Friday, April 22, 2011

It's All Good - News That Fits



The Metropolitan State College of Denver President's Office of Institutional Diversity and the Department of Chicana/o Studies present the 4th Annual Lalo Delgado Poetry Festival - "Man on a Mission" - April 25, 2011, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM at St. Cajetan's Event Center, Auraria Campus.

Metro will celebrate Delgado’s life and career (he taught there for seventeen years) with a variety of events led by Chicano scholar Joe Navarro and punctuated with appearances by Delgado’s family, Metro officials and Lieutenant Governor Joseph Garcia, along with numerous readings and tributes from local poets. All events are free; for more information, call Metro’s Chicano Studies department at 303-556-3124.



PROGRAM: Lalo: Man on A Mission

MC Adriana Duran-Hodge

9:00 - 9:15 a.m. Prayer, Jim Garcia

9:15 - 9:30 a.m. Blessing Ceremony - Azteca Groupo Chimaltonalli

9:30 - 9:45 a.m. Introductions - Amanda Duran

9:45 - 10:00 a.m. Lalo's Poem "La Llorona: Ronnie Ortega

10:00 -10:30 a.m. Guest Poet: Joe Navarro, Chicano Scholar

10:30 -11:00 a.m. Dr. Luis Torres, MSCD Deputy Provost Academic Affairs

Poetry Readings - Lalo's Great-Grandchildren: Lalito Ayala, Mariah Jo Bradley, Daniel Jugret, Evelyn Ramirez, Aliana Inez Velasquez, Michael Alexander Vidal

11:00- 11:15 a.m Poets-

11:15 - 11:30 a.m. Dr. Steven Jordan, President MSCD

11:30 - 11:45 a.m. Colorado Lt. Governor Joseph Garcia

11:45 - 12:15 p.m. Lunch - Grupo Folklorico Sabor Latino

12:15 - 2:00 p.m. Poets: Ricardo Lafore, Amadeo Miera, Dr. Ramon del Castillo, Ken Arkind,

Renee Bryant, Sarah & Ryan Jones

2:00 - 2:30 p.m. Award of Lalo Delgado Scholarships: Professor Steven Cantu




In the spring issue of AARP VIVA, Carlos Fuentes expounds on a wide variety of topics. Here are a few quotes from the magazine:

On retiring: “Retiring is the worst thing you can do for your mind. Then what? You ride around on a bicycle? You have to work until the very end.”

On his grandparents’ legacy: "They gave me two things. On one side was a severity, punctuality and discipline; the other gave me joy and creativity.”

On the importance of education: “Without education, there’s no knowledge. Without knowledge there’s no development. Without development there’s no progress. Everything is linked.”

On being a writer: “First comes love, for one’s wife, children, family and friends. Then comes what we do as writers. Without that life, I couldn’t have written those books; without those books, I wouldn’t have lived.”




April 27 Wine of the Americas Tasting Event. Come hear Executive Director Maruca Salazar talk about art of the Americas while the wine experts from Divino Wine and Spirits enhance your taste for wines from the rich soils of Argentina, Chile and New Mexico. $20 suggested donation, all proceeds benefit our education and community programming. 5:00- 7:00 p.m. Museo de las Americas, 861 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204. A glass of Malbec sounds good right about now.



This event is special, so I am repeating the information from the Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book.

Widely acknowledged as Latin America's greatest living poet and activist, Ernesto Cardenal, will make a stop in Denver as part of a 12 city North American tour to celebrate the release of his newest collection of poetry, The Origin of Species and Other Poems (Texas Tech University Press, 2011).

The author of more than thirty-five books, many translated into multiple languages, Nicaraguan poet Ernesto Cardenal was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1965. His studies with Trappist monk Thomas Merton and his involvement with the Sandinista movement in his home country have informed his writing and political activism. He lives in Managua, Nicaragua, where he is vice president of Casa de los Tres Mundos, a literary and arts cultural organization.

Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book, in partnership with Museo de las Americas, is pleased to present this Hispanic Heritage Live special event in honor of National Poetry Month. The event will take place at Museo de las Americas and be presented in the round, so the audience has the opportunity to engage with the author. Following the reading there will be a Q&A moderated by Irene Vilar, editor of The Americas Series at Texas Tech University Press.

Reading and discussion with the author at Museo de las Americas, 861 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204 on Friday April 22, 2011 at 6:30pm. For information: Tim Hernandez, tzhernandez@coloradohumanities.org or 303.894.7951 x19


Breathing, In Dust Wins Premio Aztlán

This excellent novel, reviewed on La Bloga at this page, is the recipient of the Premio Aztlán for 2010. On the same page you can also find an interview with Tim Z. Hernandez, the author of Breathing, In Dust. The review noted: "Tim Z. Hernandez is the latest writer I have read whose promise is obvious, whose talent is rich, and whose honest and unflinching debut novel, Breathing, In Dust, deserves a wide-readership and critical attention." Winning this award should help on both points.

According to Facebook and Wikipedia:

The Premio Aztlán Literary Prize is a national literary award for emerging Chicana/o Chicano authors, founded in 1993 by Rudolfo and Patricia Anaya. The award was originally sponsored by the University of New Mexico, but was moved in 2008 to the National Hispanic Cultural Center.

The award is limited to short-story collections and novels (but not children's or young-adult novels) published by a professional press during the previous calendar year. Moreover, the author must be living and must not have published more than two books. The winner receives $1,000 and presents a lecture at that year's National Latino Writers Conference.

_______________________________

Tim Hernandez is one of the primary organizers of the Ernesto Cardenal event (see above). Tim recently returned to Denver and is now the Center for the Book Program Coordinator. Congratulations, Tim - many of us are eagerly waiting for the next one.

That's it - go out there and make your own good news.

Later.

1 comment:

msedano said...

25 pieces of a chicano mind is the first work of "chicano" literature i owned. sabes que? i'd love to see kids memorize and recite "stupid america" and "el inmigrante".