Pedazos

Manuel Ramos

NEW FOR FALL
The Arte Público Fall Trade Catalog has several titles worth picking up. One that caught my eye is Enriqueta Vasquez and the Chicano Movement: Writings from El Grito del Norte, edited by Lorena Oropeza and Dionne Espinoza, with a Foreword by John Nichols. The catalog says: "Highlighting the involvement of women in the Chicano Movement, this anthology combines for the first time in one volume the columns written by Enriqueta Vasquez from 1968-1972 for the path-breaking Chicano newspaper, El Grito del Norte. Enriqueta Vasquez’s columns written during the peak of the civil rights movement provided a platform for her fierce but hopeful voice of protest. In her column, entitled ¡Despierten Hermanos! [Awaken, Brothers and Sisters!], she used both anger and humor in her efforts to stir her fellow Chicanos to action. Drawing upon her own experiences as a Chicana, she wrote about such issues as racism, sexism, imperialism, and poverty, issues that remain pressing today." Look for this book in November.

In October, Arte Público will release Tyrone's Betrayal, the seventh novel in Gloria Velásquez's Roosevelt High School series, an "engaging novel for young adults [that] tackles the problem of absentee fathers in the African-American community."

WORDS & MUSIC, A LITERARY FEAST IN NEW ORLEANS
This festival, postponed last year because of Katrina, has published its schedule, which you can find here. The festival takes place November 1 - 6 and it has a definite Chicano thing going on. Announced participants include Rolando Hinojosa, Luis Rodríguez, Ana Castillo, Mary Helen Lagasse, José Cuellar (Dr. Loco), the Iguanas, and yours truly talking about, of all things, La Bloga. There also will be a Día de los Muertos exhibit. You will hear more about this in the coming months but those of you into the literature (and music) and with some accrued annual leave might start thinking about the Crescent City in November.

Looking for some good summer reading that includes a couple of authors we have mentioned recently?

WORDS WITHOUT BORDERS: THE ONLINE MAGAZINE FOR INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE
presents its second noir issue--Tempers and Temperatures Rise (August). You can find this nifty mag here. The latest issue has this intro:

In the murderous summer heat—when, to quote Raymond Chandler, "Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks"—we invite you to chill with the icy killers, con men, and cops of our second noir issue. Giampiero Rigosi's hustlers board the "Night Bus" in Bologna, and Leonardo Padura's burned-out Cuban policeman confronts Hurricane Felix and his own tropical depression in "Havana Black." Tonino Benacquista's Parisian gallery worker wrestles modern art and a modern art thief in "Framed," Gianrico Carofiglio's weary Italan lawyer tries to stop smoking and go straight in "A Walk in the Dark," and Marek Krajewski's laconic inspector finds corpses in walls and ghosts everywhere in "End of the World in Breslau." Jakob Arjouni's disgraced gangster plots his heroic redemption in the antic "Black Story," while Santiago Paez's Ecuadorian cops investigate a suicide who's literally gone to pieces. Let tempers and temperatures rise: As Chandler noted, "Anything can happen."

CÉSAR CHÁVEZ PEACE JAM 2006 AT CÉSAR CHÁVEZ PARK
August 26, 2006 11:00am – 6:00pm The flyer says:

The César Chávez Peace and Justice Committee of Denver (CCPJC) will kick off the first annual César Chávez Peace Jam 2006, at César Chávez Park (41st and Tennyson) on Saturday, August 26, 2006, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. Peace Jam 2006 is a fundraiser concert to support CCPJC’s annual César Chávez Day Celebration. There is a minimum $5 suggested donation.

Join us for a day in the park filled with the unique sounds of several of Colorado’s own local up and coming bands. Peace Jam 2006 will feature the talents of Brown Obsidian, Johnny Rodriguez y Los Diamantes, Jon Romero and the Cuervo Nation, Los Hermanos, RUMBA, The Denver Slam Team, DJ Aztlan, and many more! Community members will also be able to enjoy great food and drinks from local restaurants, goods from featured vendors and information provided by non-profit organizations throughout Colorado.

LUCHA CORPI
The author of Eulogy For A Brown Angel, Crimson Moon, Black Widow's Wardrobe and several other novels and works of poetry is going through a very rough time. Those of us who know Lucha are sending her positive thoughts, lighting candles, doing whatever we can. We may have more about her situation in upcoming posts on La Bloga.

Sorry about the lack of graphics (book covers, photos, logos) - something I think a blog should have, in addition to good content, of course. But the anti-image demonio that has plagued me for months is still at it - I was lucky to get one graphic inserted in this post.

Later.