verse.

The lineup follows with quiet, serious, passionate readings. Some highly personal, others movimiento tinged but definitely contemporary. La Palabra is an exclusively aural delight, the artists do not sell or provide printed copies for gente like me who enjoy reading and listening. Maybe next month, a ver.

Maria Ruiz

Ron Baca.

Rafael Alvarado.

Antonio Sorcini.

Henry Chavez elects an interesting--and I think ill-advised--medium, a blackberry. The public performer wants to hold eye contact to produce a sense of immediacy and personalize the presentation. Henry struggles to read the tiny screen giving little attention to listeners struggling to give his work an unencumbered hearing.

Henry Lozano.

Don Newton.

Two highlights of the Open Mic session, for me, included "rapper" Yolanda Androzzo, whose Emmett Till "rap" included a call and response section, a technique guaranteed to please audiences because it frees them from merely listening and allows them to become personally involved in the performance.

Another highlight came from, Mary Francis Spencer, who said something in her narrative that gave three listeners, Heriberto Luna, Rafael Alvarado, and Enrique Serrato, something to focus on. I caught the movement in my peripheral vision and swiveled to snap them so fully engaged in Mary Francis' speech.

When Open Mic concluded, Luis took the floor again, for a reading of "old stuff."

Rodriguez kept his audience engaged, such as Angela Penaredondo and Suzanne Lummis. Most Open Mic performers rewarded their audience with strong presentations, though some struggled to achieve a satisfying interaction. A clear difference between Rodriguez and some of the Open Mic readers is Rodriguez' planning, comfort with his own stuff, and experience doing readings.

The wrap-up to the reading were announcements and input from the house. Here David Diaz adds to the discussion.

Kathy Mas-Gallegos, acknowledges her guests, many of whom are regular attenders of La Palabra.

Don Newton and Laura Longoria conduct a wonderful afternoon of poetry and performance. A scattering of empty seats indicate there's space for you the fourth Sunday in August. Here Longoria finally relaxes as the audience adjourns to the refreshment table featuring cold water, fruit, cheese, crackers.

Since there is no charge to attend La Palabra, nor a fee for participating in Open Mic, the luscious spread proves the old adage wrong, there is such a thing as a free lunch. Yours for the gnoshing, snacking, scarfing, devouring, tragando. Check Avenue 50's website for details of La Palabra and the outstanding art exhibits Gallegos sponsors. As Rodriguez noted in his opening remarks, Avenue 50 Studio is a hidden gem that the LA Times ignores with regularity. Tell your friends, make the visit to all the shows.

Thank you Kathy and Don for your help identifying these poets. It's totally comforting to be in a public place where your hosts know your name. Clearly, it's not business but Love that makes La Palabra and Avenue 50 Studio special.

Grrrr....

Shame, shame, shame, Obama.
U.S. military veterans have proved we can take a lot of crap and that's a good thing because career politicians, especially non-veteran tipos, dish out crap to veterans in heaping trucksful.

To the public, of course, these tipos pay elegant lip service, Henry Waxman and Barack Obama to name a pair. But they act either with empty gesture, or inimically to the nation's veterans.

Obama, for one, earns high dudgeon because he promised to bring transparency and respect for the nation's military veterans. Instead, he's dashed hopes of veterans who believed his campaign promises but witness instead steadfast support of the Bush status quo

Waxman has been boldly rapacious and dismissive. With Waxman's assistance, the Bush Veterans Administration gave away a prime parcel of veteran land to Waxman's wealthy Brentwood supporters. Waxman was asked by a Marine, a Chicano Vietnam veteran, why the congressman refuses to entertain petitions to rescind this land grab of property deeded "in perpetuity" to veterans. Waxman shrugged with a nonsensical riposte, "where do you draw the line?" He might as well have echoed Tolstoy's story, "All the Land a Man Needs." How much land does an injured veteran need? A hole six feet deep.

Obviously, I am a deranged veteran that I grow this outraged thinking about these two turkeys Obama and Waxman out-Bushing Bush and Cheney in their contempt for veterans. So I'll stop. You may wish to hear what other veterans say on this. Here's an outstanding blog and video on the land grab: http://veteranslandgrab.blogspot.com/

That's the final Tuesday of July, the month of the nation's independence, the Sotomayor hearing, the health care debate, the morass of Iraq and now Afghanistan--bring them home now! Dang, gente, if the VA and elected officials are going to take away land intended to care for the men and women who gave a leg, an arm, or a mind to war, and give that precious land for free to fat cats, then it's time to throw in the towel and stop creating injured veterans. OK, I won't get started again.

Thank you for visiting La Bloga on this Tuesday, a Tuesday like any other Tuesday, except you are here. Walter Cronkite used to say that.

mvs

La Bloga welcomes your comments on this and all daily columns. Click the comments counter below to share your views. As you saw Sunday from Olga, tatiana, and Liz, and yesterday, from Thania in Chile, La Bloga welcomes Guest Columnists. If you'd like to be our guest, click here to discuss your column idea.

Thania's Chile travelogue & a reading by Rubén Martinez

by Thania Muñoz

(Today's installment by Thania replaces Dan Olivas's usual Mon. post. He needed to attend to family. See Thania's first installment about her visit to South America here.)

Santiago de Chile is very cold. It has rained a few times and the city has been dealing not only with the regular winter season flu, but also the infamous “swine flu” or whatever name they have given to it now. Officials have advised people to be careful, to take care of themselves and avoid crowded places.

Not a lot people have followed this advice; everyone is out and about, downtown stores are crowded and bars and restaurants haven’t lost that much business. I’ve been taking care of myself. I avoid crowded places, but I still walk the streets of Santiago every day.

It’s funny. Santiago hasn’t changed a bit. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to be able to recognize places and people, but it hasn’t been that way; my friends say that I haven’t change a bit, either. I guess the three years since my last visit is not as long ago as I thought.

I arrived on a rainy morning at “my family’s” house. They received me with warm sopaipillas, a traditional Chilean snack or appetizer that is fried and made out of flour, lard, pumpkin and salt. It's traditional for Chileans to eat them during the winter season, especially when it rains, because they are warm and delicious. It compares to having a cup of hot cocoa and cookies for us back in the states.

Almost every day late in the afternoon we gather in the kitchen, waiting for the pastry to be taken out of the oil. Street vendors also sell them outside metro stops or at street corners, but as in most cases, homemade ones are exceptionally good. As I caught up with my family that morning, I had a few sopaipillas and a cup of warm tea.

The first time I went to Chile I lived with the Arteaga family for six months and after all the good times we spent together I now consider them my family. Back then they used to rent out rooms of their house to students from places like England, Haiti, Germany, Perú, Brazil and Chile.

Living with the Arteaga family is one of my most cherished memories. They taught me all there is to know about Chilean culture. The Arteaga sons were one of my many idioms--bad words included--instructors. I still remember how I used to write down words I heard in school and read the whole list to them when I got home. After a few laughs, they’d explained them to me with detail and examples. I’m a quick learner when it comes to idioms. Some easy ones include “flaite” or “cuico,” and some of the hard ones, “agarrar pa'l leseo,” “barsa,” “fome.” Any guesses?

The Arteaga family is originally from southern Chile, from a town called Los Angeles (yes, as in California), and during the summer I went on vacation with them to meet the rest of the family. Mr. Arteaga’s family has a “fundo” there, a house in the country or a rancho, with a brick oven, next to a river. I went during the summer so during the day everyone would go swimming or sunbathing at the river.

At night we sang, played the guitar and some of the older ladies even gave “cueca” lessons, Chile’s national dance. During this trip I ate and drank traditional Chilean food: warm “humitas” (similar to Mexican tamales) that are usually eaten with chopped tomatoes and sugar on top; drinks such as a homemade white wine mixed with blended strawberries, and “chicha,” a fermented drink made of grapes or other fruits.

When I started this post I didn’t intend to write about food, but being here has brought back all those wonderful memories. As of now, I’m almost done eating a cheese empanada, and later I’m going to Paseo Ahumada, a lively and crowded pedestrian street downtown to buy some sweetened warm peanuts. Enrique Lihn, a Chilean poet, has a wonderful book of poetry named after this street:

Que los que se paren,
en Ahumada con la Alameda,
escuchen si corre un poco de aire,
el relincho del caballo de Bernardo O’Higgins.
(Paseo Ahumada, 1983)

I’ll stop at this point and maybe hear the horse’s neigh.

Thania Muñoz
de Santiago

p.d.: Dieting is forbidden in Chile, I swear.

________________________

An Evening of Stories and Songs by Rubén Martínez,
Featuring Joe Garcia, with Ruben Gonzalez and John Schayer.

An evening of spoken word and music (with a band!)—material from my book-in-progress on the Desert West and Borderlands.

Thursday, July 30, 7:00 pm
CENTRAL LIBRARY • Mark Taper Auditorium
Fifth & Flower Streets, Downtown L.A.
PARKING: 524 S. Flower St. Garage

Visions in the Desert: Searching for Home in the West
Writer Ruben Martinez, accompanied by his longtime musical partner, explores some of the oldest American symbols and the newest motley cast of characters to confront them.

(Please note, reservations strongly recommended!)

Peace,
Rubén Martínez

Guest Columnists: Olga Garcia, tatiana de la tierra, Liz Vega

La Bloga is happy to introduce a three-woman guest column today, Olga Garcia, tatiana de la tierra, Liz Vega. As you'll see from their biographical sketches following, they are an accomplished team of poets, educators, mujeres chingonas. It's a genuine honor they have chosen to join us today as La Bloga guests. For today's post--which La Bloga hopes will be the first of many-- they share a bit about themselves and their relationship to writing and art.

El Blogmeister: Michael Sedano

My Life as a Beet by tatiana de la tierra

I’d like to say that I’m rooted like a red beet with my head in the earth and my feet in the sky, that I am always in the land of metáforas and dramatic structure. But in reality, most of the time that I’m upright you’ll see me as a car potato, sitting in the driver’s side of my little blue Yaris, zooming along the 405 with the music blasting. Or I’m a wedge of hard aging cheese plopped in front of a computer monitor at home or at work.

You get the picture: I am a beet stuck in the body of a cheese-stuffed baked potato. I feel for my transgender brothers and sisters, as I know what it's like to be one thing on the inside (a writer and creatrix) and another on the outside (a professional something-or-other).

But back to the roots. My mom handed me over to a world of words when she read me poetry as a child. She read me children’s poems and prose by the brilliant Colombian author Rafael Pombo, and she also read me Neruda and Benedetti. She blasted music and sang along while doing housework, knitting and reading, introducing me to bambucos, boleros, and baladas, gifting me with music and melody. I took it from there. I was a budding writer in junior high, when I published my first haiku in the school’s literary newsletter. By high school I was writing feature articles and editing the school paper. I discovered the power of the word by listening, reading, and finally, writing.

I have been writing, editing, and publishing in multiple genres for the longest time—from poetry and songs to encyclopedia entries—and I’m nowhere near done. I really resonate with creative non fiction, with the rough, the raw, and the real. My bloga space will be filled with reflections of writing, music, and the arts. I can’t give too many details now because first I have to stick my beet-head back in the earth and plant my feet firmly in the sky. Until next time, I send everyone lots of beet luv.

Self-Proclaimed Poetry Prodigy by Liz Vega

One of my earliest memories is of me sitting around the kitchen while my mom cooked and recited poems. I grew up listening and reciting Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Amado Nervo and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.

At family gatherings I was always part of the entertainment. For some time, it was adorable to watch a five-year old tackle the philosophical musings of older, depressed men and intellectual reclusive nuns. The adorableness quotient faded when I became a tall, budding fifteen-year old reciting traditional verse among my more animated competition—boisterous, bratty kids lip-syncing and dancing to Menudo, a band so alluring even I, the self-proclaimed poetry prodigy, had to worship them. Despite the ridicule and yawning adults, I held on steadfast to my poetry. I was enchanted with the beauty of words, the strength of metaphors, the swirling sounds of alliteration.

My love for the arts includes films, outsider art, contemporary art and reading good literature. Writing has also always been a hobby of mine. Fifteen years ago in D.C, a psychic named Fatima told me that I would become insanely wealthy through writing. I am still waiting. Until that happens I am excited about sharing my passion for what I find beautiful with La Bloga readers. I seek to review books, films, events and venues where children and families can develop and nourish their relationship with art and literature. I believe that through art and literature we transcend, evolve, and bridge seemingly different worlds. Art is essential to the nourishment of our souls; it is as essential as relationships and love. Al rato!

I Don’t Need No Stinking Roses by Olga García Echeverría

My writing roots stretch back to a tiny one-bedroom apartment that I shared with six siblings in East Los Angeles. Our home stood a few yards from the edge of the 710 freeway, where the never-ending roar of the speeding cars was our perpetual soundtrack. In our tight living quarters where hand-me-downs were the norm, there were few things I could claim as my own--writing was one of them.

As an adolescent, I created my first journal by stapling a stack of papers together with a title page that meant to say “Diary,” but since I was a terrible speller it read “Dairy.” Despite my rancho spelling errors, words on paper gave me then what they still give me now—testimony. I write, therefore I know I’m here.

We had few books at home when I was growing up, so my “literary classics” were telenovelas, ghost stories, El Cucui, La Llorona, and the family drama that never ceased to unfold. There were also the robust sensory details of barrio life--fearless cucarachas, chickens in the backyard, a Nina Simone record stolen from the local library (sorry!), Funky Town grooves blasting on an old record player, and the occasional slaughtered pig being dragged into the kitchen by my father who made and sold homemade chorizo. Poetry was everywhere—in the thundering freeway roar that I pretended was an ocean, in the mish-mash of English and Spanish, in the smell of frying tripas, in the eyes of the severed pig that greeted us when we opened the refrigerator door. These are the things that rooted me in poetry, instilling in me a love of language, details, and stories.

I look forward to sharing many words and thoughts with La Bloga. In particular I’m interested in seeking beauty and art in obscure places and exploring creative topics that may otherwise go under the radar. Hasta la próxima, I bid you all peace and poetry.

Olga Garcia
Astrological Sign: Ultra Libra
Zodiac Year: Qui Quiri Quiiiii!

Olga García Echeverría was born and raised in East Los Angeles, California. She has a BA in Ethnic Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso. Currently, she teaches ESL to adult immigrants in Koreatown and English to high students via the Upward Bound Program. Her first book, Falling Angels: Cuentos y Poemas, was published by Calaca Press and Chibcha Press in September of 2008.

foto: Weenobee.com

Tatiana de la Tierra

Astrological sign: Tauro (Sun & Moon)
Zodiac year: Ox
Occupation: librarian and writer
Location: Long Beach, California
Born in Villavicencio, Colombia and raised in Miami, Florida, tatiana de la tierra is a bicultural writer whose work focuses on identity, sexuality, and South American memory and reality. She has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso and a Master of Library Science from University at Buffalo. She is author of For the Hard Ones: A Lesbian Phenomenology / Para las duras: Una fenomenología lesbiana and the chapbooks Porcupine Love and Other Tales from My Papaya and Píntame Una Mujer Peligrosa. http://delatierra.net foto: Hillary Crook.

Liz Vega
Astrological Sign: Scorpio
Zodiac Year: Rooster

Liz Vega works in education and is an avid supporter of the arts. When she is not juggling students or her two daughters, she is immersed in poetry, prose, or film. She was born and raised in East L.A., but in typical Mexican migratory fashion she moved back and forth between the U.S. and Mexico while growing up. Her formal education was marked by marijuana-growing nuns in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, bilingual classrooms in East Los Angeles, the sink or swim methods of a New England preppy boarding high school, and finally Cornell University, where she earned a degree in Human Development and Family Studies with a concentration in gerontology. Liz is currently putting her degree and concentration to good use as she is sandwiched between the needs of her aging parents and raising a family.

La Bloga welcomes your comments on this, and every post. Share your comments by clicking on the Comments counter below. La Bloga welcomes Guest Columnists, as you can see. If you'd like to be our guest, to share an extended response to a La Bloga column, your own review of a book, arts, or other cultural event, click here to discuss your invitation.

In Search of Wise Latinas

by Annette Leal Mattern


Even Anderson Cooper is Tweeting about them, these “wise Latinas,” as though they are a rare discovery. CNN managed to convene a panel of them by gathering noted journalists from Spanish media and other accomplished Latinas . . . evidently an uncommon assemblage the network considered newsworthy.

I’m not sure what Sonia Sotomayor intended when she first spoke those words about a wise Latina making better decisions, but I do know that the naysayers in Congress are desperate to make something out of nothing, mostly because they can’t find anything more offensive to block her appointment to the Supreme Court. Truth be told, I’m amused to see the Capitol Hill Boys Club choking on how to raise their objections, dancing gingerly around their arguments for fear of being branded by a racial hot potato.

But what is fascinating is their fascination with the phrase “wise Latina.”

I’ve thought a lot about that word “wise,” mostly because my mother made me. The dictionary defines it as having the ability to discern properly what is right. And “wisdom” is that knowledge coupled with sound judgment. People who are wise exhibit sense, understanding, and enlightenment. To my mother, it was imperative that I understand that life was full of choices – the challenge was to make the wise one.

So back to the Congressmen’s question: Do wise Latinas make better decisions? Although Sotomayor is trying to defuse her opponents’ obsession with this off-hand statement, I believe the answer is yes. Yes, because a wise Latina has to deal with more obstacles - from perception to prejudice - than did her white male counterparts. Just getting to the starting gate tempers Latinas differently.

Without question, Sotomayor is an Obama-esque success story. But, what seems lost in the chatter is not just what she became, but whom. The tenacity, commitment, conviction and perseverance it takes to rise to the top of any field as a Latina is tremendous. There are no fast-tracks, no network, no club. Sotomayor had to discover her own human potential without insights or experience, for she is living a life her mother could never have imagined, a parallel universe in which an immigrant’s daughter stood before the world court of opinion and emerged triumphant.

Talking about Sonia Sotomayor has raised the conversation about Latinas everywhere. Hopefully, our national scotoma about this vibrant, intelligent sector of our society will be healed and opportunity will embrace these newly discovered wise Latinas.

Regardless, history now knows the face of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who stood before them, being judged by them - not the fiery, hot-tempered Latina they might have hoped to elicit - but the calm, composed, exceptionally competent professional.

And yes, Sonia, in many cases you will make better decisions.

_____________________

About Annette Leal Mattern

Annette held numerous corporate leadership positions with Fortune 100 companies where she championed development of minorities for upper management. She received the National Women of Color Technology Award for Enlightenment for diversity achievements and was recognized by Latina Style and Vice President Gore as one of the most influential Latinas in American business. In 2000, she left the corporate world to devote herself to women's cancer causes. She published a book, Outside The Lines of love, life, and cancer, to help others cope with the disease. She has also published in Hispanic Engineer and several other media. She serves on the board of directors of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance and founded the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Arizona, for which she serves as president. She also writes for www.EmpowHer.com and is a motivational speaker on survivorship.

Ficción Rápida #2

Copyright 2009 by Manuel Ramos. All rights reserved.


Three more laps around the writer’s block. For Ficción Rápida #1, go here.

LOST

I steered her car to the ramshackle gas station that surprised us by being open at midnight.

“I’ll see about a motel.” She didn’t respond.

A tall, skinny young man with a receding hairline slouched behind the counter, surrounded by beer nut packages and car deodorizers. I asked if there was a place to spend the night. He pointed at a sign on the wall that advertised the Dew Drop Inn Motel – newly renovated and the last chance for a hundred miles.

“That’s all we got around here. It’s about a mile up the road, the way you was headin’.”

“How about the highway to the city?”

“You goes the other direction. Make a u-turn, then left at the crossroads. Five miles more or less.”

“Is there a back way out of here?” He paused, stood up straight, pointed again.

I handed him two twenty dollar bills. “Fill it up for her. Keep the change. Tell her how to get to the freeway.” I walked out the back door and ran to the Dew Drop Inn.

FIGHT

When David was eight he watched Al pick on Fatty Lombardi until Fatty punched Al. The fight was over in less than three minutes. Al bled from his nose and upper lip and whimpered all the way home.

As Al lay dying in the hospital, David reminded his brother about the fight.

“Why bring that up now?” Al asked.

“I felt like hitting you myself. You asked for it and then you couldn’t handle it. I lost respect for you.”

“Because of that damn fight? We were kids, David.”

David shrugged and looked away. “You were my older brother.”

Al reached for his brother’s hand. He never found it.

FORENSICS

Alvarez sighed. The blood-spattered scene was too familiar. His knees cracked as he examined the woman’s bruised and battered corpse. TV cops made jokes about dead bodies, black humor to show how tough they were. Alvarez never joked.

His partner, Copeland, read from her notes. “Some of this you know already. Lupe Vargas. Forty-eight. Unemployed, some kind of disability payment each month. Her daughter said that she came home this morning about six, after work, and found her mother. The daughter’s a waitress at the twenty-four hour diner around the corner. Taking it hard. Lupe had a boyfriend about three months ago. Tommy Levin, a truck driver who’s on the road, not expected back until the weekend. Not many other friends. The old lady next door, who heard nothing, of course. What else? Yeah, the M.E. estimates T.O.D. around eleven last night. That’s all I got.”

“Was she a good mother?”

“Uh, not something I would know, Ben. Why do you ask? You think the daughter’s hinky?”

“No.” He sighed again. “We should talk to the truck driver. I made some calls while you were here with the M.E. Levin’s schedule changed this week, first time in years that he’s been on the road for more than two days at a time. The trucking company faxed me the manifest. The way his route worked out he had to double back. If he drove all night, fast, he could have been in town around midnight, maybe a little earlier.”

Copeland shook her head, once again impressed. “Now we just got to find evidence to back up your theory.”

“We’ll get it. We always do.” He sighed a third time.

“So why ask whether she was a good mother? Just curious?”

He stood up and peeled off the department-issue latex gloves. He stepped gingerly around the body but he could not ignore the smears on the wall and the stench in the air.

“Yeah. Curious.”

______________________________________________________

In case I haven't mentioned it, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of The Lineup #2 - Poems on Crime. Excellent stuff as well as a contribution from me entitled The Smell of Onions.

Watch for our special guests on Sunday, July 26: poets Olga Garcia, Tatiana de la Tierra, and making her writing debut, Liz Vega. Give them a big welcome to La Bloga bright and early Sunday morning.

Next week I'll have the schedule for the Thirteenth Annual Chicano Music Festival (August 6 - 9).

Ya'all come back, ya' hear?


Later.

Sandra Posadas, Vida Bella y La Voz Puertorriquena

Gente: I met Sandra many years ago, when we were both doing very different things....While our paths diverged, it looks like we both found our way to making art. Here's at look at a local women in the arts and an up and coming Latino theater group in Chicago.

Sandra Posadas is a second generation Puerto Rican woman born and bred in Humboldt Park, Chicago, Illinois. She is a teacher, published artist/illustrator, actress; cast member of the Vida Bella Ensemble, artisan; creator of Coqueta Creations by PiXie- a jewelry line for women. Sandra has been a Bilingual educator within the Chicago Public Schools for 12 years and was recently nominated for the Illinois Golden Apple Award. She's also an educator of teachers, and has presented her progressive early childhood approach to curriculum development and implementation at a variety of teacher conferences throughout Chicago. Sandra successfully co-wrote her first production, "Brown Girls Singing" which was successfully staged at University of Chicago and Jane Addams' Hull House.

Sandra performs her poetry at various Chicago venues and has presented her art work at various local venues including the University of Illinois @ Chicago Symposium for Women of Color in 2008. She holds a B.A. from Roosevelt University and is currently a working on her M.A. in Bilingual/ Bicultural Education at DePaul University. Sandra believes strongly in that art can educate. Through her poetry, canvasses, and performances. She believes in using art as knowledge and transformation so that all participants and spectators examine themselves in relation to their place in society. Through different modalities that she uses, whether visual, interactive, or the performing arts, the audience can explore, reflect, analyze and transform the reality in which they are living.

The Brown Girls’ Chronicles: Puerto Rican Women and Resilience
Written & directed by Yolanda Nieves, executive producer Mike Oquendo

Vida Bella Ensemble is thrilled to announce its upcoming performance of The Brown Girls' Chronicles: Puerto Rican Women and Resilience was SOLD OUT. Written and directed by author/playwright Yolanda Nieves, “The Brown Girls' Chronicles” are the stories of second generation Chicago Puerto Rican women who in their daily lives embody the struggle for independence of mind, soul, heart and body. The three-night run of “The Brown Girls’ Chronicles” will took place at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts. The production will be mounted again, in Fall 2009. Check the group's myspace page for more info.

Following audience acclaim and a previous sold-out run in March, the May performances mark the second sold-out run of The Brown Girls’ Chronicles: Puerto Rican Women and Resilience. “I stand in awe of the support…” shares director Yolanda Nieves, “This play is a testament to the intelligence, beauty and resilience of who Latinas are.” The May performances took place May 28-30, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. in the 140-seat West Town Studio Theater at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green Street in Chicago.

# # #

About Vida Bella Ensemble: Vida Bella Ensemble is an all Latin, all-female Chicago-based collective of inter-generational artists committed to communicating the stories of the trials and triumphs of the urban woman. In collaborative partnership the stories of such experiences are told through the performance of poetry, dialogue, monologue, song and movement. For more information about Vida Bella Ensemble visit www.myspace.com/browngirlschronicles or email browngirlschronicles@gmail.com.

About Director Yolanda Nieves: Award winning Chicago poet, author and playwright Yolanda Nieves uses the power of verse and the written word to teach and inspire. An accomplished writer, her work has been extensively published by college/university and independent presses and journals around the country. Her newest book, “Dove Over Clouds” (Plainview Press, 2007) has again garnered her acclaim for the themes revolving around the issues of race, gender, class and colonialism as it relates to the Puerto Rican/Afro-Puerto Rican Diaspora. Her work captures the spirit of hope, shaped by her Puerto Rican heritage, growing up in Chicago’s Humboldt Park and by the direct impact of women impressed upon her. Performing her poetry and plays in Chicago and all over the world, her performances have received great acclaim in England, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

She’s the founder and artistic creator of Vida Bella Ensemble performance troupe. Her collection of artistic work gives audiences the clarity of the experiences of women, mothers and immigrants. Full of passion and candor, she inspires audiences to expand their understanding of their own lives and the inspiration for them to tell their own stories. Yolanda resides in Chicago’s Humboldt Park and teaches at Wilbur Wright Community College.

About Executive Producer Mike Oquendo: Mike Oquendo combines his love of live arts and his production experience to produce over 70 shows a year in both the Chicagoland area and throughout the country. Creator of the "Mikey O Comedy Show,” Mike is a prominent force in independent productions. His shows and events have been featured on local TV, radio and print media including coverage by Telemundo, WGN-TV, People en Español, TimeOut Chicago, Chicago Reader and Metromix.

Two notable accomplishments include sitting on the Board of Governors for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences which produced the first Latin Grammy's in 2001, and being a concept contributor on three HBO Latino specials in 2006. Mike was a production consultant for the Adler Planetarium’s "Luna Cabana Series" and the International Latino Film Festival, positions he held for 6 years respectively. Mike is particularly proud of continually raising funds for non-profit organizations that provide services and programs to Latino and non-Latino communities.


Lisa Alvarado

Children's Book Press- Videos

Lorraine García-Nakata is the Publisher & Executive Director of Children's Book Press. In this video, Lorraine discusses the power of the written word and how Children's Book Press has changed lives.



Dana Goldberg is the Executive Editor of Children's Book Press. In this video, she discusses some of the Press' achievements, and the evolution of its publishing program.



My Papa Diego and Me / Mi papá Diego y yo is a bilingual picture book published by Children's Book Press. This intimate collection of stories by Guadalupe Rivera Marín and artwork by her father, Diego Rivera, reveal the pleasures and mysteries of a childhood spent with a larger-than-life master artist. In this video, Guadalupe Rivera Marín discusses what inspired her to create this book, and what she hopes readers will learn from it.

Review: Havana Fever.

Leonardo Padura. Translated by Peter Bush. Havana Fever. London (UK): Bitter Lemon Press, 2009.
ISBN: 978-1-904738-36-7

Michael Sedano

Havana Fever burns with resentment that Cuba’s ruined culture shows itself in every vestige of its modern form. Whole barrios given over to crime and desperation, a city whose collapsed and patchwork buildings reflect society’s structural failure that began with Batista’s overthrow. Decaying mansions are little different from outrageous underclass brothels, the one stripped of anything saleable, the other sold out by the revolution. There’s no love lost between Leonardo Padura and official Cuba. But these things have become commonplaces of Cuban exile writers.

What sets Havana Fever apart from other Cuban exile novels is Padura’s absence of malice. His lead character, Mario Conde, isn’t looking to clean up crime, corruption, morality. He’s been retired from the police for ten years now. Conde’s retirement, in his late 40s, has come about because his old boss was railroaded into retirement and Conde acted to protest the injustice. Padura shares this information in a small plot divagation. Conde doesn’t regret the history, he wastes no emotion in lamentation, not for the public, commodity shortages, blackmarketeering, nor police corruption.

Today, the Count sells books and leaves the world as he finds it, to its own devices. But out of the blue, a gut feeling burns through his chest when he stumbles upon a Cuban equivalent of the ancient Library of Alexandria.

The novel will delight bibliophiles with its description of the Montes de Oca library: the earliest book published in Cuba, nineteenth century treatises featuring hand colored engraved plates, first editions of laureates of Cuban poetry—autographed. Conde could defraud the clueless owners but instead gives them a fair price, and points out the rarest volumes that must not be sold.

Such nobility cannot go unpunished. Leafing through a cookbook filled with impossible recipes, Conde finds a folded rotogravure photo from the 1950s of a gorgeous nightclub singer wrapped in gold lamé, Violeta del Rio. Conde falls in love not solely owing to her allure but because the photo awakens a dim memory and that nagging gut feeling that something is not right.

The magazine page leads Conde on the trail of a cold case murder dating back to the heydey of Havana nightlife. Batista gets the boot, sending his gangster business partners, along with rich Cubanos, in headlong flight with whatever dollars remain of their riches, leaving behind their mansions to fall into rot. One such Cubano, Alcides Montes de Oca, scion of a respected family de nombre, had fallen head over heels with the alluring Lady of the Night, bolero singer Violeta del Rio. The rich man flees in 1960, without Violeta del Rio. Because police have their hands full investigating counterrevolutionary terrorist violence, the singer’s death by cyanide remains an open case.

Montes de Oca leaves behind the fabulous library, the devastated mansion, and three caretakers, his dedicated personal assistant and her two children—Montes de Oca’s children carrying the surname of a chauffeur to keep up appearances. The novel follows Conde from sympathy for the emaciated brother and sister to suspicion that one of them withholds secrets to unlock the mysterious death of the almost forgotten singer. On the trail, the detective tracks down a musiciologist who identifies the single recording of Violeta del Rio, the singer’s top rival--a once-ravishing beauty now a sadly vain old woman holding in bitterness at her fifty year old feud, and another wizened body formerly known as Lotus Flower--a sensational nude dancer and high-class madam, who gladly shows off a portrait of her young self in costume.

The mystified Conde calls upon all his resources to resolve events the reader already knows from letters interjected into the narrative. Mysterious love letters by Nena to her Love parallel Conde’s investigation. Love is definitely Montes de Oca. Nena is not a character in the story and there’s some fun to be had in guessing her name. The letters allude to the events Conde has not yet tracked, filling in some details, offering misinformation here and there, but eventually spelling out the killer’s identity, and Nena’s. It’s a fun bit of dramatic irony, with added irony, Conde will never read the letters, the poisoner having destroyed them.

Beyond weaving an engaging mystery, crafting vivid tours of battered barrios, sentimental interviews that evoke that earlier hustle and bustle, Havana Fever reminds a reader of the inevitability of getting old. And its consequences. Conde has lost a step, in fact gets his ass kicked viciously because he loses focus. Conde’s best friend, Skinny Carlos, is killing himself with food, alcohol, and as much excess as a paraplegic shot in Angola can muster. Carlos deserves a happy ending, Conde reasons, and spends lavishly to bring rich food and quality rum to regular late night bullsessions.

Cuba is aging too, but not as well. The old are starving to death and when they’re gone, memories of the old days will be gone with them. While the old order changes it yields place to ever more bullshit, corruption, drugs. The gaps grow between then and now. And what can one do about it? Make compromises, survive, hold to your principles. They are their own reward. Or, one can leave, disappear from involvement in whatever comes next. Or, one can give in.

A final thought on publishing emerges in the British English of the translation. Cars have boots and bonnets, an envelope contains a pair of black and white winkle-pickers, and several colloquialisms drive my curiosity what Padura’s Spanish actually read. These linguistic lacunae aside, Peter Bush offers a masterful completely readable text that flows with a beautiful vocabulary and a clean sense of authenticity. Readers who have enjoyed Conde’s earlier stories, notably the Havana color series, Black, Red, Blue, and Gold novels, will find this story of the aging Conde a capstone to the series. In an afterword, Padura reveals he’s been working on movie versions of his work, and that is fabulous news. Read the books, read Havana Fever, and you can join those discussions one day, “it didn’t happen like that in the book, but…”

And that's the penultimate Tuesday in July, 2009, a Tuesday like any other Tuesday, except You Are Here. Thank you for visiting La Bloga.

mvs

La Bloga welcomes your comments on this and all columns. Click the comments counter below to share your views. La Bloga welcomes guest columnists. If you have alternative views to this or another column, or a cultural/arts event to report, perhaps something from your writer's notebook, click here to discuss your invitation to be our guest.

Be sure to visit La Bloga this Sunday, July 26, when our Guest Columnists will be poets Olga Garcia, Tatiana de la Tierra, and making her writing debut, Liz Vega.

Attacks on Sotomayor Unwarranted

Guest essay by Álvaro Huerta

I’m baffled that some Republicans have viciously attacked Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

Too often I’ve heard Republicans talk about the lack of the so-called Protestant work ethic in minority communities and how if only poor minorities worked harder, pursued higher education and stopped depending on government welfare programs, then, they too could achieve the American Dream.

But what happened when President Obama appointed the exact type of hard-working and ambitious individual that these Republicans say they admire—the pull-yourself-by-the-boot-straps ideal—to replace retiring Justice Souter on the Supreme Court?

Instead of applauding someone with Ivy League degrees from Princeton and Yale Law School, someone with 17 years of experience on the federal bench, someone with the highest rating from the American Bar Association, many Republicans have engaged in a smear campaign aimed at portraying Judge Sotomayor as biased and outside of the mainstream.

Prior to [last] week’s hearings, the de facto leaders of the dysfunctional Republican Party, which includes former Speaker Newt Gingrich, political commentator Pat Buchanan and talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh, portrayed Judge Sotomayor as a racist and radical judge.

At the hearings, Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, such as Senators’ Jeff Sessions (R-Ala), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C), Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) and Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), acted as if they had the moral high ground on the issue of prejudice. This is the same Republican Party that opposed many of the major civil rights laws in the past forty-five years.

While the Republican members did show more restraint when directly questioning Judge Sotomayor compared to rightwing commentators on talk radio and Fox News, they still played a divisive game by harping on Sotomayor’s “wise Latina” remark, even after she herself had backed off it. Laughably, the senators attempted to portray themselves paragons of impartiality.

Something is wrong with this picture.

I hope most Americans will recognize and renounce the condescending line of questioning by these Senators. It should not be lost on the American public that here we had a few privileged white men standing in judgment of a highly accomplished female member of a minority group that has historically been exploited for low-wage work, segregated in inner-cities and treated as second class in this country.

Sotomayor was absolutely correct when she said, “We’re not robots.” She explained what should have been obvious to the Senators: “Life experiences have to influence you.” But she insisted that “the law is what commands the result,” not your feelings or life experiences, which a judge must put aside.

Senator Sessions, who led the charge against Sotomayor, himself has a history of making prejudiced comments, a history that prevented him from being approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee two decades ago for a U.S. district court judgeship. For instance, he called white civil rights lawyers “race traitors” and said he used to think the Ku Klux Klan was OK until he found out some members smoked marijuana.

Maybe his own life experiences and prejudices have been influencing him too much. He should put them aside—not flaunt them at the hearings.

The Senate Judiciary Committee and the entire Senate should confirm the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. She has proven—with her impressive record and her calm and thoughtful presentation at the hearings this week—that she is eminently qualified for the job.

[This essay originally appeared in The Progressive.]

Álvaro Huerta is a doctoral student at the University of California Berkeley and a visiting scholar at UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center.

Thania in Santiago, Chile - travelogue

Under the influence of books
- guest posting from our world traveler Thania Muñoz, of La Semana Negra fame.

The first time I set foot in Chile was three years ago. I made the decision to study abroad in my third year of college when I was starting my Spanish major. I was part of the California State University one-year student exchange program.

I still remember how interesting and exciting my first Spanish literature classes in college were. I wanted to be reading and re-reading all the time. Even though I have been close to literature most of my life, I felt as if I was behind, that I needed to read so much more, and I did. I read books that weren’t in the classes’ syllabi, searching for new, young authors and writing summaries of each book I read.

One of my professors noticed my interest and lent me Isabel Allende’s My invented country: a memoir. This book is a wonderful memoir about the author’s native country Chile. After reading this book I decided that I needed to go to Chile and see with my own eyes what she had described. My first trips to Latin America, imaginary of course, had started through books, but now I was ready to start my first REAL trip.

Excitedly, I approached the international office of my university. They had millions of places to choose from like China, Hawaii, England, México, but none in my native country, like Querétaro, Hidalgo, Guadalajara, excited me. I wanted to go to Chile; I wanted to go to that faraway country shaped like a skinny, bitten chile. I confess: it wasn’t only Allende’s book that made me want to go to the southern cone--as we call the southern part of the continent--it was also that it was very far away; I wanted to be there in South America where most of my favorite books had been written.

After visiting the international office a few times, I found out Chile’s student exchange program was a whole year long, not one semester or summer session, as I had originally planned for. I didn’t feel ready to be away for such a long time, in a strange city, in a foreign country. For a week I debated the idea of being away from my family, friends, professors and my warm life in sunny California. But I was twenty-two, almost done with college, working part-time at a retail store and hanging out at local coffee shops. I didn’t have much to lose. Even before telling my parents, I started filling out the paperwork at the international office.

I wish to keep to myself all the family drama that started because of this decision. Oh, ok, I’ll share the obvious: yes, my father was scared. He didn’t believe a “young” girl could be safe in a foreign country. My mother cursed books (sometimes she stills does). She couldn’t believe I had made a decision, based on a book by some “lady,” as she commonly referred to Isabel Allende.

Nonetheless, I wanted to go and nothing scared me: not long essays that I had to write to prove I was capable of studying away in prestigious, not the all-Spanish-speaking university (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), not the selecting committee interview, nor embassy, financial aid workshops, angry parents and voltage converters. After being selected by the international office as one of the deserving participants of Chile’s student exchange program, I cried. My dream was, little by little, becoming a reality.

I still remember the chills I felt when I stepped out of the Santiago’s airport three years ago. When I arrived early June, coming from a Californian summer to a South American winter, it was a drastic change. The first weeks were full of long and cold walks around the city. I got lost every time I stepped out of the house, but I asked for directions, even though most of time they weren’t good directions. I enjoyed getting lost or sitting on a bench staring at a map, completely overwhelmed by the city's complexity, but happy I could walk anywhere, take a very clean, reliable underground metro or a yellow bus driven by a fast and impatient driver.

The classes I took at “la Católica,” as the university is commonly called, were completely different from my literature classes in California. I took all Chilean-related literature classes, history, politics and culture. I read everything I got my hands on and enjoyed every minute I spent at school. I won’t lie, I also enjoyed going out with friends to bars and having a “piscola” (a mixed drink: Chile’s aguardiente called pisco mixed with coke or sprite).

I met wonderful people. Classmates not only helped me in school, but took me out to traditional Chilean places in Santiago; talked to me about their country’s poetry for hours (as if their life depend it on it), taught me Chilean idioms, invited me to their home to have “once” (a light meal in the afternoon: tea or coffee and bread, “marraqueta”, with cheese or jelly) or to a party that lasted until seven in the morning.

Was Chile all Isabel Allende had led me to believe? Was I happy I had traveled to a far away place led by a book? Answer to the first question: No. To the second: Yes. Allende’s book was a memoir; it was written from the heart, it was her own Chile and her “invented” country. The one I got to know was a lot different, and I loved it. I enjoyed every step I took in that noisy South American city, every bite of its delicious cuisine, every poem I read in class, or outside, every conversation, every Chilean landmark I set foot on and more.

I was happy, and still am, that my real travels were initiated by descriptions in a book by some “lady”, as my mom will say. It was a wonderful year abroad; an exciting time away from California’s coffee shops and retail stores. That is why I did it again.

I’m in South America right now, collecting new memories. Now, will the second time around be as exciting as the first time? Probably not, but I know Santiago de Chile all too well, and I’m sure it still holds some secrets it can’t wait to tell me.

Saludos y abrazos desde bien lejos!
Thania Munoz

Women of Conscience to Desert Rebels

BOOKS
all blurbs from the publishers

Mujeres de Conciencia/ Women of Conscience
Spanish English parallel text and photography by VictoriaL Alvarado
Floricanto Press, 2008

This is an art book with magnificent black and white photos of prominent Latinas who have made definite and long standing contribution to the Hispanic community and the country at large. This photographic essay constitutes an important collective biography as well, with great journalistic insight and integrity into the lives of leading Latina women in the fields of education, science, literature, business, law, the arts, journalism, politics, and other fields of endeavor. This coffee table monograph, which has been published with art-book quality as a collector's edition, provides stunning artistic, B&W photographs of each subject with a parallel biographic journalistic essay in Spanish and English. The biographies explore the life-changing events of each subject, the personal mix of elements, circumstances, and values which allowed these women to set goals and objectives toward most successful careers and contributions to society. There are 72 leading women included in this collective biography and an extraordinary photographic essay offering the most incredible array of role models to inspire, guide and motivate young Latinas. This title is an important addition to reference collections and individual libraries for they are testament to the vision and values of la mujer Latina.

Recommended to La Bloga by Lucha Corpi. Go here for a list of the women in this project. Quite impressive.

Sweet Mary

Liz Balmaseda

Atria, July 2009

In this mesmerizing debut novel by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Liz Balmaseda, one woman's hunger for justice becomes a journey into darkness -- and a punishing, soul-searching test of priorities.

Dulce Maria "Mary" Guevara is a woman with nothing left to lose. Wrongly accused of being a cocaine queen, she has lost her job, her reputation, and -- worst of all -- custody of her son. Even after the charges are dropped, suspicion lingers. Desperate to get it all back, she takes what she considers the only path open to her: She goes on a hunt for the real drug queen. Unfortunately, the one person she believes can help her is the last person she wants to see again: Joe Pratts, her ex-fiancé, a man whose connections to the drug world once ended their relationship.

Trying not to fall for Joe again is just the beginning of Mary's challenges, however. Her search leads her through the most deceiving of jungles: suburbia. There, she comes face-to-face with disturbing realities that challenge everything she thinks she knows about her formerly tranquil life. Mary's final dilemma hits closer to home than she ever imagined.

Sweet Mary is a gripping, heartrending story with a noir soul and plenty of surprising twists -- an assured debut from a writer with tremendous experience and talent.

Liz Balmaseda (born January 17, 1959, Puerto Padre, Cuba) is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a writer for The Palm Beach Post and a former columnist for The Miami Herald. She was awarded her first Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1993 for her writings on the plight of Haitian refugees and the Cuban-American population. She shared a second Pulitzer for breaking-news reporting in 2001, for the coverage of the federal raid to seize refugee Elián González.



Alone in the Crowd: An Inspector Espinosa Mystery

Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza

Henry Holt and Co., July 2009

Inspector Espinosa unwittingly ignites the obsessions of a menacing misanthrope in the latest from the highly acclaimed mystery author.

An elderly lady approaches the front desk at the Twelfth Precinct in Copacabana and demands to speak with the chief. Tired after a long day, she leaves without further explanation, promising to return. Two hours later, Doña Laureta is dead, and witnesses’ accounts vary as to whether she was pushed or fell in front of the bus that killed her on one of the busiest avenues in the city.

Veteran police chief inspector Espinosa quickly pinpoints a suspect in Hugo Breno, an unassuming bank teller whose solitary existence takes on a sinister cast as he shadows the inspector’s movements across the city. Meanwhile Espinosa discovers an unsettling connection from the past between himself and Breno, and must turn his trademark psychological inquiry inward to determine how murky memories of a murder from long ago might play into Doña Laureta’s untimely passing. Chilling and ultimately heart-stopping, Alone in the Crowd presents Espinosa as we have never seen him before, the man of detached expertise and calm self-assurance entangled in a mystery where reason alone will not suffice.

Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza is a bestselling novelist who lives in Rio de Janeiro. His Inspector Espinosa mysteries—The Silence of the Rain, December Heat, Southwesterly Wind, A Window in Copacabana, Pursuit, and Blackout—have been translated into six languages and are available in paperback from Picador.


A Happy Marriage
Rafael Yglesias
Scribner, July 2009


A Happy Marriage is both intimate and expansive: It is the story of Enrique Sabas and his wife, Margaret, a novel that alternates between the romantic misadventures of the first weeks of their courtship and the final months of Margaret's life as she says good-bye to her family, friends, and children -- and to Enrique. Spanning thirty years, this achingly honest story is about what it means for two people to spend a lifetime together -- and what makes a happy marriage.

Yglesias's career as a novelist began in 1970 when he wrote an autobiographical novel at sixteen, hailed by critics for its stunning and revelatory depiction of adolescence. A Happy Marriage, his first work of fiction in thirteen years, was inspired by his relationship with his wife, Margaret, who died in 2004. Bold, elegiac, and emotionally suspenseful, even though we know what happens, Yglesias's beautiful novel will break every reader's heart -- while encouraging all of us with its clear-eyed evocation of the enduring value of marriage.

MUSIC

Coming From Reality
Rodriguez
Light In The Attic, 2009 (1971)

I recently picked up this CD because I read an article about a Chicano hippie (Sixto Rodriguez) from Detroit who was compared to Dylan back in the 1970s. Hey, I like it. This guy's music will grow on you. He's getting a lot of press now, apparently more than he ever got back when he recorded these songs. Check out Rolling Stone and Oxford American. I admit I didn't know about him and it seems strange that I missed him back when I collected everything that had any hint of Chicanismo - music, books, art. Second chances are great.

Here's what his record company says about him:

Back in 1971, Coming From Reality was Rodriguez's last gasp, the follow-up to Cold Fact and the final album he was allowed to record for the Sussex label. Unearthed, once again, by Light In The Attic Records, it's another treat for fans new and old, designed - at the time - as Rodriguez's vision of a perfect pop album. Coming From Reality found Rodriguez decamping from Detroit to London's Lansdowne Studios, where the album was recorded with some of the UK's top talent including Chris Spedding (Sex Pistols, Dusty Springfield, Harry Nils son) and producer Steve Rowland (The Pretty Things, PJ Proby and the man who discovered The Cure), who recalls Coming From Reality as his favourite ever recording project. Highlights include the super-poppy "To Whom It May Concern", the "Rocky Raccoon"-inspired "A Most Disgusting Song" and period piece "Heikki's Suburbia Bus Tour". The CD reissue also includes three previously unreleased bonus tracks recorded in Detroit in 1972 with Cold Fact collaborators Mike Theodore & Dennis Coffey, representing the last thing they ever did together. Meanwhile, the Rodriguez story keeps gathering pace. A Swedish documentary company are working on a feature length documentary about the enigmatic performer's life and music, and Rodriguez is planning to bring his live show to the UK and Europe come Spring/Summer 2009, along with further North America touring. "It's an extraordinary trip," says Rodriguez of his new lease on life. "It feels like Picasso, Monet. All these exciting new thoughts coming at me. It's global. I'm lucky to have this second chance. It's very real and totally unexpected."


Aman Iman: Water is Life
Tinariwen
World Village Music, 2007

Tuareg rebels who play the blues? Who were forced underground for years because of their lyrics and guitar virtuosity? Who created a new musical genre that is overtaking the world? How could I not like this group? Their record company agrees:

Born in a region plagued by exile, constant warfare and ceaseless droughts, the music of Tinariwen vocalizes the political plight of the Tuareg people. For over a century, these tribes of the southern Sahara have searched the barren landscape for every weapon available, be it touba swords or the words of Che Guevara and Nasser, to maintain hope in the midst of ethnic cleansing and public executions. With the dawn of 21st Century communications, the Tuaregs have turned to the global circuit. A Tinariwen song claims, “If I could sing so that those in London could hear, then the whole world would hear my song.” Tinariwen formed in 1982, but they were forced to remain underground (Mali and Algeria banned the political lyrics) until the group moved to the Malian capital of Bamako in 1999. There the ten members drew on a rebel rock sensibility, openly playing their passionate, trance-like desert blues. Soon they became musical revolutionaries, creating a new style of music called ‘Tishoumaren’, or simply ‘guitar.’ The songs of Tinariwen have become a rallying cry for Tuareg youth. In a land void of laptops and TVs, cheap cassette recordings spread hope and determination, sick of the suffering caused by armed rebellion, the music of Tinariwen is the new weapon of choice.

These guys are all over the 'net. How about this video featuring Tinariwen and Carlos Santana at the Montreux Jazz Festival - way cool.




Latino Rhythms Heritage Festival

The Denver Office of Cultural Affairs presents the Sixth Annual Latino Rhythms Heritage Festival this Saturday, July 18, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Lincoln Park (La Alma Park) at 11th and Mariposa Streets near downtown Denver. This event is free and open to the public!

The Latino Rhythms Heritage Festival highlights Latino music, dance and heritage. The 2009 list of performers includes:

Fiesta Colorado
The Rick Garcia Band
Jazz del Barrio
Sabor de la Calle

Latino Rhythms Heritage Festival is fun for the whole family! Children's activities will be provided by La Alma Recreation Center and Denver Parks and Recreation. The event will also feature food and community booths.

Free parking will be available on the Auraria Campus in Lots H & L. The festival can be accessed via light rail, exit 10th Avenue and Osage Street.

After the festival, The Rick Garcia Band will perform at Rick's Tavern, 6762 Lowell Boulevard, Denver, from 9:00 pm to 1:30 am! Information is at www.RickGarciaBand.com.


Heed the need to read.

Later.

RAISING LORITOS...

Raising a bilingual child is hard work, especially if you don't have familia close by and don't want your crío hooked to V-Me four or five hours a day... (Although, I must admit, their programming for children rocks!) So hats off to Denver's Pam Fochtman and her audiobook company, Lorito Books, which packages Spanish and bilingual children's books with audiobooks so kids can follow along in either language.

According to Fochtman, her company "is dedicated to building second language literacy and appreciation for the richness of Latino culture." For this, she insists on nothing less than perfection. I should know... Last year we recorded the audiobook of my Mimí's Parranda/La parranda de Mimí and she had me in the studio three times. The last time to insert a missing preposition! And never mind my Caribbean final "s"... Everything had to be read e-x-a-c-t-l-y as written. Now that's attention to detail. (Was I glad I hadn't written a novel!)

Anyway, check out Lorito Books here. Under new releases you'll find: Growing Up With Tamales/ Los tamales de Ana (Bilingual) hardback with CD, 35 minutes; Adivina qué soñé
(Spanish) paperback with CD, 15 minutes; El mono azul
(Spanish) paperback with CD, 21 minutes; and Nueve patas
(Spanish) paperback with CD, 28 minutes.

Another one for Denver!

Macondo 2009

Café Nostalgia

Join us for three free nights of performances, dancing and music celebrating our guest writers.

Contact: Olivia Doerge
Macondo Foundation
210-534-0517 phone
210-396-2768 cell
macondo@macondofoundation.org

Macondo Writers’ Workshop presents three nights of readings by acclaimed writers Marjorie Agosín, Ruth Behar and Pat Little Dog. Their stories speak to a longing for home, both real and imagined, in poignant poetry and prose. Marjorie Agosín and Ruth Behar’s work unites communities in conflict, building bridges between communities—Latino, Jewish, Cuban, North and South American. Pat Little Dog is a Texan writer whose down-home stories speak to the experience of people on the borderlands of society.

Wednesday, July 29
Featuring: Marjorie Agosín and Macondo Writers
Music and dance by Viva Tango
Thiry Auditorium on Stage–at Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, Texas,
from 7-9 p.m.

Thursday, July 30
Featuring: Pat Little Dog and Macondo Writers
Cantos by El Mariachi
Thiry Auditorium on Stage–at Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, Texas, from 7-9 p.m.

Friday, July 31
Featuring: Ruth Behar, Sandra Cisneros and Macondo Writers
Live Salsa music by La Orquesta Tropicante
Casa Navarro, 228 S Laredo St, San Antonio, Texas, at 7 p.m..
Seating is limited, so come early.
(In case of inclement weather, the event will be at Thiry Auditorium on Stage at OLLU.)




Macondo Foundation
The Macondo Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that organizes and hosts an annual workshop for professional writers. It originally began as a writing workshop around the kitchen table of poet and writer Sandra Cisneros in 1998. In the last decade the workshop has grown from 15 participants to more than 135 participants. The foundation also has a writer-in-residency program and continues to grow in its outreach to writers. As an association of socially-engaged writers united to advance creativity, foster generosity, and honor community, the Macondo Foundation attracts generous and compassionate writers who view their work and talents as part of a larger task of community-building and non-violent social change.

For more information about the Macondo Foundation visit our web site www.macondofoundation.org.


About the Authors

Marjorie Agosín
Marjorie Agosín is Chilean American poet whose European relatives escaped the Holocaust. She is a human rights activist and essayist whose work speaks of memories and inner reflections of home and exile. A prolific writer, author of almost twenty books of poetry, fiction and nonfiction, Agosín is also the winner of numerous international awards for her writings and activism including: the United Nations Leadership award, the Gabriela Mistral prize for life achievements and the International Latino Book Award among others. She is the Luella LaMer professor of Latin American studies at Wellelsey were she has taught for almost 24 years.

Pat Little Dog
Folklorist Pat Little Dog is foremost a Texas storyteller. Heartfelt and humorous, her poetry and prose chronicle the voices of folks on the fringe. She has received numerous awards including a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Southwest Book Award, P.E.N. Award, Dobie-Paisano Fellowship and others. She was the 2009 recipient of the Gloria Anzaldua Milagro Award, given annually by the Macondo Foundation. Her books include: Border Healing Woman: The Story of Jewel Babb, Tonics, Teas, Roots & Remedies, The God Chaser, Afoot in a Field of Men and When the Sky Splits, Birds Fly. She has written and been published in anthologies including: A Treasury of Texas Poetry, Literary Austin and Literary Dallas. She grew up as a “military brat” stationed in Germany as well as West Texas. Pat currently lives in Dale, Texas with her dog Grover and her donkey Don Quixote.

Ruth Behar
Cuban born Ruth Behar is a MacArthur Foundation Fellow. Her work revolutionized anthropology by its humanistic approach, achieving international recognition for compassionate stories about experiences in Spain, Mexico and Cuba. Reviewers say her narratives “tug at the heart” and reveal an artistry that allows her to “capture and share intimate stories while preserving their tellers’ dignity.” Her writing crosses borders and blurs genres of biography, storytelling and testimonios. Behar’s work, including her most recent book An Island Called Home: Returning to Jewish Cuba (2007), builds bridges from the island to the continent, bringing to life the stories of Jews in Cuba. She is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan and has served as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Miami. She is a member of the MacArturos collective, a recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and an emeritus member of the Executive Board of the Macondo Foundation.

Sandra Cisneros
Sandra Cisneros is the founder of the Macondo Foundation, a MacArthur Foundation Fellow and the organizer of the Latino MacArthur Fellows, los MacArturos. For over thirty years she has published poetry, novels and short stories. Her awards are several, including two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships and a Texas Medal of Arts. Her House on Mango Street (1984) is required reading in schools across the nation and recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Her books have been published across the globe.

To arrange interviews with the authors please contact Olivia Doerge, Macondo Executive Director, at (210)-534-0517 or (210)-396-2768. Photos of the authors are also available.

Macondo Writers’ Workshop
Invites You to Join A Free Seminar
for Teachers and Educators

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 4-6pm
Our Lady of the Lake University
Fine Arts Building, Rm 200
San Antonio, Texas.

Join award-winning writers Amada Irma Pérez and René Colato Laínez for this free workshop as they share their ideas, experiences and tips on using children’s books in the community to foster knowledge and understanding. Come and learn how they have transformed their children’s memories into a valuable and educational resource. Get ready to be inspired! For More Information Contact Yvette DeChavez at ydechavez@macondofoundation.org

Amada Irma Pérez is a former teacher and the author of the award-winning bilingual books Nana’s Big Surprise/Nana !Que Sorpresa!, My Very Own Room/Mi Propio Cuartito and My Diary From Here to Here/Mi Diario de Aqui Hasta Allá.

René Colato Laínez has been a bilingual elementary teacher for many years. He is also the award winning author of Waiting for Papá, Playing Lotería and I Am René. His two forthcoming books are René Has Two Last Names (Piñata Books, Fall 2009) and The Tooth Fairy Meets El Ratón Pérez (Tricycle Press, Spring 2010).

How To Write A Picture Book Manuscript

René Colato Laínez directed an excellent panel on writing picture books at the National Latino Writers Conference, and has generously provided a portion of it to VOCES. I am sure that aspiring (and published!) picture book authors will find this information extremely helpful. Read more at
http://adrianadominguez.com

Three Art Shows at East Los' Chimaya Gallery

Michael Sedano

This week has started out as a gallery week. Sunday, bloguera Ann Hagman Cardinal relates an experience with an irritating woman who made it her business to fault Cardinal's choice of clothing. Although the altercation happens in a department store rather than an art gallery, it is a fine piece of performance art that would have made a superb set of photographs.

Monday, bloguero Daniel Olivas extols the entrepreneurial treats he discovers down in the OC, Santa Ana to be exact, at Calacas, one of those welcoming mercantile and arts hot spots the internet hasn't managed to kill.

Today, I'm happy to introduce ChimMaya, a spot of entrepreneurial genius located in eastern East Los Angeles. ChimMaya has the distinction of being one of those rare eastside galleries to have gotten some ink from the Los Angeles Times. Felicidades, ChimMaya.

El Lay gente will find a trip to this Land of Nod (it is at the east of ELAC) well worth their time. Art collectors with a few thousand dollars can pick and choose from a tempting array of genuine bargains in the three shows running concurrently, 16 X 20, Duality, and Frida.

Visitors on a summer vacation jaunt into Southern California will deprive themselves of one of LA's hidden treasures if they do not find time to make the trek out the Pomona Freeway. Beverly Drive is not in Beverly Hills, but ChimMaya has all the cachet of a chicano Rodeo Drive.

In addition to artwork, Chimaya Gallery offers a dazzling array of women's accessories, particularly purses and exquisite sparkly jewelry. I ran into poet extraordinaire Olga Garcia at the register, as well as Margaret Quiñones-Perez from El Camino College, whose husband Monte Perez, of Moreno Valley College, was buying his wife a glamorous trinket. Garcia emailed me that "I had to control myself at that place yesterday. I did buy the best yellow purse ever! Unfortunately, the art was way out of my budget." My feelings exactly. If I had unlimited funds I would have bought ten or twelve of the works on display.

Ricardo Ortega's stunning pair of canvases captured many an admiring eye. The dark triple portrait expresses the model's beauty stunningly. Unfortunately, the not-dancing Shiva-like figure is so compellingly imaginative that it steals the show.

The woman in red, above, was dancing like Shiva when I happened upon her. Seeing the camera, she stopped and stepped out of the frame. "No, no," I implored, I need people in the shot." She obliged admiringly. I wish gente would realize they have more right to space than a camera. Don't duck under the lens, don't step out of the shot, don't halt your forward progress.

Ortega's wall stands alongside the Frida show featuring San Diego and Baja California artists, in the West Gallery.

The signature piece, the blue Frida illustrating the show poster, is far subtler than web colors allow. It will make you stop and stare, then come back and stop and stare again.

The Frida collection includes one stunning portrait that depicts middle-aged Frida, what she must have looked like at the end of her life, or maybe older. So many paintings, including Kahlo's own, depict her at younger ages, so this older Frida stands uniquely beauteous.

Sadly, I did not photograph this gallery, owing to close quarters and lingering gente, testimony to the enduring popularity of Frida images.

In the main and east galleries, Chimaya was opening the 16 X 20 group show featuring 32 artists. The 16" x 20" canvases hang side by side, encouraging comments and comparison of various painters' styles. This wall shows Dolores Haro, Aydee Lopez Martinez, Yolanda Gonzales, Joe Bravo. Opposite wall, not illustrated, contains additional work by Bravo, Gonzales, Ernie Herrera, and other outstanding creators.

The north gallery offers "Duality," a perplexing display of stylistic syncretism that left me scratching my head in confusion, wishing I could have engaged painter CiCi Segura Gonzales in an extended platica about her work. Filling the east wall was a large abstract canvas of colors and shapes that offers little to challenge the eye and, had this been her single contribution, would have led me to about face in search of something interesting. I have nothing against Segura's abstracts; I own a small piece bought at the now-closed Carlotta's Passion.

On the north wall she hung a circus triptych of colorful doll-like figures that resemble illustrations in a children's picture book. Although well executed, the canvases would have limited appeal to a wide audience. This was evidenced by the passersby who spent scant moments scanning the canvases.

Ni modo, I thought, when I looked to the south wall of the room where people stopped and studied, conversing excitedly about the work here. Arresting portraits. Compellingly executed, dramatic, and highly refined technique. These, too, are "circus" pieces, though the reference is irrelevant to the quality contained within the bounds of each portrait. As the artist notes in her statement, I was inspired by the photographer, Irina Ionesco, who was born into an eastern European circus and worked as a snake charmer. She challenged me to create paintings of her exotic photographs. They lent themselves well to the darker mood that runs through my small circus scenes. My abstracts capture the rhythm and color of the theme. I wish I could show you close-ups of all these, the highlight of the show, which is tough to say when I think of Shiva, most of the Frida, and numerous pieces not mentioned here. Silence on my part is no excuse on your part not to visit ChimMaya. This is a trip you owe yourself, even if just to get that fabulous yellow purse. Oh, that's right. Olga Garcia purchased that one. Better get there soon, que no?

That's the second Tuesday of July, 2009. A Tuesday like any other Tuesday, except you are here, or on your way to East Los and ChimMaya gallery and boutique. Thank you for visiting La Bloga.

Ate,

mvs

La Bloga welcomes your comments on this and all columns. Click the comments counter below to share your views. La Bloga welcomes guest columnists. If you have alternative views to this or another column, or a cultural/arts event to report, perhaps something from your writer's notebook, click here to discuss your invitation to be our guest.

Calacas in Santa Ana

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit Santa Ana and happened upon a jewel of a place called Calacas located at 324 W. 4th St., not far from the federal courthouse. What caught my eye were the wonderful Mexican and Chicano crafts, posters, clothing and books visible through the windows of the storefront. So, because I had a little time left before I had to head back to court, I wandered in and started browsing. I found a wonderful wooden box with a smiling skull (for my son) and two beautifully-crafted cards.

I eventually introduced myself to the woman behind the desk and sang the store’s praises. She smiled and introduced herself as Jackie Cordova, co-owner of Calacas. In short order, we made cultural connections including our mutual friendship with author Gustavo Arellano. In fact, the store had hosted Gustavo’s reading and signing of his most recent book, Orange County: A Personal History (Simon & Schuster). Turns out that Gustavo is a big booster of Calacas…which is no surprise. As Jackie noted, Gustavo “walks the walk” when it comes to supporting Chicano culture, particularly in his hometown.

Jackie and her husband Rudy opened the store to fulfill a dream of theirs. She said that they had traveled far and wide across southern California to folk art stores, and one day they decided that they loved the art so much, they wanted to have a store of their own. Jackie and Rudy opened Calacas in 2005, and then moved to their current location in January 2009. They strongly believe in their community, and leading by example, so they put together events, got involved in non-profits, and tried to tell the youth every chance they get that they need to be the change they want to see in “SanTana.”

In the end, the goal of Calacas is to bring together the artesanía and cultura of our heritage while keeping the traditions alive. As Jackie and Rudy put it: “We promote our culture through products made by the hands of the indigenous people of Mexico, as well as products from rising artists and business people of Southern California. Visit our store and check out our walls lined with local art and artesanía!”

I couldn’t put it better. So, visit Calacas and tell Jackie and Rudy that La Bloga sent you. And then make a purchase or two!

Calacas, Inc.
324 W. 4th St., #B
Santa Ana, CA 92701
714-662-2002; http://www.calacasinc.com/

◙ HINT FICTION: I was perusing Lisa Alvarez’s very fine litblog, The Mark on the Wall, where she has a wonderful habit of posting some of the most interesting literary opportunities. One recent post was a call for submissions for something called “hint fiction” for an upcoming W. W. Norton anthology to be edited by Robert Swartwood. Hint fiction? What the heck is that? Well, Mr. Swartwood explains:

It’s a story of 25 words or less that suggests a larger, more complex story. The thesis of the anthology is to prove that a story 25 words or less can have as much impact as a story 2,500 words or longer. The anthology will include between 100 and 150 stories. We want your best work.

Here are the submission guidelines. Submissions will open August 1. Start writing! I think it’d be great to have Raza represented in the anthology!

◙ MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The upcoming Los Angeles Latino Book & Family Festival, to be held at California State University Los Angeles (CSULA) on the weekend of October 10-11, will feature an outstanding lineup of 45 Latino authors. Read a preview here. I will be posting more on this event as we get closer to the event.

◙ IF YOU COULDN'T MAKE IT TO THE LIVE PERFORMANCE: Rancho Pancho, the acclaimed play by Gregg Barrios (which we at La Bloga have written about several times), is now available in paperback from Hansen Publishing Group. It may be ordered at your favorite bookstore or online.

◙ ART AND COFFEE INSPIRING POETRY: My poem, La Tormenta at the Lost Souls Café, appears in LatinoLA. It will be featured in my first poetry collection, Crossing the Border, that will be published in 2010 by Ghost Road Press.

◙ That’s all for now. So, in the meantime, enjoy the intervening posts from mis compadres y comadres here on La Bloga. And remember: ¡Lea un libro!

Lipstick Crunchy

Okay, so it has been made clear to me a million times over that I will never pass for a crunchy Vermonter. I will admit that though I have lived here over fifteen years now, as a displaced New York Latina I find it hard to give up some of my old, urban ways. I love make-up, high heels, and wearing lots of black clothing. I talk as fast as a Vermont summer season passes. And when I get together with my New York buddies, we could light Williston with the amount of energy we generate. Though I accept that I am different, I am still surprised at how often I am judged by my appearance. And by people who claim to be progressive. My penchant for New York fashion does not dictate my politics, or my lifestyle.

I remember an incident during my second winter in Vermont. It was one of the coldest days of the year, and I was shopping in Burlington. I was wearing red lipstick, Gucci-knock-off sunglasses, and a full-length faux fur that I bought myself for my 30th birthday. Besides being fabulous, the coat is also incredibly warm, kind of like wearing a really big bathroom rug. I stopped in to a health food store to stock up on a few things. As I walked through the aisles, I noticed an angry-looking middle-aged woman glaring at me across the organic fruits. I thought nothing of it—being so fresh from New York City I was accustomed to such things—and continued my shopping. She seemed to follow me around the store, and I began to get agitated. Finally, as we neared the check out she spat out, "Murderer! Fur-coat-wearing murderer!" I stopped, dumbfounded. Then I started to feel something rising to the surface inside my gut...yes, it was the girl from the upper west side. I hadn't needed her for over a year, so she had been sound asleep, but as my blood pressure rose, she reared her well-coiffed head. "Funny, I didn't realize that nylon pile was an endangered species!" I yelled back, adding, "If you are gonna criticize strangers honey, you damn well better learn to tell the difference between real and fake fur!" She skulked off with her animal rights-protected tail between her legs, and I worked hard to regain my New England inspired composure and let the inner New Yorker go back to her long winter's nap.

Now though I don't condone the behavior of the militant, nylon-pile activist, with age and mellowing I do recognize that I am an anomaly. I still get stared at when I walk into the Hunger Mountain Co-op with my suit, styled hair and spike heels. But truth be told, the post-hippie culture is the environment in which I feel most at home. Underneath my overly polished exterior, I am certain that these are my people. That is why I had to invent a new term to define myself. To give a name to the nameless. I am a "Lipstick Crunchy." No, this doesn't mean I wear high-heeled Birkenstocks, it means that though I may look and talk like an urban diva, in my depths I am as left-wing and crunchy as the best of them. I love tofu and brown rice. I am an anti-bias scholar who believes that all Vermont families should be treated with respect and kindness. I drive cars with no thought to their appearance, but only their gas mileage. I am a product of progressive education. I knit with natural fibers, hike every Sunday (I give up the high heels for this activity), eat granola and care about the environment.

I figure that if I haven't adapted my look or type-A personality to the comfort-oriented and laid back culture of this beautiful state by now, I probably never will. But that's okay. Perhaps there are others like me out there. Who, for whatever reason, maintain a look that is contrary to their secret lifestyles, but in their chests beat hearts of pure granola.

POC writers wanted

It means: People of color.

The Carl Brandon Society blog has been in existence almost as long as La Bloga. Their stated purpose: "dedicated to improving the visibility of people of colour in the speculative genres of science ffiction, fantasy, horror, magical realism, etc." This week in an article entitled "Magazines and Editors Who Want More Diversity in Their Slushpiles" Delia Sherman (I believe) explains how she asked magazine editors which of them was looking for more diversity in submissions to their mags.

Go here for more info.

I don't know about you, but my submissions are already sitting at the bottom of too many slush piles, as it is. I've probably received as many responses as I have never-answereds in my lifetime as a writer.

The other problem I have with announcements like this is that usually for editors on the other side of the Mississippi, color = black. Oh, maybe a PR makes it in every now and then, but Easterners sometimes don't know what a Chicano is, even after you explain it to them. "Oh, you mean you're a Mexican."

Jokes aside, Delia's mission is a noble one, and perhaps will help one of our readers to finally get that really great story published. There's a handful of well-known periodicals on the list. Go check the site.

-----------------

And the winners are:

Here are the winners of the five copies of The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos by Margaret Mascarenhas that will be provided by the Hachette Book Group. Go here for the original contest rules.

They are (more drumrolls): Emily S., Renee G, AValenzuela, BellaDonna1975 and Patti! (Yeah, I know Patti already won once, but these prizes are too hot to not share.)

If the winners will send me their U.S. surface mail address, no P.O. boxes please, Hachette Book Group will get them in the mail. (I'll also be contacting you individually.)

Our thanks to Hachette for providing these copies. And hope you enjoy them!

RudyG

FALL, 2009 - ARTE PÚBLICO

A half-dozen selections from the Arte Público Fall catalog:

Death at Solstice: A Gloria Damasco Mystery
Lucha Corpi, September

Chicana detective Gloria Damasco has a "dark gift," an extrasensory prescience that underscores her investigations and compels her to solve numerous cases. This time, the recurring vision haunting her dreams contains two pairs of dark eyes watching her in the night, a phantom horse and rider, and the voice of a woman pleading for help. But most disquieting of all is Gloria’s sensation of being trapped underwater, unable to free herself, unable to breathe.

When Gloria is asked to help the owners of the Oro Blanco winery in California’s Shenandoah Valley, she finds herself on the road to the legendary Gold Country. And she can’t help but wonder if the ever-more persistent visions might foreshadow this new case that involves the theft of a family heirloom, a pair of antique diamond and emerald earrings rumored to have belonged to Mexico’s Empress Carlota.

Soon Gloria learns that there’s more to the case than stolen jewelry. Mysterious accidents, threatening anonymous notes, the disappearance of a woman believed to be a saint, and a ghost horse thought to have belonged to notorious bandit Joaquín Murrieta are some of the pieces Gloria struggles to fit together. A woman’s gruesome murder and the discovery of a group of young women from Mexico being held against their will in an abandoned house send Gloria on a fateful journey to a Witches’ Sabbath to find the final pieces of the puzzle before someone else is killed.

Corpi weaves the rich cultural history of California’s Gold Country with a suspenseful mystery in this latest installment in the Gloria Damasco Mystery series.

In addition to poetry and mystery novels, Lucha Corpi also writes for children. In 1997, she published her first bilingual picture book, Where Fireflies Dance / Ahí, donde bailan las luciérnagas (Children’s Book Press), and The Triple Banana Split Boy / Diente dulce (Arte Público Press, 2009).


Corpi holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from UC-Berkley and an M.A. in World and Comparative Literature from San Francisco State University. A tenured teacher in the Oakland Public Schools Neighborhood Centers Program for 30 years, she retired in 2005.


Meet Me Under the Ceiba
Silvio Sirias, September

"I’m not afraid of that old man," Adela once told her niece. But everyone in the small town of La Curva, Nicaragua, knew that the wealthy land owner, Don Roque Ramírez, wanted Adela Rugama dead. And on Christmas Day, Adela disappeared. It was two months before her murdered body was found.

An American professor of Nicaraguan descent spending the summer in his parents’ homeland learns of Adela’s murder and vows to unravel the threads of the mystery. He begins the painstaking process of interviewing the townspeople, and it quickly becomes apparent that Adela—a hard-working campesina who never learned to read and write—and Don Roque had one thing in common: the beautiful Ixelia Cruz. The love of Adela’s life, Ixelia was one of Don Roque’s many possessions until Adela lured her away.

The interviews with Adela’s family, neighbors, and former lovers shed light on the circumstances of her death and reveal the lively community left reeling by her brutal murder, including: her older sister Mariela and her four children, who spent Christmas morning with their beloved aunt, excitedly unwrapping the gifts she brought them that fateful day; her neighbor and friend, Lizbeth Hodgson, the beautiful mulata who rejected Adela’s passionate advances early in their relationship; Padre Uriel, who did not welcome Adela to mass because she loved women (though he has no qualms about his lengthy affair with a married woman); her former lover Gloria, the town’s midwife, who is forever destined to beg her charges to name their newborn daughters Adela.

Through stories and gossip that expose jealousies, scandals, and misfortunes, Sirias lovingly portrays the community of La Curva, Nicaragua, in all its evil and goodness. The winner of the Chicano / Latino Literary Prize, this spellbinding novel captures the essence of a world rarely seen in American literature.

Silvio Sirias is the author of Bernardo and the Virgin (Northwestern University Press, 2007). He has also written and edited several books on Latino/a literature, including Julia Alvarez: A Critical Companion (Greenwood Press, 2001) and Conversations with Rudolfo Anaya (University Press of Mississippi, 1998). He received his doctorate in Spanish from the University of Arizona and worked as a professor of Spanish and U.S. Latino/a literature for several years before returning to live in Nicaragua in 1999. He currently lives in Panama.


Cut & Run: The Misadventures of Alex Perez
Alberto Arcia, September

Alex Perez is an aspiring writer living with his girlfriend Ramona, who feeds him, washes and irons his clothes, and gives him nice and useful gifts. All that is expected of him in return is to satisfy her unquenchable sexual urges. Her mother Charlene is paying Ramona’s bills until she graduates from college, and she thinks Alex is a free loader. He’s horrified when Charlene gives him an ultimatum: "You either marry her or I won’t put out another dime."

Quick thinker that he is, Alex negotiates a dowry: Charlene’s Mercedes Benz convertible and an all-expense-paid road trip to Panama so he can marry Ramona in the presence of his beloved mother. Soon the deal is sealed and Alex finds himself headed down the Pan American Highway with his fiancée and—much to his dismay—his future mother-in-law.

Armed with maps and an assortment of emergency rations, Alex is determined to postpone their arrival in Panama and his impending nuptials. The unlikely trio has just crossed the border when two Mexican street urchins, Junior (Jaime Buffet, Jr.) and his brother Raul, join the group. And before they know it, Alex’s delaying tactics lead the motley crew into a series of dodgy and often perilous situations frequently involving pistol-waving bandits and corrupt government officials. But it’s their efforts to free Charlene’s lover—a defrocked Guatemalan priest—from jail that leads to an even more twisted turn of events!

Their travels through Mexico, Belize and Guatemala introduce them to a slew of colorful characters, including a drunken boat captain and his blind first mate, and a Guatemalan police officer, who owns several whorehouses. Featuring a roguish protagonist with a distinct, humorous voice, Cut & Run: The Misadventures of Alex Perez is a satirical take on the clash of cultures between north and south of the U.S. border.

Alberto Arcia, a native of Panama, lives in Plantersville, Texas. Cut & Run: The Misadventures of Alex Perez is his first novel.

Rudy's Memory Walk
Gloria Velásquez, October

Rudy can’t believe it when his dad says he will have to watch his abuela while his parents go out. He shouldn't have to babysit his own grandmother! And he had plans to go out with his girlfriend, Juanita. His brother Manuel isn’t happy either, and won’t even consider watching Abuela alone.

Nothing has been going right since Abuela moved in. Manuel had to give up his own room and move into Rudy’s, and both boys are unhappy about losing their privacy. Abuela’s forgetfulness and weird behavior has everyone worried, and Rudy’s mom in particular spends lots of time crying.

When Abuela disappears one day, they can’t ignore the problem anymore. A trip to the doctor confirms what they feared: Abuela has Alzheimer’s. What are they going to do? They can’t lock her up, but they can’t be with her every minute of the day either.

As Rudy juggles everything going on in his senior year at Roosevelt High School, including his relationship with Juanita and his friends’ attempts to convince him to enroll in college, his feelings of guilt grow. He can’t help but wish he had his room to himself and that life would go back to the way it was before Abuela moved in.

Rudy’s Memory Walk is the eighth novel in Gloria Velásquez’s popular Roosevelt High School series, which features a multiracial group of teen aged students who must individually confront social and cultural issues (such as violence, sexuality, and prejudice) that young adults face today.


Gloria Velásquez is an internationally acclaimed author who holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University in Latin American and Chicano Literatures. Velásquez is the author of two collections of poetry, I Used to Be a Superwoman (Arte Público Press, 1994) and Xicana on the Run (Chusma House Publications, 2005). She is a professor in the Modern Languages and Literatures Department at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. Velásquez has also toured throughout the United States performing songs and poetry from her Superwoman Chicana CD.


René Has Two Last Names / René tiene dos apellidos
René Colato Laínez, illustrated by Fabiola Graullera Ramírez, October

"On the first day at my new school, my teacher, Miss Soria, gave me a sticker that said René Colato. The sticker was missing my second last name. Maybe Miss Soria's pen ran out of ink. I took my pencil and added it. Now it looked right: René Colato Laínez."

Young René is from El Salvador, and he doesn't understand why his name has to be different in the United States. When he writes Colato, he sees his paternal grandparents, René and Amelia. When he writes Laínez, he sees his maternal grandparents, Angela and Julio. Without his second last name, René feels incomplete, "like a hamburger without the meat or a pizza without cheese or a hot dog without a wiener."

His new classmates giggle when René tells them his name. "That's a long dinosaur name," one says. "Your name is longer than an anaconda," another laughs. But René doesn't want to lose the part of him that comes from his mother's family. So when the students are given a project to create a family tree, René is determined to explain the importance of using both of his last names. On the day of his presentation, René explains that he is as hard working as Abuelo René, who is a farmer, and as creative as his Abuela Amelia, who is a potter. He can tell stories like his Abuelo Julio and enjoys music like his Abuela Angela.

This charming bilingual picture book for children ages 4-8 combines the winning team of author René Colato Laínez and illustrator Fabiola Graullera Ramírez, and follows their award-winning collaboration, I Am René, the Boy / Soy René, el niño. With whimsical illustrations and entertaining text, this sequel is sure to please fans and gain many new ones while explaining an important Hispanic cultural tradition.


René Colato Laínez came to the United States from El Salvador as a teen, and he writes about his experiences in children’s books such as Waiting for Papá / Esperando a Papá (Piñata Books, 2004) and I Am René, the Boy / Soy René, el niño (Piñata Books, 2005), which received Special Recognition in the 2006 Paterson Prize for Books for Young People. His book, Playing Lotería / El juego de la lotería (Luna Rising, 2005), was a finalist in the 2007-2008 Tejas Star Book Award, was named to Críticas magazine’s “Best Children’s Books” of 2005 and received the 2008 New Mexico Book Award for Best Children’s Book. René is a graduate of the Vermont College MFA program in Writing for Children & Young Adults and a bilingual elementary teacher at Fernangeles Elementary School in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Fabiola Graullera Ramírez, a native of Mexico City, graduated from UNAM’s National School of Fine Arts with a degree in Graphic Communication. Her work has been part of collective exhibits in Mexico and Spain. She has illustrated many picture books, including I Am René, the Boy / Soy René, el niño (Piñata Books, 2005).


Baseball on Mars/ Béisbol en Marte
Rafael Rivera, Jr and Tim Hoppey, Illustrations by Christina Rodriguez, Spanish Translation by Gabriela Baeza Ventura, October

Roberto’s dad speaks in Spanish when he gets upset, and boy, is he unhappy today! His lucky chair—the one he sits in to watch his beloved New York Yankees play—is missing. And he needs it for the afternoon game against the Red Sox!

Roberto is excited, too. He’s about to take off to Mars on his home-made rocket ship, and his dad’s lucky chair makes a perfect pilot’s seat. When his father finds that the missing chair has become part of the rocket ship in the backyard, he grudgingly tells Roberto he can use it—for now. But it needs to be returned before game time.

Roberto’s dad is skeptical about the rocket ship. “You might have a problem getting off the ground,” he says. “You’re forgetting one little thing—you don’t have an engine!” Soon, he finds himself invited along as co-pilot. And during the exciting flight to Mars, Roberto helps his father rediscover his imagination as they experience an amazing blastoff, wayward asteroids, and even weightlessness.

When they finally land, Roberto surprises his father with two baseball gloves and a ball. “Today’s baseball game is on Mars,” he tells his dad. After spending the day playing catch, father and son realize that they speak the same language on the Red Planet. And his dad doesn’t even mind that he missed the Yankees’ game!

Children ages 4-8 will want to embark on their own mission to Mars after reading this story that combines vibrant illustrations with a touching story about a father and son’s afternoon adventure.

Rafael Rivera, Jr. was born and raised in the Bronx, the setting for this story. He is a New York City firefighter stationed in Spanish Harlem. He has two young daughters with whom he hopes to build rocket ships. He is a lifelong New York Yankees fan, but does not have a lucky chair to sit in.

Tim Hoppey is a New York City firefighter stationed in Spanish Harlem. He is the author of a bilingual picture book, Tito, the Firefighter / Tito, el bombero (Raven Tree Press, 2005). He lives on Long Island with his wife and three children.

Christina Rodriguez received her BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2003 and presently works as a freelance illustrator and designer. She has illustrated many children’s books, including Mayté and the Bogeyman / Mayté y el Cuco (Piñata Books, 2006), Un día con mis tías / A Day with My Aunts (Piñata Books, 2006), and Storm Codes (Windward Publishing, 2007).

_____________________________________

Thanks to RudyG for filling in the past couple of weeks.

Read and lead.

Later.

Making People's Art

Sergio Troncoso

Sergio Troncoso and I met at this year's AWP (that's the Association of Writing Programs) at the annual Cont Tinta event. He was kind enough to introduce himself and we talked about being Anusim and working and writing. This is an open letter from his blog: Chico Lingo.

My two cents follow.

Why I Write Simply

My prose tends to be simple and direct. I don’t use words like ‘ideation,’ ‘deconstructing dynamics of power and authority,’ and ‘synthesizing structure.’ Perhaps when I was at Yale as a graduate student in philosophy, I may have written like that, but I made it a point of eschewing such language forever. I still however use words like ‘eschewing.’ I can’t help it. Why?

When I started writing fiction, which was late in life for a writer, as a grad student, I wanted to get away from the meaningless abstractions of philosophical seminars. This linguistic pretension removed me from my community, from my father and mother, from my abuelita. The first story I wrote, “The Abuelita,” was specifically for readers to remember who my abuelita had been, and to criticize my study of Heidegger and Nietzsche at Yale, for its isolation, for its anti-humanity.

For in classrooms within the Gothic fortress of Yale’s Old Campus (and I suspect at many of the seminars in academies across the country), a human being is a mind, first and foremost. But in Ysleta, my home less than a mile from the Mexican-American border, the human being was, and is, feet. Feet in pain. Callused hands. Adobe houses built by those hands and feet. La gente humilde of Ysleta.

At Yale I was reacting against the elitism of the academy, an elitism that is hard to overcome when you can immerse yourself in books and forget the workers who make that world possible. I was also reacting against myself. I loved reading German and Greek philosophers. They did provide unique, unconventional insights into the human being. I had become an Ivy Leaguer in many ways. I was torn, between the people I loved at home and the ideas I devoured away from home.

I also noticed that many of the practitioners of academic fancy language, as I’ll call it, were individuals who treated people poorly. Their education and facility with argument and power encouraged lying, deception, and manipulation. The nature of truth, the pursuit of abstraction in universities, was a passive aggressive violence.

Eliminate your opponent, not by killing him, but by warping arguments to win at any cost, by murdering his mind. The nature of truth was hate. When you view human beings as abstractions, then it is easy to abuse those abstractions without guilt. Judging a person as a category is the root of racism; it is the root of cruelty. Moreover, writing about the world of people is an exercise in abstraction, and explains my deep ambivalence about being a writer.

Too often my writer friends forget themselves in their world of words. So I took a different tack with my fiction. I wanted to write so my father and mother could understand me. I was writing for them, and to give voice to those from Ysleta. I wrote simply. I also wrote prose obsessed with details, personal stories, to give meat to those understanding my community outside the mainstream. I used myself as an example to provide a meaningful character struggling with complex issues, within the murk between right and wrong.

Yet I also wanted to explore the ideas from Yale, and beyond, which I thought were worthwhile, so I wrote philosophical stories questioning the basis of morality. I wrote stories that asked whether murder was always wrong, or belief in god always holy, or success the root of moral failure. Most importantly, I believed the people of Ysleta had a lot to teach the people at Yale about being good human beings. I still believe that.

But this effort to be clear and direct about difficult questions has sometimes condemned me in academic circles or among those who prize the beauty of language above all. I am also condemned by those who never think beyond the obvious and popular, because I write philosophical stories. You will never find my fiction at Costco. I am in between. Trying to write to be understood by those who matter to me, yet also trying to push my mind with ideas beyond the everyday. It’s a borderland I inhabit. Not quite here nor there. On good days I feel I am a bridge. On bad days I just feel alone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dear Sergio:

Initially, I would say: "Oh, you're not alone, compay..." But the truth be told, I have had those bad days, many more than I would like. We do swim upstream most of our days as worker/writers, writer/workers, some of us hoping to land in the academy as well as on the bookshelves.

We embrace "popular" writing when the academics and the intelligensia clamor for something else -- a style, themes and messages set in canon stone by the rich, by mostly white men. This makes us the infinitely fascinating, unemployable, exotic "other" -- desirable as a passing instructional fling, questionable as to "who exactly are we are" as undergrads and even more rare, as grad students. We sometimes appear, almost as a hiccup, or better perhaps, a conflicted apology to the past when we are hired as faculty.

When I was a grad student in my 40's at an East Coast art school, I confounded my teachers and fellow students when when pressed about what "school" was I a part. I categorized myself as a "naive/outsider" writer/artist. It was the only category available that held simple, clean, direct work that fed my soul. Mind you, their eyes glazed over when I said I was only borrowing those terms for their convenience --- that everyday people making art was hardly naive, just unpretentious.

"Outside" presumes an "inside" born on the backs of working people and people of color. It was an "inside" where I was never invited, could not see myself inhabiting. My writing too, is plain, plain and simple, plain for all to see, and I am plainly someone who wants to be read by as many people who want to meet me in that way.

As to who you honor in writing, I remember many years ago, before a fundraiser for a project, I was sitting in a bar, waiting for the event venue to open. The waitress was a woman, like women I had known my whole life -- Mejicana, India, working hard and still happy to talk with this customer with a lapful of books to sell.

While I was waiting for my friends, I gave her a copy The Housekeeper's Diary, full of poems about my work as a maid. Later, as I was leaving, she tapped me on the shoulder and gave me a neatly folded napkin. On it was written: "Gracias, por las poemas y la historia de mi vida."

I'll be buried with that napkin.

Un abrazo, Lisa Alvarado

Bilingual Books from Raven Tree Press

BEAUTIFUL MOON
BELLA LUNA

Written by Dawn Jeffers
Illustrated by Bonnie Leick

Full–Color • 9 x 11 • 32 pages
Jacketed Hardcover or Paperback
Reading Level 2.4
Publication Date: Spring 2009


There are so many things to do every day that it's hard to find time to do them all. But what if days could go on forever? What if nighttime never came?

With the help of a wish upon Bella Luna, a little girl's fantasy becomes reality. In a wink the beautiful moon understands the desire and grants her wish. See how constant daylight affects the world around her and eventually own attitude toward her wish.

In the end, sometimes what we wish for might not be what we really want. We soon learn that nighttime is the time for rest and renewal and is as necessary as daytime.

Illustrations portrayed in a full color palette help readers experience the exuberance of a summer day and feel the chill that comes as day begins to enter a fantasy realm. The rotation of day into night and the cycle of plant, animal and human life is found to be just right the way it is. And that way is beautiful. This book is available in English only and bilngual editions.


Award–winning author, Dawn Jeffers, is an avid golfer and rollerblader and can usually be found either on the area links or walking trails. She loves to sing and is involved in community theatre productions. Dawn Jeffers lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

Bonnie Leick grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. Bonnie broke into the world of children's books by selling a piece of artwork at the SCBWI's 2003 art auction in New York. She illustrated her first children's picture book, Alien Invaders/Invasores extraterrestres, for Raven Tree Press. Bonnie Leick lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

A WALK WITH GRANDPA
UN PASEO CON ABUELO

Written by Sharon K. Solomon
Illustrated by Pamela Barcita

Full–Color • 9 x 11 • 32 pages
Jacketed Hardcover or Paperback
Reading Level 2.1

Publication Date: May 2009

A simple walk in the woods becomes so much more. As Daniela and her grandfather stroll through a peaceful woodland setting, they enjoy the beautiful day and each other's company. By playing a word game as they walk, they begin to express just how much they mean to each other.

The sentiment and love expressed in this story will bring back fond memories for adults and inspire children as well. Children may want to create their own special language and bond with their extended families after listening to or reading about Daniela and her grandpa.

Sharon K. Solomon knows what kids enjoy as far as reading goes. Now retired, she has become a full-time writer in various genres including preschool and elementary school age children's literature as well as young adult works. A Walk With Grandpa came from a little walk she took with her granddaughter, Ella. Sharon K. Solomon lives in Lansdowne, Virginia.

Pamela Barcita lives in rural Chesapeake Virginia, in a log home on a forested three acres populated with many wild creatures, from which she draws inspiration for her artwork. She resides with her family, four cats, and two cockatiels.

CINNAMON & THE APRIL SHOWER
CANELA Y EL AGUACERO DE ABRIL

Written by Amy Crane Johnson
Illustrated by Robb Mommaerts

Reading Level 3.6
32 pages
Bilingual English/Spanish Full Text Translation
Accelerated Reader Quiz #72868


Solomon Raven is the smartest bird in the forest. In each book in the series recurring characters explore nature during the four seasons, bilingual text in English and Spanish.

Robb Mommaerts has a style that is a cross between cartoon-like characterization, authenticity and his own playful imagination. Using elements of both fantasy and reality, Robb starts each illustration as a black and white colored pencil drawing on bristol board paper with a Berol Prismacolor® black pencil. He then colors the art in a layered digital Adobe® Photoshop file. Several overlays of color are used to achieve the look and mood that is needed.

This book is full text translation. The story is presented fully in English and then again in Spanish with an icon separating the two for ease of reading.

A bilingual vocabulary page in English and Spanish is included to help readers learn keywords in either language. Books in the series include: A Home for Pearl Squirrel/Una casa para la ardilla Perla (FALL), Cinnamon and the April Shower/Canela y el aguacero de Abril (SPRING), Lewis Cardinal's First Winter/El primer invierno de Luis, el cardenal (WINTER) and Mason Moves Away/Mason se muda (SUMMER).

Amy Crane Johnson has had a love of reading from a very early age. She can often be found reading in bed or watching movies with her husband and grandchildren. Amy Crane Johnson lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

After a freak accident involving curiosity and a hot iron, 1–year–old, Robb Mommaerts gained the magical powers of drawing in his right had. He has now fulfilled one of his greatest dreams since he was a small tyke—to illustrate children's books.

Review: Cuentos Del Centro. Stories From The Latino Heartland.

Latino Writers Collective. Cuentos Del Centro. Stories From The Latino Heartland. Scapegoat Press, Kansas City MO, 2009.
ISBN 13: 978-0-9791291-2-4


Michael Sedano

Among the diverse pleasures of writing regular book reviews is the chance to discover the work of small press enterprises such as Scapegoat Press out of Kansas City, Missouri. My usual fare comes from big publishing concerns out of New York or other metropolises, and what serendipity brings me off the New Books shelves of the Pasadena Public Library. There's a lot to be said for the output from well-funded ventures, editors, and agents. Quality, however, is not exclusive to the big bucks process. Case in point, Kansas City's Latino Writers Collective and its recent anthology of local writers, Cuentos Del Centro.

Cuentros Del Centro features twenty-four stories from fifteen writers. Three of the stories, by Xánath Caraza, come in Spanish, the others más o menos puro Inglés. Caraza translates hers into English--or is it the other way around? The English language versions come to you smoothly, absent the cultural lacunae found in some translated work, as if the writer works in English then converts to Castellano. Language students will enjoy the simultaneously translated work as a way to challenge their eye and ear for the one or the other idioma. More interesting, especially in the writer's first two pairs of stories, is her surrealist bent. "Scofield 207"--same title in both languages--sees a schoolteacher lose her identity to the glyphs on a page when her ink pen takes over from her hand. "I was the character of the story; that was my hand. I did not exist there, outside. I now only existed on paper. I had been born with that story and now it was time to go back home." In this ultimate of pathetic fallacy, the story ends with the beautiful metaphor of being swallowed by one's work, "the arrival of the white night."

Latino writing, from wherever it emanates, will share experiences, such as the child farmworkers of Miguel M. Morales' "Hijo con Filo", or the lovely irony fashioned around a rural quinceañera in Juanita Salazar Lamb's "El Vestido Colora'o." The hot sun, chorizo and egg tacos, getting cropdusted by asshole farmers could happen in a peach orchard in Bakersfield Califas as in Under the Feet of Jesus, or the soybean field of the boy with a hoe. Natalie Castro Olmsted's "The Farmhouse," on the other hand, captures the relentless fear that grips a picnicking familia unwisely trying to outrun weather unique to the heartland--a threatened tornado and killer hail. Nor is the racism of an anglo farmer something unique to Kingman County, Kansas, but when it drives the gente back into the maw of the storm, Olmsted gives the commonplace its uniquely local color.

It is the heartland also that helps these writers avoid a pet peeve of mine, appositional translation. Writing a Spanish phrase, immediately translating it into English. The technique, perhaps an editor's pique, conveys an artificiality to a story that is tough to overcome. Cuentos Del Centro's characters, and titles, use Spanish sparingly, avoid translation, or do so skilfully. A masterful instance comes in "El Regreso." The whole of José Faus' story translates that. A worker on este lado reminisces in a sentimental funk about the day he left, about his children calling him papá and expressing their love, despite their being too young to remember him at all. The man has been a success en el Norte because he is an honorable person, not "a thief, a ladron" (no italics). Plus, "His English gives him an edge over the others that refuse to learn it or choose not to speak, fearing how they sound." He's earning good money cooking his mother's recipes, but toned down to the local tastebuds. So back home he regresars. He kisses the wife who makes him promise never to leave again. "'I won't,' he whispers back and whispers it again and again throughout the day and night and the many years that follow." And that is what "El Regreso" means in English.

It is a pleasure for this Bloguero to connect with an old blogfriend, Juanita Salazar Lamb, who back in 2008 was a La Bloga guest Bloguera. Juanita is one of those Spanish-language sans translation writers who trusts her readers, so she lets the speeches stand on their own, or skilfully does the English in effective context:

"'Entonces, conoces nuevas amigas, y ¿cómo sabes? En tu vestido nuevo te vas a ver tan bonita, que todos van a querer bailar contigo.'
I gave her the look that spoke what I didn't dare say to my mom, 'What planet are you from? Girls like me don't get asked to dance.'
'Alístate antes que le diga a tu papá.'
The threat that always brought me back to my sense--my mom would tell my dad."

Lamb's story of the red dress will bring a smile to your face, even though the ironic finis is predictable. It's a happy ending that a decent child deserves.

Speaking of happy endings, I wish the Latino Writers Collective had wrapped up its outstanding set with Gloria Martinez Adams' "The Wager." Here is a brilliantly romantic story--genuine love growing old together--that offers sweet contrast to the crappy treatment women receive from worthless men in the anthology's closing offering, Linda Rodriguez' "Why I Can't Draw." Rodriguez' capstone, at least, closes with a note of hopefulness borne of self-reliance, and that's a good thing, exactly as the self-reliance of this writers collective from the Unitedstatesian heartland proves valuable to readers of Chicana Chicano Latina Latino writing.

You can read these stories only if you can get your hands on a copy of the book. Your independent bookseller can order it, or you can email the collective at scapegoatpress@sbcglobal.net. Unfortunately, the URL for the collective either is broken or lapsed, another hazard of the indie press, I suppose. Ni modo. You owe yourself and friends the opportunity to enjoy these stories and writers. Click, buy, read. You are welcome de antemano.


PALABRA @ The REDCAT Lounge presents

(Press release text follows)
William Archila reading from his debut book of poetry THE ART OF EXILE Sunday, July 26 at 3:00 pm


In a powerful collection of poetry, poet William Archila takes the reader on a poignant emigrant's journey from the war-ravaged El Salvador of the 1980s to Los Angeles. The poet's grief is unapologetically set before us in clear yet lyrical terms. The art of his voice compels the reader to acknowledge the brutality of war and the struggle of the disenfranchised. The sense of loss is palpable, but so are tenderness, humor and love.

". . . William Archila is the reigning master of some breathtaking imagery that encompasses a practiced, lyrical certainty. There's a deep singing at the center of Archila's world, a calling to everything that says home is where the heart is." —Yusef Komunyakaa, Pulitzer Prize winner

"[Archila's] voice is not only an important addition to the chorus of Latino/a poetry, but a necessary one in the vast landscape of belles lettres in the United States. To say he sings like an angel is an understatement. He is possessed of brilliance and what Lorca called `duende.' The Art of Exile joins the ranks of the best poetry published this year." —Virgil Suárez, author of 90 Miles: Selected and New(2005)

William Archila holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Oregon. His poems have appeared in The Georgia Review, AGNl, Poetry International, The Los Angeles Review, North American Review, Obsidian III, Notre Dame Review, Puerto del Sol, Rattle andBlue Mesa Review, among others.

The REDCAT Lounge
631 W. 2nd Street (@ Hope)
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(in the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex)

Contact: elena minor • palabralitmag@yahoo.com • 1 800 282 5608

PALABRA @ The REDCAT Lounge is a new series of occasional readings presented by PALABRA A Magazine of Chicano & Latino Literary Art. Website: www.palabralitmag.com

And that's the first Tuesday of the seventh month of the year 2009. A Tuesday like any other Tuesday, except You Are Here. Thank you for visiting La Bloga.

La Bloga welcomes your comments on this and any daily column. Just click on the comments counter below to update information, reflect on something, or add your most welcome views.

La Bloga welcomes guest columnists. It's a pleasure to welcome Lydia Gil, a former Guest Bloguera, as a new member of La Bloga's daily team. Lydia and Lisa Alvarado will share Thursday columns. If you'd like to be our guest, click here and let us know your column idea.

Here's hoping we all feel independent. The answer to last week's query, "How many other nations have a fourth of July?" is All of them.

hay les wachamos.

atentamente,
mvs

Interview with Emanuel Xavier

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Emanuel Xavier is the author of the poetry collection Americano, editor of Bullets & Butterflies: Queer Spoken Word Poetry and Mariposas: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry. He also selected finalists for Best Gay Erotica 2008. The tenth anniversary revised edition of his novel, Christ Like, was recently published by Queer Mojo and is (hopefully) available at LGBTQ bookstores everywhere.

Regarding Emanuel's novel, Christ Like, the publisher says: "Mikey is a spirited but self-destructive survivor of sexual abuse, a gay Latino native New Yorker caught somewhere between Catholic guilt and club kid decadence looking to fit in as part of a family. Instead, Mikey delves into a demimonde of petty thieves, prostitutes, and pushers. Haunted by a father that Mikey has never met, a difficult childhood, recurring nightmares, the reality of death, and Christ, the story unfolds through the '80s and '90s following him on his journey through a fascinating world filled with Santeros, transsexuals and voguing queens."

Emanuel kindly agreed to answer a few questions for La Bloga:

DANIEL OLIVAS: Have you noticed a change or evolution in LGBTQ literature during the last decade since your novel Christ Like was first published? If so, how has it changed or evolved?

EMANUEL XAVIER: There have been many changes in LGBTQ literature in the past decade for better and for worse. On the one hand, more people take advantage of purchasing their books over the internet, which has made titles available on a larger scale and more accessible for those who feel uncomfortable shopping for an LGBTQ title at a bookstore. However, this and the major chains have also caused the unfortunate demise of many queer bookshops. Unless you have the fan base of an Augusten Burroughs or your book is published by a major publishing house, chain bookstores will not bother carrying a single copy of most independently published queer titles while still ordering several quantities of others, which end up on the remainder bin. Therefore, on the one hand, there is more opportunity to reach a wider audience on questionably LGBTQ supportive sites such as Amazon and on the other hand, there is less visibility on actual bookshelves. The few queer bookshops that still exist throughout the country are genuine gems to our community, which should be supported as much as possible.

OLIVAS: The novelist Michael Nava has noted in interviews the tension between his identities as a Latino writer vs. his identity as a Gay writer. Such tension usually comes from straight Chicano/Latino writers' less than accepting attitude toward LGBTQ writers, though this seems to be changing. What has been your experience?

XAVIER: My own personal publishing experience would have me believe that I will never achieve the level of success of my fellow Latino literary peers and contemporaries because my queer identity creates unfortunate limits. I agree with Michael that it is more of a challenge for us because there continues to be much homophobia within the Latino community so it is difficult to reach that audience. However, I sometimes get letters and emails from straight male Latino fans that could care less about my sexuality and relate to my work as a writer. I have had strange occurrences like being asked for permission to reprint one of my poems in a newsletter for The Almighty Latin King & Queen Nation, being invited to perform for inmates at Riker’s Island Prison and even appearing on Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry. I think those that are secure enough in their masculinity and genuinely cool enough to accept the differences in people appreciate and enjoy a better sense of humanity. It is important for writers like Michael Nava and so many others, like me, to continue sharing our experiences and expressing ourselves as writers because it is the only way we could tear down these boundaries and share in our universality. Some of my poetry is political and cultural and not all of my work is queer specific but, as an openly queer artist, I occasionally wonder what it would be like to be a closeted Latino writer. I suppose I will never know the answer to that but I imagine it difficult trying to come across as something that you are not.

OLIVAS: What was your inspiration for creating the character of Mikey? Would you write a different novel today if you were to approach Mikey in 2009?

XAVIER: By my own admission, there is a lot of myself in Mikey X. The tenth anniversary edition is edited as more of a memoir but remains a fiction novel. If I wrote the novel today, it would probably be approached differently because I have had more experiences in life that have provided me with more opportunity to reflect on who I was back then. Originally, I wrote this book to come to terms with the mistakes I had made in life and make some sort of sense of them. I learned a lot about myself through this publication. Ten years later, it is nice to be able to look back and laugh at myself. However, I chose not to revise it too much for this publication because it is who I was as a writer at the time and it is, after all, Mikey’s story so I wanted to keep the language authentic to the character.

OLIVAS: Can you describe some of your more memorable experiences (good or bad) doing public readings of Christ Like?

XAVIER: It is a bit of a challenge for me because most of my career has been as a spoken word poet. It’s different reading a series of poems, which are often political, and reading excerpts from a novel with the purpose of selling the book to an audience. You have to select scenes that stand on their own or establish the characters, which is unlike reading a poem that has its own beginning and end. I naturally prefer to do reading events as a spoken word poet but I’ve been having fun sharing excerpts from the novel which have a lot of dialogue which I could play with and act out for the audience, if not my own entertainment. A lot of the novel is very dark and depressing so it’s humorous for me to read excerpts with a lot of Spanish dialogue. I don’t always bother to translate because I think the non-Spanish speaking audience members understand from my gestures and tone of voice what that character is trying to say. If they don’t, it’s amusing to look out and see the expressions on their faces. It’s so wrong but it’s funny because it’s true.

OLIVAS: Are you working on any new projects?

XAVIER: I am collaborating with producer El David on a compilation CD featuring my spoken word poetry accompanied by music. Many people have approached me about doing this throughout the years but, coincidentally, it took one of those cool straight guys (and former member of the Latin Kings) to make it happen. However, to maintain my pseudo reputation as a rebellious queer writer living on the edge, I also have a new poetry collection coming out from Floricanto Press before the end of the year appropriately titled (ahem) - If Jesus Were Gay & other poems. We’ll see if Barnes & Noble carries that one!

[Photo Credit: Shirley Miranda-Rodriguez, Somos Arte, 2009, http://www.somosarte.com/.]

◙ Rigoberto González, an award-winning writer living in New York City, reviews for the El Paso Times Helena Mesa's debut collection of poems, Horse Dance Underwater (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, $15.95 paperback). He notes, in part:

Horse Dance Underwater, with its strange and magical title, contemplates and celebrates "the moment before it's gone," because before an event locks itself into the immobility of memory or the past, it thrives with possibility.

Though fire and water dominate the imagery, neither can exist without oxygen -- that is, without breath or pause. And in Mesa's poetics, each of these moments opens up into a world of making sense of "what is, what was" and what can be: "leaves raise their silver hems / to walk though puddles not yet formed."

You may read the entire review here.

◙ A new online literary journal, The Coachella Review, is now live. Aside from having tasty literary treats such as an interview with Billy Collins, the editors have been kind enough to publish one of my sudden fictions entitled, Orange Line. If you have a few minutes, drop in, read (and hopefully enjoy) my story, and leave a comment under it, just so they know people are reading. Also, consider submitting your fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

◙ The 25 Most Influential GLBT Latinos were recently named by Mi Apogeo (My Latino Voice). Antonio Gonzalez writes:

Who are the top movers and shakers in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans American Latino community?

We tried to make our list as comprehensive as possible including suggestions from different editors in the office as well as some polling of our dearest blogger friends. That said, we probably missed someone. The good news is, we make lists like this all the time -- See our 7 LGBT bloggers to watch -- so, there's a solid chance that your nominee will be included in an upcoming list. Names are listed in alphabetical order by last name. The numbers do not represent a ranking order or countdown.

Included in this list are more than a few writers. Here are their listings:

4. Nilo Cruz, Playwright: Nilo Cruz was the first Latino to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2003 for his play Anna in The Tropics. The play was later adapted for Broadway with Jimmy Smitts in the lead role. That version of the play was nominated for Tony Award in 2004.

9. Rigoberto Gonzalez, Author/Critic: Gonzalez (pictured) is an award-winning author of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and bilingual children's books, and self-identifies in his writing as a gay Chicano. He is also contributing editor for Poets & Writers Magazine, an executive board member of the National Book Critics Circle, and is on the Advisory Circle of Con Tinta, a collective of Chicano/Latino activist-writers.

15. Himilce Novas, Author/Activist: Novas has worked as a journalist, magazine editor and publicist for Vanidades, The New York Times, The Connoisseur, and The Christian Science Monitor. As a human rights activist, Novas was a founding member of the National Organization for Women. She continues to work on behalf of women and those in the GBLT community and was featured in the book Feminists Who Changed America.

25. Emanuel Xavier, Poet: He transitioned himself from being a street hustler and a drug dealer to become one of the most significant and unlikely voices to emerge from the neo-Nuyorican spoken word movement using political, sexual and religious themes throughout his work.

Read the entire list here.

◙ That’s all for now. So, in the meantime, enjoy the intervening posts from mis compadres y comadres here on La Bloga. And remember: ¡Lea un libro!

Book winners, finally!

Okay, this is a day late, but after some thought, much beer and a little coin tossing, we have the winners of the Drollerie Press Ebook anthology Needles & Bones that includes my Chicano fantasy story Memorabilia.

The original contest rules were to "compose a synopsis of what a book entitled Agujas & Huesos (needles & bones) might be about. 'Best' synopsis wins."

N.G. Rodriguez submitted: "No podia ser de otra manera. Con cara de preocupación les ordeno que le trajeran media docena de agujas, (una por cada extremidad mas una extra), y un rollo de hilo blanco. Abrieron ataúd, y Don Jose se dio a la tarea de ligar los huesos como si remendara un pantalón roto. Eran las cinco de la tarde, y hacia calor. Observando el desorden en se encontraban los huesos pensó que antes de las tres de la madrugada habría terminado de hilar el esqueleto de Domingo Rosas, eso suponiendo que no faltara ninguna pieza."

Blogger Artful Chica submitted: The dreams came in spurts, sometimes leaving Ofelia paralyzed and disoriented. She would wake up screaming and flailing at things that didn't exist. "Mama what are we going to do?"
"Go get your Abuela and hurry." Nana came running with her little black bag. Just as the old Indian woman unfurled a piece of ancient cloth that held a needle and bones. Ofelia sat straight up and screamed CHANECO!

Since I couldn't decide which was "better", both submitters win.

The following week I changed the rules to:
"Submit the names of three of Ramos's novels, spelled correctly, and I will randomly draw the name of one winner."

Out of the submissions--and here's where the coin tossing came in--the winner is . . . (insert drumroll here): Pati!

Since I don't know if I can get three copies of Needles & Bones, I'm going to see if one of the U.S. winners will accept a copy of Latinos in Lotusland instead. (Autographed by myself and Ramos, who also has a story in it.)

One encouraging thing to read in the readers' submissions was the following:
""LOVE the Blog...
"*Love, love, love* the blog as well!!!"
"Love the blog!"

We probably get more direct E-mails from readers telling us what they like (or don't) than we do Comments on the site. Maybe gente just prefer to give that personal touch, but I think I speak for all La Bloga Contributors who make this site what it is when I say that we love all feedback, but especialmente feedback left in the Comments section.

Lastly, you've only got one more week to get in on winning one of the five copies of The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos by Margaret Mascarenhas that will be provided by the Hachette Book Group. Go here for details.

Speaking of contests

Mario Acevedo, another Denverite, of vampire novel fame, is running a really stupid contest called "Man, was I dumbass!" Here's the rules:

"The contest, in 75 words or less: Man, was I dumbass! Post your submission as a comment. The contest will be judged by our panel of crack contest judges in India. (Yes, in order to reduce costs, Biting-Edge has off-shored our contest judging.) Submissions will be graded on originality, spelling, and of course, the all important dumbassness. Contest decision will be final and not subject to appeal or bribery or complaining. Contest ends Midnight, Thursday, July 16, 2009."

He's even giving away prizes, but you're going to have to do better than Mario's testament. For more details go to The Biting Edge.

4th of July

For a different take on this 4th, go to Sedano's piece.

Es todo,
RudyG

Living things from two "deserts"

Why grow cactus in Colorado?

Since Manuel Ramos (who assumedly will be back next week) left no protocols on what I should post in his usual Friday spot, I'm sharing photos of two deserts.

The first set is in my Denver front yard, although with the Portlandish monsoons of recent weeks, it appears more like selva than llano.

The set that follows is from my cousin Annette's yard in Phoenix. She's posted articles on La Bloga about our family and other topics, and may again(?).

Plants have obsessed me for more than the month I've spent weeding and pruning, apparently with no end in sight because it's supposed to rain heavily again over the weekend. Anyway . . .

I never been able to remember the names, neither scientific nor common, of all the varieties I've got. (If you're interested in such, use this site to try identifying cacti.) I sometimes classify them in terms of color. It's also useful, and important, to remember their classification in terms of their espinas. This one doesn't have the nastiest spines, which means I don't cry for my mom when I get stuck by one. I just . . .

These are the first type I ever grew and are the rose-colored. Again, their spines don't draw that much blood. As for why I grow these, Denver is normally an arid state--pretty, but with little precipitation (excluding the next 2,000 years of global warming). Clay, instead of dirt, sits under our yards and isn't conducive to anything green that requires regular watering. Over time, like fifteen minutes, it compacts down into medium-grade concrete. But prairie grass, buffalo grass, yuccas and cacti thrive . . .

This is a type of fat barrel cactus that I only have one of. This is its actual pinkness: swear I didn't Photoshop it. Many of these flowers only last one day. The largest type that are a good foot high I decided not to put into this post for fear the cactus bandits might be enticed to pay a midnight visit to my desert . . .

This one likes to spread itself, traveling wherever I haven't put stones in its path. Its white espinas aren't just a pretty face. They're mean enough to make even a Denver cop put his baton away. And it's obviously known as the . . .

Lastly, come what are definitely chollas. It's difficult to distinguish, given their growth this year, but there's two on the sides from El Paso--part of my Uncle Jess's legacy--and one in the middle that is a Colorado cholla. I've also got another one that's six-foot tall, but its flowers pale in numbers compared to these smaller ones.

This year the chollas flowered much later than usual, which I also attribute to the extended cold and wet. Nor have they ever all bloomed together, at least not to this extent. You might recognize these from some of Ramos's photos of the same. I snuck into his yard late one night. . .

Global warming may eliminate homo and hetero sapiens from contention, but it appears that along with the cucarachas, cactus, at least cholla, may prevail.

Like selling cactus in the desert

Now we come to my cousin's front yard. Sure, hers are bigger, but how hard could it be to raise saguaros where daytime temps get to 110? This hovel is not her house, but the photo was taken nearby. As you can see, the neighbors aren't very good about watering their lawn. Reminds me of someone down the block. . .

There seemed to be a lot of animals around, birds too, usually moving too quickly for me to take a photo. These two are the best I could do. The javelinas I saw one morning across the street when I went out to get the morning paper didn't wait long enough for the camera. Take my word for it though, they were serious mero meros of the desert.

Two forms of wildlife posing in the inevitable tourist photo. I had to take one, no? This is of an Arizona cactus and one from Colorado. (In case you're wondering, yes, I did ask the barrel if he'd allow me to take his photo.) The taller one is my wife Carmen. If she doesn't look that tough, you try hugging a barrel cactus, even a willing one, and see if your sunglasses stay put.

This little beauty was anything but little. Would you believe I took this shot from fifty feet away and that the thing's got three climate zones? I didn't think so.

I've got about fifteen varieties of cacti throughout my front yard. I've got opuntia, I've got yucca, I've got echinocereus, but none can compare to the saguaro. How could they? The saguaro stand, hell, they thrust themselves, above the sand as if they know the javelinas don't amount to a pig in a poke. They may not have three climate zones, but they probably could if they wanted to. For some reason they've allowed people, including my cousin, to live amongst them. At least for now. If you get to Phoenix, stop to see the plant life, not at her place but at the Desert Botanical Gardens. Warning! Afterward, you too may tear out the water-hungry grass in your yard.

RudyG

N.B.: Tomorrow's the last day to enter to win an Ebook copy of the Drollerie Press's latest anthology Needles & Bones that has a story of mine entitled Memorabilia. It's easy to win, but you do have to enter.

Reading Algarín

I just finished reading "Survival/Supervivencia," the Miguel Algarín anthology recently published by Arte Público. It chronicles his more than 35 years of literary activism in prose and poetry, describing in a new language of "raw verbs and nouns" the Nuyorican experience, naked and luminous.

I came upon Algarín's poetry by chance, some 15 years ago in Austin, in a second-hand bookstore on the Drag (the Gwa-da-loop). Reportedly misshelved under "Caribbean writers," I found a volume titled "Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café". I opened it at random, as Unamuno used to do with the Bible, and found the following words: "CONGRATULATIONS: YOU HAVE FOUND THE HIDDEN BOOK." How could I stop reading? Especially as it assured me that I would not have to bother reading the book... "It will read to you," it said. So I moved stacks of books piled high on the floor and sat down to let it read to me...

For the first time I heard the story of the Piñero's death and the scattering of ashes, some years before its Hollywood moment. I heard the poem "Sunday, August 11, 1974" peaceful, joyful, celebratory. A true call for independence. I was enthralled. And also pissed off.

You see, after 12 years of school in Puerto Rico and many others of undergraduate and graduate work in the US in the field of Latin American literature, I'd never been formally introduced to Algarín's work and the questions it so forcefully raised. Soon after my chance encounter with his poetry, I discovered that Nuyorican poetry was indeed taught and discussed in many schools and universities, just not in Puerto Rico and certainly not as pertaining to Puertorrican literature. I hear this has changed drastically in the past decade. Yet, although Nuyorican poets are beginning to appear in dictionaries of Puertorrican literature, there's still great resistance on the island to recognizing their work as part of, or at least related to, Puertorrican literature. This reticence, I believe, is mostly owing to language. Many independentistas on the island seem to identify their goal with linguistic purity. (Never mind that the language they seek to keep from "foreign" contaminants is that of a former ruler...) Still, I find it odd that many independentistas should persist obstinately in advocating, through practice and exclusion, an anachronistic purity of language--and if you've watched a certain TV program dedicated to cultural matters, you'll know what I'm talking about--when, in my humble opinion, such linguistic snobbery has made them deaf to the solidarity of those across the pond who champion their very cause, yet, in a hybrid, real, and always-new language.

But, anyway, back to the anthology, it's a jewel. Just this time, do judge the book by its cover: a vibrant photo of the poet with his eyes closed, mouth wide open, laughing? crying? yelling? As his poems will read to you: all of the above!

Sundays on Fourth Street/ Los domingos en la calle Cuatro

Written by Amy Costales

Illustrated by Elaine Jerome

*Reading level: Ages 4-8
*Hardcover: 32 pages
*Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público Press (October 2009)
*Language: Bilingual English/Spanish
*ISBN-13: 978-1-55885-520-5

My cousin Pepe combs my hair back just like his, and Aunt Pilar laughs. Then she slides her red lipstick across my lips, but Mamá wipes it off because I’m too young. Mamá puts on her new jeans, and Aunt Pilar polishes her high heels. Uncle Armando finishes washing his old car.

Thus begins a family’s journey to Fourth Street. A little girl and her two cousins eat mangos, long for new boots, ride the carousel, get hair cuts and buy groceries on a family excursion to the center of Santa Ana, California. The cousins enjoy treats, a loving family and lots of excitement, even if nobody gets new boots. The journey ends with the sleepy girl’s last thoughts as she is being tucked into bed next to her cousins:

I know that once I outgrow my boots, I may not get the red ones with the fringe and the silver tips. I know that I may not get a new bike. But what I do have is an uncle who will carry me and my sleepy cousins to bed. I have an aunt who lets me pretend to be grown-up. I have a mother who tells me stories at night. And I have my cousins Pepe and Edgar beside me to share every Sunday on Fourth Street.

From the author:

Several years ago, when I sent my first manuscript to a publisher, I got a hand-written note, suggesting I write a story about Día de Los Muertos or Cinco de Mayo. Hungry for an acceptance letter, I really tried to write those books, but it didn’t work. Those weren’t the stories in my heart. I wanted to write about every day, not holidays. My efforts of write a story about my dead grandmother turned into my second book, Abuelita Full of Life. As for the Cinco de Mayo book, well, I set it in Santa Ana, but I couldn’t get away from memories of my daughter and her two cousins on Sunday excursions to Fourth Street. I ended up celebrating, not a holiday, but two things important to me; extended family and every day life on Fourth Street. It was bitter-sweet writing this book. My nephews, who spent almost their whole lives in California, had just been deported to Mexico. Edgar is working with his dad near Toluca, Pepe is in university in Tampico, and Kelsey is in university in Oregon.

From the publisher:

A young girl enjoys her family's weekly trip to Fourth Street, where she and her cousins eat mangos and tacos, look at clothes and shoes, watch all the people on the busy street and take care of such chores as haircuts and grocery shopping.

Based on real-life visits to Fourth Street in Santa Ana, California, author Amy Costales has written a story that pays homage to a special street and—more importantly—time spent with loved ones. Paired with Elaine Jerome’s colorful illustrations that depict lively street scenes, readers of all ages will enjoy Sundays on Fourth Street.


Amy Costales grew up in Spain and on the U.S.-Mexico border. She has taught Spanish in California, Thailand, India and Oregon and completed an M.A. in Spanish literature at the University of Oregon. Her daughter Kelsey and nephews Pepe and Edgar spent many Sundays of their childhood on Fourth Street in Santa Ana, California. After spending most of their lives in California, Pepe and Edgar were deported to Mexico with their parents. Kelsey and her cousins are separated by the border, but memories of Fourth Street live on. Today Amy lives in Eugene, Oregon, with her family. This is her fourth picture book. To learn more about the author, visit www.amycostales.com

Elaine Jerome grew up with a love of travel after living in both Hong Kong and New York as a child. She has a background in both art and science, and finds illustrating for children a field that unifies her past experiences. She is the illustrator of The Woodcutter's Gift / El regalo del leñador (Piñata Books, 2007). Elaine currently resides in Lake Tahoe, where she and her husband enjoy snowboarding together. To see more of Elaine's work, visit www.jeromeillustration.com.