La Bloga Welcome At LitFest, Banned On Face. For Mother, On-line Floricanto

La Bloga Meets Gente At Pasadena LitFest
Michael Sedano

It helps having conectas. Melinda Palacio had one of those desultory conversations that segue into business and in this case, that business manifested as a panel at Pasadena, California's annual LitFest. Getting a slot on the program is a challenge for most, so Melinda scored a coup for La Bloga and gente of Pasadena.

This year the festival, organized by the Light Bringer Project, occupied the Playhouse District. Once the go-to college for Hollywood aspirants, Pasadena Playhouse now limits itself to staging out-of-town tryouts, revivals, and original work like an upcoming Culture Clash. (link). Unlike "Old Pasadena", parking is free and available in the district. The Playhouse District is where the locals gather to avoid the tourists.

Vroman's Bookstore, one of the last free-standing independent booksellers in the San Gabriel Valley, has long stood on this isolated stretch of Colorado Boulevard. The bookstore sponsored author readings in its airy patio. Across the street from the Playhouse, al fresco poetry reading delighted boulevardiers and coffee sippers.

La Bloga: Chicanx and Latinx Community. Banned, Sometimes Buried, But Always Online took place at 530 p.m. in the living room-like space of a recently opened condo development adjacent to Vroman's.

La Bloga turns 14 this Fall and has found its way to the computer screens of over four million visitors. Yet, according the Facebook, La Bloga is a dangerous site and is blocked from the popular site. Thus the "banned" in the title.

A gratifying handful of souls found their way to The Andalucia to hear Daniel Olivas, Olga Garcia, Melinda Palacio, Rene Colato Laínez, and Michael Sedano. Despite its location at Vroman's rear entrance, the room in the Andalucia is around the corner on the other side of the building.

Only a few attending have been part of the 4 million visitors, so the panel introduced a new resource to readers. Others were familiar with the blog and shared disappointment learning how Facebook has banned La Bloga. Any friend wishing to share the words "labloga.blogspot.com"gets interrupted with a screen telling the user La Bloga is a dangerous site.


For Mother: On-Line Floricanto
Eréndira Santillana, Edward Vidaurre, Briana Muñoz, Nephtalí De Leon, Vanessa Caraveo, Sarah St George, Julieta Corpus, Anatalia Vallez, Odilia Galván Rodríguez

“Nantli” Por Eréndira Santillana
“The Age of Softening” By Edward Vidaurre
“Mother” By Briana Muñoz
“Mamá” By Nephtalí De Leon
“Final Reflections” By Vanessa Caraveo
“Mother” By Sarah St George
“This Constant Ache” By Julieta Corpus
“Bond” By Anatalia Vallez
“Itzpapalotl” By Odilia Galván Rodríguez


Nantli
Por Eréndira Santillana

Yehua in xochitl,
Xiquiyehua ipan moyollo,
panpa nimiztlazohtla,
panpa nimiztlazohtla,
ica nochi noyollo.
-"Xiquiyehua in xochitl", canción de arrullo nahua

En esta oscuridad, nantli,
abrazo la flor de tu canto
soy el niño
que se cobija en el río
y cada noche
aguardo en el recodo
para presenciar
tu amor
mover mis ondas,
vendaval ardiente
que surge
al pronunciar tu nombre.

Yehua in xochitl,
Xiquiyehua ipan moyollo,
panpa nimiztlazohtla,
panpa nimiztlazohtla,
ica nochi noyollo.

El recodo está vacío, madre
tu viento no me reconoce
y entre la serpiente de agua
antes grávida, hoy tranquila,
me ahogo
en los caudales de mi padre
mi ser, atado, toca fondo
me ahogo
no puedo recordarte mujer-viento
¿y si, quizá, nunca supe tu nombre?
¿y si la canción que movía
mi manta de agua
era un sueño
como la flor caída del cielo
el grito del huracán
y las hazañas del Sol?
Me ahogo...

Guarda esta flor
guárdala en tu corazón
porque te amo
porque te amo
con todo mi corazón.



The Age of Softening/ La Edad de la Suavización
By Edward Vidaurre

I see pictures of my mother
with silver hair, the age of softening

Is in her house now. Dad has gone,
she swallows the clouds that pass

Hoping to taste his sweat one last time
Hoping to taste his tears one last time

Mom, when did we grow up and forget
your cradling hands and sweet kisses?

I want to be that child again. I want to
be held in your arms snuggling with

My face buried in your neck, and feel your
Hands pat me to sleep. When did I forget

You worked jobs that had you hunched over
for hours at a time and still came home to

Clean up our mess? How many times
did I tell you I Love you? Was it enough?

When I sleep, may my breaths
be odes of love for you.


La Edad de la Suavización
Por Edward Vidaurre

Veo fotos de mi madre
con el cabello blanco, la edad de la suavización

Ha llegado a su hogar. Papá se ha ido,
ella se traga las nubes que pasan

Esperando probar su sudor por última vez
Esperando probar sus lágrimas por última vez

Madre, ¿cuándo crecimos y olvidamos
tus manos que acunaban y tus dulces besos?

Quiero volver a ser ese niño. Quiero que vuelvas
a tenerme entre tus brazos acurrucado con

Mi rostro escondido en tu cuello, y sentir tus manos
palmeando mi cabeza para dormirme. ¿Cuándo olvidé

Que realizabas labores que te mantenían jorobada
por horas y horas y aun así regresabas a casa y

Limpiabas nuestro desorden? ¿Cuántas veces
te dije Te Amo? ¿Fueron suficientes?

Mientras duermo, que cada una de mis exhalaciones
sean odas de mi amor por ti.



Mother
By Briana Muñoz

My mother is a mystical creature
Her skinny fingers have the ability
To cure ailments
By holding a wet cloth on sweaty foreheads
Her humming fills rooms
With chirping birds
Singing songs of serenity
Rocking insomniacs to sleep
Do all mothers come from the same place?
Sculpted from hands of empathy?
I think so.
Though I realize, that some do stray from these origins
If governments were run by mothers
No child would go hungry
And homelessness would be,
Only a tale told
Around campfires
To the younger kids
My mother is a mystical creature



Mamá
By Nephtalí De Leon

Mamá.
Cuatro letras.
Cuatro hijos.

¡Qué misterio tan profundo,
tan lejano
evoca el nombre!

Cuatro letras
calcinadas
en el fondo de las almas.

¿Qué misterio
germinado en tierra blanda
brota alegre
al palpitar?

Cuatro letras.
Cuatro metas.

Recorristes calles negras,
y tus manos afanosas
con la dulzura de rosas
forjaron cuatro caminos.

Cuatro letras.
Cuatro espinas.

Absimaste la lectura
de gran sabios y de santos
y forjaste mi destino.

Cuatro letras.
Cuatro hijos.

Con el arte de tus manos
y las rimas de tu mente
modelastes dulceménte
la vida de mis hermanos.

Mamá.
Cuatro letras que contienen
el misterio de mi infancia,
el eco de mis ensueños,
la inquietud de mis recuerdos.

Cuatro letras.
Cuatro letras que bendigo
en cada puerto remoto --
ya que no existe olvido
ni imaginable distancia
que nuble ni tu memoria
ni la risa de mi infancia.

Mamá.
Cuatro letras.

¿Qué me diste madre mía –
que cuando observo la noche
y se alumbra de luces bellas
lloro de tanta alegría?

¿Qué me has dado madre mía –
que cuando sufro una pena
y veo las blancas estrellas
radiantes en su esplendor –
silvo y canto de dolor?

Cuatro letras.
Cuatro vidas.

Cuatro vidas ya forjadas
cual piedras y joyas finas
del árbol y del vida
que se convierte en carbón;
y luego, después de duras veintenas
alumbran su forjador …

Mamá:
Cuatro letras de hermosura
que encierran con gran ternura …
la grandeza, la violencia,
el misterio de la vida –
y el total …
¡de toda la existencia!



Final Reflections
By Vanessa Carave

Lying next to you on the hospital bed
I know the time is coming near
I squeeze your pale thin hand once more
And touch your forehead gently with my warm hand.
We’ve been through so much together
We faced it all
When others walked away we made it.
You taught me what truly matters in life
We all have the same heart and a person’s value lies within them.
I made mistakes in life
You forgave me with your unconditional love which knows no boundaries.
When I felt I couldn’t go on
Your words uplifted me to not give up and keep fighting like a true warrior.
You sacrificed so much and always put me first
You are the epitome of true unconditional love.
I slowly lean over to give you a soft kiss on your forehead
I see a small tear form in the corner of your eye and the slightest hint of a smile
Thank you mother
Before you go please know this,
I love you
You will always live in my heart.



Mother
By Sarah St George

Mother,

I am so sorry to bother you,
I know you are busy

Counting down the days to the rapture,
Arguing with empty chairs

It's just that it's a beautiful day
and I was thinking maybe we could take the kids for a walk in the park

They still ask about you
each time we drive by your place

Don't worry,
Your wine bottles and dead husband
will be exactly where you left them
when you get back home.



This Constant Ache
By Julieta Corpus

Everyday I wake up like this---
Missing you. Not much has changed
Since you left us. Ni el caudal de lágrimas,
Ni la mirada ausente de papá después
De que platica contigo en sueños. Your
Name remains hidden in the soft ridges
Of each of your children's lips. None of
Us dare to say your name out loud. We
Fear suffocating beneath grief's avalanche.

Dejamos tus cenizas entre la espuma
Del oceáno, mixing forever with salt,
Flotsam, and seaweed. By now, you have
Travelled around the world more than
A few times. I remember that day as though
It just happened. I remember Dad's hands
Hanging limply, shaking slightly. He looked
Lost and smaller, somehow---shrunken.

Our older brother waded in the water
With the rectangular blue box that contained
Your ashes. My sisters and I sang you
Into your final resting place while the seagulls
Seemed to keep a respectful distance.
The moment was both beautiful and terrible,
All at once.

Ever since, I look away from any newspaper
Advertisement or tv commercial announcing
Mother's Day. Too painful--a constant ache.
Our loss is a sparrow's injured wing, a moon-
Less August sky, a thirsty hummingbird, a
Mockingbird's plaintive call.

Everyday I wake up like this--missing you, Mamá



bond
By Anatalia Vallez

as a fetus my mother inhaled love
it lingered in her vocal chords
then traveled to her stomach
through her umbilical chord
and into me
it now lives between my stomach and diaphragm

Perhaps that's why I exist
to exhale what was trapped in my mothers throat

vínculo
Por Anatalia Vallez

cuando aun estaba en su vientre
mi mamá inspiró amor
perduro en sus cuerdas vocales
se desenvolvió en su estómago
y viajo por la cuerda umbilical
hasta llegar a mi
ahorra vive entre mi estómago y diafragma

Tal vez por eso existo
para exhalar lo que se detuvo en su garganta

Itzpapalotl
By Odilia Galván Rodríguez

for my mother and all the mothers
Itzpapalotl


Butterfly warrior woman
you were forged in fire
fierce in your desire
to transform yourself and
your world
from the red-orange flames
to birth and inspire
new nations without borders

Oh precious star
your beauty does not blind me
nor do the tongues of your flames
I am not frightened
to walk into your embrace
you Obsidian Flower
who like the sharpest knife
cuts through all the lies and
shapeshifts tomorrows


Meet the Poets
“Nantli” Por Eréndira Santillana
“The Age of Softening” By Edward Vidaurre
“Mother” By Briana Muñoz
“Mamá” By Nephtalí De Leon
“Final Reflections” By Vanessa Caraveo
“Mother” By Sarah St George
“This Constant Ache” By Julieta Corpus
“Bond” By Anatalia Vallez
“Itzpapalotl” By Odilia Galván Rodríguez

Briana Muñoz is a writer from San Marcos, California. She is a full time student and enjoys writing about what she observes around her on her free time. She writes fictional short stories, creative non-fiction and poetry. Briana is striving to publish her works some time in the near future.

Nephtali De Leon, is a poet, author, playwright, muralist painter and screenwriter. A migrant worker, he published his first book while a senior in high school, which was the last experience with formal education that he cared to be involved with. His works have been translated into Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Catalan… into a total of 12 languages. He writes for all ages , from elementary to University levels, and illustrates most of his works. He has been published in USA, Mexico, France, Spain and China. His dream is to have Mexica Chicano Natives de-colonize themselves from misnomers such as “Latinos” and “Hispanics,” which he says hold us as psycho/physical hostages of ourselves in a self-colonizing perpetuity that needs the chains to be broken. His most recent book (of eight already published), will be his fourth presently being published in Valencia, Spain. The book will contain at least 5 languages of the many he has been translated into, so that issues such as the Aytozinapa’s search for justice -- goes worldwide.

Vanessa Caraveo has been avidly involved in writing throughout the years and was published in HWG’s, “Out of Many One: Celebrating Diversity,” 2017 anthology and “Boundless 2018: The Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival” anthology, both available on Amazon. She had her winning essays published for the IMIA for two consecutive years in a row (2013 and 2014) and also has various fiction, non-fiction and poems published for diverse organizations. Vanessa has been a volunteer and member of various non-profit groups and hopes to uplift the lives of others while emphasizing the importance of making a positive difference through her literary work.

Sarah St. George is a poet turning up the volume in the quiet corner of Connecticut. Since the age of twelve she has been using poetry to make exes infamous, unravel the enigmas of existence, and cope with trauma and loss. Her work covers a wide range of topics including nude Muppets, domestic violence, and the joys and challenges of motherhood. She has been featured in several anthologies and literary magazines. When not writing and sharing her poems, Sarah enjoys spending time with her son and daughter, learning, walking around town with her sloth puppet, and making jewelry. She is currently working as a an instructional assistant and hopes to one day teach creative writing at the college level.

Anatalia Vallez is a​ proud​ daughter of migrants, writer, performer & artivist passionate about using art as a tool for creating consciousness and community. ​She seeks to find intimate truths and plant seeds to change the world. Learn more at: anataliavallez.weebly.com

foto:Eldrena-Douma

Odilia Galván Rodríguez, poet, writer, editor, educator, and activist, is the author of six volumes of poetry, her latest, The Nature of Things, a collaboration with Texas photographer, Richard Loya, by Merced College Press 2016. Also, along with the late Francisco X. Alarcón, she edited the award-winning anthology: Poetry of Resistance: Voices for Social Justice, University of Arizona Press, 2016. This poetry of witness anthology, the first of its kind because it came about because of the primarily on-line organizing work of Alarcón, Galván Rodriguez, and other poet-activists which began as a response to the proposal of SB 1070, the racial profiling law which was eventually passed by the Arizona State Legislature in 2010 and later that year, HB 2281which bans ethnic studies. With the advent of the Facebook page Poets Responding (to SB 1070) thousands of poems were submitted witnessing racism, xenophobia, and other social justice issues which culminated in the anthology.

Galván Rodríguez has worked as an editor for various print media such as Matrix Women's News Magazine, Community Mural's Magazine, and Tricontinental Magazine in Havana, Cuba. She is currently, the editor of Cloud Women’s Quarterly Journal online; facilitates creative writing workshops nationally, and is director of Poets Responding, and Love and Prayers for Fukushima, both Facebook pages dedicated to bringing attention to social justice issues that affect the lives and wellbeing of many people and encouraging people to take action. Her poetry has appeared in numerous anthologies, and literary journals on and offline.

As an activist she worked for the United Farm Workers of America AFL-CIO, The East Bay Institute for Urban Arts, has served on numerous boards and commissions, and is currently active in Women’s organizations whose mission it is to educate around women’s rights, environmental justice issues and disseminate an Indigenous world view regarding the earth and people’s custodial relationship to it. Odilia Galván Rodríguez has a long and rich history of working for social justice in solidarity with activists from all ethnic groups.