Livin' the Dream

dog gone
dog days
dog me

Notes About New Books

The Maid's Daughter: Living Inside and Outside the American Dream
Mary Romero
New York University Press - September, 2011

From Prerana Swami, NYU Press:

"I see that La Bloga features some great information and links of interest to the Latin community and I thought your readers might be interested in reading an excerpt from a new book about growing up Latina in America called The Maid’s Daughter. Library Journal calls the book, “A valuable case study and a dramatic life story, this oral history explores identity and illuminates race, class, and gender in America at a peculiarly intimate intersection between upper-middle-class white families and the women of color who provide domestic labor for them.”

The afterword is now available on scribd.com. Here’s the web address: http://www.scribd.com/doc/61057126/Crossing-the-Border."
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In this penetrating case study, Romero examines the life history of Olivia Salazar, a successful public relations professional who grew up in a wealthy Anglo household where her mother worked as a domestic servant.The author followed her subject for more than 20 years, gathering data through a series of in-depth interviews that began in 1986. She organizes her analysis around actual interview segments, which she explicates with a rare combination of rigor and sensitivity.

Olivia was the American-born daughter of a Mexican woman named Carmen who had originally come to the United States to find work that would allow her to support family members that lived south of the border. When Olivia was three, Carmen located a job in an exclusive Los Angeles gated community. It was here that Olivia would spend most of the next 15 years growing up as a "member" of the Smiths, the wealthy family that employed Carmen. While her mother worked within the defined—and frequently exploitative—parameters of domestic servitude, Olivia occupied an uneasy interpersonal, cultural and economic middle ground. As Romero writes, "the social boundaries between 'being like one of the family' and 'the maid's daughter' [were] blurred and in constant flux." Olivia's association with the Smiths gave her access to the schooling and social connections that allowed her to eventually enter the ranks of the professional middle class. At the same time, it put her at odds with a mother unable to provide complete nurture while forcing her into anguished questioning of who she was and where she ultimately belonged. A moving work that deconstructs the American Dream at the fraught intersection of race, class and gender. Kirkus Reviews
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Mary Romero is Professor of Justice Studies at Arizona University and a Carnegie Scholar with the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Her books include Challenging Fronteras: Structuring Latina and Latino Lives in the U.S.




Guantanamo Boy
Anna Perera
Albert Whitman & Company - July, 2011 (originally published in the UK in 2009)

Innocent until proven guilty? Not here you're not. Robbed of his childhood, this is one boy's fictional experience of the supposed war on terror. Khalid, a fifteen-year-old Muslim boy from England, is abducted from Pakistan while on holiday with is family. He is taken to Guantanamo Bay and held without charge, where his hopes and dreams are crushed under the cruellest of circumstances. An innocent denied his freedom at a time when most boys are finding theirs, Khalid tries and fails to understand what's happening to him.

Awards

Summer 2011 Children's Indie Next List

Reviews

"A chilling and horrifying story of an innocent 15-year-old London-born Pakistani boy who is captured by the U.S. government, taken to Guantanamo Prison and tortured until he collapses. The novel will raise important questions related to government profiling, human rights, and the use of 'torture.' This may well become one of the most important teen novels about social justice of the new century. It will be chewed up, debated, and hopefully digested." Pat Scales, Librarian, Author, and member, National Coalition Against Censorship Council of Advisors

"Readers will feel every ounce of Khalid's terror, frustration, and helplessness in this disturbing look at a sad, ongoing chapter in contemporary history."
Publishers Weekly

"...this gripping look at a poorly defined war's unintended consequences uniquely challenges readers to examine common beliefs and ask searching questions about means and ends."
Kirkus Reviews

"Set six months after 9/11, this unforgettable novel raises crucial headline issues through the story of teenage Khalid, born near Manchester, England in a secular Muslim family."
STARRED REVIEW, Booklist

American Night: the Ballad of Juan José

Oct 7, 2011-Nov 20, 2011

The Ricketson Theatre
Denver Center for the Performing Arts
Speer & Arapahoe, Denver, CO

Subscribe today at 303.893.6030
Single tickets on sale Aug 14

By Richard Montoya & Culture Clash

In this brash new comedy, Juan Jose pulls an all-nighter to take his U.S. citizenship exam so he can bring his family to America. Delirious and sleep-deprived, he is visited by a cast of crazy and diverse figures from U.S. history.

Created and developed by L.A.’s theatre collective, Culture Clash, American Night is a fresh, theatrical portrait of “Coming to America.”

LATINO PUBLIC BROADCASTING TO RECEIVE THE IMAGEN FOUNDATION’S PRESTIGIOUS NORMAN LEAR AWARD
AWARD TO BE PRESENTED AT IMAGEN AWARDS GALA ON AUGUST 12

Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB), a non-profit organization funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, is pleased to announce that it will be honored with the prestigious Norman Lear Award at the 26th Annual Imagen Awards gala on Friday, August 12th, 2011 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. The Norman Lear Award is given each year to a Latino writer or entity that has excelled creatively to dispel negative stereotypes and perceptions of the Latino community. Latino Pubic Broadcasting Executive Director Sandie Viquez Pedlow and LPB founder and Chairman of the Board Edward James Olmos will be on hand to accept the award.

The Imagen Awards were created 26 years ago by The National Conference for Community and Justice (formerly The National Conference of Christians and Jews), based on a suggestion by television producer Norman Lear to improve media portrayals of the Latino community in feature films and television. Called “the Golden Globes of the Latino community,” the Imagen Awards are one of the most prestigious awards of its kind in the entertainment industry.

An excerpt of the award announcement follows: “Through the funding and supporting of Latino oriented programming for public television, Latino Public Broadcasting has made a significant contribution in creating a better understanding of Latinos and Latino cultures in the United States. LPB’s noncommercial educational and cultural programming has given a voice to our community and shared with the nation the beauty of our traditions and our contributions to the arts, culture and the humanities. In addition, LPB has provided numerous opportunities for Latino producers through their support and promotion of television projects as well as independent films. As Mr. Lear impacted the thoughts and perceptions of television viewers so has LPB. There is no one more deserving of this Norman Lear legacy award than Latino Public Broadcasting.”

LPB Founder and Chairman of the Board Edward James Olmos said, “These are exciting, dynamic as well as challenging times for public media and this award is a true honor and a wonderful validation of our work at LPB. As our Latino community increases in numbers, diversity and influence, we are more committed than ever to helping producers tell our stories and reaching ever broader audiences.”

LPB’s Sandie Viquez Pedlow assumed the role of Executive Director in July after a long career in public media and as an LPB board member. Pedlow said, “Since our inception thirteen years ago, Latino Public Broadcasting has strived to champion the Latino creative community. We’ve shepherded more than 200 projects, including several Imagen Award winners and nominees, including this year’s Best Documentary nominee The Longoria Affair. It’s an honor to be recognized by our community and we look plan to continue breaking new ground, breaking down barriers and creating programming that reflects our wonderfully rich and diverse experience.”

About Latino Public Broadcasting
LPB brings new audiences to public television with a recognizable impact on a broad range of viewers that complement and challenge existing public television offerings. LPB’s mission is to support the development, production, post-production, acquisition and distribution of non-commercial educational and cultural content that is representative of or addresses issues of particular interest to U.S. Latinos. Created in 1998 by Edward James Olmos and Marlene Dermer, LPB has provided more than 100 hours of programming to public television, funded more than 200 projects, and organized approximately 100 workshops, panels and screenings for the advancement of Latino producers to showcase the rich spectrum of Latino-American culture. LPB collaborates with other minority consortia, and works closely with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), American Public Television (APT), Independent Television Service (ITVS) and POV to maximize its presence on public television. Latino Public Broadcasting is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. For more information, go to www.lpbp.org.

About The Imagen Awards
The Imagen Awards program was established in 1985 from a suggestion by veteran television producer Norman Lear to encourage and recognize the positive portrayals of Latinos in the media. Later, as The Imagen Foundation, it expanded its programs and initiatives to further its mission to serve as a bridge between the Latino community and the entertainment industry in providing access, education, and resources for Latinos in the industry, as well as those seeking careers in entertainment.

Final Bits

Don't forget that Melinda Palacio and Lucrecia Guerrero read from and sign their new books at the Tattered Cover here in Denver - tonight at 7:30 PM (Colfax store.) You all should check out the event and support these fine authors. You should also hop over to the Poets & Writers site where Melinda expounds on one of her secrets for becoming a better writer. Click here.

Later.