Food and drink, cubano and mexicano. And books.

I must have a holiday/food/cooking hangover. Made chocolate cookies this week, dipped in powdered sugar and covered with a frosting of chocolate fudge. Also drank my last bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, all by myself. 13.8%, thick as light syrup and hearty as a buffalo burger.

Which reminds me, hipster redevelopment is ruining even our white restaurant-bars. My favorite place for ribs, buffalo burger and a Southwick's Ale, Big Hoss, was sold and now there's only one kind of buffalo burger, the ale is gone and the décor went minimalist. Luckily, my daughter sent us to the Roo Bar that's got a great burger, lots of micros, is cheaper and close to Denver's Northside. Yeah, it's preppy, but that's the way the barrio goes.

Yesterday, I made frijoles with ham hocks, and pork green chile--delicioso, dicen. Then there was a buffalo roast last week that was to die for. Chingaus, I'm hungry. Anyway, here some Latino-book-food news:

Another Bloguista book

Last week at Denver's Tattered Cover Bookstore, La Bloga's Lydia Gil read from her new bilingual children's book, Letters from Heaven / Cartas del Cielo.

About Letters, from Arte Público Press:

“The protagonist, Celeste, moves through a grieving process following the death of her beloved grandmother…Healing begins when the girl receives posthumous letters from Grandma filled with love, advice, and special memories. In spite of quarrels with school friends and a bully who makes her life difficult, Celeste finds solace with the family’s network of adult female friends who help her with recipes.”—School Library Journal

Lydis was also recently interviewed in a Denver Post article, "Endangered Cuban cuisine preserved by cooks in America." She talks about Cuban food and traditional recipes that are in the article and her book. It's a "flip" book, meaning you can read the English version straight through, or flip it over to read the story Spanish. It's a sweet onee, somewhat magical in its realism. If you get a chance, go hear one of her readings.

March 5-6, 2015, Reading Rock Stars, Rio Grande Valley, Tex.

March 19, 2015, Thursday, time TBA. Presentation & Discussion at Palm Beach State College, Boca Raton, Florida.

April 15, 2015, Wednesday, 2pm. Panel on “Help Children Cope” at the Texas Library Association Annual Conference, Austin Convention Center, Austin, Tex.

April 18, 2015, Saturday, 1-4pm. Día de los niños, día de los libros celebration, Houston Public Library, Julia Ideson Buildilng, 500 McKinney, Houston, Tex.

April 27, 2015, Monday, Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club, April 2015 Selection, Teleconference

Why Mexicans Should Learn to Love Hipsters

In his latest video, Ask a Mexican Gustavo Arellano takes his tongue out of his cheek, just a little, to slap at the biggest pest plaguing our Latino communities--hipster redevelopment.

As Gustavo says, "Though the issue of gentrification rears its happy head in various manifestations, the most obvious front is food, battlefield for $17 burritos, "street" tacos and the ever-popular mezcal. I mention most of this in my latest ¡Ask a Mexican! video, which ridicules hipsters but nevertheless urges tolerance for their columbusing ways…. HA!"

I've been doing what I can to reeducate young Anglos moving in around me, but you can check out Gustavo's whole video for his game plan. And he'll be running around Aztlán (the Southwest, hipsters) plugging his Taco USA – How Mexican Food Conquered America book that I just love.

Es todo, hoy, 'cause I gotta go eat something,

RudyG, a.k.a. Chicano spec author Rudy Ch. Garcia, who just finished a time-travel story with a theme of--surprise!--hunger.