¡Gronk alert!

In 2002, the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press established the book project "A Ver: Revisioning Art History," billed as the only series on Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, and other U.S.-based Latino artists. The center's director, Chon Noriega, edits the series, which is distributed by the University of Minnesota Press.

The first book in the series is Gronk ($24.95 paperback; $60 hardcover with documentary DVD), a biography of the artist of that name by Max Benavidez, a Los Angeles writer and scholar. If you missed it, you can read my review here. You now have a chance to meet Gronk and Max Benavidez this Tuesday, April 17, 7:00 p.m., at L2Kontemporary, 990 N. Hill St., Suite 205, Los Angeles. Phone: 626-319-3661. E-mail: L2kontemporary@sbcglobal.net. Future appearances are planned this year and we’ll keep you posted.

◙ In yesterday’s Los Angeles Times, Agustin Gurza reported on Ken Burns and PBS finally addressing their failure to include Latinos in an upcoming WWII series. As Gurza notes:

Latino advocates have been up in arms recently over the exclusion of Latino soldier stories from Burns' new seven-part documentary, "The War," which explores the conflict through the personal narratives of veterans and their families. Critics argued that the history would not be complete without the stories of Latino soldiers who enlisted in droves — as many as 500,000 strong — and were represented in the ranks more prominently than in civil society back home. This week, PBS announced that Burns agreed to incorporate Latino and Native American voices. Burns will assemble a new production team, including a Latino, to create the material in time for the Sept. 23 premiere.