Friday, November 01, 2013

Journalistic Courage and El Rancho de Más Allá

Journalistic Courage Highlighted in Denver

The Tattered Cover book store in Denver consistently presents an exciting array of literary events that features world-renown writers as well as homegrown (Colorado) talent. Last week I was able to get signed copies of books from two of my favorite Denver writers: Mañana Means Heaven by Tim Z. Hernandez and Fallen Women by Sandra Dallas. This coming week features another strong lineup - I'll point out two that spotlight excellent journalism and the search for the truth behind the tabloid headlines. Unfortunately, these two reporters are scheduled for the same night at the same time, in different Tattered Cover locations. Which one will you pick to attend?

Alfredo Corchado - Midnight in Mexico

Nov 4 2013 7:30 pm

Historic LoDo: Noted Mexican-American journalist Alfredo Corchado will discuss and sign his new book Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter’s Journey Through a Country’s Descent into Darkness (Penguin Press). “Midnight in Mexico is the story of a journalist’s dangerous and notable efforts to report on Mexico’s horrible drug wars.

The book brings a special clarity, the clarity of the personal and particular, to a very important and confusing subject, and it is in itself an absorbing story, marked by careful attention to fact and also by the author’s deep love for his homeland. Mr. Corchado is the kind of reporter and writer who revives one’s faith in journalism.” —Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Strength in What Remains

Can’t make it to the signing? Request an autographed copy here: books@tatteredcover.com

1628 16th Street at Wynkoop in Denver

Praise for Midnight in Mexico:

"Anyone interested in what is happening and has happened in Mexico for the past six years must read this book. We can call what is happening in Mexico a 'drug war' but that phrase cheapens the politics and the economics that govern the relationship between the United States and Mexico. I believe Midnight in Mexico will become one of the most necessary books about the Mexican-American experience in this country. More than a journalist, Alfredo Corchado is the real thing, a voice that represents millions of people." —Benjamin Alire Sáenz, American Book Award winning author of Calendar of Dust

"A riveting account that features many of the places and personalities that have been central to Mexico's recent nightmare…Corchado is a dogged and savvy journalist who manages to be everywhere a good reporter should be… A unique binational perspective on the two countries he calls home, expressing admiration for the determination of U.S. and Mexican officials to fight a shared problem by taking on shared responsibility."
—San Francisco Chronicle

Stephen Jimenez - The Book of Matt

Nov 4 2013 7:30 pm

Colfax Avenue: Award-winning journalist Stephen Jimenez will discuss and sign his new book The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths About the Murder of Matthew Shepard (Steerforth Press), which re-frames this crime and its cast of characters, proving irrefutably

that Matthew Shepard was not killed for being gay but for reasons far more complicated—and daunting

Can’t make it to the signing? Request an autographed copy here: books@tatteredcover.com

2526 East Colfax Avenue, Denver

Praise for The Book of Matt:

"An award-winning journalist uncovers the suppressed story behind the death of Matthew Shepard. . . . As Jimenez deconstructs an event that has since passed into the realm of mythology, he humanizes it. The result is a book that is fearless, frank and compelling. Investigative journalism at its relentless and compassionate best." — Kirkus Reviews

"What if nearly everything you thought you knew about Matthew Shepard’s murder was wrong? What if our most fiercely held convictions about the circumstances of that fatal night of October 6, 1998, have obscured other, more critical, aspects of the case? . . . None of this is idle speculation; it’s the fruit of years of dogged investigation by journalist Stephen Jimenez, himself gay. In the course of his reporting, Jimenez interviewed over 100 subjects, including friends of Shepard and of his convicted killers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, as well as the killers themselves. . . . In the process, he amassed enough anecdotal evidence to build a persuasive case that Shepard’s sexuality was, if not incidental, certainly less central than popular consensus has led us to believe." — Aaron Hicklin, Editor-in-Chief of Out magazine, in The Advocate

Hoy Aquí, Mañana Allá

The Mexican Cultural Center, housed in the offices of the Consulate General of Mexico in Denver, annually prepares an exhibit celebrating Día de Muertos. The exhibit is created each year by the Center staff along with artists Rita Wallace and Adrian Marban. This year's exhibit is an elaborate recreation of a Mexican village, El Rancho de Más Allá. The "village" is imagined by more than a dozen stalls representing Mexican village life -- la cocina, un carnaval, a bakery, even a bride on the way to her wedding, all set against the celebration of Día de Muertos. A visitor quickly learns that this village is the home to a very unique population and a place where each day honors the memories of those who have passed on to something eternal. We visited the exhibit recently and here are a few photos. I recommend you stop by the Center -- you won't be disappointed. The exhibit is on display until November 8 and open to the public, free of charge.

Mexican Cultural Center
5350 Leetsdale Drive, Suite 200
Denver

[click on photos for larger images]