Guest book review by Raymundo Eli Rojas

Hey folks, this just ran in the Pueblo Chieftan's magazine "Caminos" - It's not online, so I thought I'd send it out.

Identity crises in New Mexico
‘Blood purity’ spurs debate over heritage
by Raymundo Elí Rojas

SPECIAL TO CAMINOS/PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

In a movie by Mexican comedian Mario Moreno “Cantinflas,” he meets a Mexican man who, though brown and looking very much Mexican, tells Cantinflas that his family line is “pure Spanish blood.” Cantinflas answers with his usually comedic response ridiculing those who say their descendants never interbred with indigenous people.

However, for those growing up in the United States, there is often a response by some Hispanics that their family has never mixed with indigenous races.

Such is the focus of John M. Nieto-Phillips book The Language of Blood: The Making of Spanish-American Identity in New Mexico, 1880s-1930s (University of New Mexico Press). He focuses on the myth of “blood purity,” and how and why generations of New Mexicans insisted that they were descendants from the first Spanish explorers and settlers of the region. However, rather than ridicule this belief with a Cantinflian responded, Nieto-Phillips explores how this belief came about and its relation with New Mexico gaining its statehood.

In an exquisite exploration of race, color, politics, anti-Mexican sentiment, and white studies, Nieto-Phillips molds the myth into an interesting study of a populations' response to racism.

Before Hawaii, no other state when it was admitted to the union, had a non-white majority. New Mexico having more indigenous and people of Mexican decent served as a tremendous burden to gaining statehood. The U.S. Congress of the late 1800s and early 1900s saw this racial mixture a sign of being to close to the enemy, in this case Mexico, and as a sign that the citizens could not be “trusted to govern themselves.” Furthermore, the fact that most of the state spoke Spanish did not help the New Mexico’s statehood dreams.

As a response to this, some New Mexican, especially the elite nuevomexicanos took to denying any indigenous “blood” in themselves and
attesting they were of “pure Spanish blood.” Nieto-Phillips shows how the roots of this belief can be traced to Medieval times in Spain where any hint of Jewish or Moorish blood automatically expelled you from the “sangre pura” category.

This was relayed to the New World. The author shows how nuevomexicano census takers, writing reports back to Spain, would exaggerate the numbers of Blacks, indigenous, and meztizos as low, but would exaggerate the numbers of “pure Spaniards” as high.

Nieto-Phillips includes chapter on how state histories, tourism, and even the white establishment took part in promoting this myth.

Looking at documents from the Santa Fe Railroad’s advertisement for New Mexico to history written by anthropologists and state historians, Language of Blood shows the hispanophilia that ran through the nation at the time. They promoted New Mexico, and other parts of the Southwest, as Spanish, hardly ever Mexican, and certainly not indigenous. Looking through Congressional records and legislation, Nieto-Phillips shows
the racism of the time. Senator Calhoun states:

[W]e have never dreamt of incorporating into our Union any but the Caucasian race — the free white race. To incorporate Mexico would be the first instance of the kin do incorporating an Indian race…Ours, sir is the Government of a white race. The greatest misfortunes of Spanish-America are to be traced on an equality with the white race. That error destroyed the social arrangement which formed the basis of society.

Language of Blood shows for all the exaggeration of their Spanish decent, the ploy did not work with U.S. society because of its own racism toward the Spanish and the belief of the “Black Legend” that held “Spanish exploits in the New World were particularly atrocious when compared to those of other colonial powers.”

Language of Blood is an excellent study into the intersectionality of race, color, and language that so shaped an identity in New Mexico.

© Raymundo Elí Rojas 2005

Publishers, Again, Real Women and Dr. Loco

Manuel Ramos

PUBLISHERS - PART II
My post last week listed a few publishers who specialize in Latino or Chicano literature. This week I mention publishers who, although not devoted to ChicLit, have provided special opportunities for raza writers and readers.

Akashic Books - This independent NY press is committed to the "reverse-gentrification of the literary world." It has published some intriguing books including several crime fiction and noir titles, as well as short story anthologies like The Cocaine Chronicles. La Bloga readers should be aware of Akashic's Cuban Noir series, publications of dark fiction written by writers while they were living in Cuba. So far this series includes Cold Havana Ground and Spy's Fate by Arnaldo Correa; Adios Muchachos and The Eye of Cybele by Daniel Chavarrí­a; and Outcast by José Latour.

Alexander Street Press - I reported two weeks ago about this press's Latino Literature Collection, a database of dozens of Latino writers and their works available to universities, students, subscribers, etc. The collection contains approximately 299 plays and over 51,000 pages of prose (200 novels) and poetry by Chicano, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican and other Latino writers working in the United States. The list of included authors is very impressive.

Northwestern University Press - NWUP features a Latino Voices series. Here you will find Kathleen Alcalá's Treasures in Heaven; Manuel Muñoz's Zigzagger; Bernardo and the Virgin by Silvio Sirias; Ilan Stavans' Bandido; Sergio Troncoso's The Nature of Truth; and my first four books in the Luis Móntez series.

Rayo (HarperCollins) - According to the HarperCollins website, this imprint "will publish books that embody the diversity within the Latino community, in both English and Spanish-language editions, connecting culture with thought, and invigorating tradition with spirit." Rayo's list of authors includes Yxta Maya Murray, Jorge Ramos, Luis J. Rodriguez, Victor Villaseñor and Alberto Fuguet.

Atria Books (Simon & Schuster) - S&S announced in January, 2005, that its imprint, Atria Books, was launching a "Hispanic and Latino publishing program" and that Johanna Castillo, a "leading Latina literary agent" had been selected as Senior Editor of Atria Books. Ms. Castillo was expected to specialize in acquiring titles for the "Hispanic-Latino and Spanish language market." The list will debut in Spring, 2006, and "will include fiction, non-fiction and lifestyle titles, some of which will simultaneously be published in English and Spanish."

University of New Mexico Press - UNM Press has long published works by and about Chicanos. Included in the more than 60 titles that relate to Chicanas/os are Rudolfo Anaya with three new titles in 2005; Caní­cula: Snapshots of a Girlhood en la Frontera by Norma Elia Cantú; Heroes and Saints and Other Plays: Giving Up the Ghost, Shadow of a Man, Heroes and Saints by Cherrí­e L. Moraga; La Mollie and the King of Tears by Arturo Islas; and Curandero: A Life in Mexican Folk Healing by Eliseo "Cheo" Torres. UNM Press also is the publisher of Brown-on-Brown and Moony's Road to Hell.

JOSEFINA LOPEZ
The Latina Safehouse Initiative (Denver) is"proud to announce the Latinas Honoring Latinas 2005 event to honor Josefina Lopez, author of Real Women Have Curves. Award winning actress, screenwriter, filmmaker, playwright, activist and poet, Josefina Lopez has devoted her life to empowering women. She co-wrote the screenplay for the critically-acclaimed film Real Women Have Curves, based on her play, which won the Audience Award and a Special Jury Award for Acting at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. One of the country's preeminent Latina artists, she also teaches playwriting and screenwriting to local youth and Latino adults. The event will also honor local survivors of violence."

Here's some info about Ms. Lopez that I pulled from her website:

"Having had over 80 professional productions of her plays throughout the United States, Josefina Lopez is one of today's preeminent Chicana writers. She has written such plays as Simply Maria, Or the American Dream, Confessions of Women From East L.A., Boyle Heights, Lola Goes To Roma, Food For The Dead, Unconquered Spirits, and Real Women Have Curves. ... Josefina has a screenplay at HBO titled Loteria for Juarez about the mysterious murders of women in Juarez. ... Josefina has won several awards including a Gabriel Garcia Marquez award from the L.A. Mayor in 2003. ... She has an MFA in screenwriting from the prestigious UCLA Film and Television school. Josefina was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico ... and lives in Paris."

Tickets are $50.00 per person and include entrance to the Botanic Gardens for the day, buffet, and beverage. All proceeds from this event will benefit the Latina Safehouse Initiative.

Friday, July 29, 2005
5:30pm - 8:00pm
Denver Botanic Gardens
1005 York Street
Contact Ana Soler at 720-913-9260 if you would like to receive more information or to purchase your tickets.

CHICANO MUSIC FESTIVAL

August 3 - 7, 2005

Summer Pachanga. Dr. Loco And The Rockin' Jalapeño Band. Great Chicano music, Colorado style. Mariachi Tardeada. Art Auction. Inductions into the Chicano Music Hall of Fame including the posthumous honoring of our friend Chico Martinez. Go to El Centro Su Teatro for complete schedule.

RIZE - street art of L.A. dance

by RudyG

I'm not real black--except at the end of summer--but maybe there's something ex-slave in my bloodline because I just have to encourage you to see the documentary Rize (David LaChapelle, director, 2005). I just did in Denver, so maybe it's still around your town.

No, it's not a Chicano thing, but then, not everything is. But if you're into the aesthetic and more meaningful aspects of rap--in this case, counter-gangsta--you'll enjoy the soundtrack, and you'll awe at the dance. Plus, you'll ponder subjects the film doesn't speak to, like, are there no Chicano Crumpers in South Central L.A.?

Rize opens with the blurb: "This film was not speeded up." It's appropriate because you'll wonder how anyone can move as fast as people in these dances; hell, you may wonder why kids aren't breaking their necks and spines, even.

While LaChapelle is no Ken Burns (who's too nicely liberal for me, anyway), and only one of the cast is close to a Wynton Marsalis (that dude made Jazz), there's enough on-camera of Clowner and Crumper dancers to sometimes cross the line from documentary into feature. And there's an only-in-America story here.

So, if you enjoy, study or just tend to get a thrill out of dance and music arts, or need to listen to people coping with life down in the ghetto, check this out before it leaves your area. It's a unique view of one of the Other Americas, told from their side.

Rudy Ch. Garcia

I've included plot info below from the Internet Movie Database:

"Plot Outline: Reveals a groundbreaking dance phenomenon that's exploding on the streets of South Central, Los Angeles. Taking advantage of unprecedented access, this documentary film bring to first light a revolutionary form of artistic expression borne from oppression. The aggressive and visually stunning dance modernizes moves indigenous to African tribal rituals and features mind-blowing, athletic movement sped up to impossible speeds.

"We meet Tommy Johnson (Tommy the Clown), who first created the style as a response to the 1992 Rodney King riots and named it Clowning, as well as the kids who developed the movement into what they now call Krumping. The kids use dance as an alternative to gangs and hustling: they form their own troupe and paint their faces like warriors, meeting to outperform rival gangs of dancers or just to hone their skills. For the dancers, Krumping becomes a way of life--and, because it's authentic expression (in complete opposition to the bling-bling hip-hop culture), the dance becomes a vital part of who they are.

"Documentary film that chronicles the practice of "Clowning" and "Krumping", radical, energetic, and vividly extreme dance forms that have taken on enormous importance for black communities in south-central Los Angeles on many levels: as serious forms of spiritual and artistic expression, as alternatives to gang participation, as a means for knitting social fabric. Various personalities within the dance movements are profiled."

# # #

SUMMER READING

Posted by Daniel Olivas…

Ah! The balmy winds of summer beckon. In other words, it’s time to ask: What shall I read as I sit on the beach and wiggle my toes in the hot sand? Well, I’ve been reviewing books like crazy this last year and want to offer a small sampling of wonderful libros by Latinos/as that will make your summer that much better. I’ve got some poetry, two epic novels, short-story collections, a dissertation on Spanglish and even a critical biography of an important name in Chicano literature. Longer versions of some of these reviews first appeared here and at other fine sites such as The Elegant Variation, LatinoLA and Moorishgirl not to mention that New Mexican glossy, Southwest BookViews. ¡Lea un libro!

The People of Paper (McSweeney’s Books)
by Salvador Plascencia

Salvador Plascencia’s debut novel is a wonderfully strange, hallucinogenic and hypertextual blending of fiction and autobiography. The Prologue’s first sentences thrust us into an almost familiar yet purely mythical world while introducing Plascencia’s sly brand of humor: “She was made after the time of ribs and mud. By papal decree there were to be no more people born of the ground or from the marrow of bones. All would be created from the propulsions and mounts performed underneath bedsheets—rare exceptions granted for immaculate conceptions.” What an astonishing, strange and deeply moving novel this is. In all his playfulness, Plascencia nonetheless grapples with troubling issues of free will, religious fidelity, ethnic identity, failed love and the creative process which he melds into a dreamscape that is impossible to forget. Plascencia—the God of his paper people—has given us a startling work of fiction that stretches not only the norms of storytelling, but also the bounds of our imagination.

***

Furia: Poems (Milkweed Editions)
by Orlando Ricardo Menes

Orlando Ricardo Menes brings a multicultural palette to this his third collection of poems: born to Cuban parents, raised in both Peru and Miami, with one family line traced back to China. But if one were expecting Furia (Milkweed Editions) to be a wistful, balmy paean to culture and place, one would be shocked starting with the first poem of this three-part collection. This collection packs an emotional wallop drawn as it is from coarse yet colorful threads of divergent cultures. But Menes, through sharp, unsparing and rich language weaves these threads to produce an unforgettable, cohesive and utterly fulfilling poetic narrative.

***

Pity the Drowned Horses (University of Notre Dame Press)
by Sheryl Luna

In one of the last poems of Pity the Drowned Horses, Sheryl Luna's richly textured debut collection, the narrator in "Las Alas" asks: "Can one return to a desolate / past, before one knew one was poor, / before the luxurious perfume?" This desperate query-which is never answered-is the fantasma that haunts every line of this book. Various identities grapple with each other seeking superiority and control: poor vs. middle class, Spanish vs. English, borderland vs. big city, atheist vs. believer, brown vs. white. In "Bullfight," this battle is a bewildering "river / that divides me, crosses me daily like the forgotten / history of my grandmother." The narrator has lost much of her ability to speak Spanish and "[e]ven the people I longed for, / la raza, forgot my face." Yet she knows that her mother, who is half Jewish, suffers this same rupture of identity: "Her own lost / heritage buried in a cemetery plot." But in "Learning to Speak," she admits that something must be done despite likely cultural humiliation: "I spoke / Spanish broken, tongue-heavy. I was once too proud / to speak Spanish in the barrio.... Quiero / aprender español, I whisper." And her would-be teacher responds without words: "He smiles." The risk is taken, and a reward received. Luna's poems have graced the pages of some of the most prestigious literary journals published today: Prairie Schooner, The Georgia Review, Puerto del Sol, Kalliope, and many others. A native of El Paso who now teaches in Denver, she was a finalist for the National Poetry Series book awards and the Perugia Press Intro Award for women poets. With this collection, Luna won the first Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize sponsored by the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame; she has set the bar high, indeed, for future prize candidates.

***

The Hummingbird's Daughter: A Novel (Little, Brown)
by Luis Alberto Urrea

In the harsh yet thriving landscape of Mexico, circa 1880, the poor, illiterate and unmarried Yaqui woman (known by her tribe as The Hummingbird), gave birth to Teresita with the help of the town's healer, the curandera called Huila. Huila-one of Urrea's most remarkable creations-is as cantankerous as she is powerful. So powerful in fact that she lives in a room behind the kitchen of the great hacienda owned by the wealthy Don Tomás Urrea. Don Tomás does not care much for religion but he knows that Huila is an asset and puts up with her magic as much as Huila puts up with her patrón's habit of spreading his seed despite having a beautiful, attentive wife and several children who populate the hacienda. Teresita eventually-and literally-wanders into Don Tomás's life and is subsequently taken under Huila's wing. Huila notices two things about this unusual girl: she resembles the Urrea family and she possesses the power to heal. Don Tomás ultimately owns up to paternity and is determined to make a lady out of this barefooted urchin. But as Teresita matures, her powers grow until all know that she is the curandera women should go to when they are about to give birth or when a child becomes ill. Then one day, when Teresita goes out to the fields, she is raped, beaten and eventually dies. But on the third day, at the end of burial preparations, in the midst of five mourning women, Teresita awakes. The town is abuzz with news of this miracle. With her resurrection comes greater healing powers and, of course, fame. The Yaquis, as well as other native tribes, mestizos, and even Americans, make pilgrimages to the Urrea hacienda. The Catholic Church views this "saint" as a heretic, the vicious and corrupt government of Porfirio Díaz considers the girl a threat, and revolutionaries want to insinuate themselves into her sphere of influence for their own political cause. The climax brilliantly mirrors the immigrant's experience of seeking safe passage to a foreign land while relying on loved ones as well as fate. Urrea, who is the award-winning author of ten books-fiction, non-fiction and poetry-tells us in an author's note that Teresa Urrea "was a real person"-his aunt. The Hummingbird's Daughter is his fictionalization of family lore based on twenty years of intense research and interviews. The result resonates with such passion and beauty that it doesn't matter whether Teresita's legend is based more on a people's wishful thinking than truth. The Hummingbird's Daughter is a sumptuous, dazzling novel to which no review can do justice; one simply must read it.

***

Chicano Sketches (University of Arizona Press)
by Mario Suarez

In their introduction to Chicano Sketches, the editors assert that the late short-story writer Mario Suárez "represents a unique case of an early Chicano author who remained faithful to his original purpose of creating a distinctively Chicano literary space." How early? The first eight of the 19 stories included in this collection were first published by the Arizona Quarterly between 1947 and 1950. The "distinctively Chicano literary space" Suárez created was grounded in the harsh realities of a barrio in Tucson called El Hoyo (literally "The Hole") which the editors term "an urban wasteland." Suárez, who was also a journalist, social activist and educator who relocated his family to Southern California in 1958, possessed a sharp eye for quotidian human experience. He populated his "sketches" (his term) with preening pachucos, avuncular barbers, unrepentant womanizers, chisme-loving comadres, clever swindlers and many other examples of humanity. Suárez did not romanticize the Chicano experience; indeed, he acknowledged such social dysfunctions as alcohol abuse ("Cuco Goes to a Party" and "Loco-Chu"), indolence ("Kid Zopilote") and economic struggle ("The Migrant" and "Los Coyotes") while celebrating the beauty of Chicano culture ("Mexican Heaven"), human kindness ("Doña Clara" and "Señor Garza") and the work ethic ("Something Useful, Even Tailoring"). Quite often, Suárez relied on biting irony and comedic juxtapositions to illustrate his characters' vices and virtues. No collection of Chicano literature will be complete without this volume.

***

Dancing With Ghosts: A Critical Biography of Arturo Islas (University of California Press)
by Frederick Luis Aldama

Frederick Luis Aldama notes that he could have written a hagiography because of Arturo Islas' "sensational and melodramatic 'up-from-the-bootstraps' story and its tragic dénouement." But that would have been dishonest. Despite his talents as a writer, Islas was plagued with self-hate and was often moody, manipulative, narcissistic and unpredictable. Yet he could be brilliant, gentle, soft-spoken and, above all, generous. Aldama succeeds in synthesizing the disparate elements of Arturo Islas to produce what doubtless will become a seminal biographical study of an important figure in Chicano letters.

***

Puerta del Sol (Bilingual Press)
by Francisco Aragon

Francisco Aragón's verse has graced the pages of several chapbooks and innumerable literary journals not to mention anthologies published by W.W. Norton, Heyday Books and Soft Skull Press. Aragón is also the founding editor and publisher of Momotombo Press which promotes emerging Latino writers and is housed at the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame where Aragón is a Visiting Fellow. His talents at translation have been utilized for a half dozen books including those by the great Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. Aragón's honors include an Academy of American Poets Prize and an AWP Intro Journals Project Award. With Puerta del Sol, Aragón offers us his first full-length book of poetry. And it is about time. Whether confronting terrorism on Spanish soil, memories of his late mother, or lamenting love lost, Aragón allows his images to travel from one continent to another, between English and Spanish, from hard, present tense reality to amorphous, malleable memory. Aragón's poems are stunning little mirrors that reveal the shimmering complexity of our lives and dreams. This is an eloquent collection that deserves attention.

***

Spanglish: The Making of a New American Language (HarperCollins/Rayo)
by Ilan Stavans

Ilan Stavans has produced a treat for all language fans in his excellent book Spanglish: The Making Of A New American Language. The book contains both Stavans' excellent opening essay - La Jerga Loca - and the lexicon of Spanglish words and phrases that he has compiled over the last decade or so. As a bonus, Stavans includes his Spanglish translation of the first chapter of Don Quixote De La Mancha in the appendix. The lexicon alone makes the book worth owning, but the essay is the frosting on this treat. Although referred to as the introduction, the opening essay is preface, introduction, acknowledgments, and much more all rolled into one. Towards the end of the essay, Stavans addresses concerns over shining a spotlight on Spanglish, which some consider a destruction of Spanish or a come down for people who should be learning English. He correctly notes that their shouldn't be a problem with studying a phenomenon - Stavans is a professor of Latino and Latin American culture! - especially if it helps people learn more about themselves as a culture. I teach students for who English is a second language and I always encourage them to improve their English, but I'm also fascinated by the conversations in English, Spanish, and Spanglish that swirl around me every day. Spanglish by Ilan Stavans should appeal to all those interested in language, especially the evolution of language, and Latino culture. I found it to be an excellent book and highly recommend it.

***

Every Night Is Ladies' Night : Stories
(HarperCollins/Rayo)
by Michael Jaime-Becerra

One of the truths revealed by Los Angeles fiction is that it includes, by necessity, tales from those small cities that adhere to the ragged edges of Los Angeles proper. In Michael Jaime-Becerra's subtle and beautiful debut collection, "Every Night is Ladies' Night," we are introduced to one such city: El Monte. Jaime-Becerra spins ten interlocking stories around the hub of El Monte, a working-class community of just over 100,000 people, the vast majority of whom are Latino. The stories bounce back-and-forth from 1984 to 1989 with one leaping thirty years further into the past. The protagonists reappear all tied to streets like Valley and Live Oak, businesses such as Road Runner Liquor, Pick-A-Part, Tortillerilla Bienvenida and the ubiquitous McDonald's. People scrape together livelihoods as mechanics, fast food managers, tattoo artists, truck drivers and musicians. We see how children, teens, parents and grandparents try desperately to fit in, keep their dreams alive, fall in love. Most of the characters we meet are members of the Cruz family. Jaime-Becerra knows that not all life experiences lead to grand epiphanies or dramatic personal growth. With great skill, he shows us that we often battle just to stay in place. This is a beautiful, accomplished debut.

SPOTLIGHT ON KATHLEEN ALCALÁ

Monday’s post from Daniel Olivas…

Kathleen Alcalá is a Chicana writer whose trilogy on nineteenth century Mexico was published by Chronicle Books (all now available in paperback editions). Her work has received the Western States Book Award, the Governor's Writers Award, a Pacific Northwest Bookseller's Award, and a Washington State Book Award. A co-founder and contributing editor to the literary journal, The Raven Chronicles, Kathleen was recently a visiting lecturer at the University of New Mexico. Her nonfiction has been produced for public radio, and she co-wrote, with director Olga Sanchez, a play based on her novel, Spirits of the Ordinary that was produced by The Miracle Theatre of Portland, Oregon. She has work in recent or forthcoming issues of Creative Nonfiction, The Raven Chronicles, Re-Markings, and The Pacific Northwest Writers Association Anthology. Kathleen was born in Compton, California and grew up in San Bernardino. Her parents are from San Julian, Jalisco, and Durango, Durango, Mexico. Her work is based, in part, on family stories. She is interested in writing the counter-narratives to official history, and encouraging others to do the same.

REVIEW:
Sonnets and Salsa
By Carmen Tafolla
(Wings Press, San Antonio, TX.
ISBN 0-916727-10-6, paperback,
113 pp., $16.00, 2004)

In this the revised and expanded edition of Sonnets and Salsa, Carmen Tafolla offers us a delectable feast of poetry spiced with musical rhythms of Latino culture, experience and language.

Tafolla divides her book into two parts. The first, “Selected Salsas,” contains fourteen poems (plus two English translations of pieces written primarily in Spanish) that focus on the struggles, philosophies and “otherness” (female/ male; Aztec/Spanish; mestizo/white). In “The Storykeeper: instructions from an historian,” the narrator explains what one should look for to understand Latinos: “In the jarros [pitchers or pots], she says, / Look in the jarros. / The ones forgotten or shoved aside, / with a broken clay lip and color dulled by years / of hard use / and unmeditated abuse.” The poem leads us through an examination of experiences that normally would be ignored by those who write history but that, in the end, define Latinos better than the famous battles, the signed treaties.

Tafolla is particularly adept at singing the praises of the Latinas who work hard to maintain their identity both as individuals and as dignified supporters of their families. Tafolla does this without falling into overly sentimental portraits. Often she relies on the unadorned but descriptive language of average women such as in the poem “La Gloria”: “’Don’t have much to show for it / but wha’s mine is mine.”

The second half of the book is called “Sonnets to Human Beings,” and consists of thirty-two poems with one English translation of a Spanish poem. One of the most disturbing and potent pieces is “Sweet Remember” where Tafolla uses documented incidents of torture and rape of women and young girls to remonstrate against parents teaching their girls to be “sweet, / sit neat, / cry easy, / and be oh so pretty on a shelf.” And there are eloquent poems about the plight of undocumented immigrants (“Statue of”), the eclectic glory of bilingualism and Mexican style (“Right in one language”), a maimed carpenter’s optimistic philosophy (“Poquito allá”).

Throughout this beautiful, slim volume, Tafolla slips easily between Spanish and English with language that captivates, illuminates and even educates. It is not difficult to understand why she is known as one of the madrinas of contemporary Chicana literature. [This review first appeared in Southwest BookViews.]

COVERING CHIC LIT: Well, I finally got my first issue of Tu Ciudad, the magazine that, according to the editors, “will look at Los Angeles through a Latino prism, exploring the duality of bicultural life in a city that morphs into something different on a daily basis.” I must admit, it is beautifully rendered: slick, excellent layout, easy to read format with great artwork and photography. On the downside, the breathtakingly beautiful Patricia López adorns the cover. Downside? Look, I appreciate beauty as much as the next vato, but our new Chicano Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, who is covered (page 58) in an insightful piece by editor Oscar Garza, really should have gotten that spot. I mean, there’s already a plethora of People-like magazines that can put beauties on covers. With this historic election, Villaraigosa really should have been front and center. In terms of covering Chicano literature (Chic Lit, as I like to say), Salvador Plascencia, author of The People of Paper (McSweeney’s), gets kudos (page 28) and is labeled a “post-magic realist” (interesting). In a section called, Hit Hot Now, we’re treated to twenty-five “creative Angelenos shaking up the City’s cultural scene.” Included are the novelist and law professor Yxta Maya Murray, author most recently of The Queen Jade (HarperCollins/Rayo), and a McSweeney’s editor Pilar Perez who currently runs Dave Eggers’ literacy program, 826LA, housed in Venice, CA. It is my hope that Tu Ciudad will start running full-length book reviews and longer stories on the vibrant and varied Latino/a literary scene in LA. But overall, I’m delighted by this magazine and I wish the editors much luck in keeping their enterprise alive.

FINALMENTE: My first piece for the Jewish Journal appeared recently.

All done. Until next Monday, enjoy the intervening posts from my compadres at La Bloga. ¡Lea un libro!

Publishers to Poets

Manuel Ramos

PUBLISHERS
In previous La Bloga posts we have mentioned several publishers who specialize in Chicana/o writers. Here's a short list that is open to additions. These outfits help spread the word. Support them.

Arte Público Press
Bills itself as "the nation's largest and most established publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by U.S. Hispanic authors. Its imprint for children and young adults, Piñata Books, is dedicated to the realistic and authentic portrayal of the themes, languages, characters, and customs of Hispanic culture in the United States. Based at the University of Houston, Arte Público Press, Piñata Books and the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage project provide the most widely recognized and extensive showcase for Hispanic literary arts, history, and politics."

Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe
This press's website says that "Bilingual Review Press publishes literary works, scholarship, and art books by or about U.S. Hispanics under the name Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe. We also produce the literary/scholarly journal Bilingual Review, distribute more than 1,000 titles by other presses, and are the exclusive distributor of books by Latin American Literary Review Press.

Since its founding in 1973, Bilingual Review Press has been committed to publishing high-quality writing by both established and emerging writers. With more than 150 titles in our backlist, we publish books in English, Spanish, and bilingual format, although most of our books are written in English. In addition, classics of Chicana and Chicano literature are being kept alive and available through the Press's Clásicos Chicanos/Chicano Classics imprint."

Calaca Press
Calaca Press is a "Chicano family-owned small publishing house dedicated to publishing and producing unknown, emerging, and established progressive Chicano and Latino voices. With a commitment to social justice and human rights Calaca Press strives to bring about change through the literary arts. From poetry and the spoken word to fiction and creative non-fiction Calaca Press is determined to showcase authors from a community that has been marginalized and pushed to the side in literary circles, and in the real world, for far too long. Recognizing the need for more publishers of Chicano and Latino literature Calaca Press also actively encourages and assists individuals to self publish and/or start their own presses. Understanding the need for historical continuation Calaca Press is committed to continuing the tradition of the Chicano and Latino presses and publishing houses of the 1960's and 1970's that flourished due to community support and the need to have our stories told. ¡Calacadelante!"

Chusma House Publications
Charley Trujillo's enterprise describes itself this way: "Chusma House Publications has been publishing the works of Chicano and Chicana writers for over a decade. From its inception, Chusma House has decided to eschew commercial and mainstream literature, and instead concentrate on works of worth and significance. We are committed to the publication of high-quality writing by both established and emerging writers. Chusma House has also begun to publish select multi-cultural literature.

Chusma House was started in 1990 by Charley Trujillo with his first, groundbreaking narrative, Soldados: Chicanos in Viet Nam. Due to the book's unprecedented success, Charley forewent his college teaching career to devote full attention to publishing and writing."

Wings Press
This is Bryce Milligan's baby. The website simply says: "Welcome to Wings Press, Texas' oldest small press. We currently offer over 50 titles published between 1977 and next month. Come on inside to discover the real corazón of American small press publishing." Here you will find many fine authors and books.

DENVER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR POET LAUREATE

The following is from Denver's official website

Related Links
Denver Poet Laureate Web Site
Denver Office of Cultural Affairs
News Archive: Mayor Names Denver's Poet Laureate

JULY 07, 2005 -- The Denver Office of Cultural Affairs is currently seeking applicants for the honorary post of Denver Poet Laureate. This post was established in September 2004 with Mayor John Hickenlooper’s posthumous appointment of Abelardo "Lalo" Delgado as Denver’s first Poet Laureate. Delgado’s special appointment was made for a period of one year with a new Poet Laureate to be named in the fall of 2005.

Abelardo Lalo Delgado

The honorary post of Denver Poet Laureate is meant to increase the general awareness and appreciation of poetry in Denver and to provide support to the fields of poetry and literature. In addition to other activities that the Poet Laureate may choose to undertake, he or she may occasionally be called upon to read from his or her body of work at official city functions.

To be eligible, applicants must (1) be a legal resident of Colorado and have lived in the Denver metropolitan area for at least seven of the last ten years, (2) have authored at least one published volume of poetry of 48 pages or more (non self- or vanity-publication), or published at least three poetry volumes of 16 pages or more (non self- or vanity-publications) in the last ten years and (3) be recognized by peers in the literary community as having made a significant contribution to that community.

The basic term of the Denver Poet Laureate is two years, renewable for a maximum of eight years in the post. The Poet Laureate serves at the pleasure of the current mayor.

A Poet Laureate Selection Committee has been set up to review all applications and will submit up to three candidates to the mayor for consideration. The Selection Committee is composed of representatives from Denver’s literary community, poetry organizations, related businesses, local colleges and universities and other individuals interested in the field of poetry, and is chaired by a member of the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs.

The complete guidelines and application form may be obtained from the Denver Poet Laureate website at http://www.denvergov.org/poetlaureate/default.asp, or by calling 303-640-6952.

The deadline for applications is August 31, 2005.

Posted by Betsy Kimak, Internet Site Administrator, Customer Information Services.
Source: Denver Office of Cultural Affairs

One thing the above announcement does not say: An annual honorarium of $2,000 is provided by the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs.

Rolo Diez. Tequila Blue. (Mato y voy)

Rolo Diez. Tequila Blue. Trans. Nick Caistor. London, Bitter Lemon Press, 2004. ISBN 1-904738-04-4
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Michael Sedano

Some of the ugliest stereotypes of Mexican culture revolve around corruption and Mexican cops. “Don't get in trouble in Mexico,” goes the theory, because a Mexican cop will threaten you, solicit a bribe, rob you, sexually abuse you, administer a good ass kicking, or shoot you.

Rolo Diez' novel, Tequila Blue, shows the stereotype untrue. Sgt. Carlos Hernandez of the DO, an elite Mexico City investigative squad, doesn't kick anyone's ass in this first person narrative. Instead, setting out with a pair of henchmen to rob an exclusive whore house, Carlos gets a good ass-kicking when he drives the trio of Mexican cops into an ambush, where Carlos' car gets destroyed by a hand grenade and the detective suffers a gunshot to the neck and a concussion.

Stuck in the middle of nowhere, the able-bodied accomplices kidnap a hapless woman, steal her car, and leave her in the middle of nowhere.

Talk about hard boiled! Carlos tenderly recalls how he lent a hand to a sweetly simple country girl, a household servant. Sets her up in her own business, with her two younger sisters. “Las Tres Marias,” he calls them. And, when Carlos is tired and horny, he calls in the threesome for a “lick me all over” party.

When las tres aren't servicing Carlos--or his friends, his boss, or the policeman's acquaintances-they earn a good enough living to pay Carlos several thousand pesos in protection money, their “insurance policy,” the Sgt calls it. This is not to say Sgt. Hernandez is a pimp. He's considerate of his friends, that's all.

In the course of a relatively convoluted murder investigation, the detective's wife walks out on him and two teenagers, frustrated that her husband isn't providing enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle.

A reader might understand finances can be constrained under the pressures of a wife, two kids, a mistress and her kid, and the social obligations that arise from having to cut his boss, the Commander, in for a rich share of the loot.

Hector Belascoaran Shayne is still my favorite Mexican detective, but if Diez' work finds more English language outlets, he's going to give Shayne a run for his money. At any rate, I hope so. Tequila Blue was published in Mexico City in 1992 as Mato y Voy, so I imagine there's a body of work out there.

Más, I hope someone from este lado inks the contract. To a reader of US English, the Brit spellings and lexical issues can be a bit of a sticky wicket. The bag of “crisps” a fellow munches on, chicharrones? Or, “Get dressed and bring your ID,” I said, seeing Cruz was wearing pyjama trousers and a filthy T-shirt.”

The publisher, Bitter Lemon Press out of London UK, has a number of titles in the genre, billing itself as bringing to market “The best literary crime and romans noirs from Europe, Africa and Latin America.” For more information, visit Bitter Lemon's site at http://www.bitterlemonpress.com/.