Awards, a Reading, Identity Again, Gordo Goes to College, and a Brother in Seoul

TOMÁS RIVERA CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Artist Alfredo Arreguín and author Lauro Flores will receive lifetime achievement awards at the 21st annual Tomás Rivera Conference on Thursday, April 24, at the University of California, Riverside.

The theme of the annual conference, which honors the memory of UCR Chancellor Tomás Rivera, is “AméricaViva” (“America Live”). The event will begin at noon in the University Theatre and continue until 3 p.m.

The conference will feature the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Visual Arts to Arreguín and the Lifetime Achievement Award in Chicano Literature to Flores.

New this year is a poetry contest for Inland area college and high school students. Poems must relate to Arrequín’s artwork. The contest deadline is April 11. Prizes of $250, $150 and $100 will be awarded to winners in separate college and high school competitions. Winners must attend the conference to receive their awards. Entry details are available online.


GORDO FINDS A HOME AT BERKELEY
The papers and archives of Gus Arriola have been collected by the Bancroft Library at U.C. Berkeley, Arriola was the creator and artist for the comic strip Gordo. Here's a paragraph from an article in the U.C. Berkeleyan Online (Barry Bergman):

"Gordo, the syndicated comic strip Arriola drew almost continuously from 1941 until 1985, at its peak ran in 270 newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle. (The Chronicle was among the original dozen or so papers to pick it up, printing the inaugural strip two weeks before the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor; Gordo took a brief hiatus a year later while Arriola served a stint in the army.) By turns fanciful, narrative, and flat-out psychedelic — especially on Sundays, when the conventions of daily comic-strip art gave way to lyrical, visually dazzling tributes to jazz, ecology, or Mexico’s Day of the Dead — it won kudos from lawmakers on both sides of the border for its role in promoting international understanding, and from fellow cartoonists for its originality. More important, it won the loyalty of millions of readers, many of whom followed Gordo’s adventures as devotedly as the wealthy Widow Gonzales pursued Gordo. (Gordo’s own taste in women, alas, skewed a bit younger.)"

Arriola died on February 2, 2008, about a year after he began to transfer his artwork and related materials such as correspondence, personal papers and promotional materials to the Bancroft Library, a world-renowned resource for the study of California and Western American history and one of the top research libraries in the world.

Accidental Ambassador, Gordo: The Comic Strip Art of Gus Arriola by Robert C. Harvey and Gus Arriola (University Press of Mississippi, 2000) is a biography of the artist that features his art. The publisher says: "Profusely illustrated with runs of the strip from various periods, the book traces Arriola's artistic evolution and celebrates the cartoonist as a supremely inventive stylist whose artwork always displays design qualities unusual for a comic strip. His stunning Sunday fiestas of color and design are exemplified with eight pages of full-color reproductions."



ROBERT MIRABAL - MODERN INDIAN IDENTITY
The Modern Indian Identity lecture series, sponsored by the Center of the American West, presents Robert Mirabal on March 19 at 7:30 PM at the First United Methodist Church in Boulder, Colorado. As a composer, songwriter, and musician, Mirabal has won many honors including two-time Native American Artist of the Year, three-time Songwriter of the Year, and two Grammy Awards for Best Native American Album of the Year. More information at the Center's website. Admission is free.

ROLANDO HINOJOSA-SMITH IN KOREA
Professor Rolando Hinojosa-Smith informed La Bloga that he currently is visiting Seoul National University as a guest of El Instituto de Estudios Latinoamericanos de la Universidad Nacional de Seúl. Rolando is a presenter for the Presencia latina en los Estados Unidos program, and the title of his lecture is El lugar de proveniencia como estímulo para la creatividad. La Bloga's readers recognize Rolando as the esteemed author of the Klail City Death Trip Series of fifteen novels, which set the standard for Chicano multi-generational epic stories. Professor, if you get a chance, would you mind asking about Martin Limón's books? I wonder how they're received over there.

EL LABORATORIO REMINDER
March 15, El Lab at Belmar -- Mario Acevedo and Aaron Abeyta read, perform, answer questions, explain how to do this writing thing, and otherwise act up at El Lab, the Latino Literary forum that has featured excellent programs for the past year or so. The reception begins at 6:00 PM, $10 non-members, $5 for members. El Lab is located in The Lab at 404 S. Upham Street, Lakewood, CO; 303-934-1777.

Later.

Old and New

CHICANO/LATINO LITERARY PRIZE ANTHOLOGY
The Chicano / Latino Literary Prize:
An Anthology of Prize-Winning Fiction, Poetry and Drama
Stephanie Fetta, editor
Arte Público Press, May, 2008

Arte Público has announced the upcoming publication of an anthology based on the first twenty-five years of the Chicano/Latino Literary Prize from the University of California, Irvine.

From the first winner, Ron Arias' short story The Wetback in 1974, through almost all the winners, several second- and third-place winners as well as honorable mentions, the collection has 320 pages of fiction, poetry, and drama covering a key period in the development and expansion of what has become known as Latino Literature.

Now entering its thirty-fourth year, the award has recognized a wide variety of writers. Many of the names are familiar to La Bloga's readers: Juan Felipe Herrera, Michael Nava, Helena María Viramontes, Lucha Corpi, Demetria Martínez, Gary Soto, Cherrie Moraga, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Graciela Limón and, as the press publicity says, several "pieces in this anthology are considered to be foundational texts of Chicana/o and Latina/o literature, and those that are not as widely recognized deserve more serious study and attention."

Stephanie Fetta is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of California, Irvine. She has taught in the Chicano Studies, Women’s Studies, and Spanish and Portuguese departments at UC-Irvine and studied at Bryn Mawr College, Stanford, and Cornell. She is the translator of a book-length study by Spanish Anthropologist Francisco Checa entitled Spain and Its Immigrants: Images and Stereotypes of Social Exclusion and has published several articles in the United States and abroad. She lives in Southern California.

MORE NEW STUFF FROM ARTE PÚBLICO
(Text from Arte Público)
The Case Runner
Carlos Cisneros
March, 2008

Alejandro “Alex” del Fuerte, fresh out of law school, is returning home to South Texas, ready to open his solo practice, humble as it may be. He’s got dreams of making his mark in the world and in the courtroom. But when he meets Porfirio “Pilo” Medina, who just crossed the border in search of his wife and son, Alex is suddenly dragged into a world of wrongdoings and political pay-offs rarely covered in law school.

Rampant corruption and big-money politics are set against the rich backdrop of border culture, with its distinctive way of life and unique perspective. And Alex, something between saint and sinner, is an apt guide to both the light and dark sides of the region. This is Cisneros' first novel.

Tomás Rivera: The Complete Works
Edited by Julián Olivares
March, 2008
trade paperback

Julián Olivares brings together the late author’s entire literary production: Rivera’s classic novel, ... y no se lo tragó la tierra, translated by poet Evangelina Vigil-Piñón; his short fiction collection, The Harvest / La cosecha; and his poetry collection, The Searchers: Collected Poetry. In addition to his creative work, this volume collects Rivera’s influential critical essays, including Into the Labyrinth: The Chicano in Literature, Chicano Literature: Fiesta of the Living, The Great Plains as Refuge in Chicano Literature, and the previously unpublished Critical Approaches to Chicano Literature and its Dynamic Intimacy.

Under the Bridge: Stories from the Border
Rosario Sanmiguel, translation by John Pluecker
March, 2008

Mexican writer Rosario Sanmiguel crafts intriguing narratives about solitary women in search of their place, caught between the past and the present. Set in the border region, this collection follows these women—some from privileged backgrounds and others from more desperate circumstances—through seedy bars, hotel rooms, and city streets. A woman who has escaped the night life, dancing on platforms in front of thousands of eyes; Francis, who finally finds the strength to leave her married lover; young Fátima, whose mother abandons her, leaving her to take her place as a maid in a wealthy El Paso family’s mansion; Nicole, who has risen from dismal poverty to become an accomplished immigration attorney.

Originally published in Mexico as Callejón Sucre y otros relatos (Ediciones del Azar, 1994), this edition contains a profound English translation by John Pluecker. The seven stories included in this collection interweave the opposing themes of solitude and connectedness, longing and privilege, fear and audacity, all of which are juxtaposed on the boundary of self-awareness.

EL LABORATORIO PRESENTS MARIO ACEVEDO AND AARON ABEYTA
El Lab is a center for the Latino literary arts presented by The Lab at Belmar. El Laboratorio is proud to host some of Colorado's most acclaimed Latino writers, artist and scholars for literary workshops, public readings and conversations. El Laboratorio aims to be a true laboratory, where all audiences can experiment and gain insight into the ways Latino culture is changing the landscape of the United States.

March 15: Aaron Abeyta and Mario Acevedo; 6 PM reception, 6:30 PM program. Aaron Abeyta will read from his book of poetry As Orion Falls and his novel, Rise, Do Not Be Afraid. Mario Acevedo will read from The Undead Kama Sutra, third in the Felix Gomez vampire detective series. Now that's diversity.

$10 - $5 members. The Lab is in Belmar, 404 S. Upham, Lakewood, CO; 303-934-1777.


COMEDY OF ERRORS
The Comedy of Errors
by William Shakespeare
February 28–March 1
March 6–8
7:30pm
King Center Rawls Courtyard Theatre, Auraria Campus, Denver
Tickets: $12 General Admission
$5 UC Denver students
Sponsored by: Theatre, Film and Video Production Department

José Mercado, new Assistant Professor of the Theatre, Film & Video Production Department, directs this comedy "as if it were set in the world of Tim Burton, with bustling, haunting, and mystical action" according to a publicity release. The Comedy of Errors is a story of mistaken identity and family reunion. Confusion, mischief and familial squabbling abound…all in a single day.

Prior to joining the UC Denver faculty, Mercado led the theater program at North High School, directing Zoot Suit Riots, the first high school production to play DCPA’s Buell Theater. He worked as an actor in LA after earning his MFA in Theater from UCLA where he won the Jack Nicholson Prize in Acting. He is the founder of Labyrinth Arts Academy and member of the Denver Commission of Cultural Affairs (an advisory board to the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs).

Later.

Tanto

Manuel Ramos

Several bits and pieces this week: a pair of grand old maestros are still stirring the pot; an opportunity for maestros-to-be; readings and performances that will stir your soul; appearances by Our Lady of Guadalupe; y más.


THE FIRST TORTILLA WINS LAND OF ENCHANTMENT AWARD
Rudolfo Anaya's latest children's book The First Tortilla (University of New Mexico Press, 2007) has been chosen for the Land of Enchantment Book Award. Taos artist Amy Cordova is the illustrator for this popular book - check out her website.

The Land of Enchantment Award is a children's book award designed to encourage New Mexico youth to read books of high literary quality. The award is sponsored by the New Mexico Library Association and the New Mexico International Reading Association and includes master reading lists for children and young adults. Information about the award is available at www.loebookaward.com.

The First Tortilla is the story of a young Mexican girl who saves her village by making the first tortilla with the help of the Mountain Spirit.

Congratulations to Rudolfo Anaya on this award. There's more: Bless Me, Ultima is now being read nationwide as part of the National Endowment for the Arts' Big Read program; and the Albuquerque Museum Foundation named Anaya as its Notable New Mexican.
_______________________________

MORE NEWS FROM ROLANDO HINOJOSA
Another of the writing legends, Rolando Hinojosa, was awarded a Doctor of Letters degree from Texas A & M University in August. Hinojosa's recent publications include: The Forgotten War, So-Called, published by Veterans for Peace; Klail City Redux published by Puentes (Núm 5, Otoño 2007); Lone Star Sleuths (University of Texas Press, 2007) included Chapter One of Partners in Crime; and Texas Tech Press published his short story Death and Obedience in Nasario García's anthology Brujerías. As I recently mentioned here on La Bloga, Hinojosa also was presented the Bookend Award (with Dagoberto Gilb) at this year's Texas Book Festival.
___________________________________

AUTHORS READING IN DENVER

November 30, 7:30 PM
Tattered Cover Book Store Historic LoDo
Denver's Deputy Mayor Guillermo Vidal will read from and sign his book Boxing for Cuba: An Immigrant's Story of Despair, Endurance & Redemption (Ghost Road Press, 2007). The book is described as "a poignant story of struggle, forgiveness, and the joy of returning home."
____________________

December 1, 6:00 PM (reception) 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM (main event)
The Laboratory of Art and Ideas
El Laboratorio continues its exciting series of writers reading and performing at the Lab in Belmar. Up next, Sheryl Luna will read from her award-winning book Pity the Drowned Horses (Notre Dame Press, 2005), followed by a performance by the always entertaining and enlightening storyteller Angel Vigil. $10 ($5 members). For more information call 303-934-1777.
___________________________

December 8, 2:00 PM
Tattered Cover Colfax Avenue
Colorado author Lydia Gil, and local illustrator Hernán Sosa, will present their bilingual picture book Mimís Parranda/La Parranda de Mimí (Piñata Books, 2007). "Rich with Puerto Rican cultural traditions and complemented by vibrant illustrations, this beautiful story will have children ages 3-7 eagerly anticipating their own holiday traditions."
________________________

December 13, 2007 7:30 PM
Tattered Cover Colfax Avenue
John Nichols will read from and sign his new novel The Empanada Brotherhood (Chronicle, 2007). The publisher says, "It's Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, when expatriates, artists, and colorful bums are kings. A tiny stand selling empanadas near the corner of Bleecker and MacDougal streets is the center of the action for the shy narrator, an aspiring writer just out of college. Charming and insightful, this deceptively simple novel is a tale told by a master. It is a wise coming-of-age story, full of joy and touched by heartbreak, that captures a special time and place with extraordinary empathy and humor."

__________________________________

CONTEST FOR UNPUBLISHED AUTHORS
The Crested Butte Writers announced the return of their writing contest for unpublished authors, The Sandy.

Categories & Final Round Judges
Romance --- Selina McLemore, Associate Editor, Grand Central (formerly Warner)
Mainstream Adult Fiction-Mollie Glick, Agent, Jean Naggar Literary Agency
Suspense/Thriller- Katie Gilligan, Associate Editor Thomas Dunne Books, a division of St. Martin's Press
Fantasy/Science Fiction-Melissa Ann Singer, Sr. Editor, Tor
Children's & YA-Jennifer Rees, - Editor, Scholastic Books

Eligibility--All authors unpublished in novel length fiction.
Enter-- The first 20 pages and up to a 2 page synopsis, for a total page count of 22 pages.
Receipt date-February 17, 2008.
Fee--$30; Friends of Library members, fee= $20

Awards-- Winners announced at the awards luncheon, held Friday June 20, 2008.
1st place will receive $50 and a certificate, 2nd place will receive $25 and a certificate, and third place will receive a certificate.
More info here.

_______________________________

SU TEATRO PRESENTS TISH HINOJOSA
El Centro Su Teatro will present the original production, Á Colorado en una Noche de Navidad, To Colorado on a Christmas Night, featuring the music of Tish Hinojosa and written and directed by Anthony J. Garcia, December 13 – 23. Á Colorado is a theatrical celebration of the music of renowned singer/songwriter Tish Hinojosa. Su Teatro company actors will sing and reinterpret her songs, and Tish will join the cast for a one night only special performance on December 21.

Su Teatro developed Á Colorado as a part of its annual St. Cajetan’s Reunification Project. What is now known as the Auraria Higher Education Center was once a thriving Westside barrio, and the still standing but desanctified St. Cajetan’s church was the spiritual center of the neighborhood. Every holiday season, Su Teatro travels to Auraria to present a community based folk drama and symbolically return the neighborhood to the families it was taken from. Eugenia Rawls theater at the King Center, 877 Lawrence Way, December 13 – 23. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 PM with Saturday and Sunday 3:00 PM matinees.

Tickets are $18 general and $15 students/seniors. Special comadre group rates are available. For tickets and information call El Centro Su Teatro at (303) 296-0219 and visit www.suteatro.org and www.myspace.com/elcentrosuteatro.

___________________________________

The Denver Art Museum opens its door for free from December 12 through January 6, and invites everyone to check out the pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial art galleries in the Museum's North Building, fourth level. Bilingual and family activities are promised. The event is billed as Our Lady of Guadalupe at the DAM, so expect a vision.

__________________________
December 13 - Vino y Chocolate hosted by the Board of Directors of Adelante Mujer, Inc., 5:00 - 8:00 PM, Centro San Juan Diego, 2830 Lawrence St., Denver, CO. Support the Immigrant and Migrant Project of Bienestar Family Services of Centro San Juan Diego by bringing a gift of toys for children age's birth to 10 years. Indicate age and gender on children's gifts. RSVP - 303-297-8696.

_________________________________

Al fin -- I got the pleasant news that my short story, If We Had Been Dancing, has been selected by Stories on Stage to be performed by the Buntport Theatre for the Tales of Mystery and Suspense program (January 4 and 5, 2008). Other authors for that night include Edgar Allen Poe, Neil Gaiman, Roald Dahl, and Jack Ritchie. Heavy company.

The Stories on Stage annual holiday program is set for December 16 at the Stage Theater in the DCPA. Featured authors for Making Merry are Dylan Thomas, John Cheever, Truman Capote, and Ellis Parker Butler. Sounds good.

Whew -- it's late. Time for a cool one.

Later.

Conferences, a Memorial, a Premio, Rugs and Poets

Manuel Ramos

CASPER
The Casper College Literary Conference, whose theme this year was Spiritual Warriors, took place this week but I didn't know about it in enough time to provide advance notice. This annual conference was scheduled for October 17 - 19 in Casper, Wyoming. I do want to make note of the appearance of Ekiwah Adler-Beléndez at this conference. Blue Flower Arts has this bio of the young poet on its website:

"Blue Flower Arts is proud to introduce to the United States audience, 19-year old poet Ekiwah Adler-Beléndez, from Amatlan, Mexico, a small village an hour from Mexico City. The son of a North American father and a Mexican mother, Ekiwah is a poetic prodigy whose powerful verses have mesmerized Mexico's literary scene. Born September 14, 1987, Ekiwah is the author of three volumes of poetry: Soy (I Am); Palabras Inagotables, (Never-ending Words); Weaver (2003), his first book in English, and The Coyotes Trace, which features an introduction by Mary Oliver. Ekiwah lives in Massachusetts, has dual citizenship and is bilingual.

...

"Ekiwah, which means Warrior in the language of the Purepecha, is an appropriate appellation. He has been battling cerebral palsy at birth—born 10 weeks early and weighing less than two pounds. Ekiwah writes, 'I cannot walk by myself, yet in my poems I not only walk, but give myself license to have eight legs and experience movement. When I read a poem, on an ephemeral level I go to the places the poet describes.' His warrior nature also allows him this wisdom: 'I don't feel my cerebral palsy is a battle I have to win. I don't battle more or less then anyone else—my cerebral palsy is simply there. For me the connection of my name with my struggle has to do with the fact that I fought in my birth to live.'"

NYC
Last year the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses [clmp] inaugurated LWC}NYC, a conference to serve writers of fiction, poetry, and literary nonfiction. Rather than address the craft of writing, this conference brings together professionals from throughout the publishing community to help literary writers maneuver in the marketplace. The second annual LWC}NYC (Literary Writers Conference, New York City) will take place November 8 - 10 at The New School.

For more information follow this link...
http://www.clmp.org/lwc

SAN DIEGO
Adolfo Guzman Lopez, co-founder of the Taco Shop Poets, remembers fallen poet John Partida in an article for the San Diego CityBeat. Guzman says that "we’re going to throw down some poetry for John on Saturday at a taco shop. We’re putting a call out to the taco shop tribe. Whether it’s to remember the good Johnny, the bad Johnny or to ponder our own mortality, I don’t know. We all realize, though, that we have to do it." Read the entire article here.

The tribute to John Partida will be held on October 20, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM at El Comal, 3946 Illinois St. in North Park, 619-294-8292.



ALBUQUERQUE
Live Rug Auction to Raise Funds for Native American Books
The University of New Mexico Press has announced it will hold a live public auction of more than 200 contemporary Navajo rugs as a fundraiser to support the publication of books by or about American Indians.

The auction, to be held November10, in the Hibben Center of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology on the UNM Main Campus, will be conducted with the assistance of R. B. Burnham Native Auctions. A preview of the items available for bid will be from 11:00 AM -1:00 PM, and the auction will start at 1:30 PM

This is the Press' first major fundraising event since the launch of its endowment campaign last spring.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for the Press and the public to support Native authors and artists and books about Native America," comments Luther Wilson, director of the UNM Press. "The funds we raise will help cover major expenses such as printing, research, permissions, and illustrations. The money will be applied to individual book subventions and to an endowment for long-term support. We are also pleased to be able to provide a sales venue for today's Navajo weavers. The pieces they are showcasing are truly beautiful."

The auction will be the first in a series of major events and outreach efforts by the Friends of the Press to raise funds for the $5 million endowment campaign launched this past May. The Press said in a news release that monies collected for the endowment will help it "publish high quality children's books on science and Southwestern cultures, defray cost increases in book production, perpetuate its commitment to high editorial standards and maintain independence in a world of publisher consolidation."

Premio Aztlán Literary Prize
The University of New Mexico Libraries is issuing a call for submissions to the Premio Aztlán Literary Prize, a national literary award, established to encourage and reward emerging Chicana and Chicano authors.

The competition is open to writers who have published a work of fiction in the 2007 calendar year and whose publications do not exceed two books. The winner of the prize will be awarded $1,000, and an invitation to give a lecture at an award ceremony, to be held at the
University of New Mexico in April 2008. Recipients are required to be present at the award ceremony.

Renowned author, Rudolfo Anaya and his wife, Patricia, founded Premio Aztlán in 1993, and the prize was reestablished in their honor by the University of New Mexico Libraries. Past award recipients include:

Reyna Grande (2006) Across a Hundred Mountains
Gene Guerin (2005) Cottonwood Saints
Mary Helen Lagasse (2004) The Fifth Sun
Sergio Troncoso (1999) The Last Tortilla and Other Stories
Ronald Ruiz (1998) Giuseppe Rocco
Pat Mora (1997) House of Houses
Wendell Mayo (1996) Centaur of the North
Norma Cantú (1995) Canicula: Snapshots of a Girlhood en la Frontera
Denise Chávez (1994) Face of an Angel
Alicia Gaspar de Alba (1993) The Mystery of Survival and Other Stories

The closing date for entries is December 31, 2007.
Submissions must include:
• 5 copies of the book
• Letter of interest, or if from the publisher, a letter of nomination
• Author’s curriculum vitae, resume or background information, which
must include a list of their published works and any communal
involvement with the Chicana/Chicano community.
• Be postmarked by December 31, 2007

Contact: Teresa Márquez at: andaluz@unm.edu or see the web site .

Submissions are to be mailed to the following address by December 31, 2007:

Premio Aztlán Literary Prize
University Libraries, Dean’s Office
MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131

Final reminder:
El Laboratorio
Emma Perez and Manuel Ramos
October 20, 2007
Reception 6:00 PM
Main Event 6:30-8:00 PM
Cost $10 ($5 members)

Emma Perez will read from her forthcoming novel Forgetting the Alamo followed by a reading by Manuel Ramos from a few works in progress.

The Lab at Belmar
404 S. Upham Street
Lakewood, CO 80226
(303) 934-1777


Later.

Special Saturday Edition

Manuel Ramos

I was unable to post on Friday, but how about a few quick items for a special Saturday edition of La Bloga.

DAY OF THE DEAD PAPERBACK ALTAR
Now here is something a bit unusual.

"Miss Prothero's Books and book artist Deborah Horner are building a Day of the Dead altar out of mass market paperbacks. If you have a garage full of pulps, pocketbooks or mass markets that need a good home, please consider donating them to the project. We're looking for paperbacks that are approximately 4 1/4" wide by 7" tall. Bring your donations to Miss Prothero's by October 20. We're located at 1112 Santa Fe Drive[Denver]. We're open Tuesday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The altar will be unveiled on November 2nd at 7 p.m. You're welcome to bring something that pays homage to your favorite dead writer, reader, printer or binder on the evening of the unveiling. Call Miss Prothero's Books at 303-572-2260 if you need more information."

UPCOMING EVENTS AT EL LABORATORIO
Emma Perez and Manuel Ramos
October 20, 2007
Reception 6PM
Main Event 6:30-8PM
Emma Perez will read from her forthcoming novel Forgetting the Alamo followed by a reading by Manuel Ramos of works in progress.

Gustavo Arellano
November 14, 2007
Reception 6PM
Main Event 6:30-8PM
Gustavo Arellano will discuss his popular syndicated newspaper column Ask a Mexican and read from his book of the same name. Gustavo has appeared on The Today Show, The Colbert Report, CNN, Nightline and others. Ask a Mexican, the book, was published in 2007.

Sheryl Luna & Angel Vigil
December 1, 2007
Reception 6PM
Main Event 6:30-8PM
Sheryl Luna will read from her book Pity the Drowned Horses followed by a performance by award-winning storyteller Angel Vigil.
El Laboratorio, 404 S. Upham Street, Lakewood, CO 303-934-1777. All events are $10, $5 for members.

JUDITH ORTIZ COFER
A recent interview in the Nashville Scene produced an exchange that should be of some interest to La Bloga readers. Ms. Cofer was asked if she ever gets tired of being thought of and getting asked questions as a Latina writer, instead of just a writer. She responded:

"It’s inevitable. I usually am advertised with so many tags that I’m short- and nearsighted to it. Puerto Rican writer, Latina, whatever. It doesn’t bother me anymore because people have to find their way towards you. They will call you whatever they want, and then they come to the poetry reading and they understand that it’s about them. Even if I’m writing about my grandmother, it’s about them."

Good interview, check it out.

MODERN INDIAN IDENTITY
My father's stories:Remembering Oklahoma
October 25, 2007
7:30 PM, Atlas 100, University of Colorado, Boulder

The Center of the American West presents Dr. Eva Maria Garroutte in this fall's Modern Indian Identity Lecture. Professor Garroutte is the author of Real Indians: Identity, Community, and the Survival of Native America. In this talk, Professor Garroutte blends her father's stories of growing up in the Cherokee Nation of the 1930's with her own recent experiences as a tribal citizen working in the field of American Indian health. Reception to follow. More info here, or call 303-492-4879.

That's it. Have a great weekend, read and read some more, come back, often, to La Bloga, and how about those Rockies.

Later.

New York City? ... y más

Manuel Ramos

A pair of blogueros and one of the blogueras made excellent reading suggestions this week beginning with Daniel Olivas' list of seven diverse books, continuing with Michael Sedano's review of Arturo Pérez-Reverte's latest Captain Alatriste swashbuckling saga, and moving on to Lisa Alvarado's spotlight on the poetry of Johanny Vázquez Paz. I want to add to your TBR pile with a brief survey of a few Big Apple crime fiction writers. Choice summertime or anytime reading.


STEVEN TORRES
Steven Torres is the author of five crime novels and several short stories. He was born and raised in the Bronx, although he spent some of his youth in Puerto Rico and attended high school in Manhattan. His Precinct Puerto Rico series, featuring Sheriff Luis Gonzalo of Angustias, P.R., is consistently praised by critics and readers. The four books in this series are: Precinct Puerto Rico (2002), Death in Precinct Puerto Rico (2003), Burning Precinct Puerto Rico (2004), and Missing In Precinct Puerto Rico (2006), all originally published in hardback by St. Martin's Minotaur. The first book in the series, Precinct Puerto Rico, is now available in paperback from Leisure Books. Steven's short story Early Fall is in the just-released Bronx Noir anthology (Akashic).

Here's Torres' website blurb for his first book, to give you an idea of what this author is all about:

"In his years as sheriff of Angustias, a small town nestled in Puerto Rico’s mountainous heart, Luis Gonzalo has seen his share of violence. People kill for love and money in Angustias just as they do anywhere else. But it is only during a visit to family in the seaside town of Rincón that he encounters his greatest challenge.

"It begins with a midnight call that brings Gonzalo to a beach where bodies are washing ashore, victims of a shipwreck, victims of the illegal traffic of humans from the Dominican Republic. When he discovers evidence that the shipwreck was no accident, that the ship’s captain was murdered, he is warned off the investigation. A young photographer brings him proof that Puerto Rican police were involved in the deaths of the undocumented immigrants, and when Gonzalo follows this lead, all hell breaks loose. It will take a shootout in Angustias, an attack on his family, and the murder of one of his deputies to get to the bottom of this mystery – a mystery no one else in Puerto Rican law enforcement dares to help him solve."

Several months ago I was lucky enough to get my hands on a preview copy of Torres' latest, a stand-alone noir tragedy, and the book blew me away. Here is what I wrote when I had finished:


The Concrete Maze is a tough, brutal and disturbing story about lost innocence, a desperate search to avenge a young victim, and the reluctant “hero’s” inevitable acceptance of the notion that sometimes justice has to be imposed – with force. Steven Torres gives his readers a black and white, finely drawn picture of a heinous crime and the emotional aftershocks suffered by the victim’s family. The predators who prowl the Bronx streets in Torres’s book are straight from a dark and terrible nightmare; the victims are young, rebellious thrill-seekers; and the would-be rescuers are everyday people thrust into inhuman chaos. The human toll -- the damage -- is on the page where there is no place or time for soft-peddling. Most of us do not want the world to be this way but we know that Torres got it right. His characters have the kind of texture that connects readers to them at basic levels -- pain, anger, frustration. We share their need to act, to strike, because there is no other way of dealing with the terror. These people have only themselves and there cannot be a happy ending in this story but there will be a bloody, violent and scarred resolution. This is fiction that hurts.

The Concrete Maze is now available from Dorchester/Leisure. In addition to his website, StevenTorres manages two blogs where he posts about anything that he wants including the strange world of publishing and writing. Go here for the Crime Time Cafe.


MICHELE MARTINEZ
Michele Martinez writes about Melanie Vargas, described as a "betrayed wife and dedicated mother" who also happens to be an ambitious New York City prosecutor. Martinez was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York for eight years, so you gotta think she knows what she's writing about. Her books so far are Most Wanted (2005), The Finishing School (2006) and Cover-Up (2007), all from William Morrow. There also are paperback and audio editions.

Here are the kinds of reviews this writer gets:

"Martinez enthralls with her first-rate first novel, which has sizzling romance and gripping suspense. . . [Most Wanted] excels with its gritty realism, exploring everything from New York's drug wars to the dark side of its most esteemed law firms." --Romantic Times Magazine (Top Pick)

Library Journal's review of The Finishing School was starred and concluded that "the romance is hot and the suspense high in this absorbing, fast-paced thriller. Highly recommended.”

Publishers Weekly gave the latest in the series, Cover-Up, another starred review and gushed:

"The brutal rape and murder of Suzanne Shepard, a scandal-mongering New York City TV journalist, provides a welcome high-profile case for Melanie Vargas in Martinez's stellar third thriller to feature the sharp and sexy federal prosecutor . . . . Martinez, herself a former federal prosecutor, supplies plenty of insider savvy as she juggles the large cast with élan."


JERRY A. RODRIGUEZ
Jerry A. Rodriguez is a writer and director whose plays have been staged Off-Broadway; a music video writer and director; and a short film writer and director. His bio says that he "serves as the Assistant Director of Housing at CitiWide Harm Reduction in The Bronx, one of the most innovative social service agencies in New York City, which offers a wide variety of outreach, services and care to homeless and low-income drug users living with and at risk for HIV/AIDS." This year he published The Devil's Mambo (Kensington), and it looks as though this is the first in a projected series centering on Nicholas Esperanza, ex-NYPD, current salsa club owner, and winner of $30 million from the NY lottery. Hey, why not?

The Devil's Mambo is about as edgy and gritty as it gets. The basic plot has some resemblance to Torres' Concrete Maze but this is a very different animal. Esperanza is tough, macho, and good-looking. His girlfriend is tough, sexy, and good-looking. He not only knows how to throw a right hook, he can sing on the stage with Eddie Palmieri and enjoy an expensive gourmet meal at one of the City's finest restaurants. This guy has it going, that's for sure. Here's what Rodriguez says about his protagonist (from an interview included in the book): "I'd read so many mystery novels in which the private investigator is struggling with being an alcoholic, is a loner and doesn't have any kind of personal life. I decided that Esperanza should be happy, successful and in a loving relationship." And just in case you had any doubts, here's why Rodriguez thinks his book is different from other mysteries and thrillers: "I think the fact that Esperanza is Latino and there haven't been many lead Latino characters in crime fiction gives the novel a distinct style and flavor. As much as crime writers deal with violence, they tend to stay away from sex and eroticism. I wanted to explore both sides of sex -- when it's tender and loving and when it's dark and twisted. And it's not just sex for sex's sake; it's a major theme of the novel." Yeah, there's a lot of exploration in this novel. And plenty of plot twists and surprises in addition to a vivid glimpse of street life, glitzy and seamy.

As Mario Acevedo says in a blurb for the book: "Double-barreled, twelve-gauge pulp. You'll love it!"

COMING IN 2008
Next year A.E. Roman publishes the first in a proposed series of private eye books from St. Martin's Minotaur. The protagonist is NYC detective Chico Santana and the first book is entitled Chinatown Angel. That's all I know about this author and his books except that his website is called What's Up Essay? (scribblings of A.E. Roman). I like that.

EL LABORATORIO - TIM HERNANDEZ READS FROM SKIN TAX ON AUGUST 4

In case you can't read the graphic: Tim Hernandez reads from his 2006 American Book Award Winning Collection, Skin Tax on August 4 at The Laboratory of Art and Ideas at Belmar, 404 S. Upham St., Lakewood, CO. Reception 6:00 PM, main event 6:30 - 8:00 PM.

CHICANO MUSIC FESTIVAL



And if you can't read that graphic, it's all about the Chicano Music Festival at El Centro Su Teatro August 3-5. Check out the website for details.

This is the party of the summer and you all are invited.

LITERARY MAG LOOKING FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Here's an announcement that just got shoved under my door:

"Wolverine Farm Publishing (Fort Collins, CO) is seeking submissions for their flagship publication, Matter. Now in it's fifth year, Matter has been hailed by Utne Magazine as full of epiphanies both big and small, and continues to test the boundaries of what a literary/art magazine can do in the world.

"The 11th issue is themed THE WOODS. We are actively seeking fiction, poetry, non-fiction, interviews with authors/activists, hand drawn illustrations, photography, maps, lists, and other ephemera.

"Please send in your creative work by 30 September 2007.

"For more information please visit www.wolverinefarmpublishing.org."


Later.

As John From Cincinnati Would Say, The End Is Near

Manuel Ramos



The earth surrounding my house has been adorned with changing color: sensual reds, outrageous yellows, haughty purples, mellow pinks, much more. We sit on our porch or in the back, eating chicken salad sandwiches, drinking red Kool-Aid and pink wine, and talk about the important stuff -- one of our neighbors is worried about his Marine son in Iraq; another neighbor finally got his re-wiring finished; where are we going to dinner with old friends -- and we are immersed in the growing, vibrant life around us that Flo cultivates and nurtures and protects; my simple job is to try to quench the incessant thirst of the small plot of lawn we still maintain.

Summer time in the city: hot, dry. We can be surprised in the evening with an explosion of wind while lightening scars the horizon, but there is no rain in my neighborhood. I sit next to a very quiet and peaceful buddha and drink it all in but I seem to have to work harder at my serenity.

Here are two book reviews that relate to some of what I just rambled on about. The books have been around for a while, and so have the lessons readers can take from the books, but I guess we still got a lot to learn. As the song says, in the grand scheme of things -- we're just travelers, never kings never queens -- we're just travelers. (Big Moon Shinin' - Chip Taylor)





IN THE PALM OF DARKNESS
Mayra Montero
Harper Perennial, 1998

Haiti, that exotic and, to most North Americans, unknown country that sits in the Caribbean, is the home for a red frog that has disappeared from the rest of the world. Vanishing species of amphibians tend to end up in God-forsaken places and if they are to be found and studied by scientists so that the reason for the extinction can be understood, then the scientists must go to these places. In the Palm of Darkness is the story of two unlikely men who join forces to find the elusive red frog, and around them Montero has crafted a story of love, sex, betrayal, violence, the occult, and the all-consuming and mysterious forces of nature.


Victor Grigg is an herpetologist, a man whose entire life has been devoted to the study and classification of amphibians, particularly the frog species who every year become extinct. He has come to Haiti because his dying mentor has asked him to find the "blood frog" that has been reported on a mountain in the Haitian interior. As a final favor to his teacher, Grigg takes on the mission although it comes at a time when his wife has left him and Grigg has begun to question the very meaning of his existence. He hires a man famous in Haiti for assisting other scientists on quests similar to Grigg's. Thierry Adrien is haunted by his own demons that stem from the reign of terror inflicted on Haitians by the thugs who represent the police and military. The guide also has his own trail of wives, children and siblings, many of whom have come to resent him and, in some cases, hate him to the point of wanting him dead.

Thierry regales Grigg each day with stories of his adventurous life and the bewildering nature of the Haitian mind. He describes hunts for the living dead and the casual way in which spells are invoked and defended against. Grigg listens in amazement or complete disbelief and often wanders to his own stories such as the one about his father who risked all on an ostrich ranch, or the clues he should have recognized as his marriage fell apart. The men are so dissimilar that they have nothing in common except for their bond to find the vanishing frog.

They are chased off of one mountain by a gang in the service of the latest strong man vying for control, one of whose lieutenants is Thierry's hate-filled half-brother. When they are threatened to be chased off of a second mountain they choose to remain because they have heard the frog's unmistakable call and nothing can stop their search, not even the brutality and savageness of the men who mutilate, massacre and torture their own people.

The setting for In the Palm of Darkness is as foreign to most North Americans as a society found on a distant planet, and yet Haiti sits in our back yard, a place where Yankee troops have been sent to prop up a politician who had been given the blessing of the U.S. President. The book, of course, is an allegory for many things that we in the U.S. have to start understanding, not the least of which are the explosive political, social, and cultural forces that churn the waves of the Caribbean, the same waves that pound the shores of our country.



THE RAG DOLL PLAGUES
Alejandro Morales
Arte Público, 1992

This is not an easy book to categorize. My first reaction -- science fiction. Eventually I understood that Morales had written an impassioned plea to save Earth and the people who inhabit her from the poisons and toxins spewed daily in our reckless drive for material accumulation. Even later I recognized a medical mystery story that brought together elements of ancient Mexican history, modern tragedy, and futuristic scientific investigation. Finally, I had to conclude that The Rag Doll Plagues cannot fit snugly into a category. This is an overwhelming book that raises important questions about the existence we have carved for ourselves on this fragile piece of dirt we call home.

Book I begins in 1788 in Mexico City. Doctor Gregorio Revueltas has been sent by the King of Spain to modernize the health care of the colony as part of a plan to nip in the bud the revolution of the colonized peoples. Don Gregorio arrives in Mexico with all the racism and superiority he was taught in Spain. However, he must battle a strange plague that is decimating the country, a disease known as La Mona -- the doll -- because it leaves a corpse that resembles a rag doll. After years of working with the people of Mexico, struggling to save lives from the ravages of La Mona, he comes to love his new country and to respect her people, so much so that he rejects his fiancée and never returns home.

Book II takes place in 1980 Los Angeles. Doctor Gregorio Revueltas, young and ambitious, falls in love with the beautiful Sandra, an actress. They begin a torrid love affair that drives Sandra away from her rich, white family and propels Gregorio on a surreal, mystical and spiritual trip to understand his roots and his connection to Mexico. But soon his medical skills and training are put to the ultimate test.

Sandra, a hemophiliac, is infected with AIDS from a contaminated blood transfusion. They travel to Mexico where she receives the revered care of a curandera. The curandera tells Gregorio that Sandra suffers from La Mona, an ancient epidemic that appears and disappears, without notice or obvious reason. This part of the novel takes on a highly personal tone. Gregorio details the failure of his medical training to help Sandra and the different attitude towards death that the native people show him as they prepare him to accept Sandra's eventual demise. Book II also graphically portrays the hypocrisy and prejudice suffered by AIDS victims.

Book III takes place late in the Twenty-First Century. A confederation of California and Mexico has created Lamex, a rigidly stratified and technocratic society. Civilization has progressed, if this future can be called progress, to the point that the Earth has become a giant sewer, a dump for all of the waste and trash that we can produce. The air is deadly, the water is poison, and the garbage turns into living mounds of death and destruction that periodically attack the cities and generate plagues that kill thousands in a few hours. Doctor Gregorio Revueltas, grandson of the second Doctor Revueltas, is a physician in the official bureaucracy who is ordered to do something about the latest plague. He discovers a cure that calls on the strength and endurance of his people, the Mexicans. He understands that the mestizos who won over the first Doctor Gregorio and who inspired hope in the second Doctor amid the tragedy of his life, also offer the only hope for survival of the doomed civilization.


EL LABORATORIO
The first meeting of El Laboratorio: Thinking en Público, a Latino arts and cultural center housed within The Lab at Belmar, here in Denver, took place on June 23. Several Colorado-based writers (Tony Garcia, Sheryl Luna, Emma Pérez, Tim Hernandez, Angel Vigil, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Aaron Abeyta, Manuel Ramos) discussed a variety of topics related to Latino/a writing, while John-Michael Rivera, the Creative Director of the project, presented an ambitious and intriguing vision for El Laboratorio.

The highlight of the day was a performance by Lorna Dee Cervantes, preceded by a conversation between her and Professor Rivera. I intend to report more on this project as we move ahead with some of the plans and ideas.

Tim Hernandez will read from his 2006 American Book Award collection Skin Tax on August 4, reception at 6:00 PM, main event 6:30 PM. Angel Vigil, award-winning storyteller and children's book author may join Tim in this event.

Meanwhile, a few photos from the first meeting.


Sheryl Luna, Tim Hernandez, Angel Vigil smile about the vagaries and mysteries of the publishing world.

Tony Garcia and Emma Pérez work up a thirst.

Aaron Abeyta feelin' good about his debut novel.

Lorna Dee Cervantes makes a point.

John-Michael Rivera listens to that point. (Sorry for the "artistic" photo but I had to fix-up my sloppy camera work.)





Later.