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“Con la fuerza del viento / With the Force of
the Wind” por Xánath Caraza
Xanath Caraza
Las manos se alargan para crear las más finas letras. Calan
diseños en el papel. Dibujan los caracteres al primer contacto con las yemas. De
las puntas nace fuego. Fuego azul que deja el carbón rojo flotando en la
mirada. Una extensión del cuerpo se vuelve poesía. Emerge del interior
con la fuerza del viento.
Letras
de las puntas nace fuego
el cuerpo se vuelve poesía
Xanath Caraza
With the
Force of the Wind
Her hands extend
to create the finest letters. They trace designs on paper, draw
characters on first contact with her fingers. From their tips,
fire is born.
Blue flames leaving red coal that floats in the gaze. An extension of her
body becomes poetry. It emerges from within with the force of the wind.
Traducido al inglés por: Sandra
Kingery, Hanna Cherres, Joshua Cruz-Avila, Zachary L. Donoway, Angelina M.
Fernandez, Luis Felipe Garcia Tamez, Nicholas A. Musto, Julia L. Nagle, Aaron
Willsea y Joshua H. Zinngrebe.
Imágenes en el poemario por Tudor Şerbănescu.
En 2022 Ejercicio
en la oscuridad / An Exercise in the Darkness recibió Mención Honorífica para los International Latino Book Awards en la categoría The Juan Felipe Herrera Best
Poetry Book Award—One Author—Bilingual.
Who would've thought that ICE had a secret word that
they call their victims and potential victims? They’ve been keeping it to
themselves. Giggling about it in private like the cowards they are.
I only know about it because Gustavo Arellano
spilled the beans in the L.A. Times. Thanks, Gustavo, keep up the good
work.
This new word is tonk.
Yeah, it’s pretty lame, but we aren’t talking
about witty, imaginative types here.
I wonder why they can’t seem to come up with a
workable slur for us?
Greaser is misleading. It was what they called the
sombrero-wearing villains in the first silent movies made in Hollywood. It was
never clear what kind of grease they meant. And it’s become antiquated. Would
young Latinxes know that they’re supposed to be offended?
Beaner is also awkward. Yup, I eat beans, and like
them. You gotta problem with that? I’ll just fart in your face.
Then there’s spic. Growing up on SoCal, I
never heard it until the original West Side Story was shown on national
television. No knee-jerk reflexes for an East Coast chingadera.
And it sounds like part of a word. Maybe spicko
or spickie or spicker would be more appropriate. Or maybe
not.
So now we have tonk. It started as an
onomatopoeia. What ICE does to people: TONK! Like in the old Sixties
Batman.
Also like egghead, that came from the
Nazis referring to those whose skulls they were cracking open on the sidewalks.
Funny how these things keep going back to the Nazis . . .
The n-word doesn’t have to worry about the
competition.
(Funny how the n-word has become more forbidden
than the f-word . . .)
I think some preemptive strikes are in order.
Pick up this grenade and throw it back at them. Remember, Chicano and pocho
were originally slurs our South of the border hermanos used against . . .
us. What goes around comes around. Besides, racists hate it when their magic
words don’t do what they want them to.
We should turn it back into a verb. Four letters
ending with a k. It rhymes with the f-word! A perfect stand-in.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Tonk you, ICE! started
appearing in walls all over the land?
It could be said, shouted, chanted, when they
come after someone.
Oh, for someone telling them to go tonk themselves on a
video that goes viral!
It’s what all those tonksucking, mothertonkers
deserve.
Ernest Hogan has been called the n-word so often that when he hears it, he assumes they're talking about him--and is usually right. He's working on his New, Improved
Ancient Chicano Sci-Fi Wisdom for the Palabras del Pueblo Writing Workshop.
Because pendejos are trying to exterminate us from the future . . .
From a military family, Esmerelda discovers that home is where she's always welcomed—thanks to music, dance, and the big, unconditional love from her extended family.
An ideal picture book for kindergarteners and 1st graders who are moving, need reassurances during a transition, and could use the reminder that home is family.
Papa's job in the military has taken Esmerelda and her family all over the world—and yet she's never lived in the United States. Now she and her family are moving to San Antonio, Texas.
Although many of her extended family members live there, Esmerelda is unsure it'll feel like home. Even more, she's unsure she will fit in. Gradually, music and her sweet abuela spark bravery and the realization that home is not always a place—it's familia.
Heartwarming and hopeful, Welcome Home, Esmerelda will provide reassurance to any kid that while moving and change are difficult, you have the support of loved ones to help you through it.
Edición en español! Proveniente de una familia militar, Esmerelda descubre que el hogar es donde siempre es bienvenida —gracias a la música, la danza y el gran amor incondicional de su familia extendida.
Un libro ilustrado ideal para niños de kínder y primer grado que están mudándose, necesitan consuelo y seguridad durante una transición y que pueden beneficiarse de recordar que el hogar es la familia.
El trabajo de Papá en la milicia ha llevado a Esmerelda y a su familia por todo el mundo. Sin embargo nunca ha vivido en los Estados Unidos. Ahora ella y su familia están mudándose a San Antonio, Texas.
Aunque muchos miembros de su familia extendida viven allí, Esmerelda no está segura de que se sentirá como en su casa. Incluso, no se siente segura de que encajará. Gradualmente, la música y su dulce abuela despiertan su valentía y la ayudan a entender que el hogar no siempre es un lugar: es la familia.
Conmovedora y esperanzadora, Bienvenida a casa, Esmerelda proveerá tranquilidad a cualquier niño, mostrándole que, aunque las mudanzas y los cambios son difíciles, cuentan con el apoyo de sus seres queridos para ayudarle en la transición.
Review
A warm and relatable tale told with heart. —Kirkus Reviews
Moving and reassuring choices for picture book collections, especially for libraries serving military families and children experiencing big moves, these titles will capture readers’ attention with beautiful imagery and writing, and their hearts. —School Library Journal
Spanish words peppered into the text add warmth and cultural authenticity. Ramirez succeeds in sharing a warm reflection on family and the sacrifices of service members and their families. An author’s note about military families concludes. —Booklist
Daniela Ramirez has a passion for writing books for children. She is Mexican American and excited to share her culture. Daniela loves writing Latine characters and wishes to inspire her own children. She is married to her college sweetheart, is a military spouse, and currently resides in New Mexico.
As a child, Maribel Lechuga spent every quiet hour of the day drawing. She studied illustration in art school in Madrid and is now the illustrator of many children's books, including, Night Owl Night, Ten Beautiful Things, and Seaside Stroll. Maribel loves the environment and animals and recharges her batteries by hiking through the Spanish hills. www.maribellechuga.com
The poster arrives like many other posters; a line-up of poets, a date and time, a place. An unobtrusive nearly transparent image holds the background. “Poetry Salons” the title says, and the names: John Martinez, Natalie Sierra, Matt Sedillo, Margaret Elysia Garcia, Francisco Letelier, Yasmin Cardona.
Juan Carlos Muñoz Hernandez, curator of the Graham archive, offers a message of welcome
Through an Hernandez sculpture with magenta colored eyes
That’s a sublime lineup of some of Southern California’s premier voices. The afternoon’s reading proves exactly that. Letelier opens the reading—he leaves for another event.
Francisco Letelier
John Martinez not only reads, he's brought tamales and birongas--and water for gente who prefer cool clear water.
John Martinez reads in Spanish and others in English.
MC Matt Sedillo calls the readers in the order listed on the poster. Natalie Sierra, Poet Laureate of Pomona, Califas, reads from her novel, Beyond the Grace of God (link).
Sedillo pulls a surprise out of his hat—maybe Matt knows there’s extra time on the event since Cardona is not in attendance—and he invites selected audience members who are poets to come up and share something impromptu.
It’s a delightful twist on the standard poetry reading. All the surprise invitees perform with aplomb and find warm welcome from the audience. Indeed, the gente gathered today are good friends and the spirit of camaraderie infuses the readings with love for poetry and one another.
Thelma T. Reyna, La Bloga's Friday columnist with Melinda Palacio.
Thelma T. Reyna, Altadena Poet Laureate Emerita, ever the consummate professional, hasn’t brought her poetry and recites a Shakespearean sonnet from memory. Roberto Leni steps up, he’s brought a few pages from a work in progress. Abel Salas arrives after the readings have started. Sedillo calls him to the front. Matt’s partner in publishing, David Romero, works from memory. A seasoned performer a la brava, Romero provides thoughtful amusement.
Margaret Elysia Garcia's dynamic reading is a highlight of the afternoon
Margaret Elysia Garcia—La Bloga’s newest Bloguera who takes the Saturday/Weekend edition—offers an understatement by way of prologue, “You know I have a sense of humor?”
Litotes has never been higher!
Matt Sedillo is CEO of El Martillo Press
As Sedillo winds up an introduction to the next poet, audience members protest, “Dude, you’rek introducing yourself?” And David Romero seizes the lectern and gives Matt Sedillo a formalish introduction. Romero and Sedillo are partner publishers of El Martillo Press. The readers today are El Martillo authors.
David Romero performs for university audiences across the nation.
Sedillo wows ‘em, reciting from memory and doing what speech coaches recommend, don’t get stuck behind the lectern. Sedillo leaves the mic and steps into the space between listeners and speaker. It’s a dynamic way to own the platform entirely. It’s clear Matt has done this before. It’s a sublime move to cap off the wondrous event in this wondrous space.
Abel Salas
Roberto Leni
From the street outside, the anonymous building appears unremarkable. But inside, ay de mi. The space, Studio 347, houses sculptor Robert Graham’s maquettes and a few finished gems.
Los Angeles landmarks and Graham’s work are synonymous. The male torsos that adorn the peristyle of the Los Angeles coliseum hang from the ceiling. Elements from Graham’s Mary door at the LA Cathedral, figures featured on the plaza of the Music Center.
In bronze, this torso greets visitors to the LA Coliseum
A marian figure installed at the cathedral. Not all Marys are Guadalupe.
Several lucite sculptures and a brass assemblage are work of the gallery curator and Graham’s mentee Juan Carlos Muñoz Hernandez. Juan Carlos greets the visitors, invites them to photograph the sculpture, including a multicolored assemblage he completed just in time for these visitors. Hernandez’ brightly colored work provides an interesting counterpoint to Graham’s subdued tonalities.
One woman, Corrina Corrina, shares her enthusiastic review of the afternoon’s writing:
Corrina Corrina
“All the poets rocked. The women had a personal voice that spoke to me with a soft feminine tone that spoke so softly loud from Shakespeare to punk Rock Band and sexy head wrap cleavage vanilla cream colored feminine touches ! I love how boldly soft they spoke . So much sweeter than I remember from 70’s-90’s female poets. Very pleasing, like watermelon.”
Watermelon-eaters Sedillo, Michael Sedano, Thelma T. Reyna, David Romero
News & Notes
La Bloga welcomes guest columnists and is happy to share information on upcoming events in your region, such as this announcement from the venerable LA Poet Society:
Elvira Barbosa is a professor at the Federal
University of Technology – Paraná (UTFPR), Apucarana Campus, Brazil, and a
researcher specializing in linguistics and literary studies. As a novelist, she
is also deeply interested in Brazil’s cultural memory and the ways in which
history continues to shape contemporary society.
Drawing on her family roots in the Brazilian states of
Minas Gerais and Bahia, Barbosa brings both emotional sensitivity and
historical precision to her fiction. Her work explores the complex dynamics of
power, memory, and identity with particular attention to the social structures
that have shaped—and continue to shape—Brazil.
Nadja’s Secrets, her debut novel,
weaves together literary fiction, social critique, and psychological depth.
Through the voices of women and other figures marginalized by official history,
the novel illuminates the contradictions, silences, and enduring emotional legacies
that pass from one generation to the next.
She lives in Paraná, Brazil, where she teaches,
conducts research, and continues to write literary fiction.
Nadja's Secrets by Elvira Barbosa
Of Nadja’s Secrets by Elvira Barbosa
Raised to value elegance, propriety, and unquestioning
obedience, Baroness Nadja grows up believing that silence is the highest
virtue. But beneath the polished surface of aristocratic society, she discovers
a world sustained by hypocrisy, quiet cruelty, and carefully performed
respectability.
Trapped in a marriage to a vain and socially admired
man, Nadja begins to see what others refuse to acknowledge: affection can
conceal violence, beauty can disguise corruption, and prestige often depends on
the suffering of those without a voice. As her awareness deepens, the greatest
struggle is no longer against the people around her, but against the
expectations that have shaped her entire life.
Rather than relying on dramatic twists, Nadja’s
Secrets builds its emotional power through psychological depth and quiet
revelation. At its heart lies the conflict between appearance and truth, love
and convenience, power and compassion, all seen through the clear-eyed,
melancholy perspective of a woman who can no longer ignore what she has
learned.
A richly atmospheric literary novel exploring vanity,
family silence, inherited privilege, and the devastating cost of preserving
appearances. Nadja’s Secrets asks how much injustice a respectable
society can conceal—and what remains when beauty itself becomes monstrous.
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