AZTLAN LIBRE PRESS PUBLISHES ALURISTA’S TUNALUNA
[press release from Aztlan Libre Press] 
Aztlan Libre Press, a new, independent publishing company based out of San Antonio, Texas that is dedicated to the promotion, publication, and free expression of Xican@ Literature and Art, announces the publication of its first book,
Tunaluna, by the renowned veterano Chicano poet,
alurista. This is alurista’s first publication in ten years.
alurista is one of the seminal and most influential voices in the history of Chicano Literature. A pioneering poet of the Chicano Movement in the late 60s and 70s, he broke down barriers in the publishing world with his use of bilingual and multilingual writings in Spanish, English, Nahuatl and Maya. A scholar, activist, editor, organizer and philosopher, he holds a Ph.D in Spanish and Latin American Literature from the University of California in San Diego and is the author of ten books including
Floricanto en Aztlán (1971),
Timespace Huracán (1976),
Spik in Glyph? (1981) and
Z Eros (1995). His book,
Et Tú Raza?, won the Before Columbus Foundation National Book Award in Poetry in 1996. Author of
El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán, he is a key figure in the reclaiming of the MeXicano cultural identity, history and heritage through his integration of American Indian language, symbols and spirituality in his writings.
Tunaluna is classic alurista: passionate, sensuous, and political. alurista’s tenth book of poetry is a collection of 52 poems that takes us on a time trip through the first decade of the 21st century where he bears witness to the “Dubya” wars, terrorism, oil and $4 gallons of gas, slavery, and ultimately spiritual transformation and salvation. The “Word Wizard of Aztlan” is at his razor-sharp best, playing with his palabras as well as with our senses and sensibilities. alurista is a Xicano poet for the ages and a chronicler of la Nueva Raza Cózmica. With
Tunaluna he trumpets the return of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered-serpent of Aztec and Mayan prophecy, and helps to lead us out of war and into the dawn of a new consciousness and sun, el Sexto Sol, nahuicoatl, cuatro serpiente, the sun of justice.
“alurista experiments on the edge, thickly layers multiple meanings onto each cryptic line through language play, brilliant code-switching (‘tu mellow dia’) and love songs to la raza. A statement of survival, he confronts the politics and the hypocrisy of ‘the estados undidos de angloamérica’ with an irrepressible rhythm, with the ‘slingshots in our hands’ of pre-Columbian truths, and with the ability to craft real words from our unreal world of avarice and oppression. alurista’s tenth book holds many spirit treasures calling out to us from between the lines. Con razón k he hears the haunting spirits beneath the surface—‘ayer pasé x tu casa/y me ladra/ron/los libros.’” (
Carmen Tafolla, Ph.D., Doctor of Philosophy, poet and Visiting Faculty, University of Texas at San Antonio)
“Tunaluna is a work of hope, humor, outrage, and beauty by one of our most notable Chicano bards. alurista reminds his readers of the political possibilities of the poetic; in his poems, we hear the song of a people.” (
Cristina Beltrán, Associate Professor of Political Science at Haverford College and author of
The Trouble with Unity: Latino Politics and the Creation of Identity)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9844415-0-1 * $15.00 * 76 pages * Trade Paperback * Publication: October 2010 For more information, or to purchase
Tunaluna, click on www.aztlanlibrepress.com, or contact the Publishers/Editors,
Juan Tejeda or
Anisa Onofre at the telephone number or e-mail address below.
302 Stratford Ct. | San Antonio, TX 78223 | 210.531.9505 | aztlanlibrepress.com | editors@aztlanlibrepress.com
CHILE HARVEST FESTIVAL
[announcement from the CHAC website] Late summer brings freshly harvested chiles to Colorado, and with them, the aromas of chile roasting and authentic Chicano cuisine. This year, the Colorado tradition continues at Lakewood’
s Heritage Center. The Chile Harvest Festival celebrates contemporary Chicano art, traditional Spanish Colonial art, music, food and of course chiles, with beautiful views of the Rocky Mountain foothills as a backdrop.
Thanks to a partnership between the City of Lakewood and the Chicano Humanities & Arts Council (CHAC), the Chile Harvest Festival will be in full swing Aug 28 & 29.
The Chile Harvest Festival is an outreach effort to educate, enlighten and entertain the community with the many different facets of Chicano and Latino culture. Its goal is to give people a well-rounded cultural experience.
The festival will feature up to 75 artists, 
showcasing both contemporary and traditional art forms. There will also be music, dancing and storytelling as well as many other cultural and art activities for kids.
Several local restaurants will be on site, serving authentic Mexican cuisine along with other specialty foods featuring chiles. And of course, there will be nonstop chile roasting, so stock up your freezer with chiles for the winter. Demonstrators will be showcasing the art of making traditional chile ristras: dried chiles, strung together to be used in cooking throughout the year or just for decoration.
Bring the whole family to shop, eat and soak up a cultural experience. Tickets will be $5 for adults, $2 for children, and $1 off coupons are available at CHAC Gallery.
By the way - I'll be signing copies of
King of the Chicanos at the
Cultural Legacy booth on August 28 at 1:00 PM. Come on by, we can talk about chile.
Click on the image for details of
KUVO's 25th anniversary party that also celebrates 25 years of Cancíon Mexicana and the final show for the long-time host,
Flo.
HILARY DePOLO
Poetry and Performance
BEAT the heat with cool words
Join me for two performances this month (Denver):
(Third) Thursday August 19th ¤ Forza Coffee ¤
104th and Federal ¤ 7 pm
followed by an open mic
Saturday August 21st ¤ Ice Cube Gallery ¤ 3320 Walnut ¤
7 pm ¤ with Jeff Wittig on guitar
followed by an open mic on the theme of LIGHT
Poetry is the tunnel at the end of the light.~
J. Patrick Lewis
Hilary DePolo is a friend and a poet whose work I have admired for a long time. She's often done readings and created poems in conjunction with visual artists like
Carlos Fresquez and
Tony Ortega (whose painting
Western Union Baker served as the inspiration for one of Hilary's poems.) I checked out her reading last night at the coffee shop where the emotions ran the gamut from sad reflections on a dying mother to whimsical odes to the seasons to a touching tribute to the Mexican immigrant baker and his lonely life in los estados unidos. You should try to make it to the event tomorrow night at the
Ice Cube Gallery.
ALBUQUERQUE CULTURAL CONFERENCE
[website announcement]
September 3-6, 2010
We're holding our third
Albuquerque Cultural Conference, titled
Crisis, Community, and Performance: Building a Resilient Society. This event is full of performances, panels, report backs, and evening discussion. It reflects the state of heightened political, economic, social, and environmental crisis in the United States in the year 2010.
The Albuquerque Cultural Conference was first convened on Labor Day weekend 2007. Below is a portion of the original conference call.
We call upon organizers, writers and artists, and progressive journalists, teachers, and dreamers from all cultures to join us in building a new society while addressing the failures of the old. We will take up the vital issues of creating a just world through hard work, alternative forms of education, and new images of cultural transformation. Political, social, class, “race,” and gender issues will be addressed. Attention will be paid to critical topics including nuclear establishment, the people and the land, border crossings, cultural memory, and festivals of the oppressed.
Keep on readin'.
Later.
Skyhorse's Madonnas: CACA
Described in Manuel Ramos's post last week, my wife Carmen and I made to Rick's Tavern (Denver) to help finish off the 25th anniversary celebration of KUVO-FM radio and the retirement of Ramos's wife from hosting the Canción Mexicana Sunday morning program, a Denver staple of the Chicano community. Chanclas were thrown, música resounded and the send-off was suavecito.
