Pieces & Bits

Michael Sedano

Better Late Than Never - Rudolfo Anaya Bless Me, Ultima Sculpture Park Opens in Santa Rosa New Mexico

La Bloga received an email from Chuck Braithwaite, Editor of the Great Plains Quarterly, whose issue on the television program "Deadwood", received

accolades from the author of Bless Me, Ultima. Anaya appended the P.R. announcing the March 1, 2008 dedication of the writer's and novel's eponymous sculpture garden, including a photo of the writer and sculptor (left, right).

The announcement describes the sculpture, by Reynaldo Rivera with an eye to what visitors to the park will see: The “Bless Me, Ultima” public artwork consists of a two-part bronze sculpture - one being a larger-than-life bronze sculpture of Rudolfo Anaya and the other a bronze bas-relief plaque set in a rustic adobe wall depicting historic representations of Santa Rosa, Route 66 and Guadalupe County, with the “Bless Me, Ultima” characters – Ultima and Antonio at the center of the piece. The landscape park will also feature a natural stone waterfall and a shallow pool with a golden carp tile mosaic, benches and sidewalks.

Next time you take a trip on Route 66, plan to cruise by Santa Rosa NM's Park Lake, where, near the north entrance, you'll come across the sculpture park. For more information, contact Richard R. Delgado, 575-472-3763.

Clarification on Readership for How to Raise Emotionally Healthy Children / Cómo Criar Niños Emocionalmente Sanos.

Last week I shared news of a project I am engaged in, recording Dr. Gerald Newmark's important and useful book into an audiobook, in an effort to increase its accessibility.

In our conversation, Dr. Newmark had recounted a few anecdotes of people telling him they "hadn't gotten around to reading it yet." We'd discussed that many people are hooked on what Marie Winn calls "the plug-in drug" and have lost interest in reading books, and our mutual belief that our culture is growing away from books and toward other media.

Out of this nexus came my unspecific remarks that gente were not reading the book after gaining possession of one. The Newmarks were upset that such an impression had been miscommunicated, after all, over 300,000 copies are in circulation, and the book provides the core for numerous parenting programs across the nation.

Of course folks are reading the book! But more need to read it, hence the audiobook project I described last week. Much as I bemoan people not reading, there's no reason not to make the information available through their ears and the four CD discs comprising each set. After all, a book in the CD player is worth one on the "haven't gotten around to it yet" list.

Sometimes It's Better Not to Pay Attention to the Ads.

So I'm reading through my electronic NY Times and click on the horror story from Austria, a freak imprisoned his daughter in a basement, impregnating her multiple times. I'm about to click away from the text when I notice the ad bug running below the email this link, to the right of the text. "Love knows no boundaries" it reads. I wonder if this is an example of technology run amok context placement, where the ad robot "reads" text in the article and places advertising congruent with the lexical data. I browse a few more stories in the Grey Lady, and different stories have different ad bugs. So who knows how this happens, but criminy, I'd think the Times might want to hire an editor to avoid such unfortunate ironies.

Oaxaca Wood Carver Jesus Sosa Calvo at Avenue50Studio. Speaking of sculpture, Oaxaca produces some of the most delightful exemplars of sculpture. These critters beg to be handled, smiled at, given to someone who deserves them. When I received an email Highland Park's (Los Angeles) Avenue 50 Studio was hosting a trunk show featuring the work of master wood carver Jesus Sosa Calvo, I looked at my calendar with trepidation, hoping not to find a Taper show or Disney concert or some other obligatory fete that would keep me from enjoying the array of delights sure to be seen at Avenue 50.

I arrived early enough to take my time enjoying the current exhibit, "Natura: Mythology, Spirit, Memory," featuring paintings and assemblages by El Lay artists Pat Gomez, Karen Bonfigli, and Andrés Montoya. Intriguing work like this deserves leisurely involvement of eye and mind.

Jesus Sosa Calvo arrayed dozens of totally affordable pieces. I bought the two silver colored gatas shown in the upper left quadrant of the photomontage above. And as I was driving home I regretted not buying several of the gatitas in that photo. I have no idea why I didn't; maybe because the silver cats had so arrested my eye.

Sosa carves his figuras de madera copal. I asked if it were the same copal tree that gives incense, and he replied yes. But there's a difference. The copal negro is the resin-rich one that yields the aromatic sap. The copal blanco produces less resin and is the wood Sosa uses for his sculpture.

I asked him if he had access to the internet so I could email him the photos and he replied "it's an internet world." Of course he has correo electronico at home in San Martin Tilcajete, Ocotlan, Oax.

Folks planning to attend one of Avenue 50's outstanding events, such as the 4th Sunday of every month's poetry reading, "La Palabra," or the Saturday, May 3, 2008 poetry event, The Black/Brown Dialogues: Inspiration House Poetry Choir at 7:00 p.m., should arrive early enough to park behind the gallery, as the Avenue 50 events attract energetic crowds. From Avenue 50's website: Commissioned by Kathy Gallegos, Director of Avenue 50 Studio, “The Black/Brown Dialogues”, featuring Inspiration House PoetryChoir, honors healthy and ethical cultural dialogue between the African and Latino communities, at one of Latino LA's most important independent galleries. Using the Inspiration House PoetryChoir format, poets read their work while master musicians improvise musical responses to the poetry, blending words, intonations, audience responses, and dynamic silence into a sonic tapestry that's entrancing and exhilarating. The poetry series is curated by Peter J. Harris, artistic director, Inspiration House, which produces work dedicated to leaving its audiences renewed and recommitted to cultural work that contributes to the creation of a humane society.

Read! Raza. Buy! Raza. Support Your Local Indie Bookseller / Support Your Local Raza Bookseller!


Yesterday's Daniel Olivas column carried the dismal tidings of the impending shuttering of Orange County's Libreria Martinez. For most small businesses, the only remedy to this type of bad news is sales. People need to patronize these businesses and buy books there. Not at Amazon, not at some internet joint, but at a brick-and-mortar concern, or the internet outlet of a real bookseller, like Libreria Martinez.

Please comment, tell La Bloga's readers where you buy your books in your community. The greatest resource in your city could be around the corner from a reader who doesn't know it.

If you're in Los Angeles, you will want to buy your books at places like IMIX in Eagle Rock, or out in the Valley, at Tia Chucha. Support your local bookseller, buy books, buy art, buy curios, buy jewelry, buy coffee...whatever they're selling, be a customer. Please.

So it goes, this April's final Tuesday.

It's springtime. La Chickenada continues productive outlay, a reliable four brown blanquillos daily.

My Salmon Epiphyllums are blooming with spectacular gratification. the red epis are covered with blossoms promising a fabulous next two weeks' show.

Today, the first Aster opened a deep magenta bud. Giant blooms coming this weekend. And if California's 90 degree days continue unabated, I'll wilt as the flowers thrive. All in all, a worthwhile tradeoff.

See you next week!
mvs

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