Fresh Juice- Jugo Fresco

Written and illustrated by Robert Liu-Trujillo

 

Publisher: Lee & Low Books (July 25, 2023)

Language: ‎English

Hardcover: ‎32 pages

ISBN-10: ‎1643791133

ISBN-13: ‎978-1643791135

 

 

What makes a great juice that keeps everyone healthy? Art and his dad discover it takes carrots ... collards ... cayenne ... and community!

 

When Art's father can't get over a cold, Art knows exactly what his daddy needs: some delicious sick-fighting juice! After looking through the fridge and cupboards, they discover they're missing a key ingredient--ginger. But finding some ginger will take them downtown, to the farmers' market, to the food co-op, to the West African grocery ... to an unexpected encounter that brings everyone together, and results in a tasty celebration.

 

Author-illustrator Rob Liu-Trujillo's warm and vibrant watercolor illustrations are a celebration of mixed families and the many individuals who help make a neighborhood feel like a community. Fresh Juice is a delightful, kid- and community-centered picture book that will leave you thirsty for more!

 

¿Qué contiene un jugo que mantiene a todos saludables? ¡Art y su papa descubren que necesitan zanahorias... col berza... chile de árbol... y una comunidad!

 

Cuando el padre de Art no puede deshacerse de un resfriado, Art sabe exactamente lo que su papi necesita: ¡un delicioso jugo mata-resfriados! Después de buscar en su refrigerador y en la alacena, descubren que les hace falta un ingrediente clave: jengibre. Pero el encontrar jengibre los llevará al centro, al mercado de agricultores, a la cooperativa de alimentos, a la tienda de productos de África Occidental... y a un encuentro inesperado que une a todos y resulta en una sabrosa celebración.

 

Las ilustraciones de acuarela cálidas y vibrantes del autor e ilustrador Rob Liu-Trujillo son una celebración de familias mixtas y muchos individuos que ayudan a hacer que una vecindad se sienta como una comunidad. ¡Jugo Fresco es un libro ilustrado centrado en los niños y en la comunidad y que te dejará con sed de más!

 

 

Robert Liu-Trujillo is the author-illustrator of Furqan's First Flat Top and the illustrator of many picture books, including Alejandria Fights Back. When he was a kid, his dad made fresh wheatgrass juice and his stepfather juiced fruits and vegetables. Now as a husband and father, Robert makes fresh juice for his family. He lives in Oakland, California, with his wife and two kids. Visit him online at work.robdontstop.com.

Non-aristotlelian Canon

Michael Sedano

I languished through the summer of 1969, broke, optimistic, and bored. But I can't show you pictures because, even at PX prices, I couldn't afford a camera. A married G.I. in that time, I was paid $120.00 a month.

When I got promoted to Specialist Fourth Class, I spent my entire E-4 pay, $150.00, to buy my first 35mm single lens reflex mechanical marvel, a Topcon Re Super. The only camera in the PX that day.

Talk about a marvel of engineering and materials. The Topcon continued to operate in the coldest days on top of the mountain whereas my friends' devices froze. My warmest Topcon memory takes me to a tortuous ride hanging onto the driver's side of a speeding deuce and a half, the Topcon penduluming at the end of my neck from the air to the side of the truck with a hearty thu-thunk!

It was me or that camera and I chose life. And never again would I ride outside a deuce and a half.

The story of the indestructible Topcon arises from the ka-chunk sound of an expensive Canon camera landing in thick gravel. Gravel like that well-cushions a car tire or a person's step. The camera did not survive the cushioning gravel.

Ave atque vale Canon SL3. 

Here is a gallery of the replacement device, a Canon EOS 6D Mark II, with the Canon Macro Lens EF 100mm f/2.8. The camera body has many whistles and bells and a 206 page manual. It will work wonders since it is a wonderful device.

I am most excited to own that fast macro lens. The optic's the thing wherein to capture the magnificence of a summer day in San Marino, California's Huntington Library.

¡Mira nomás!

Buddleia plants, known as "butterfly bush", live up to their name, drawing Monarchs that latch onto a flower stem for minutes at a feeding. 

Winged creatures captured in mid-flight offer a photographer and the equipment an energizing challenge. The moment the photographer spots the flying beauty, anticipation builds behind the oft-rewarded hope the beast will land, and land within the lens' optimal range of a few feet.

A macro lens focuses on tiny objects. My new used macro lens focuses on objects as close as eleven inches. The camera sensor sees moving objects as focus targets. The body operates tiny motors in the lens snapping an incoming fuzzy spot into sharp focus disclosing a native bee floating into a California native Mallow.

This is a wonder foto! That elusive bee in air, with a flower, puro marvelous, gente.

Light extremes illustrate a camera sensor's ability to capture what the brain sees. Here a white Lavender flower offers sharp contrast to a black Skipper. A bit of manipulation with software will bring out the rich detail in the black carapace.

 The camera captures detail in the bright yellow Acacia flowers and detail in the deep black Carpenter Bee. The wings glow with near-perfect exposure. The photographer exults in the airborne instant and thinks, next time, closer and more wings.

Is This A Marine Blue Butterfly

Capturing winged creatures on the wing remains a singularly elusive goal when the object is the Marine Blue Butterfly. Getting a basking wing-spread photograph required five years of walking and seeking (link). The flight habit of the creature--it flits erratically and dips and lifts away at random-- makes capturing one in mid-air an impossibility of serendipity.

Back in 2022, La Bloga shared some of the first clear photographs I captured of the Marine Blue. It was the third year I'd been going to the garden in search of this soul.

 

Closed-winged Marine Blues challenge their name. Why is that rather plain grey-tan butterfly called a "blue" anything? The basking creature spreads its wings revealing its name, a deep blue carapace and abdomen, and a blue sheen to golden-maroon wings.

I had no idea how gorgeous this butterfly grows until I took the new used camera to the Huntington recently. I spotted a single white blip floating near a Mallow. My heart skips a beat when the white speck approaches my stationary eyes, turns away from me, spirals into the thicket of branches.

The butterfly stops and immediately spreads its wings. This creature has bright orange bands where in the past I've seen orange spots.

Incredible color fills my camera viewfinder. Blue is such an understatement.

The question arises, given the color richness of this specimen, is this a Marine Blue?

The Marine Blue turns 360º to allow the photographer to take fotos to his heart's content. Should the creature lift off, the photographer hopes to react in time to catch the butterfly flying.

In the open shadow light of the Mallow bush, the golden maroon wings have a deep blue-maroon hue and the orange banding is dramatically prominent. Could this be a seasonal appearance, a male, a different species? 

Sabes que? Whatever species this tiny soul turns out to be, I am fortunate indeed to have met it in the garden with the new used camera and lens.

If you'd enjoy photographing the Marine Blue Butterfly, look for white blips fluttering frenetically close to the ground and bush-tops of flowering plants. Stand and fix eyes on one or two white blips and when one lands, slowly approach. As soon as the camera sees the critter, take a foto. That might be the sole exposure of the creature that visit. Get closer, crawling helps, hold your breath. Push the button.

_Lágrima Roja_ en Atenas por Natasa Lambrou

_Lágrima Roja_ en Atenas por Natasa Lambrou

 

El lunes 3 de julio a las 7 de la tarde se presentó el poemario Lágrima Roja de Xánath Caraza en Iliupolis, un barrio de Atenas, Grecia. El evento fue en un parque del municipio donde el colectivo Emis edo (nosotr@s aquí) y la traductora al griego de Lágrima Roja, la Doctora Natasa Lambrou, junto con el candidato a alcalde Dimitris Evagelou, hablaron del poemario, de los feminicidios y de la violencia de género. La poeta participó con un saludo al público desde la distancia y la lectura del poema “Carmín bordado en el cielo”. Los poemas en griego fueron recitados por actrices bajo la dirección de Antonia Kalathianaki. A continuación, el poema “Carmín bordado en el cielo” en español, inglés y griego y algunas fotos de la presentación en Atenas, Grecia. La traducción al griego de Lágrima Roja es de la Doctora Natasa Lambrou y al inglés de la Doctora Sandra Kingery y Aaron Willsea.

 

Carmín bordado en el cielo

 

De ámbar líquido rebosa el hontanar. 

La ondulada tarde colmada

de canoras melodías.

 

La sangre brota de la tierra

y mancha el cielo crepuscular.

 

Chocan los sentimientos

insoportable dolor.

 

Canta, justicia divina,

manifiéstate entre nosotros,

salva a tus hijas.

 

Allá, acá,

cerca y lejos,

dentro y fuera es

donde te necesitamos.

 

No más muertes de inocentes mujeres.

No más muertes de gente con hambre.

No más niños huyendo de la muerte.

No más mujeres desaparecidas.

No más padres tragados por la oscuridad.

 

¿Cómo vivir con el carmín bordado en el cielo?

¿Cómo andar los pasos cubiertos de sangre?

¿Cómo escribir con las manos adoloridas?

¿Cómo cantar si de mis labios escurre dolor?

 

Líquido amor,

corazón áureo,

entiérrate en mi alma,

deslava esta noche violenta.

 

Crimson Embroidered into the Sky

 

Natural springs spill over with liquid amber.

The undulating evening is saturated

by warbling melodies.

 

Blood sprouts from the earth

and stains the twilight sky.

 

Emotions collide,

unbearable pain.

 

Sing, divine justice,

take shape among us, 

bring salvation to your daughters.

 

Here and there,

near and far,

inside and out,

that is where we need you.

 

No more deaths of innocent women.

No more deaths of the hungry masses.

No more children fleeing death.

No more women disappeared.

No more parents swallowed by darkness.

 

How can one live with crimson embroidered into the sky?

How can one walk the paths bathed by blood?

How can one write with hands wracked with pain?

How can I sing with sorrow spilling from my lips?

 

Liquid love,

heart of gold,

bury yourself in my soul,

wash away this violent night.

 

Κρεμεζί κεντημένο στον ουρανό

 

Από κεχριμπάρι υγρό η πηγή ξεχειλίζει.

Το κυματιστό απόγευμα γεμίζει

από ρυθμικές μελωδίες.

 

Το αίμα αναβλύζει απ’ τη γη

και λεκιάζει τον ουρανό του δειλινού.

 

Συγκρούονται τα συναισθήματα

αβάσταχτος πόνος.

 

Τραγούδα, δικαιοσύνη θεϊκή,

φανερώσου ανάμεσά μας,

σώσε τις κόρες σου.

 

Εκεί, εδώ,

κοντά και μακριά,

μέσα κι έξω είναι

που σε χρειαζόμαστε.

 

Όχι άλλοι θάνατοι αθώων γυναικών.

Όχι άλλοι θάνατοι ανθρώπων πεινασμένων.

Όχι άλλα παιδιά που τρέχουν να ξεφύγουν απ’ το θάνατο.

Όχι άλλες γυναίκες εξαφανισμένες.

Όχι άλλοι γονείς που τους κατάπιε το σκοτάδι.

 

Πώς να ζήσω με το κρεμεζί κεντημένο στον ουρανό;

Πώς να περπατήσω με βήματα καλυμμένα από αίμα;

Πώς να γράψω με τα χέρια πονεμένα;

Πώς να τραγουδήσω αν απ’ τα χείλη μου στάζει πόνος;

 

Υγρή αγάπη,

καρδιά χρυσαφένια,

θάψου στην ψυχή μου,

ξεκάρφωσε αυτή την βίαιη νύχτα.

 

 

Natasa Lambrou, Ph.D.

Hall of Famer Lalo Delgado -- CALMA Anthology Fund Raiser

The good news today includes the announcement from the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame that Abelardo "Lalo" Delgado has been selected for induction into the Hall of Fame as one of the Legacy recipients for 2023.  No one is more deserving of this award than Lalo, and the literary and Chicano communities of the Southwest welcome this acknowledgement of Lalo's writing, impact, and influence. Below is the write-up used by the Hall of Fame.  La Bloga congratulates Lalo and his family.  We will celebrate at the induction gala on September 11.   If you have the opportunity, please join us.

Also, keep reading for details about CALMA's anthology fundraiser.  Support Colorado writers by helping with the publication of a groundbreaking collection of fiction, essays, poetry, and more. Congrats to CALMA.  We are eager to see the finished product.

______________________

Abelardo "Lalo" Delgado

The following is from the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame website at this link.

Abelardo “Lalo” Delgado (1931 – 2004) was a university professor, community organizer, and prolific writer. Lalo is considered el abuelito (grandfather) of Chicano literature. His poetry, frequently anthologized, is part of the lexicon of Chicano Studies programs on college campuses and the basis for his posthumous appointment as Poet Laureate of Denver.

Upon his death, the Los Angeles Times declared Lalo Delgado a “seminal force” in the development of Chicano literature, and the New York Times hailed him as a writer of “vivid descriptions of the injustices suffered by many Mexican-Americans.”

He was the author of 14 books, most of them self-published because publishers failed to accept Chicano literature as a legitimate literary art form. Delgado wrote in Spanish, English and a combination of the two. In so doing, he showed that Spanglish was “a legitimate form of communication.” He strived to make poetry available to his community by xeroxing his poems and selling them for 10 cents. He recited his poems in a booming voice everywhere - protest marches, meetings, picket lines, rallies, college classrooms, and in the streets.

After attending a conference where white educators blamed Chicanos for their failures in school and refused to recognize their creativity, Lalo poured out his anger in stupid america, one of his earliest and best-known poems, published in 1969. He wrote:

stupid america, remember that chicanito
flunking math and english
he is the picasso
of your western states
but he will die
with one thousand masterpieces
hanging only from his mind.

_____________________________

The following is from our good friends at CALMA. For more info and to donate, go to this link.

Partner with us in this groundbreaking effort to create what promises to be an historic overview of Latino literature. CALMA—the Colorado Alliance of Latino Mentors and Authors—is raising funds to publish Ramas y Raíces: The Best of CALMA, its first such anthology from the home of the Chicano movimiento. Twenty-four writers offer an illuminating collection of poems, short fiction, and essays, giving readers compelling insights into familia, love, duty, tragedy and triumph, the search for self, and the never-ending struggle for justice


We draw upon memories that refuse to remain buried and forgotten, from recollections dating back centuries to others as recent as yesterday. This is a triumph of inspiration filtered through lived experience and fantasy, and brought forth through hard work and devotion.


We will give regular updates about the publication schedule as we progress. And we will be hosting book launch celebrations with the community in various locations throughout the state. Visit our website to learn more about us at www.calmaco.org


Later.

__________________________

Manuel Ramos writes crime fiction. Read his latest story, Northside Nocturne, in the award-winning anthology Denver Noir, edited by Cynthia Swanson, published by Akashic Books.

Chicanonautica: Beyond the Fourth of July in Aztlán

by Ernest Hogan

My wife, Emily Devenport, had to work on July 4th, which scientists are saying was the hottest day on this planet since people started keeping records. I was alone that night, expecting political shenanigans to break out under the full, Buck supermoon since the Supreme Court and Moms for Liberty started running amok. That didn’t happen, just some forgettable rants by some of the usual suspects and a few shootings, mass and otherwise. (Yargh! Did I just write that? What’s the world coming to?)

What we did have were actual fireworks making my neighborhood seem like a war zone. Illegal rockets  exploded overhead, rattling roofs, sidewalks, and skeletons. They were more powerful than what we’ve had in the past. Wonder what would happen if one of them bullseye’d someone’s living room? It was just dumb luck that my picture of the spectacular moon didn’t include showers of multicolored sparks.

Anyway, Emily had Thursday off, so we did a road trip.

It was hot, so we decided on Walnut Canyon, hoping it would be cooler. Didn’t matter where we went, the point was to get away, see what the hell’s going on in Arizona, Aztlán, America . . . Gas prices were plummeting, which is mondo weird for the summer tourist season. The homeless, or rather, unhoused were zombie-staggering or ranting at invisible listeners. Did I mention that it was hot?

We did a spontaneous stop at Montezuma Castle, where Montezuma never set foot. It was mostly blocked off since the recent flooding. Trees had been vandalized. Rattlesnakes and sacred datura were lurking about. There also was a delicious spicy, deserty smell.

Back on the road, I got inspired for the story I was working on. Scribbled sloppy notes in the car. Yo-ho, yo-ho, the writer’s life for me . . .

And despite the heat–we did have water bottles–we did the Walnut Canyon Island Trail with all those stairs, down into the cliff dwellings. It never gets old. We see new things every time we’re there. And the whole place is going through constant transformation.

This time, I did some checking, reading signs, and watching the film in the visitor’s center, fact-checking my theory about the Sinagua going to Mexico and becoming the Mexica. Turns out the eruption of Sunset Crater in 1085 CE marked the beginning of the cliff dwelling culture, not its end. The Sinagua left there around 1250 CE, leaving the dwellings to become the Hopi,Yavapai, and six other affiliated tribes. Their reasons were drought, the dwindling population of game animals–you know, climate change–and fear of surrounding tribes. The Mexica, AKA the Aztecs, arrived in the valley of Mexico, after a talking statue told them to go on a quest for a vision of an eagle fighting a snake on an island, probably encountering the Apache, Comanche, Yaqui, Huichol, and Chichimec along the way, (uh-oh, there’s an idea for a novel, just what I need . . .)  around 1250 CE.

Hmm. Could Walnut Canyon be Aztlán?

Has anyone thought of doing DNA testing?

We took Route 66 to Flagstaff where we had lunch at the Galaxy Diner. There we saw the only sign of politics on this road trip. Really, there were no demonstrations, bumper stickers, signs, flags, or any other indications that we are hurtling toward an apocalyptic election year, just an old white man with a white ponytail, and a white beard. He wore a TRUMP 2024 cap.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that: “In Phoenix, every day for the foreseeable future should reach at least 110 degrees.”

Ernest Hogan writes sci-fi while being Chicano when he's not playing crackpot archaeo/anthropologist.

Madre Tierra/ Mother Earth series

Books written by Jorge Argueta

Illustrated by Felipe Ugalde Alcántara

Published by Arte Público Press/ Piñata Books

AGUA, AGÜITA / WATER, LITTLE WATER

 

With stunningly beautiful illustrations by Felipe Ugalde Alcántara that depict the mountains, rocks, vegetation and animals of the natural world, this poem about the importance of water reflects Argueta’s indigenous roots and his appreciation for nature. Containing the English and Spanish text on each page, the entire poem appears at the end in Nahuat, the language of Argueta’s Pipil-Nahua ancestors. This book is an excellent choice to encourage children to write their own poems about the natural world and to begin conversations about the interconnected web of life.

 

FUEGO, FUEGUITO / FIRE, LITTLE FIRE

With stunningly beautiful illustrations by Felipe Ugalde Alcántara that depict the natural world, this poem about the importance of fire reflects Argueta’s indigenous roots and his appreciation for nature. Containing the English and Spanish text on each page, the entire poem appears at the end in Nahuat, the language of Argueta’s Pipil-Nahua ancestors. The sequel to Agua, Agüita / Water, Little Water, this book is an excellent choice to encourage children to write their own poems about the environment.

VIENTO, VIENTITO / WIND, LITTLE WIND

 

A Junior Library Guild selection, this book about the wind reflects Argueta’s indigenous roots and his appreciation for the natural world. Felipe Ugalde Alcántara’s gorgeous illustrations depict birds floating on the breeze and trees bent under strong gusts. Containing the English and Spanish text on each page, the entire poem appears at the end in Nahuat, the language of Argueta’s Pipil-Nahua ancestors. The third book in a four-part series about Mother Earth, this is an excellent choice to encourage children to write their own poems about nature and to begin conversations about the interconnected web of life.

 

TIERRA, TIERRITA / EARTH, LITTLE EARTH

 

A Junior Library Guild selection, this book about Mother Earth reflects Argueta’s indigenous roots and his appreciation for the natural world. Felipe Ugalde Alcántara’s stunning illustrations depict streams, mountains and wildlife in their habitat. Containing the English and Spanish text on each page, the entire poem appears at the end in Nahuat, the language of Argueta’s Pipil-Nahua ancestors. This is an excellent choice to encourage children to write their own poems about nature and to begin conversations about the interconnected web of life.