Backyard Floricantos Are for Summer

Melinda Palacio, Santa Barbara Poet Laureate

 

 *this post is originally published in the Santa Barbara Independent 

In Thelma Reyna's backyard

Over the past fifteen years, I’ve attended several floricanto’s at Casa Sedano, the home of Michael Sedano of La Bloga.com and Barbara (Michael’s late wife who recently lost her battle with dementia). Sedano has staked his claim as blogger and photographer to poets. He travels to poetry readings, near and far, and aims his camera in hopes of the perfect poetic pose. He photographed the first floricanto festival at USC, celebrating Chicano and Chicana poets in 1973, an event originally hosted by El Centro Chicano. USC’s Digital Library holds original films by the readings thanks to the efforts of Producer-Director Jesus Treviño and Photographer Michael Sedano.    

In 2010, Sedano organized a reunion of the original festival poets and invited several newer poets to participate. The floricanto festival of 2010 included poets who identify as Chicano, Chicana, Latino, Latina. I was lucky to be among the participants in an amazing lineup that included Juan Felipe Herrera, Alurista, Ron Arias, Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin, Tony Marez, and Mary Ann Pacheco, and Veronica Cunningham. 

 

Since then, Sedano has hosted several floricantos in his backyard with Jesus Treviño is there to film and feature the poets on Latinopia.com. Last Sunday, the tradition returned after a long, covid-hiatus. It was wonderful to gather with poet friends. There was even an appearance by famed artist Margaret Garcia, who last year was honored with a one-woman art show, Arte Para La Gente, at the Ventura County Art Museum. It was a big surprise when Margaret Garcia signed up for the open mic and sang a few verses of “Gracias a La Vida,” the Mercedes Sosa song made famous by Joan Baez. Garcia’s voice is rich with dark chocolate tones, a surprise for someone with a high speaking voice. 

Richard Vargas 

David Roth and Richard Vargas

 

Sunday’s gathering was in honor of Richard Vargas and his latest poetry book, leaving a tip at the Blue Moon Motel, Casa Urraca Press 2023. A seasoned poet, Vargas is on top of his game and at his strongest when writing about everyday life, his various jobs and occupations that inform his poetry, love and family. At the floricanto, Vargas is surprised by his high school friend, David Roth. Vargas says it’s a joy to be invited to read at one of Michael’s floricantos. “I feel as if I’m contributing in a small way to our culture’s traditions ad evolving art,” he said. “The camaraderie and friendship between poets and the audience makes it a very special event. 

John Martinez

 

For this gathering, a little flexibility is in order. Casa Sedano has been sold (his wife Barbara did not survive Covid or her battle with dementia. Michael is still in the process of moving so the reading takes a place nearby at Thelma Reyna’s beautiful backyard. Thelma Reyna is an award-winning author and publisher of Golden Foothills Press and was Poet Laureate of Altadena from 2014-2016. Thelma and I are set to open for Richard and there’s a signup sheet for an open mic. However, the order becomes jumbled because Jesus Treviño must leave early, so the show begins with the featured reader, followed by the open mic and Thelma, our hostess and featured reader. I closed us out with three poems and their companion songs. 

 

I’m looking forward to my set at Shoreline Park, August 17 at noon. If you come, look for the Library’s On the Go Van and the playground. 

 

 

Events:

 

Thursday, August 17, noon to 1pm, Poetry in the Park, 1237 Shoreline Dr., Santa Barbara. A set of poems and songs by the Poet Laureate.

 

Saturday, August 19, 10 am, SB Community Archives Showcase, East Side Library, Santa Barbara. Listen to a poem and hear stories, see archived photos of Santa Barbara’s East Side neighborhood. 

 

August 25, 6:30-8 pm, Writers Symposium, Fine Line Gallery, La Cumbre Mall. A discussion on ‘inviting the Muse’ with Dan Diamond, Janet Lucy, and Melinda Palacio, moderated by Mike Cregan, founder of La Cumbre Center for Creative Arts and award-winning author Tracy Shawn. 

 

 

Two poems by Richard Vargas:

menudo

 

i remember the morning

car ride to the Compton

neighborhood market

just the two of us

my dad would walk in 

carrying the empty pot and lid

set it on the counter and ask

for it to be filled with our

sunday morning breakfast

while he picked up a package

of warm corn tortillas

i checked out the colorful

piñatas and sweet-smelling 

pan dulce still warm from the oven

 

he would notice and buy a few 

conchas and fruit-filled empanadas

watch the smile light up my face

the drive home was slow and gentle

making sure we didn’t spill 

any of our orange-red bounty

 

i never cared for the oregano

but a squeeze of lemon

a spoonful of chopped onion

and a warm tortilla rolled up

in my small fist 

 

planted the seed 

for this poem to bloom

 

 

 

************************************

 

 

leaving a tip at the Blue Moon Motel 

 

i always take it for granted

the dusted chest of drawers and nightstands

the well-made bed with the crisp sheets

folded and tucked at each corner

sure to bring a smile to the grumpiest

of drill sergeants

 

the snow-white towels, the clean tub and toilet

a commendable attempt to add a little class

with that peculiar folding of the first

square of toilet paper hanging 

from the roll

 

rarely giving a thought to the women

who roam the hallways in the morning

knocking on doors looking for the empty

rooms ready for them to do their magic

 

no thought given to

the kids they raise

the bills paid late

the men who leave

and don’t come back

 

they pick up after all of us

oblivious strangers passing 

through on our way to a better

place than this

 

i leave a five-dollar bill and loose change

on the table as i check out

my small token of appreciation

for these hard scrubbing angels

doing their best to provide

a place to rest on the long

way home

 

 

 

Twelfth Night and the Poetry of Richard Vargas

 Melinda Palacio

   A friend asked me which book was my favorite of 2022. I usually have a hard time naming just one book or one thing in any category. Ask me my favorite color and I draw a blank. I wear every color. There was a time, back in my college days, when I only wore colors that pertained to the season of autumn because someone told me those were my colors and most days my body was covered in Emerald Green or brown. I fill silly for having limited my choices. Or ask me my favorite food and the pattern is the same. There was a time when I limited my meals to vegetables, now I eat all sorts of foods. I still don't have a favorite. Last year's standout was Richard Vargas's How a Civilization Begins. It may not be the only book I enjoyed but it was the first that popped into my mind. 

So many things about this book were appealing from the cover, the photo of a broken eggshell to the waxy mat finish and how the weight of the book felt in my hands. The book by Mouthfeel Press with a forward by Margaret Randall showed much care for the precious cargo between the pages. The civilization Vargas describes is the one that holds his life. From the kid who grew up in South Central Los Angeles to the man who served his country and became a poet who calls for unity, as seen in the poem, i am waiting for a peace. Next time pie day or March 14 comes along, I will ask Richard if I can share this poem for it also waits for a "piece of pie/with silky-smooth filling/that melts in my mouth. The playful poem has a wonderful way of imagining peace through a piece of pie or a poem shared by all. 

Richard Vargas is the hero the uncelebrated. His true fans take comfort in the fact that he has not sold out. For all his education, he continues to celebrate the quiet life. However, cliché the brooding poet with a difficult father, he is the voice of America, of the Chicano who struggles to remember sparse and rarely used Spanish to comfort a young asylum seeker dumped by the border patrol in "labor of love." The book's forward by Margaret Randall asks if this book will place Vargas at the 'very pinnacle of poetry speaking out of and for contemporary life?' While becoming a household name might be a fair aspiration, for now, Richard Vargas does not need accolades to write poems that gut the reader with the longing the comfort of a man who can create an entire world with "just two lovers/in the dark/holding on/not going/anywhere/lying in our/wet spot/waiting for/the world/to end."

Interview with Poet and Publisher, Richard Vargas/Excerpt from Guernica, revisited

Melinda Palacio

Richard Vargas

La Bloga sat down with Richard Vargas. His thorough answers on being a poet offers an important roadmap for anyone thinking about taking up the writing life. I especially enjoyed his quoting of John F. Kennedy, and, most of all, Richard's poems; I was honored to read his new book in manuscript format. It such a great feeling to see a project of this magnitude take shape and become a book you can hold in your hands, carry in your bag, and read on the streetcar. But don't take my word for it, experience this Q&A, then click away and buy Richard's newest book of poems: Guernica, revisited.Don't be surprised if you find yourself looking up his earlier books, published by Tia Chucha Press.

Mark your calendar: Richard Vargas features at Avenue 50 Studios August 10. 

Melinda Palacio:

How did you meet your editors? Did you submit your book through a contest?

Richard Vargas:

I met Pam Uschuk and William Pitt Root for the first time when they visited a poetry workshop at University of New Mexico. I think it was the fall of 2008, my first semester in the Creative Writing MFA program. The workshop was facilitated by Joy Harjo, and at her invitation they stopped by to discuss poetics and lead us in a writing exercise. Since then, Pam has contributed to the poetry magazine I publish and edit, TheMás Tequila Review, on more than one occasion, and Will let me reprint his classic long poem, “Night Letter to the Mujahadeen,” in issue #5.

My manuscript came to their attention after a prestigious small press had sat on it for about a year, only to pass it up. I was thoroughly frustrated, since it had been turned down several times in the last three years. I was at the end of my rope, so I reached out to several friends and contacts on Facebook, asking for advice. Many came through with recommendations, but many of the presses they mentioned had already rejected my manuscript. Pam suggested I send it to her since she knew my work and thought the press who published much of her work would be interested. But within a few days she wrote back to say she really liked the collection of poems, and suggested making it a part of the Silver Concho Poetry Series for Press 53. She and Will direct the series for the press. She became a strong advocate for the book, and Will stepped in to work with me as my editor. I quickly found out that while the material was strong, the manuscript wasn’t print ready. Not by a long shot. Will worked long hours combing it over for errors and inconsistencies. No one put in that kind of time with my first two books, and his efforts really paid off. The result was a tighter, professional version of the original. I’m proud of how it turned out, and thank William Pitt Root for his editorial skills and sharp eye.

MAP:

What did you most enjoy about putting together your new book?

RV:

Well, the enjoyable part is now; giving readings, promoting, stepping out to meet new faces and adding to my audience. Unlike the publication of my other two books, this time I have the resources to do some traveling, so I am reaching out to bookstores and literary venues in cities I’ve never had the chance to visit, as well as my old haunts and stomping grounds. And since I’ve created a network of poets across the country whom I’ve published in The Más Tequila Review, I’m looking forward to meeting some of them face to face as I hit the road. It’s going to be a good time. A celebration of the new book, a celebration of the Gerald Locklin Poetry Prize we just awarded in the current issue ($300,) and the Margaret Randall Poetry Prize we’re awarding in the next issue ($500.)

MAP:

Did you have control over the cover?

RV:

Yes! The cover is a strong statement, and visually appealing. Just before Pam and Will accepted Guernica, revisited,for the Silver Concho Poetry Series, I came across an interview Mother Jones magazine published, (http://www.motherjones.com/media/2013/06/pakistani-drone-art-mahwish-chishty) featuring a Pakastani artist who was using her country’s folk-art to depict U.S. drones, provoking and adding to the debate about our government’s use of these killing machines and their effect on her people.  I had recently changed the title (the last of many title changes) of the manuscript to Guernica, revisited, a poem I wrote about the aftermath of a drone strike. It was written upon my feature reading at an art exhibit in Albuquerque, called Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan. (http://windowsandmirrors.org/exhibit/albuquerque-nm)

The art work by Kabul high school students left me speechless and numb. And I was honored to have my poetry paired with their vision of the world. I felt like I was speaking out for them, in their absence.

Guernica revisited by Richard Vargas

So I reached out to the journalist who interviewed Mahwish Chishty, and he put me in touch with her. I explained the circumstances that led to composing my title poem, and asked for permission to use one of her images for my cover art. She graciously agreed, and I was ecstatic! What a gift. The image sets the tone of the book and I feel truly blessed. We’ve discussed collaborating, a showing of her artwork accompanied by a reading from my book. We are looking for a gallery interested in working with us. Originally I wanted to launch the book in this manner, but there just wasn’t enough time to set it up.  But I feel it would be an event worth the time and energy to organize and promote.

MAP:

Your poems are political and represent the social milieu around you. You've also talked about being an armchair activist through your poetry. What is your current view as an activist poet and how has this changed.

RV:

Yeah, they are. And there are those who will rail against mixing art with politics, proclaiming that it is an aberration, a distraction from the pursuit of the universal quality of beauty, or nature, or the spiritual. But once someone states that their art is apolitical, they have just made a political statement. There is no getting away from it. Every waking day of our lives, we are being affected by political actions and decisions being made all around us, near and far away. Every time I wanted to push away from the table, convinced that no matter what I do, say, or write, the die has been cast and what’s going to happen is already written in the books, I find myself drawn back into the fray. A people who are complacent and watch their local and federal governments condone acts of social injustice and atrocities at home and abroad, deserve their fate. And sooner or later, it does come home to roost. Yeah, I’m on a soap box right now, but this quote from John F. Kennedy always comes to mind when I get on this subject: “When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses, for art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgment. The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state.” He said it best.

MAP:

Is there anything else you'd like to share with La Bloga?

RV:

I want to take the time to thank you, Joy Harjo, and Demetria Martinez for blurbing the book. Such an impressive group of writers, and it makes me realize how lucky I am to be rubbing elbows with such a talented group of artists. The forward was written by my good friend, E.A. “Tony” Mares. I became aware of his poetry in the 1970s, when I was an undergrad at Cal State University, Long Beach. I took a couple of courses from the fledgling Chicano Studies program, and was introduced to an anthology titled, Festival de Flor y Canto: An Anthology of Chicano Literature. His poetry was among the contents, and I still have my copy. Upon moving to Albuquerque in 2002, I met Tony at readings, where we hit it off. He sat in on my dissertation committee, and has been a source of professional advice and encouragement for several years. We still get together for coffee and discuss the local and global state of affairs. During a time when he is exclusively concentrating on his own writing, he took the time to write an insightful and touching forward for the book, and I am honored and grateful.

Richard Vargas shares the title poem of his new book with La Bloga:


Guernica, revisited

the child is lying face down in the dirt, barefoot. his pants
are torn, exposing the backside of his leg, the skin’s surface
dull with a layer of fine dust.  head turned to the side, half
of the face is gone. hair is stiff, matted. he looks like a doll
someone just threw away. the family gathers around their
home where walls no longer stand and brick has been
pulverized into grit and debris burying their loved ones,
their belongings. a bed has been removed from the rubble;
under an old sleeping bag are the bodies of an adult and
two children. they look peaceful and asleep, huddled close
together for warmth. but they are not sleeping. overhead,
metallic raptors spread their wings with grace and ride
the high desert winds with ease, their cyber-cameras survey
the damage, send images half way around the globe where
men in starched uniforms focus on their military-issue
computer monitors, drink their morning coffee, take notes,
and fill out reports.


Picasso’s ghost walks
among the carnage, weeping.
there is no art here.

Author’s website:

http://richardvargaspoet.com/

Author’s page, Press 53:

http://www.press53.com/bioRichardVargas.html

The Mas Tequila Review: Where to Buy/How to Submit

Book launch and future reading in Highland Park


April 26, Saturday 2-4 pm
Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice
202 Harvard SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106 USA
505-268-9557

And the first reading booked so far... hopefully the first of many.

August 10, Sunday at 2pm
Avenue 50 Studios
131 North Avenue 50
Highland Park, CA 90042

Spotlight on Richard Vargas

by Melinda Palacio

Poet Richard Vargas

At one time, Richard Vargas attended middle school in Lynwood, California, across the railroad tracks from Watts where Luis J. Rodriguez lived, but the two didn’t meet for the first time until almost 30 years later, when they were both living in Illinois. Vargas left his job with UPS in 1995 due to a back injury, listened to his creative spirit and moved from Southern California to Rockford, Illinois. He found himself working as the community events manager for the local Barnes & Noble and as poetry editor for the town’s weekly newspaper, The Rock River Times. He discovered that the Rockford school board was about to ban Luis Rodriguez’s book, Always Running, over passages that were read out of context and over the airwaves by an overzealous and opportunistic radio talk show host. The outrageous bias Vargas heard on the radio prompted him to write several columns condemning the banning of books. The Rock River Times set up a town hall meeting for Luis Rodriguez to come up from Chicago and defend his book by debating some of the ultra-conservative school board members in public. Rodriguez’s visit was partially successful, receiving coverage on TV, print, and radio. During that month, Always Running became the top selling book at the local Barnes & Noble. But in the end, the school board had their way and banished Luis’ book from the school libraries. Richard has considered Luis his comrade-in-arms ever since then, and in 2007, Luis Rodriguez and Tia Chucha Press published Vargas’ second book of poetry, American Jesus.

For the new year, the poet finds himself again at a crossroads, ripe for reinvention. However, this time, his situation is vastly different as he continues to pursue his poetry. Last year he has received an MFA with distinction from the University of New Mexico and he is the publisher of The Más Tequila Review, a poetry journal with the byline, “Poetry for the rest of us.” He has completed a new poetry manuscript and is searching for a publishing home for his book and a professorship job to take him to his new home, wherever that might be. He only knows that with his MFA completed, he will regretfully have to look outside New Mexico in search of a job where he can use his degree, and leaving the supportive literary community he calls home will be a hard thing to do. Vargas admits he’s a fresh voice outside the canon, with additional experience in organizing literary events and publishing an independent poetry journal, making him a good addition to the right creative writing program. He values the years he’s spent as a graduate student and his too-short stint as the events coordinator for Alamosa Books in Albuquerque. “New Mexico has a vibrant, active poetry scene, and Albuquerque loves its poets.” Vargas said. “I’m really enjoying my time here. If you are a writer, Albuquerque, and New Mexico as a whole, is a great place to be.”

Last month, La Bloga featured a short film by Viridiana Martinez, “La LLorona,” based on Vargas’ poem children of the lost. http://vimeo.com/33003271

Of his poetry, Virgil Suarez, author of Spared Angola: Memories of a Cuban-American childhood, says, “Richard Vargas is single-handedly re-energizing contemporary poetry and the American vernacular.” Last year, Vargas’s non-fiction works were featured in Kweli Journal and National Public Radio’s All Things Considered.

One thing that has not changed for the distinguished poet is his desire to use his poetry to speak out against social injustice and the diminishing political voice of the working class. Last year, Vargas organized a fundraiser for the Occupy Movement. In his role as publisher of The Más Tequila Review, Vargas supports poetry that gives a voice to the many and takes a stand against the abuse of power by the few. The Winter 2012 issue of The Más Tequila Review will be available in early Feb.

Richard welcomes visits to his website.

Future Events for Richard Vargas

Richard will be joining Tia Chucha Press events at AWP in Chicago.

"Here is the AWP / Tia Chucha Press author signing schedule for Friday, March 2:

Jose Antonio Rodriguez 11:00 am
Michael Warr 12:00 noon
Patricia Smith 1:00 pm
Patricia Spears Jones 2:00 pm
Richard Vargas 3:00 pm

Also we have an outside-AWP reading with the Guild Complex on Thursday, March 1, 2012 in the evening details TBA. This will include Michael Warr and Patricia Smith and Luis J. Rodriguez as featured readings, along with A.Van Jordan, Patricia Spears Jones, and Richard Vargas.

(La Bloga's Melinda Palacio and Daniel Olivas will be on a panel at AWP: Wachale: Chicano Debut Novelists at 10:30, Saturday March 3.)

April 15, 3-5 pm, Richard Vargas reads with Margaret Randall, Lauren Camp, and ElaineUpton on the theme of “Family and Heritage.” Unitarian-Universalist Church, 107 W. Barcelona Rd., Santa Fe, NM.

when you beat me

Richard Vargas

does your arm tire

as you swing your

baton into the thud

of my flesh and bone

and you hear me

moan in pain

when you crack

my ribs and jab

my soft belly

do you feel like a

job well done when

you pin me on the

ground and harness

my wrists like a

rodeo cowboy

hogties cattle

no matter that

we are both looked

down upon by those

on their balconies

of glass and steel

who laugh and joke

as they spread caviar

on fancy crackers

that will never pass

our lips

while you choke me

knock me down

look at how they

raise their flutes

of exquisite champagne

sparkling in the sun

blinding you with

cold brilliance

and empty nods

of approval

for a friend who objects to comparing the events leading up to the Holocaust

with what is happening today in Arizona

by Richard Vargas

“I’m marked by the color of my skin. / The bullets are discrete and designed

to kill slowly. /

They are aiming at my children. / These are the facts.”

by Lorna Dee Cervantes from Poem for the Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, an Intelligent, Well-Read Person Could Believe in the War Between Races by

for you “never again”

is personal and sacred

never again to being reduced

to less than human

never again to madmen

who spit their words

at you like careless

but calculated grenades

never again to being

scapegoat while a

government dulls

the minds and hearts

of its citizens to accept

the atrocities it will do

in their names

but even as i read this

we both know

it is

happening again

all over the world

and now

within our own borders

the tribes are different

yet they are the same

the raging wall of flame

that almost consumed

your people still burns

aided by strong winds

flapping the flags of old

and new hatreds

it’s a modern day

pogrom in the making

fingers pointing at “illegal

aliens” and “anchor babies”

words devised to strip

away humanity from

the powerless

but you and i know

what’s really going on

the names of brown people

are being redacted

from our children’s

history books

right now

we both know this beginning

this beginning with an end

no one wants to think about

but dwells deep inside our

fear gnawing nonstop like

a shiny slick maggot

so let us use your words

your gift to the world

language to name

the unspeakable

the unimaginable

the horrible

we will stand together

shout them out with

your same passion

and defiance in the

face of this heartless

beast

never again

never again

nunca más

***

Luis J. Rodriguez has two Los Angeles appearances this weekend (an opportunity to get your copy of Rodriguez's new book It Calls You Back signed:

Saturday, January 21, 2012 - Contributors to the PM Press anthology, "Send My Love and a Molotov Cocktail: Stories of Crime, Love and Rebellion," including Luis J. Rodriguez, John A. Imani, Larry Fondation, Penny Mickelbury, moderated by Gary Phillips, will discuss the intersection between fiction and politics. 2 to 3:30 pm at the William Grant Still Art Center, 2520 S. West View Street, L.A. CA 90016. Contact: 213-847-1540

Sunday, January 22, 2012 - Poetry reading at Avenue 50 Studio, 131 North Avenue 50, Highland Park, CA. 2 to 4 pm. Contact: Luivette Resto or Kathy Gallegos 323-258-1435

***

Writing Workshop, limited space available, with Reyna Grande

What: Creative Writing Workshops with award-winning author, Reyna Grande.

When: 4 Thursdays, Jan. 19th to February 9th @6:30pm

Where: Private residence, East Whittier (Los Angeles County)
Who: Anyone who is looking for a supportive environment, guidance, and encouragement.
How much: $100.00 for four sessions

Contact Reyna Grande at reynagrande@gmail.com for more information about the classes. If you are working on a fiction or creative non-fiction project and are looking for feedback on your work, and/or would like to learn more about the craft of writing, then this class is for you! Space is limited!
About the Author:

Reyna Grande is the author of Across a Hundred Mountains, which received an American Book Award, the El Premio Aztlan Literary Award, and a Latino Books Into Movies Award. Her second novel was the recepient of a Latino Book Award. Her memoir, The Distance Between Us, is due for publication in August 2012. She is a sought-after speaker, educator, and event organizer. Visit her website at www.reynagrande.com

****

Announcements for Melinda Palacio:

Two reviews of Ocotillo Dreams came in this week. The Los Angeles Examiner by Frank Mundo and the first review in Spanish by Lydia Gil for EFE.

Poet Vargas poem to video. Student Loans to default. Vets to Occupy.

by Rudy Ch. Garcia

Richard Vargas poem to video

We received this news from Latino poet Richard Vargas, whose poetry has appeared on La Bloga as recently as this week in Sedano's Tuesday Floricanto post:

"I have the honor of a graduate film student taking one of my poems and turning it into a short film. it's only a couple of minutes. When someone uses their art to interpret what you created, it is beautiful and powerful, a wonderful way to wrap up the year. – RV"

So, go here to see "a creative montage about earth through a Chicana's eyes" by Viridiana Martinez. As a non-commercial website, La Bloga believes that aspiring artists' work deserves consideration.

About Viridiana Martinez: "I am a senior majoring in Digital Filmmaking and Video Production at The Art Institute of California - Sunnyvale. I am in the process of making my Senior Project and I am in dire need of your help. My project is inspired by a Chicano poet, Richard Vargas. This project will show consumerism through the eyes of a young Chicana watching people lose respect, not only for others but our mother earth. This will be shot in the places that are dear to my heart such as Monterey county, San Benito County, and Santa Cruz County.

"I hope to create a positive impact and desire to change the world we live in now. The world we are all citizens of, because no matter where you live, earth is our home and if I am not able to reach my goal, my video might be cut short in length and not be entered in film festivals. This project will happen one way or another; this is a project that has a place in my heart and on my grade sheet. I need this in order to graduate."

Richard Vargas received his MFA (with distinction) from the UNM Creative Writing Program in 2010. He has two books published, Mclife, 2005, and American Jesus, Tia Chucha Press, 2007. He was recipient of the 2011 Hispanic Writers Award at the Taos Summer Writers' Conference, and a community scholarship from the 2011 National Latino Writers Conference. Vargas was also featured last summer on National Public Radio's All Things Considered / Summer Sounds. He currently resides in Albuquerque, NM., where he edits and publishes The Más Tequila Review. You can visit his website here.

No mataron al Occupy movement

When city and state governments and enforcement officials decided to try to shut down Occupy sites across the country, and the world, they might have unintentionally given new surprising life to Occupy. You can't blame the structure that enforces the 1%'s privileged status. They believe Occupy has more potential than many of us of the 99% do. Here's two new aspects that reveal something of how seriously the 1% look at Occupy.

1. Sign the Student Debtors' Pledge of Refusal?

From New York: "Early Monday afternoon, a group of faculty and student organizers unveiled the Occupy Student Debt campaign from the southeast corner of lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park.

"As part of the Occupy Wall Street movement, the national Occupy Student Debt campaign asks that borrowers default on their student loan payments after one million individuals have similarly signed the debtors' pledge.

"Since the first days of the Occupy movement, the agony of student debt has been a constant refrain," announced Andrew Ross, a professor at New York University, to a crowd of more than 100 assembled in Zuccotti Park. "We've heard the harrowing personal testimony about the suffering and humiliation of people who believe their debts will be unpayable in their lifetime."

Checking today, there were just over 2100 signatures collected. How long before it gets anywhere close to a million? Will it be primarily Anglo college students from Calif. and New York who pledge, or will it spread into the fastest growing segment of the population, the Chicano/mexicano/latino communities? Vamos a ver.

Here is the text of the pledge:
"As members of the most indebted generations in history, we pledge to stop making student loan payments after one million of us have signed this pledge. Student loan debt, soon to top $1 trillion, is poisoning the pursuit of higher education. With chronic underemployment likely for decades to come, we will carry an intolerable burden into the future. The time has come to refuse this debt load. Debt distorts our educational priorities and severely limits our life options.

Education is not a commodity and it should not be a vehicle for generating debt, or profit for banks. Education at all levels--pre-K through Ph.D.--is a right and a public good.

* We believe the federal government should cover the cost of tuition at public colleges and universities.

* We believe that any student loan should be interest-free.

* We believe that private and for-profit colleges and universities, which are largely financed through student debt, should open their books.

*We believe that the current student debt load should be written off.

In acknowledgment of these beliefs, I am signing the Debtors’ Pledge of Refusal."

La Bloga is posting this for news and informational purposes only, since Homeland Security might consider endorsement to be some form of terrorism or sedition. But possibly like many of you, I know that my daughter's $30k of student loans might make it impossible for her to have as fulfilling of a life as she might have, much less ever get out of debt or own a home. If you're wondering the same, visit the Debtors’ Pledge of Refusal page. There are also categories for signers who don't owe loans to support those who do.

2. The War on the Home Front

And if you think the Occupy protestors ranks are nothing but a bunch of ex-hippies, neonihilists or deadbeats, and you haven't joined or supported them yet, then maybe you can't imagine how the 1% felt when they saw this coming down the street [and they weren't even armed]:

It was a beautiful, sunlit fall morning when the patrol, many in camouflage jackets, no more than 40 of them in all, headed directly into enemy territory.

Their ranks included one sailor in uniform, three women, and a small child named Viva in a stroller. Except for Viva, all of them were vets, a few from the Vietnam era but most from our more recent wars. 

As they headed for Wall Street, several carried signs that said, “I am still serving my country,” and one read, “How is the war economy working for you?”

Many wore Iraq Veterans Against the War t-shirts under their camo jackets, and there was one other thing that made this demonstration unlike any seen in these last Occupy Wall Street weeks: there wasn’t a police officer, police car, or barricade in sight.

As they headed out across a well-trafficked street, not a cop was there to yell at them to get back on the curb. 

In the wake of the wounding of Scott Olsen in the police assault on Occupy Oakland last week, that’s what it means to be a veteran marching on Zuccotti Park. Scott Kimbell (Iraq, 2005-2006), who led the patrol, later told me: “Cops are in a difficult position with vets. Some of them were in the military and are sympathetic and they know that the community will not support what happened to Scott Olsen.”

Just before Broad Street, a line of waiting police on scooters picked up the marchers, for once feeling more like an escort than a gang of armed avengers, while media types and photographers swarmed in the street without police reprimand. 

Suddenly, the patrol swiveled right and marched directly into the financial heart of the planet through a set of barricades. (“Who opened up the barrier there?” shouted a policeman.)

It was aiming directly at a line of mounted police blocking the way. In front of them, the march halted. With a smart “Left face!” the platoon turned to the Stock Exchange and began to call out in unison, “We are veterans! We are the 99%! We swore to protect the Constitution of the United States of America! We are here to support the Occupy Movement!”

Then, the horses parted like the Red Sea, like a wave of emotion sweeping ahead of us, and the vets marched on triumphantly toward Zuccotti Park as a military cadence rang out (“...corporate profits on the rise, but soldiers have to bleed and die! Sound off, one, two...”) 

The platoon came to attention in front of Trinity Church for a moment of silence for “our friend Scott Olsen,” after which it circled the encampment at Zuccotti Park to cheers and cries of “Welcome Home!” from the protesters there. (One of the occupiers shouted to the skies: “Hey, police, the military’s here and they’re on our side!”)

If you don’t think all of it was stirring, then you have the heart of a banker. 

Soon after, veterans began offering testimony, people’s mic-style, at the top of the park. Eli Wright, 30, a former Army medic in Ramadi, Iraq (2003-2004), now on military disability and Viva's dad, parked her stroller when I asked him why he was here.

“I came out today to march for economic justice," he responded. "I want a future for my daughter. I want her to have an education and a job. I served seven years for our country to defend our constitution only to see it being dismantled before my eyes. I think it’s time for vets and others to stand up and fight back.” As for two-year-old Viva, “This,” he said, “is the introduction to democracy that she needs to see.”

As a matter of fact, amid the tumult, Viva was soundly and peaceably asleep. 

Joshua Shepherd, in the Navy from 2002 to 2008, told me that, during those years, he came to realize "it wasn’t about protecting anyone, it was about making money.” Now a student, he was holding up a large poster of his friend Scott Olsen. He had been with Olsen when he was hit, possibly by a beanbag round fired by the police, and had flown in from San Francisco for this march.

“It’s important that the people at Wall Street know that we support them. For the life of me I’m not sure why the police escalated the way they did [in Oakland], but the powers that be are threatened. Income disparities have never been higher and they want to keep it that way."

"It’s my intention to raise my voice and say that’s not right.” 

T.J. Buonomo, 27 and unemployed, a personable former Army military intelligence officer, told me that he had come up from Washington specifically for the march.

“Seeing what happened to Scott Olsen made me feel like we had to stand up for Americans getting their democracy back. If this country keeps going like this, we’re going to look like Latin America in the 1970s.” 


Of course, as with so much else about Zuccotti Park, there’s no way of knowing whether these vets were a recon outfit preparing the way for a far larger “army,” possibly (as in the Vietnam era) including active-duty service people, or whether they were just a lost American patrol.

Still, if you were there, you, too, might have felt that something was changing in this country, that a larger movement of some kind was beginning to form."

Go here to read the entire article.
[excerpted from TomDispatch.com]

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Lastly, check out Manuel Ramos's post yesterday for the contest and the Fluffy Iglesias DVD that goes to the winners; he has two to give away.

Es todo hoy,
RudyG