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