The Tony Garcia Interview

April 17, 2014, 11:01 pm

≪ Previous: Chicanonautica: Brainpan Fallout Adventures of a Young Chicanonaut

Anthony J. "Tony" Garcia

Today we hear from Anthony "Tony" Garcia, long-time Artistic Director at the world-famous El Centro Su Teatro. Tony is the driving force behind many of Denver's cultural highlights, recognized and honored by the local, national, and international cultural elite, as well as respected and loved by the community he so ably represents with his hard-work and intense commitment. Tony recently managed to squeeze in a few minutes for La Bloga - and we are grateful; he's a busy guy. Tony offers his opinion about a wide range of subjects including the current state of Chicano theater, Su Teatro's plans for the immediate future, what Su Teatro offers in the way of opportunities for writers, and key lessons taught to all of us by César Chávez.

[from Su Teatro's website]
Tony Garcia, Executive Artistic Director: Tony has been the Executive Artistic Director of El Centro Su Teatro since 1989 and has been a member of Su Teatro since 1972. He received his BA in Theater from the University of Colorado at Denver. Tony has received numerous awards and accolades for his artistic vision, including the 1989 University of California, Irvine Chicano Literary Award, a 2006 United States Artists Fellowship, an artist residency at the Island Institute in Sitka, Alaska, and was named the Denver Post 2010 Theater Person of the Year. Most recently, he received the prestigious Livingston Fellowship from the Bonfils Stanton Foundation. Tony is a past faculty member for the National Association of Latino Art and Culture (NALAC) Leadership Institute as well as a past board member, he is a peer trainer for the Colorado Creative Industries’ Peer Assistance Network, and a member of the Western State Arts Federation’s (WESTAF) Board of Trustees. Tony also is an adjunct professor at Metro State University in Denver.

La Carpa de los Rasquachis, written by Luis Valdez, directed by Anthony J. Garcia

And a little bit about Su Teatro, also from Su Teatro's website:
Su Teatro began in 1971 as a student-organized theater group at the University of Colorado at Denver. In 1989, Su Teatro purchased the old Elyria School in Northeast Denver and became El Centro Su Teatro, a multidisciplinary cultural arts center.

Twenty-one years later in September, 2010 Su Teatro purchased The Denver Civic Theater at 721 Santa Fe Dr.

Over 40 years, Su Teatro has established a national reputation for homegrown productions that speak to the history and experience of Chicanos. Su Teatro has created more than 15 original full length productions that have toured widely to venues such as New York’s Public Theater, The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, San Antonio, TX and Plaza de la Raza, Los Angeles, CA.

The artistic excellence of our programs and our relevance to the field has been recognized nationally through funding from The Shubert Foundation, Theatre Communications Group, the National Performance Network, The National Endowment for the Arts, the Kresge Foundation, and the American Composers Forum.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Manuel Ramos: At one time there were Chicano teatros all over the place. What's the state of this type of theater today? How big is this club?

Tony Garcia: In the mid-70s there were as many as ten teatros in Colorado alone. In 1976 we brought them together in a festival. There were probably 50-70 and many would participate in national and international festivals, often hosted by a group called TENAZ ( Teatros Nacionales de Aztlan. ) Just recently there was a call for entries for a national gathering of Latino theater ensembles and more than 70 groups responded. This does not include the individual artists and spoken word performers. The Latino Commons was a gathering of individual Latino theater artists in Boston and an invited list of 67 showed up. The variety is great, we created a circle of our experience as teatristas, and we ran from Luis Valdez of El Teatro Campesino, whose company was formed in 1965, to college performers with less than two years in the field. I would say we are as healthy as we can be for artists. The work is less politically and socially driven then it was when we began. It is, though, no less important. We are still working our way through identity issues as our identities evolve. We are no longer just telling stories about Chicanos, because we are no longer just Mexican-Americans. We are Mexican-African-Americans, Mexican-Japanese-Pilipino-Americans. We are Puerto Rican-Cuban-Irish-Americans, so all of those elements are getting mixed into the stew. What we have in common is a real claim to the Americas. We see ourselves as in our native country, although we preserve the memory of another country. Of course the twist is that we are connected to a subculture of hybridity, which is second nature to us. Because that is what being a Chicano was all about.

MR: Why has Su Teatro survived? How would you describe the evolution of Su Teatro?

TG: Su Teatro has survived because we know what we are, and there is a need for what we are. If our community did not need us then we would be gone very shortly. Very few artists and artistic organizations have been embraced as firmly as has Su Teatro and yours truly. Our community has watched us grow and our growth and successes are successes of our community. We are the conveyors of our community’s history, but not just in a sense that we regurgitate what the community wants to hear, we are fortunate to be in a position to challenge and inspire. So people don’t always hear what they want, but we work hard to engage them, to provoke them and to reflect well on them. We have been at this for a long time, and we have gotten better at telling stories. We have more tools than we had in the past. Our new space rivals many facilities in larger cities. People can come here and see a show that has solid acting, good production values and yet has an environment that feels like you are visiting family. The facility is very welcoming, we serve among other things tamales that people can take into the theater with them. It adds to the comfort level. We really want to challenge the idea that art is something that is out of the reach of most people. We call ourselves community theater, and some people in the arts community look down upon this, as somehow that means a diminished quality. But what we mean is that it is a community space, it is a space that is about giving access to our community. It is not easy to get on our main stage, only one or two new actors make it in those shows each year. That speaks to the quality of the actors in our shows. We do, though, offer a number of other opportunities in smaller and touring shows to help get you to the level of our main stage.

As for our own evolution, we have really grown with our community. We have also been fortunate enough to have interacted on an international and national level with other groups; we have been exposed to models that work and models that may not work as well. This has helped a lot. We have also been exposed to the work on these levels and been able to gauge ourselves, get inspired by the others and be challenged as well. This has helped us to grow as artists, which is really important in being able to carry out your work. I get inspired from above, artists I feel are doing great work, and I also get inspired from below, people who are just starting out and growing. Bobby LeFebre and Jose Guerrero inspire me, two young spoken word artists in the company. Rudy Anaya inspires me as does Luis Valdez. And Debra Gallegos and Yolanda Ortega ( two veteranas from our company) caused me to rewrite their characters based on the great elements they brought to the parts.

MR: How many plays have you written or co-written? Where can our audience find these plays to read them? Anyone more special than the others?

Daniel Valdez

TG: I have probably written around 20-25, I have tried to count them a number of times but I always end up getting distracted and don’t finish. The problem is that I am in a highly productive period, a lot because of my collaboration with Daniel Valdez (composer/musician director/actor) and it seems like every conversation becomes a new play that we begin building. Danny has pushed me to write more music as well. I always wrote songs but I never really felt I had the skills or talent to polish them. So I left them to others to do that. But I know now that if it is good Danny will use it in the play. If it isn’t, meaning if I haven’t polished it, he won’t. If he uses the music, it usually sounds very good. That is motivation. So that output has grown. I am used to walking around with characters and dialogue occupying my brain; now I have melodies, harmonies, bridges and segues that run together and sound like every song I have ever heard. It is really torturous to have that much activity going on in your brain. I have to be careful when I drive.

I have published a first Anthology, it has four plays and a short film script. One of the projects I was supposed to do when I received the United States Artist Felllowship was to publish the completed collections. But I ended up writing much since that time. We have talked about making them available on line. But in the meantime I have a full length script due by May 1st, a four part telenovela by the end of June, and the second story in a children’s trilogy called El Espiritu Natural. The first story, El Rio: Las Lagrimas de la Llorona, we ran in February and will tour in the fall. The second story is La Tierra. Artists, like parents, love all their children equally. There is something that we find endearing in all of them. I like Ludlow: El Grito de las Minas, because I like the story and the lead character reminds me of my mother. I like When Pigs Fly and Men Have Babies because it is so obnoxious. I like El Sol Que Tu Eres because it really was a beautiful production. And of course we are always in love with the next one. And if people have an interest I will be glad to send someone a script

MR: I heard you speak at the recent César Chávez celebration here in Denver. You made some excellent points about what Chávez should mean to us. And I know that working with youth is one focus of the work that Su Teatro undertakes. Is Chávez someone that today's Chicano or Mexicano youth cares about, or even knows? I worry about our lost history and am curious about what you see happening today with Latino youth in terms of cultural and political history, as well as changing the future.

TG: I wrote Papi, Me and Cesar Chavez because I was concerned that young people knew the latest reality show stars more than they knew César. I wanted people to understand the story. Being asked to speak put me in a position to think about the values and lessons that I learned from César Chávez. For the first time in my life I placed them in categories. Sacrifice: César taught that we should be willing to sacrifice everything to achieve our goals. It is pretty hard to hear this when you have nothing. But the idea of sacrifice forces you to think about what has value. And we learn it is not the monetary things that make or change us. Discipline: The discipline that was necessary to resist violence. As strange as it sounds, it is much more difficult to refrain from harming someone who harmed you. We learned that discipline is the value that will make the change needed in our lives. Discipline is what makes us better artists. If it was so easy everyone would do it. Memory: César taught us to preserve memory. History is memory preserved. Memory is what connects us to our ancestors and our descendants. That connection is what allows us to outlive our lifetimes. Teach: César taught us to teach. The moment we learn something, we are responsible to teach it. This is how we move the next generation forward. I had an actor tell me, "I don’t want to be a mentor." My response was that perhaps this was not the place for him. Someone who can not teach is probably someone who will never know. The last is to Honor: Although I really have built my career on sarcasm, we need to always remember to honor the gifts that we have been given. Whether it is an art, a skill, or an emotion, some people have a tremendous capacity to care, to be empathetic. Some people can love deeply or are eternally hopeful. Those are gifts that we may have received genetically, but they were given to us. We also must honor the sacrifices, the lessons, the discipline, and the history that brought us to this place. In our work with young people in addition to telling them about César Chávez, we teach them that the sacrifice was for them to have opportunity, and that their payback was to take advantage of those opportunities. Telling our stories is one of the greatest ways of preserving memory. I was fortunate that my mother was such a great story teller. But now more than ever we have so many great storytellers out there. We also need to teach our children to tell their stories, because in the end their stories will connect with ours.

MR: What does Su Teatro have planned for this year?

TG: Actually our season is winding down, but we will finish strong and then start off with a lot of momentum. In June we will stage Cuarenta y Ocho, a fictional telling of the 48 hours between the two explosions in Boulder in 1974 that left six people dead. It begins with an explosion and ends with an explosion that we all know is coming. We will remount Enrique’s Journey, my adaptation of the Sonia Nazario Pulitzer Prize winning story of a young boy who rides the top of the trains from Honduras to the United States to reunite with his mother. We are anticipating that the show will run in Denver for three weeks and then move on to Los Angeles for another three weeks, with a possibility of continuing into Seattle and then returning through Albuquerque. We will remount The Westside Oratorio, the musical retelling of the seven generations that inhabited Denver’s Westside neighborhood, before they were forced to move in order to build the Auraria Campus. We have a great opportunity to stage Real Women Have Curves by Josefina López, and then we will finish off the season with a gift to our audiences and we will once again present Chicanos Sing the Blues. It is a season of revivals, but every one of the shows will have a very different look than previously presented.

MR: Many writers, hundreds actually, established and upcoming, read La Bloga. Are there opportunities for writers with your company? Any advice for aspiring playwrights?

TG: We accept submissions all the time, but frankly many are not ready for production. And we don’t always have the resources to invest in the development. We receive a lot of plays that have significantly large casts ( six to eight is a good size. ) We are interested in plays about Latinos; we often get plays by non-Latinos that are really about how non-Latinos see us. I am not big on Latino adaptations of a Shakespeare, Chekov or that sort. We have done adaptations of the Greeks which we like, going back to the root. We have done bilingual versions of Spanish and Latin American writers. Mostly though we are a company that develops its own work, that is primarily what we do. But we are into relationships as it is through relationships that we find out if there is a fit. These interactions take time. So I would say send me a script, keep in contact, keep me up to date on your activities. Come to a show if you are in town. See what it is we do. And most of all don’t take it personally. I also would suggest that you get your script read aloud, do this before you send it in. Get some friends - they don’t have to be actors. Plays are meant to be heard (not just in your head), it will really affect the dynamic of what you write.

Tony Garcia Brings Theater to the People

MR: Thank you, Tony. It's been a pleasure and all of us here at La Bloga appreciate your willingness to speak to our readers. People in Denver know that a night at Su Teatro is guaranteed to be an evening well-spent. Your work is always enlightening, entertaining, and passionate. And often belly-shaking funny. I encourage anyone who has a chance to watch a Su Teatro production to seize the opportunity. You won't regret it.

__________________________________________________________________________

Later.

↧

Gabriel García Márquez sigue

April 18, 2014, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Look What the Easter Bunny Dragged: Pedacitos of Literary Greats

≪ Previous: The Tony Garcia Interview

"The day shit is worth money, poor people will be born without an asshole."

Those aren't my words; they're from Gabriel García Márquez, who's given us some of the greatest in any language.

QEPD = Que en Paz Descanse is the Spanish equivalent to "rest in peace." After I posted notes about Marquez passing, an Anglo friend sent me condolences: "Lo siento," he said, "sorry."

I'll say the sentiment was good, but the intended audience was too narrow. Latinos don't need condolences from Anglos, about Márquez's death. He belongs to the world's peoples and in that sense, is relevant and part of us all.

Márquez, a political creature

There's the tendency to mention magical realism whenever Márquez's name comes up. That bothers me as an indirect slotting of his work, like it was "only" an example of latinoamericano speculative literature. Anymore than Crime and Punishment should be called genre horror or thriller. Some works and writers defy delimiting, like Márquez and his works. However much he defined magical realism, he also shred that envelope, passing into the realm of Classic.

Here's more of his words, not usually quoted:

The world must be all fucked up when men travel first class and literature goes as freight.

I don’t think you can write a book that’s worth anything without extraordinary discipline.

With The Thousand and One Nights, I learned and never forgot that we should read only those books that force us to reread them.

Literature was the best plaything that had ever been invented to make fun of people.

If men gave birth, they'd be less inconsiderate.

The secret of a good old age is simply an honorable pact with solitude.

You can read some of his most famous, here.

Whatever type of reader you are, you haven't lived unless you've experienced at least one of Márquez's epics. Below are the openings to two novels. Go outside somewhere by yourself, read them once for meaning, sentido, then read them aloud for the music. This might make you wonder if you should read the entire book. You should.

from Love in the Time of Cholera:

(translation): It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love. Dr. Juvenal Urbino noticed it as soon as he entered the still darkened house where he had hurried on an urgent call to attend a case that for him had lost all urgency many years before. The Antillean refugee Jeremiah de Saint-Amour, disabled war veteran, photographer of children, and his most sympathetic opponent in chess, had escaped the torments of memory with the aromatic fumes of gold cyanide.

from One Hundred Years of Solitude:

Muchos años después, frente al pelotón de fusilamiento, el coronel Aureliano Buendía había de recordar aquella tarde remota en que su padre lo llevó a conocer el hielo. Macondo era entonces una aldea de veinte casas de barro y cañabrava construidas a la orilla de un río de aguas diáfanas que se precipitaban por un lecho de piedras pulidas, blancas y enormes como huevos prehistóricos. El mundo era tan reciente, que muchas cosas carecían de nombre, y para mencionarlas había que señalarlas con el dedo.

a children's book on Márquez

(translation): Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, General Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. At that time Macondo was a village of twenty adobe houses, built on the bank of a river of clear water that ran along a bed of polished stones, which were white and enormous, like prehistoric eggs. The world was so recent that many things lacked names, and in order to indicate them it was necessary to point.

Esquirere-posted a Márquez short story,The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Erendira and Her Heartless Grandmother that you can read in full.

I'm not sad Márquez died. He was mortal and reached a logical end. I don't know how his last weeks, months, years were, given a cancer he suffered; perhaps he was grateful to end his time, even. But before that, he left his people, his species, with enough to prove that he'd been here and done good. Great. Phenomenal. So, while his energy has left his body, some remains locked in his prose, to be shared by those to come.

Salud al maestro Marquez!

↧

Look What the Easter Bunny Dragged: Pedacitos of Literary Greats

April 20, 2014, 12:22 am

≫ Next: People, Places, and Poetry

≪ Previous: Gabriel García Márquez sigue

Olga Garcia Echeverria

I don't have much to say about Easter. Like Thanksgiving and Santa Claus Day, it's a holiday that makes me feel awkward and rebellious. Pastel colors and Catholic mass make me nauseous. I've never been into wicker. I hate fake grass. I confess I have in my lifetime eaten my good share of chocolate bunnies and yellow marshmallow chicks, but nowadays I mostly feel resurrected by the literary word. Here are a few treats to sink your teeth into on this Easter Sunday. Enjoy!

Marquez On Writing from Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Life by Gerald Martin

(Alfred A. Knopf 2009).

GGM on his 1st Birthday

I am a writer through timidity. My true vocation is that of magician, but I get so flustered trying to do tricks that I’ve had to take refuge in the solitude of literature. Both activities, in any case, lead to the only thing that has interested me since I was a child: that my friends should love me more.

In my case, being a writer is an exceptional achievement because I am very bad at writing. I have had to subject myself to an atrocious discipline in order to finish half a page after eight hours of work; I fight physically with every word and it is almost always the word that wins, but I am so stubborn that I have managed to publish four books in twenty years. The fifth, which I am writing now, is going slower than the others, because between my debtors and my headaches I have very little free time.

I never talk about literature because I don’t know what it is and besides I’m convinced the world would be just the same without it. On the other hand, I’m convinced it would be completely different without the police. I therefore think I’d have been much more useful to humanity if instead of being a writer I’d been a terrorist.

David Sedaris: An Easter Excerpt

One of the funniest stories I have ever read is "Jesus Shaves" by David Sedaris. His entire collection Me Talk Pretty One Day (Little, Brown and Company 2000) is hilarious and highly recommended. In "Jesus Shaves," Sedaris describes his experience as an adult second language learner in a French class in Paris, France. In their limited French, Sedaris and fellow students attempt to explain the meaning of Easter to a Moroccan Muslim classmate.

The Italian nanny was attempting to answer the teacher’s latest question when the Moroccan student interrupted, shouting, “Excuse me, but what’s an Easter?”

It would seem that despite having grown up in a Muslim country, she would have heard it mentioned once or twice, but no. “I mean it,” she said. “I have no idea what you people are talking about.”

The teacher called upon the rest of us to explain.

The Poles led the charge to the best of their ability. “It is," said one, “a party for the little boy of God who call his self Jesus and …oh, shit.” She faltered and her fellow country-man came to her aid.

“He call his self Jesus and then he be die one day on two…morsels of …lumber.”

The rest of the class jumped in, offering bits of information that would have given the pope an aneurysm.

“He die one day and then he go above of my head to live with your father.”

“He weared of himself the long hair and after he die, the first day he come back here for to say hello to the peoples.”

“He nice, the Jesus.”

“He make the good things, and on the Easter we be sad because somebody make him dead today.”

Part of the problem had to do with vocabulary. Simple nouns such as cross and resurrection were beyond our grasp, let alone such complicated reflexive phrases as “to give of yourself your only begotten son.” Faced with the challenge of explaining the cornerstone of Christianity, we did what any self respecting group of people might do. We talked about food instead.

“Easter is a party for to eat of the lamb,” the Italian nanny explained. “One too many eat of the chocolate.”

“And who brings the chocolate?” the teacher asked.

I knew the word, so I raised my hand, saying, “The rabbit of Easter. He bring of the chocolate.”

“A rabbit?” The teacher, assuming I’d used the wrong word, positioned her index fingers on top of her head, wriggling them as though they were ears. “You mean one of these? A rabbit rabbit?”

“Well, sure, “ I said. “He come in the night when one sleep on a bed. With a hand he have a basket and foods. “

The teacher sighed and shook her head. As far as she was concerned, I had just explained everything that was wrong with my country. “No, no, “ she said. “Here in France the chocolate is brought by a big bell that flies in from Rome.”

I called for a time-out. “But how do the bell know where you live?”

“Well,” she said, “how does a rabbit?”

It was a decent point, but at least a rabbit has eyes. That’s a start. Rabbits move from place to place, while most bells can only go back and forth-and they can’t even do that on their own power. On top of that, the Easter Bunny has character. He’s someone you’d like to meet and shake hands with. A bell has all the personality of a cast-iron skillet. It’s like saying that come Christmas, a magic dustpan flies in from the North Pole, led by eight flying cinder blocks. Who wants to stay up all night so they can see a bell? And why fly one in from Rome when they’ve got more bells than they know what to do with right here in Paris? That’s the most implausible aspect of the whole story, as there’s no way the bells of France would allow a foreign worker to fly in and take their jobs. That Roman bell would be lucky to get work cleaning up after a French bell’s dog-and even then he’d need papers. It just didn’t add up.

Nothing we said was of any help to the Moroccan student. A dead man with long hair supposedly living with her father, a leg of lamb served with palm fronds and chocolate; equally confused and disgusted, she shrugged her massive shoulders and turned her attention back to the comic book she kept hidden beneath her binder.

Adios Querida Doris Pilkington Garimara author of Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence

Doris Pilkington Garimara and her mother Molly

It's midnight, Easter Sunday, and I've just heard that author Doris Pilkington Garimara passed away last week of ovarian cancer. Among the many books she wrote, Pilkington Garimara documented her Australian aborigine mother's escape from a government camp and her amazing 1,500-mile trek home. Her book, Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence, brought to light the systematic racist policies to forcibly assimilate Australian natives by tearing them away from their families. Her book was later made into the highly acclaimed film, Rabbit Proof Fence. Like all great literature and art, Rabbit Proof Fence is a story that touches the heart in powerful and timeless ways. Through the years, I have returned to it numerous times--for its bravery, its mastery, and its poetic resilient spirit.

Last but not least, and in honor of our recently departed Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Doris Pilkington Garimara, I leave you with a few lines from one of my favorite Pablo Neruda poems. What is there not to love about Neruda?

This excerpt is from "Ode to a Few Yellow Flowers," which is translated by Ilan Stavans in All The Odes: Pablo Neruda.

Polvo somos, seremos.

Ni aire, ni fuego, ni agua

sino

tierra,

solo tierra

seremos

y tal vez

unas flores amarillas.

We are dust, we shall become.

Not air, or fire, or water

but

earth,

we shall be

mere earth

and maybe

a few yellow flowers.

↧

People, Places, and Poetry

April 20, 2014, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Conference Time. News 'n notes.

≪ Previous: Look What the Easter Bunny Dragged: Pedacitos of Literary Greats

By Xánath Caraza

What contentment to report on such varying cultural activities as the visits of James Edward Olmos and Rigoberto Gonzalez in Kansas City, the presentations of Noche de Colibríes: Ekphrastic Poems in Chicago and Wisconsin, in addition to another in Brazil, and Con Tinta’s celebration of National Poetry Month.

James Edward Olmos at UMKC

James Edward Olmos in Kansas City brought excitement, energy and friendship. What a pleasure it was to see him in person, to hear him talk and see him perform his presentation. There is no doubt of his great commitment to the Latin@/Chican@ community. His presentation was on Tuesday, April 15 at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) to celebrate Cesar Chavez. Muchas gracias a Erika Cecilia Noguera, Coordinator of the Division of Diversity and Inclusion at UMKC, for her dedicated work and for making the Cesar Chavez Lecture possible. After his UMKC presentation, James Edward Olmos continued his conversation with the Kansas City community at the Guadalupe Centers, where a reception in his honor was held.

Erika C. Noguera, Coordinator of Diversity and Inclusion

James Edward Olmos at the Guadalupe Centers

Another distinguished Chicano writer visiting Kansas City was Rigoberto Gonzalez, American Book Award recipient, on Tuesday, April 8 from 5-8 p.m. at the Student Union at UMKC. His visit was part of Literature for Life Week. Rigoberto Gonzalez’s reading was followed by a Q & A and book signing. Several members of the Latino Writers Collective, Kansas City, attended this important event.

Consuelo Cruz, Jose Faus, Maria Vazquez-Boyd, Rigoberto Gonzalez and Norma Cantu

Noche de Colibríes: Ekphrastic Poems in Chicago and Wisconsin

Many thanks to my wonderful hosts in Chicago and Appleton, WI for making the presentation of Noche de Colibríes: Ekphrastic Poemspossible. Miguel López Lemus and Kapra Fleming opened the doors of their home to receive the literary and artistic Chicago community on March 27 for an Art Salon. Thank you Chicago for your warm reception and endless support.

Chicago

Appleton, WI was next on Saturday, March 29. Several members of the Latino Community graciously attended the Art Salon for the presentation of Noches de Colibríes: Ekphrastic Poemshosted by Yasser Bashi and Reme Bashi in their amazing home. I have no words to thank their affable hospitality. Among the people who attended the Art Salon was Paco, who I’m happy to say has been present during all my visits to Milwaukee and Appleton, WI. I first met Paco in March of 2012 during a Poetry Workshop in Spanish I gave at Woodland Patterns Bookstore. He then attended my presentation as part of Cantos Latinos in Milwaukee organized by Brenda Cárdenas. I’m proud to say that I’ve been following Paco’s development as a poet and will continue supporting him. Paco is an avid reader and poet, now a young man, who has graciously read all of my books. So proud of you Paco.

Wisconsin

Brazil

I had the unique opportunity to be part of the 7^th MECA (Muestra de Educación Ciencia y Arte) in Apucarana, Paraná, Brazil. I had a couple of presentations, roundtable participation, book presentation, and classroom visits. My main presentation was on Estructura de enseñanza básica en México: formación, práctica y carrera docente, y poesía. Another highlight of my visit was the opportunity to meet the award winning novelist, Oscar Nakasato, from Apucarana. I was able to exchange a few words with him and exchange books. He is the author of Nihon Jin (Benvirá, 2011) winner of the Premio Benvirá de Literatura. Iguaçu Falls was the last part of my intense trip to Brazil. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. Dr. Barbosa and Dr. De Jesus many thanks for all your support and great organization.

Mangoes and Persimmons

Telephone Booth

Las calles de Apucarana

CON TINTA NaPoMo 2014

CON TINTA NaPoMo 2014 is here, send your poem to creativexc@gmail.com and/or mouthfeelpress@yahoo.com (Mouthfeel Press) y celebra la poesía. This is Con Tinta's third year celebrating NaPoMo, more to come. Viva la poesía!

Algunos poemas

Dios mío… Me desmayo!

By Miguel López Lemus

Con tanta competencia es difícil ser poeta

A ver díganme! Como competir contra

“Como espuma que inerte lleva el caudaloso rio,

Flor de Azalea la vida en su avalancha te arrastro”

Me sentare a pensar con las plumas en la mano

Y las hojas de papel arrugadas en el piso como hojas de otoño

Acabadas de caer.

Bueno aquí voy:

Dios mío, me desmayo!

La veo venir, se acerca

Y el zancudo de cupido me atraviesa su saeta

Dios mío, me desmayo

Que me mira

Se me cierran las ideas, no pienso, quedo

sin palabras, sin nada que decir

Dios mío, me desmayo

Me sonríe, me platica, camina junto a mi

Yo enloquezco, me derrito como nieve en el calor.

Dios mío, me desmayo

Que me besa!

y yo pierdo la cabeza

que me traigan un doctor.

Yo pensé que era invencible

Que mi corazón de roca

Jamás habría de penetrar

Y ahora sé que no es de roca

Gelatina, tembeleque,

Nieve de limón.

Dios mío, me desmayo!

Me aprieta!

Y estoy a punto de decirle

Que la amo

Que es el sueño de mi vida

Que adoraría tener muchos hijitos

Que quiero una casa grande con jardín.

Dios mío, Me muero!

Me dice

“Ahorita vengo

Voy a ponerme algo más cómodo”

Estoy sudando frio

Me tiemblan las rodillas

La vista se me nubla

Me peino con los dedos

Reviso mi aliento entre mis manos

Madre mía, estoy llegando al fin

Aparece

Envuelta en no sé que

Y yo pienso

Hasta aquí llegaron tus huesitos

Miquelón

Me decido

Proponerle matrimonio

Bajarle las estrellas y la luna

Traernos a vivir a su mama

Madre mía, estoy borracho

La belleza me ha drogado

Yo le digo

“Ahorita vengo

Voy por la estrellas

Por la luna por el mar

y por el sol”

A LOS POETAS OLVIDADOS
Por Xavier Oquendo Troncoso

A ti León y a ti Paco y a ti Manuel
Poetas olvidados
A quien el tiempo no dio tregua.
A ustedes que nadie les da una efemérides
En el calendario solar.
Y que sólo son culpables de las letras olvidadas
De las letras sumergidas en la muerte
Para que pasen madurez en el infierno.
Para que apenas lleguen a ser leídos en la calma,
Luego, después de un homenaje a los poetas oficiales
Ustedes brillen como el azúcar
En esos días de sol y nieve y poesía.
Allá, en el infierno,
Allá en el olvido.

© Xavier Oquendo Troncoso

Nobody Asked Us

By Sonia Gutiérrez

They had wished

that their winged thoughts

would always be eternally

green.

But nobody asked us

why we turned pale

and why our arms one day

stayed bare.

Nobody asked us

if we preferred living

away from the bullet machines

that rang our ears.

And now, they don’t know what will happen

because nobody asked us,

The Trees,what we felt

or what we thought.

What I have always known

is that I never dreamed

of living chained to the sulfuric

waste of humanity.

Translation by Sonia Gutiérrez

*“Nadie nos preguntó” is forthcoming in Revista Ombligo

En una esquina

Por Gerardo Cárdenas

Los relojes reventados en diminutos cristales,

detenidos a horas distintas,

desangrándose en un torrente de engranajes

como un toro que embiste los trazos febriles

de las luciérnagas.

Cruzo la plaza bajo la mirada de una china

no oigo lo que dice pero leo en sus labios

mi locura.

Me persigue señalándome con un dedo

yo que sólo quiero recoger los cristales hechos añicos

de los relojes que agonizan

y mueren sin descendencia

pero los pájaros son más rápidos:

se los llevan

y los regurgitan en los picos de sus polluelos.

Al final de la plaza me desplomo

como un ovillo sin sombra;

las hormigas se compadecen

me cubren con una roída manta

para que nadie mire mis incontenibles temblores.

El teléfono me urge:

alguien ha dejado un mensaje

(tal vez una carcajada o una foto obscena).

La plaza se vuelve un estruendo de piares

ya sacuden sus alas de cristal incontables relojes.

The Disappearance of the Poem
By Mark Statman

For John Yamrus

Happens
Because the
young woman on
the Amtrak

I couldn't figure out
her accent
she told me
Puerto Rico
Really?
It unseemed secretly something else
but she was pretty sure
as she should be

© Mark Statman

↧

Conference Time. News 'n notes.

April 21, 2014, 11:01 pm

≫ Next: A Children's Tribute to Gabriel García Márquez- My Name is Gabito

≪ Previous: People, Places, and Poetry

Michael Sedano

University Conference on Latino Culture and Science Fiction April 30.

The University of California, Riverside hosts a trailblazing academic inquiry into science fiction and speculative fiction written by raza writers in a gathering of casí all the raza writers of science fiction and speculative literature.

The April 30 conference arrives at a time of literary ferment when writers and readers come to the book market with higher expectations than publishers can understand.

The conference explores how six writers get their books to market, the role of sci-fi and speclit genres in United States letters, the nature of literary exclusion, and stories about what each writer brings to readers.

The morning panel joins almost all raza published authors of the genres into the same room at the same time. Hosted by UCR’s Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies, Sherryl Vint, the discussions will be classics among literary conferences. Mario Acevedo’s vampires and Jésus Treviño’s zombie fiction meets Rudy Ch. García’s and Treviño’s dimensional surrealism. Rosaura Sánchez and Beatrice Pita’s lunar braceros meet el padrino of Chicano sci-fi Ernest Hogan’s mexicas in outerspace. Y más.

In the afternoon, Michael Sedano and UCR graduate students join the circle to include critical perspectives and readerly responses to these sci-fi and speclit genres, and to join the audience in speculation into what directions each sees raza speculative literature and science-fiction taking.

A grand event in the late afternoon, years in the making, puts a capstone on the conference.

See Rudy Ch. Garcia’s Saturday, April 26 column for building/meeting-room specifics. Here's a link also: http://ucrtoday.ucr.edu/21579

The beautiful Riverside campus is freeway convenient off the 60/215, in Susan Straight country.

Conference on Rudolfo Anaya: Tradition, Modernity, and the Literatures of the U.S. Southwest May 2-3.

La Bloga friend Roberto Cantú brings the most arrestingly interesting academic conferences to Southern California and the east side of the LA basin. May 2-3, Cantú surpasses himself with a conference dedicated to La Bloga friend Rudolfo Anaya and literature of the US Southwest.

Scholars from New Mexico to old Germany will lecture, moderate, and sit panel presentations.

Four keystone fiction writers take the lectern during the conference, Ana Castillo, Rolando Hinojosa-Smith, Reyna Grande, and Mario Acevedo, fresh from his stunning appearance UCR's raza in spec lit and sci-fi conference.

The Anaya conference on the campus of California State University Los Angeles in El Sereno is free and open to public visitors for just the cost of parking or a short walk from the bus station. There is no light rail serving this campus directly.

A word of caution: parking rules are posted so you can read them and avoid a ticket. Be assured local regulations are strictly enforced.

The conference is sponsored by Cal State L.A.'s Gigi Gaucher-Morales Memorial Conference Series, the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Natural and Social Sciences, the Department of Chicano Studies, the Department of English, the Barry Munitz Fund, and the Emeriti Association.

See the conference website for details.

Writing Workshop With Ana Castillo

Working with a seasoned writer to develop ideas, polish writing, glean insights from conversation often comes with the payoff of better writing, an improved attitude. This happens for beginners as well as polished authors.

The opportunity to work with one of Chicana Chicano Literature's most accomplished talents, Ana Castillo, should quickly fill the handful of seats available on May 3 through auspices of La Bloga friend Iris de Anda and Mujeres de Maíz.

Visit the workshop Facebook page for your invitation. There is a fee for the workshop.

Writing Workshop for Newer Writers in East Los

La Bloga friend Sam Quinones organizes a writing workshop series for those who've never published before, Tell Your True Tale.

Students from recent workshops appear Saturday April 26 at the East L.A. Public Library at 2:30 pm. The East LA Public Library awaits your attendance at 4837 E 3rd St, LA, 323-264-0155.

Quinones' workshops revolve around insisting stories fit in limited space. Tell Your True Tale approach forces writers to hone their thoughts and imagination, eliminate unnecessary words, make the hard choices that are part of strong writing, no matter the genre.

The Saturday event showcases the students' work with, according to Quinones, stunning variety and quality of stories: A vet returning home from Vietnam; a janitor in Houston trying to find her children in Mexico; of braceros finding their way north and back home again; a man learning confidence as he woos a woman; a bus rider in Los Angeles; a mariachi singing for a heartbroken family on Christmas Eve.

Find details on the workshops here.

Free Poetry Column Follow-Up: Veterans Land.

I noted in La Bloga's coverage of the Grand Park Downtown Bookfest that one organization performs Shakespeare with kids on the grounds of the Veteran's Center and elsewhere. The observation draws a response from the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles Associate Director of Veteran Affairs Kellogg Brengel.

I receive Brengel's words with appreciation for his organization's role in the VA's efforts helping GIs. LA is the homeless GI capital of the world. It's a moral outrage that so many of these men and women are walking wounded soldiers not receiving the care we owe them. I am a Veteran of the US Army but no one needs to be a Veteran to be outraged by this crud.

For Veterans and supporters of Veterans, a critical issue simmers just at the surface of efforts like the Shakespeare Center and other companies. Many, if not all, private or non-Veteran users of the West LA Veterans home lost a federal case and will have to vacate VA land, absent some amicable resolution that benefits Veterans more than others. A commercial laundry, the UCLA baseball team, an exclusive Brentwood girls' school, a theatre, all don't want to leave low-cost Veteran land for market-rate facilities.

Mr. Brengel notes the program goes into its third year on the VA campus, he says, supported by a veteran workforce. Working with the VA's Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, SCLA has hired a total of 61 veterans over the past two summers and because of our free admission policy for veterans, active military, their families, friends and caregivers/VA employees, SCLA has given away 5,665 tickets to our summer performances.

The veterans we hire are recruited from the VA's Veterans Community Employment Development program which helps find supported employment opportunities for veterans enrolled in VA services who are chronically unemployed, homeless, and/or receiving psycho-social rehabilitative treatment.

Veterans receive paid on-the-job training and work in all aspects of the production including: production and venue crews, audio engineer, wardrobe assistant, ushers, parking attendants, and site-specific marketing. The transitional work experience this program provides has been a great success and we are very much looking forward to being back in the Japanese Garden for the summer of 2014.

A ver.

La Bloga Welcomes Guest Columnists

Thank you for reading La Bloga. When you have a comment, a need to enlarge, clarify, or correct La Bloga's coverage of literatura, cultura, arte, o más, don't hide that light of yours under a bushel basket, dale shine. Contact La Bloga here for particulars of your Guest Column, or email labloga@readraza punto com. Of the eleven daily blogueras blogueros, eight began writing for La Bloga as Guest Columnists.

Late-arriving News

Just as I was putting La Bloga to bed, this opportunity pulls into sight.

↧

A Children's Tribute to Gabriel García Márquez- My Name is Gabito

April 22, 2014, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Concursos literarios- ensayo, narrativa, poesía

≪ Previous: Conference Time. News 'n notes.

Review by Ariadna Sánchez

Last week the world lost one of the most brilliant writers of the century. Gabriel García Márquez is considered a genie of modern literature. His words echo the unique and majestic essence of his intrepid spirit. García Márquez will live forever thanks to his master pieces full of imagination and beauty.

My Name is Gabito written by the award-winning author Monica Brown and delightfully illustrated by Raúl Colón depicts the childhood of the 1982 Nobel Prize Literature recipient Gabriel García Márquez.

Gabito was born on March 6, 1928 in Aracataca, Colombia. Gabito was nurtured by his grandparents along with a 100-year-old parrot named Lorenzo el Magnifico. His grandfather was an important figure for the development of Gabito’s talent. Gabito loved learning words from his grandfather’s dictionary. Gabito realized that the more he read, the more imaginative his stories became. Gabito witnessed the struggles of poor banana workers in his hometown. This situation created an urgent sense of justice and equal opportunity for all people. This life experience was evident in his novels because he often shared stories about the banana workers.

Gabito grew, grew, and grew. Gabito became one of the most famous Latin-American writers in the world. As a result, Gabriel García Márquez became an international figure. Gabito wrote more than thirty books, some of his emblematic novels are Love in the Time of Cholera, Living to Tell the Tale, and the best-seller One Hundred Years of Solitude. During his lifetime, Gabito received the most prestigious awards for his merit. In 1982 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature reaffirming the remarkable gift to produce incomparable stories. Gabito married his boyhood girlfriend, Mercedes Bacha Pardo, and they had two sons named Rodrigo and Gonzalo. This is a phenomenal life for an incredible human being.

My Name is Gabito helps children learn and appreciate the extraordinary journey of Gabriel García Márquez, and it also allows them to discover the dynamism of the renowned author. His legacy will last for an eternity in our hearts and in our mind. Thanks to the Tlapazola community from Oaxaca, Mexico for spreading the legacy of the eternal Gabito.

¡Viva Gabriel García Márquez por siempre!

* * *

My Name is Gabito/Me llamo Gabito Presentation

for ELL Bilingual Reading Night

Monica Brown author of "My Name Is Gabito/My llamo Gabito" talks about how "One Hundred Years of Solitude" changed her life as a high school student. See more of the interview: http://www.colorincolorado.org/read/meet/brown/

↧

Concursos literarios- ensayo, narrativa, poesía

April 23, 2014, 11:01 pm

≫ Next: California Dreamers, Book Givers, and Poets

≪ Previous: A Children's Tribute to Gabriel García Márquez- My Name is Gabito

Duodécimo Concurso Internacional de ENSAYO UAS – Colsin – Siglo XXI Editores

30 de junio de 2014

1. Podrán participar todos los escritores de habla hispana o portuguesa, sin importar el país en el que residan.

2. Los escritores que hayan resultado ganadores en certámenes anteriores no podrán participar en la presente convocatoria.

3. Este año los interesados podrán participar con un ensayo de tema libre, en lenguas española o portuguesa, que deberá tener como máximo una extensión de 250 cuartillas y un mínimo de 150 (cada una de las cuales constará de 1.800 caracteres).

4. Los trabajos deberán ser inéditos y enviarse impresos por triplicado, a doble espacio, con letra Times de 12 puntos, en hojas tamaño carta (28 x 21,5 cm) y, asimismo, se deberá enviar el archivo electrónico en Word y en un disco compacto.

5. Los trabajos deberán aparecer suscritos con un seudónimo, enviándose junto con ellos, en sobre aparte, una ficha que contenga el nombre, la dirección, el teléfono y el correo electrónico del autor. El sobre vendrá rotulado con el seudónimo elegido. Las plicas de identificación quedarán bajo custodia de un notario público en la ciudad de México y solamente se abrirá la correspondiente al ganador; las demás serán destruidas.

6. Los trabajos podrán ser dirigidos, con el título Duodécimo Premio Internacional de Ensayo UAS – Colsin – Siglo XXI Editores, a las siguientes direcciones:

· Siglo XXI Editores
Avenida Cerro del Agua 248,
Col. Romero de Terreros,
Del. Coyoacán, AP 20-626
México, DF, CP 04310
(0155) 5658 7999.

· Coordinación General
de Extensión
de la Cultura
y los Servicios de la UAS
Casa de la Cultura
Teófilo Noris 517 Norte,
Culiacán, Sinaloa,
CP 80000.

· El Colegio de Sinaloa
Antonio Rosales 435 Pte.,
Culiacán, Sinaloa, CP 80000
(01667) 716 1046.

7. La recepción de los trabajos queda abierta a partir de la presente convocatoria (1 de marzo de 2014), cerrándose el día 30 de junio de 2014. Se respetará un periodo de seis días como máximo para recibir material que se haya depositado en el correo en la fecha límite, comprobada con el matasellos.

8. No podrán participar los trabajos que hayan sido premiados en otros concursos, ni los que se encuentren comprometidos para su edición, hayan sido publicados, parcial o totalmente, o estén participando en convocatorias similares.

9. El ganador del concurso obtendrá un premio por la cantidad de 20.000 dólares, la edición de la obra bajo el sello de las tres instituciones convocantes y un diploma de reconocimiento. Del importe del premio se deducirán los impuestos correspondientes.

10. Los derechos patrimoniales de la obra ganadora pertenecerán a las tres instituciones convocantes y, por lo tanto, la obra no podrá participar en otros premios, salvo con la autorización expresa del editor.

11. La edición completa de la obra queda a cargo exclusivamente del editor. Por lo que cualquier cambio en el título o contenido de la obra queda a cargo del mismo.

12. El premio será único e indivisible; en caso de que fuera declarado desierto no se otorgarán menciones honoríficas.

13. El jurado calificador estará integrado por tres connotados intelectuales de prestigio internacional, designados por el comité organizador, cuyos nombres serán dados a conocer después de emitido el fallo.

14. El fallo del jurado será inapelable.

15. El nombre del ganador será dado a conocer a los medios de comunicación el día martes 10 de febrero de 2015 y en las páginas de Internet de la Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa (www.uasnet.mx), El Colegio de Sinaloa (www.elcolegiodesinaloa.gob.mx) y Siglo XXI Editores (www.sigloxxieditores.com.mx).

16. La entrega del Duodécimo Premio Internacional de Ensayo UAS – Colsin – Siglo XXI Editores se llevará a cabo en el marco de la Feria Internacional del Libro del Palacio de Minería durante 2014, en la ciudad de México, presidida por las autoridades de las instituciones convocantes.

17. Los gastos de traslado, hospedaje y alimentación del ganador, serán cubiertos por el comité organizador del presente certamen.

18. Los trabajos que no resulten ganadores no serán devueltos y junto con las plicas serán destruidos en presencia de notario público.

19. Cualquier imprevisto relacionado con la presente convocatoria será resuelto a criterio del jurado calificador y el comité organizador del certamen.

Mayor información: www.uasnet.mx • www.elcolegiodesinaloa.gob.mx •www.sigloxxieditores.com.mx

Duodécimo Concurso Internacional de NARRATIVA Unam – Colsin – Siglo XXI Editores

30 de junio de 2014

1. Podrán participar todos los escritores de habla hispana, sin importar el país en el que residan.

2. Los escritores que hayan resultado ganadores en certámenes anteriores no podrán participar en la presente convocatoria.

3. Este año los interesados podrán participar con una novela escrita en lengua española, que deberá tener como máximo una extensión de 250 cuartillas y un mínimo de 120 (cada una de las cuales constará de 1.800 caracteres).

6. Los trabajos podrán ser dirigidos, con el título Duodécimo Premio Internacional de Narrativa Unam – Colsin – Siglo XXI Editores, a las siguientes direcciones:

· Siglo XXI Editores
Avenida Cerro del Agua 248,
Col. Romero de Terreros,
Del. Coyoacán,
AP 20-626, CP 04310,
México, DF,
(0155) 5658 7999

· Dirección de Literatura
de la Coordinación
de Difusión Cultural
de la UNAM,
Zona administrativa exterior, núm. 2, edif. C, piso 3, C. U.,
Coyoacán, CP. 04510, DF,
(0155) 5622 6240, 5665 0419

· El Colegio de Sinaloa
Antonio Rosales 435 Pte., CP 80000,
Culiacán, Sinaloa
(01667) 716 1046

8. No podrán participar los trabajos similares que hayan sido premiados en otros concursos, ni los que se encuentren comprometidos para su edición, hayan sido publicados, parcial o totalmente, o estén participando en convocatorias similares.

11. La edición completa de la obra queda a cargo exclusivamente del editor. Por lo que cualquier cambio en el título o contenido de la obra queda a cargo del mismo.

12. El premio será único e indivisible; en caso de que fuera declarado desierto no se otorgarán menciones honoríficas.

14. El fallo del jurado será inapelable.

15. El nombre del ganador será dado a conocer a los medios de comunicación el día martes 10 de febrero de 2015 y en las páginas de Internet de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (www.literatura.unam.mx), El Colegio de Sinaloa (www.elcolegiodesinaloa.gob.mx) y Siglo XXI Editores (www.sigloxxieditores.com.mx).

16. La entrega del Duodécimo Premio Internacional de Narrativa Unam – Colsin – Siglo XXI Editores se llevará a cabo en el marco de la Feria Internacional del Libro del Palacio de Minería durante 2015, en la ciudad de México, presidida por las autoridades de las instituciones convocantes.

17. Los gastos de traslado, hospedaje y alimentación del ganador, serán cubiertos por el comité organizador del presente certamen.

18. Los trabajos que no resulten ganadores no serán devueltos y junto con las plicas serán destruidos en presencia de notario público.

19. Cualquier imprevisto relacionado con la presente convocatoria será resuelto a criterio del jurado calificador y el comité organizador del certamen.

Mayor información: www.literatura.unam.mx • www.elcolegiodesinaloa.gob.mx •www.sigloxxieditores.com.mx

II Premio de POESÍA “Andrés Mirón”

30 de abril de 2014

1. Podrán participar todos los poetas que presenten un solo poema por autor escrito en castellano, de tema libre, inédito y no premiado en otros concursos.

2. La dotación establecida para este premio se cifra en 1.000 euros, cantidad a la que se aplicará el porcentaje de deducción del IRPF vigente en cada momento.

3. El autor premiado conservará la propiedad intelectual de su obra, percibiendo los derechos correspondientes con el abono del premio y deberá personarse en Guadalcanal el día de la entrega para leer su poema en el acto. Los gastos de viajes y estancia corren por cuenta del ganador.

4. El plazo de admisión de los trabajos participantes se cerrará el día 30 de abril de 2014, admitiéndose posteriormente aquellos envíos cuyo matasellos señale igual o anterior fecha.

5. Los poemas tendrán un mínimo de 14 versos y un máximo de 60, presentándose figurando únicamente el título en la portada de los mismos y siendo firmados con lema o seudónimo. Dichas obras se acompañarán de un sobre cerrado donde deben aparecer, en su exterior, idénticos título y lema o seudónimo, y en su interior los datos personales del autor, domicilio, teléfono y número de D.N.I., así como un breve currículum.

6. Los originales habrán de enviarse a la siguiente dirección:

AYUNTAMIENTO DE GUADALCANAL
Concejalía de Cultura
C/ Plaza de España, 1
41390 GUADALCANAL (Sevilla, España)

Indicando expresamente en el sobre: “Para el II PREMIO DE POESÍA ANDRÉS MIRÓN”.Asimismo se admitirán envíos por correo electrónico al e-mail clotisanchez@guadalcanal.escuyas plicas se remitirán en el mismo correo en un archivo aparte.

7. Los trabajos no premiados no serán devueltos, destruyéndose todos a los diez días de producirse el fallo del premio. Tampoco se mantendrá correspondencia con los autores de los mismos.

8. Los sobres o correos que se envíen sin la correspondiente plica no serán admitidos en el concurso.

9. El jurado estará compuesto por poetas o escritores de reconocido prestigio y por la concejal de Cultura del Ayuntamiento de Guadalcanal, actuando ésta última como secretaria con voz y sin voto para dar fe de las decisiones del jurado, cuyos nombres se harán públicos en el momento del fallo. Dicho jurado resolverá cuantas incidencias pudieran surgir en el curso de sus deliberaciones, y su fallo, que será inapelable, así como la entrega del premio, tendrán lugar en el mes de julio de 2014.

10. La presentación de los trabajos al II Premio de Poesía “Andrés Mirón” implica la total aceptación de las presentes bases.

Mayor información: E-mail: clotisanchez@guadalcanal.es • Web: Clic aquí

↧

California Dreamers, Book Givers, and Poets

April 24, 2014, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Border-patrolling us. Fabulist fiction contest. Hard SF contest. L.A. latino sci-fi workshops.

≪ Previous: Concursos literarios- ensayo, narrativa, poesía

Melinda Palacio

World Book Givers Emma Trelles and Melinda Palacio

I arrived in California a week ago, amidst the buzz of poetry month in Santa Barbara. April is national poetry month in case you are wondering why your local barista is turning sonnets instead of steaming your cappuccino. The first poetry event I attended was a big ticket team of Billy Collins and Aimee Mann at UCSB's Campbell Hall. The combination of poet and rock star was superb. The two luminaries met at the White House and there was much banter and references to their having met at the President's request.

I don't begrudge them their numerous White House references. I'm sure if I ever found myself reading poetry at Obama's request, I wouldn't let anyone forget my presidential invite. Thanks to my friend Diana, I had a seat in row D with no one in front of me. The parley of poetry and musical performance felt intimate, even though Campbell Hall at UCSB is a large theater. My favorite song that Aimee Mann performed was the last one, written by Harry Nilson, "One Is the Loneliest Number." The song was made famous by Three Dog Night. Aimee Mann's haunting rendition brought out the song's sadness.

Sunday Poets: Susan Chiavelli, Katie Ingram, Sojourner K Rolle, Fran Davis, Steve Beisner, Melinda Palacio,
Toni Lorien, Alison Bailey and Marcia Meier

A few days later, I participated in the 10th annual SantaBarbara Sunday Poets read at the Book Den. The facebook invite looked pretty grim with six people going and five maybes. However, we ended up with a standing room only crowd that snaked to the door. Many of the numerous weekend book browsers stayed for our event. The Book Den is Santa Barbara's oldest bookstore, established in 1902, and Eric Kelley recently celebrated his 35th year as owner. Eric didn't have enough chairs for our poetry fans, but it was wonderful being surrounded by books and people while we read spring poems in honor of poetry month. I love it when poetry elicits such enthusiasm.

SRO Crowd for Sunday Poets at the Book Den

Last Wednesday, April 26, was World Book Night, where people around the globe give away books on Shakespeare's birthday. Poet Emma Trelles signed up to be a book giver and enlisted my help. When I arrived at the bookstore, they had an extra box of poetry books. We stopped people on the street and plied them with a free book of 100 Best-Loved Poems, edited by Phillip Smith, or a novel by Diane Ackerman, The Zookeeper's Wife.

World Book Takers and Giver

Cyclist Ryan was happy to receive free books.

This lady was on her way to the library to return a book.
She couldn't believe we were giving her free books.

Emma is really good with talking to strangers, and talking in general. Her journalism skills are always on. Listen to her interview on the Writer's Cafe; she sort of takes over towards the end.

Emma listening to a lecture on Andre Breton, surrealism and guitars.

When our first possible book receiver approached, I thought we would never complete our mission because Emma proceeded to listen to a lengthy discussion on Breton, surrealism, and one man's fantasy of a guitar using a keyboard. In addition to being a good talker, Emma is a good listener (the sign of a good poet). Listen to her poems on theWriters Cafe. Emma Trelles was the 2010 Andres Montoya Poetry Prize Winner. The 2014 winner is Fresno's David Campos for his collection, Pica.

We sure had a lot of fun giving away books. Of the experience, Emma Trelles said:

"My favorite part of WBN was seeing the delight in people's faces when we put books in their hands. It reminded me of the power of print and of literature. Standing outside in the sunshine and talking about reading was a pretty great way to spend an afternoon."

Upcoming April Events

April 30, UCSB Little Theatre, 4pm

May 2, First Friday Phoenix, 6:30 pm at Obliq Gallery

↧

Border-patrolling us. Fabulist fiction contest. Hard SF contest. L.A. latino sci-fi workshops.

April 25, 2014, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Exploration in Cyclical Trauma: Adelina Anthony Talks About Her Film, "Bruising for Besos"

≪ Previous: California Dreamers, Book Givers, and Poets

Border Patrol Nation

Most U.S. citizens tend to think stopping undocumented workers at the border is a good thing that won't affect them. They should check out Todd Miller's new book about what militarization has done to the Land of the Free. It's entitled Border Patrol Nation: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Homeland Security and here's some facts from it.

"The U.S. borders have long been Constitution-free zones where more or less anything goes, including warrantless searches of various sorts. In the twenty-first century, however, the border itself, north as well as south, has not only been increasingly up-armored, but redefined as a 100-mile-wide strip around the country.

"Our “borders” now cover an expanse in which nearly 200 million Americans, or two-thirds of the U.S. population, live. Included are nine of the 10 largest metropolitan areas. If you live in Florida, Maine, or Michigan, for example, no matter how far inland you may be, you are “on the border.” You can be stopped, interrogated, and searched “on an everyday basis with absolutely no suspicion of wrongdoing.”

Read a review of the book.

See a bigger No Constitution map.

Omnidawn Fabulist Fiction Chapbook Contest

I own a copy of a previous winner, In A Town Called Mundomuerto, and love the magical realist writing of author Randall Silvis. Anyway, the submission period for this contest doesn't begin until August, but this posting will give you speculative fiction writers time to get manuscripts prepared. There is a reading fee.

From the Omnidawnwebsite:

The winner of the annual Omnidawn Fabulist Fiction Chapbook Competition receives a $1,000 prize, publication of their chapbook with full-color cover, 100 copies, and display advertising and publicity.Fabulist Fiction includes magic realism and literary forms of fantasy, science fiction, horror, fable, and myth. Stories can be primarily realistic, with elements of non-realism, or primarily, or entirely non-realistic.

Open to all writers. All stories must be original, in English, and unpublished. 5,000 to 12,000 words, consisting of either one story or multiple stories. Online entries must be received between Aug. 1 and Oct. 22, 2014. Reading fee $18. We expect to publish the winning chapbook in August of 2015.

About Omnidawn: "Since 2001, we publish writing that opens us anew to the myriad ways that language may bring new light, new awareness to us. We began Omnidawn because of our belief that lively, culturally pertinent, emotionally and intellectually engaging literature can be of great value, and we wanted to participate in the dissemination of such work. We believe our society needs small presses so that widely diverse ideas and points-of-view are easily accessible to everyone.”

Click to get reminders and on their mailing list.

Click for all the info and the postal and online submission procedures.

Issues Science Fiction Contest

If you're more into writing "hard" sci-fi, here's a contest with a $1500 honorarium and only requires one-page about what you would write! No reading fee.

"Authors should submit a précis or brief treatment (no more than 250 words) of a science fiction story idea that explores themes in science, technology, and society. Submissions must be received by June 1, 2014.

"Stories should fall into one of the following five theme areas: Big data / artificial intelligence / brain science; Education / jobs / future of the economy; Defense / security / privacy / freedom; Biomedicine / genetics / health / future of the human; Future of scientific research / automation of research & discovery. IST will select up to five semi-finalists for each category. Authors will have 3 months to submit their story, between 2,500 and 5,000 words. Winning stories will be published in IST, and authors awarded a $1,500 honorarium. Read all the details."

Issues in Science and Technology (IST), a quarterly journal that explores the intersections of science, technology, society, and policy. The editors of IST believe science fiction (SF) can help to bring key challenges and dilemmas in science and technology to an influential readership in new and compelling ways. Scientists, engineers, researchers, and policymakers often only see small pieces of an issue. SF writers can imagine entire worlds. By fully thinking through how today’s critical issues will play out, science fiction inspires, cautions, and guides those shaping our future. Throughout 2015, IST will publish one SF story per issue, on topics of broad societal interest.

Denver Museo's children's summer camp

Find out about the camp and how you can help.

Latino Science Fiction Explored

And if you haven't heard yet, I'll be in L.A. next week and hope to meet and talk with everyone who can attend. This is a precedent-setting gathering of 6 Latino sci-fi authors! What could happen? Quién sabe, pero vamos a ver.

The Science Fiction and Technoculture Studies Program at University of California, Riverside will host “A Day of Latino Science Fiction” next Wednesday, April 30, to be held in the Interdisciplinary Symposium Room (INTS 1113). Free and open to the public.

The morning author panel will feature 1. Mario Acevedo, author of the bestselling Felix Gomez detective-vampire series (The Nymphos of Rocky Flats, chosen by Barnes & Noble as one of the best Paranormal Fantasy Novels of the Decade, and finalist in the Colorado Book Awards and the International Latino Book Awards.

2. Science-fiction and cyberpunk novelist Ernesto Hogan (Cortez on Jupiter); the co-authors of Lunar Braceros2125-2148, 3. Rosaura Sánchez and 4. Beatrice Pita. The afternoon panel features writer and director 5. Jesús Treviño (Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Babylon 5 and the book The Fabulous Sinkhole); and Michael Sedano, La BlogaLatino lit blogger; as well as Ph.D. candidates Danny Valencia, Rubén Mendoza and Paris Brown.

6. I'll be there talking about my alternate-world fantasy novel The Closet of Discarded Dreams (and about sci-fi stories) that took honorable mention in the International Latino Book Awards’ Fantasy/Sci-Fi, last year.

Come and find out about getting your spec lit published, the market for Latino sci-fi, the state of Latino spec lit and what the future might hold for our obras. It should be a chingón time, and we hope you come to add your voice and opinions.Check the details, especially about parking.

Es todo, hoy,

RudyG

↧

Exploration in Cyclical Trauma: Adelina Anthony Talks About Her Film, "Bruising for Besos"

April 27, 2014, 12:00 am

≫ Next: Santa Monica Public Library celebrates The Big Read 2014: "Into the Beautiful North: A Novel" by Luis Alberto Urrea

≪ Previous: Border-patrolling us. Fabulist fiction contest. Hard SF contest. L.A. latino sci-fi workshops.

Adelina Anthony (photo by Marisa Becerra)

Yes, La Blogareaders, Adelina Anthony is in the La Bloga house! Award-winning writer, actor, director, producer, Adelina Anthony is a fierce queer-multi-disciplinary-artista presence on stage and film. Her latest project is the highly anticipated film entitled, Bruising for Besos, and she's here to talk about it.

Montes: Saludos, Adelina! So good to have you with us today. It’s been four years (since 2010) when La Bloga writer, Olga Garcia Echeverria interviewed you (click here). In that interview, you were just about to launch your theater solo comedy shows entitled, La Hocicona Series. It turned out to be very successful. Since then, you’ve also appeared in other theater productions, including Cherríe Moraga’s play New Fire—To Put Things Right Again. Describe your journey since 2010. What have the past four years been like for you?

-Graphic Art by Rio Yañez, based on photos by

Marissa Becerra

-Book cover design by Lorenzo Herrera de Lozano

Adelina Anthony: The past four years have been an incredible journey of continued growth, creativity, hard-earned lessons and returning to the grounding of why I do my arte. In November 2010 when I launched the comedic performance triptych of La Hocicona Series, it was the culmination of a manda I had set for myself as an artist who wanted to incorporate some of the Xicana Indigenous tenets I had been exposed to by my maestras at the time, Cherríe Moraga and Celia Herrera Rodriguez. Those tenets include rites, working with one’s ancestors, audience as witness, remembering/memory-making and, ultimately, the practice of one’s artistic work as an offering. The teachings led me to a place where I began to claim the identity of a “sacred-clown,” because it honors both my dramatic and comedic voices, and it points to the main aesthetic of these solo works. La Hocicona Series, although primarily couched in comedy, has very theatrical and dramatic moments, where the audience as witness is made privy to the underbelly of the humor. I could not have known in 2010 that four years later, with the publishing of the works by Lorenzo Herrera y Lozano at Kórima Press, I would be a Lambda Award Literary Finalist in the LGBT Drama category.

In 2011, I actually moved to the Bay Area to work with Moraga and Herrera Rodriguez on their New Firecollaboration. We had come off of collaborating together in a production of Moraga’s play, Digging Up the Dirt, which premiered the Summer of 2010. The culmination of the project resulted in one of the most successful audience runs we could have imagined with over 3,000 community members attending to see the work, which was conceived as ceremony on stage. Aesthetically speaking, it was also very ambitious and was a historical “first” in many aspects.

"Digging Up the Dirt"- Adelina Anthony and Cheryl Umaña (photo by Anna Rodil)

And for audiences who had the “ojos” to see what all of the collaborators were attempting to present, I believe it was very moving. I co-produced, served as assistant director and played the role of Coyote, the spiritual trickster, i.e. a sacred clown. What most people will never know is the amount of sacrifice that went into the project because of the numerous obstacles presented to us along the way. But in the end, I look back at that intense period and I realize it helped crystallize my own artistic journey for the coming years, and returning to my work in the medium of film was a priority. I had made the decision to do so in the Spring of 2010, and in January 2012, I began adapting my solo play, Bruising for Besos,into a screenplay.

In 2004, the first monologues of the solo play had been initially developed in Moraga’s play-writing classes while I was a graduate student at Stanford. At the end of that year my mother died, and this spiritual tectonic shift changed everything in my life. The significance of that work became ever more deeper. By the time I returned to Bruising for Besos, I had already started La Hocicona Serieswhich I had conceived as an offering steeped in the “epic mundane” life of queer Xicanidad. This is how I’ve always maintained a steady artistic and creative life. I am usually developing several projects at once, giving the bulk of my attention and energy to the one that demands priority. After several major workshop readings including one atallgo (A Texas Statewide Queer People of Color Organization) and later at La Peña Cultural Center, eventually, in 2009 I world-premiered Bruising for Besos at the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center with Jon Imparato as my producer/dramaturg and Rose Marcario as my director.

So it seems fitting that I find myself, ten years later, focused on Bruising for Besos as my/our first feature film production because it’s a return to a work initially conceived as an offering to my ancestors, especially my mother. Initially, the solo play had been intended as a series of solo plays, with one being symbolically offered to each of the four sacred directions. Challenges arose and this intention was postponed. But I have learned over and over again, that sometimes the blessing is not in getting what you want, because what will come to pass later is even better than what you could have conceived of. This is how I feel about our film, and I think of returning to that promise I made to my mother during her passing, that I would tell our stories, that her/our life would not be for naught or silenced by her death. She had been asked to carry silence long enough, and I was/am her hociconadaughter who intends to break the silence.

Adelina Anthony as "The Coyote" in New Fire: To Put Things Right Again

Montes: Felicidades on all of these milestones! Our comunidades have certainly benefitted from your work. Now you are moving into the realm of feature filmmaking with Bruising for Besos. How did this come about?

Adelina Anthony: At the end of every year, but more so because the period marks my mother’s passing, I become very reflective and take stock of where I am in life as an artist and human being. At the end of 2011, I realized I had to get back on track with my goal to return to film, and I had known since the premiere of the solo play that it would lend itself to a film. But as someone who works in many genres, you learn to respect what each genre offers and its specific rules. Play-writing is not the same as screenwriting. Plays are immersed in language, and while a screenplay has dialogue, it’s also a highly visual medium. So I knew I had to begin to seriously study screenwriting. In January 2012 I started the adaptation process, and I had applied to the Outfest Screenwriting Lab with the first ten pages. When I was invited to submit the rest of the screenplay, it put a fire under me to finish that first draft. And although I didn’t get selected for the lab in the end, I credit that invitation for propelling me forward. I was invited to participate in Outfest Fusion Access, which is an all day series of industry panels and meetings hosted at NBC. It’s an eye opener and you leave feeling very enthusiastic as a queer person of color.

After this experience, I was inspired to return to my screenplay and do some more revisions to get ready for submission to Film Independent’s Project Involve Program. I had heard of Project Involve over the years, because almost every queer or filmmaker of color I know has gone through the program. It quickly became clear to me and my pareja, Marisa Becerra, that if I intended to make films, I needed to be closer to the opportunities provided in L.A. So we moved back to Southern California. Moreover, beyond just a mere supporter of my work, Marisa became the co-founder/producer with me of AdeRisa Productions in July 2012. We hit the ground running and went straight into pre-production for our first short film, Forgiving Heart, which world-premiered at the Outfest Queer People of Color Film Festival and just had a screening in Mexico City for a Lesbian festival there. We also Executive Produced Ofelia Yánez’s short film, The Good Kind, which has just started to screen on the festival circuit.

Adelina Anthony as "Yoli" in stage version of Bruising for Besos (photo by Allison Moon)

In short the last two years have been a serious study of films, film production, studying the inner workings of indie filmmaking and honing my screenwriting skills with my Project Involve mentor and professional story editor, Ruth Atkinson. Bruising for Besoscomes out of all of these learning experiences, but, primarily because Marisa has provided undeniable support in myriad facets. She creates the space for me to work as an artist, which might have been curtailed after the economic recession. She’s been as adamant about making this feature film. We tried an Indiegogo campaign last year, but it was not successful, but, again, I thank the universe for that setback. It allowed us to re-focus, re-heal (because we had not stopped moving at laborious pace since 2011) and it gave me time to go deeper with my script and do a major overhaul, which I’m thankful to my filmmaker friend Masami Kawai for her feedback on a previous version. And then Ilyse McKimme at Sundance Institute sent an inquiry about the screenplay, which eventually landed me in the 2nd Annual Screenwriters Intensive--and that was an exhilarating experience.

All in all, feeling very blessed and energized about the manifestation of this work.

Montes: Quite a journey to this film! I’m sure La Bloga readers want to know what Bruising for Besos is about.

Adelina Anthony: Our logline states: A charismatic Xicana lesbian seduces an alluring Puerto Rican woman and discovers she’s recreating her tumultuous past.

But what I can tell our X/Chican@ audiences is, that it’s also a work that explores cyclical traumas, as in domestic abuse in nonqueer and queer relationships. The protagonist, Yoli, has to make the metaphorical, spiritual and physical return home. Although she's recreated familia for herself through friends and loved ones, unfortunately, she's also recreated the old family dynamics she learned as a child.

Rosa Barron in the role of Teenage Yoli from Forgiving Heart

I’ve never shied away from taboo or heavy themes, because I know the value in exposing these issues and stories. Plus, I’m always consciously utilizing sacred-clown aesthetics and giving my audiences respite and breath.

Montes: Yes, your comedic timing is brilliant, coming right at a time in the play when we are filled with the tension and then, you bring us laughter! In La Hocicona Series, you played a number of characters that took us on these journeys. Are you doing the same in this film or do you play only one character along with a full cast?

Adelina Anthony: One of the reasons I wanted to move into filmmaking was for the opportunity to create roles for other queer/trans people of color and allies. I am very proud to say that in Bruising for Besos, I only play Yoli, and that the world of the film is peopled by such a diversity and complexity of characters that it will be a first of its kind in many ways. I wrote a major role for one of my best friends, D’Lo, a Tamil Sri-Lankan American Transgender artist. And we just held auditions in L.A. this past March and have cast it with such amazing talent from our communities, that as a director I couldn’t be more excited to work with these actors. The acting alone is going to be riveting, this we promise you.

Montes: Who are some of the other actors you just cast?

Adelina Anthony: We've cast our queer women of color actors such as Natalie Camunas,Lawrencia Dandridge, and Brenda Banda as well as women of color allies like Puerto Rican actor Carolyn Zeller,Asian American comedienne extraordinaire, Kristina Wong, and Xicana actor-singer, Marlene Beltran. There are also a number of other queer/trans people of color in featured cameo appearances including queer ranchera singer, Magaly La Voz de Oro. We're even going to showcase some of our visual artists by having their works appear as part of our production design: young artists like Cynthia Velásquez and Edgar-Arturo Camacho-González and other more established artists we admire.

Montes: We cannot wait! As for your work in theater and film, what do you love about theater life, and how is it different from film? Do you love one more than the other?

Adelina Anthony: I will always be a teatrista. I love the uniqueness of the experience, it’s ephemeral quality, and the kinetic energía that transmits between performer and audience. Film never provides that exchange of energía, but it has its own special prowess and its audience reach is one of them. Even as I have moved into filmmaking, I will always continue to work on the stage, but I will just be more selective about when and why. I started to workshop La Malcriada Series, which is the boi-butch-macha counterpart to La Hocicona Series. So in time, I’m sure my theatrical shenanigans will have me back on that stage where my connection to my comunidades is instantly felt.

Montes: Have you worked in film before?

"Forgiving Heart," film by Adelina Anthony

Adelina Anthony: Yes, primarily as an actor when I was being professionally represented by the Mary Collins Agency in Dallas. Because of my high school drama teacher, Mr. Martín, I had done a couple of stints in background work which exposed me as a teenager to a production set. When I landed in L.A. as a buxom, high femme at the age of 24, bueno, you can imagine what auditions were like--yuck. Thankfully, I was in my queer Chicana skin by then, and I was out and politically vocal, so I realized very quickly that auditioning for the typical beer commercials or walking into a room full of men who gawked at me was not in line with my feminist politics. A year into these kinds of auditions, I surmised very quickly that if I wanted to maintain my own cultural voice and sense of integrity, I had a better chance of doing it through theater, where at the very least, I could self produce if necessary. It was challenging for other reasons, and I had naysayers all along the way, but I have no regrets. Every now and then I would do a cameo or production role for a friend working on a short film.

Montes: Are you the sole writer of the script or are you working with a writing group?

I am the sole writer.

Montes: And are you also the director?

Adelina Anthony: Yes, I am the director. I have a clear vision for this film, and the best collaborators I could wish for, including my producer Marisa and my co-producer, Karla Legaspy. It’s a highly collaborative art form, just like theater.

Montes: And in this collaborative journey, what all goes into the shooting of a film, and is it similar to stage production?

Adelina Anthony: There are a lot of similarities involved in preparing to shoot a film from budgeting, pre-production design meetings, auditions, putting union and nonunion contracts in place, hiring of crew, buying insurance, etc. But in film, I would say the rental of the right camera equipment, finding the ideal locations (because indie films are overwhelmingly shot on location) and figuring out how to properly house and feed your cast/crew, well, as Marisa said, “It’s like planning a wedding every day.”

Scene from Forgiving Heart with Tynae Miller and Rosa Barron (photo by Catalina Ausin)

Montes: For those of us who are not familiar with film, what are some other factors that happen during the filming. For example, with a tight budget, I imagine that everything has to be ready and filmed in a certain number of days, yes? What else?

Adelina Anthony: Yes, film is very reliant on pre-production. And even with the best preparedness, a challenge will present itself on set. They call it Murphy’s Law. And you have to shoot it all within your time frame because usually that’s all your budget will allow. Despite any challenges we will face, as a company, AdeRisa Productions has implemented a work model that cares for our cast and, especially our crew, in a more holistic manner. So we do our best to keep ten hour days, instead of the usual 12-14 hours (or more) on a production set.

Also, unlike theater, one does not shoot the story in the order it unfolds. So you may be shooting the end of the film one day, the beginning the next, and be somewhere in the middle by the end of your shoot. This is because you’re relying on location and actor availability. Personally, I don’t work with story in a purely linear fashion, so the production process sits well with my Xicana sensibilities around time and space. Plus, it really forces you as a director and actor to know your trajectory, to have a clear understanding at each juncture where your character is supposed to be on her journey.

Adelina Anthony as "La Sad Girl" from Las Hociconas (photo by Troy Wise)

Montes: How are you acquiring funding for the film.?

Adelina Anthony: Bueno, as you can imagine, because of the nature of the work, we’re not being funded by any major investor or grant. This is all about grassroots online funding, but, fortunately, this time around we’re going through AIM/Hatchfund gracias to Alma López who introduced me to my Program Officer, Stephany Campos. As an artist, this is the best platform available for so many reasons, from the one-on-one guidance you and your project receive, to the fact that it allows for your donors to make fully tax-deductible contributions (and they still get perks) to our film.

We only need to raise $30,000 to get us into production this July. We just need to shoot the film and worry about the post-production component afterwards. It’s also not uncommon for indie filmmakers to do their films in segments, because of the financial struggles. We know our film will eventually cost us closer to $100,000, but that’s after post-production costs come in. And this is relatively cheap for an indie film, when one considers that Hollywood spends in the hundreds of millions and that indie films can average $250,000 to 2 million. In fact, we spent $125,00 for New Fire, so our budget is cheaper than most major theater productions too.

Montes: Where do you plan to show the film?

Adelina Anthony: EVERYWHERE. But, seriously, we’re making plans now for venues where our ideal audiences exist, and like my theater work, that means thinking outside of the traditional “presentation” box.

Montes: In 2012, Aurora Guerrero came out with “Mosquita y Mari.” It played at Sundance and other Independent festival venues. Is this your plan for “Bruising for Besos”?

Adelina Anthony: We are all huge fans of Aurora, of her team, and of what they accomplished with the beautiful and groundbreaking film that is Mosquita y Mari. I think the film circuit is still a viable and necessary component for indie filmmakers, so we do plan to use the festival circuit. Traditionally, if you want to pick up a distributor for your film, the fest circuit was your best shot. But this is also shifting and the industry has been talking for years now about the major upheaval in distribution models. With the advent of the Internet, there are other options. We are going to stay open to all of the experiences and go with the best option for the film to reach as many of our audiences as possible.

Montes: So, Adelina, La Bloga readers want to know: in 2010 you described yourself as a queer-multi-disciplinary-artista. What are your thoughts on this description four years later?

Adelina Anthony: I do claim that identity, as well as many other progressive and indigenous identified markers. I’m as comfortable with terms like jota, lesbian, two-spirited, Xicana, and interdisciplinary artista. As Bonfíl Batalla states in México Profundo, “Naming oneself is power.” Too many of my ancestors and cultural activists and artists from previous generations sacrificed and agitated for us to walk wholly in our skins. My embodied political identities inform my work and I continue to form these spaces without apology. As an artist, the multi and inter-disciplinary terms are apt because I am always exploring different genres, trying to figure out the best “home” for the work—be it a poem, a short story, a play, or a film.

Montes: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Adelina Anthony: I know that we’ve all been very touched by the initial support from our communities. We’re going to work very hard to give them a film, an offering, that we hope will lead to a lot of necessary dialogue and much needed healing in our familias. We’re honored to be part of this wave of queer/trans people of color filmmakers who have made such incredible films like Pariah,Mosquita y Mari,Circumstance and A Gun Hill Roadto name a few. We’re indebted to our spiritual elder, nancy Chargualaf martin, who continues to hold us in prayer with her Chumash and indigenous circles. In the end, we know this is the only reason we’re making this film, for our stories to be held in community.

Montes: Gracias, Adelina!
Adelina Anthony's La Hocicona Series is available in DVD for educational purposes for university libraries or as one of the gifts when you donate to Bruising for Besos (click here)
Her Lambda Literary Award nominated published book is entitled: Las Hociconas: Three Locas with Big Mouths and Even Bigger Brains(click here)
Check out her website as well for more information on Bruising for Besos: http://www.adelinaanthony.com/

Contribute to Bruising for Besos with a Tax-Deductible Donation (plus perks) by May 8, 2014.
www.bruisingforbesos.com
www.adelinaanthony.com
www.aderisaproductions.com

↧

Santa Monica Public Library celebrates The Big Read 2014: "Into the Beautiful North: A Novel" by Luis Alberto Urrea

April 27, 2014, 11:01 pm

≫ Next: Ruben Salazar Mementos. Water&Power. Sci-fi Latinos. Anaya Conference

≪ Previous: Exploration in Cyclical Trauma: Adelina Anthony Talks About Her Film, "Bruising for Besos"

The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment.

Santa Monica Public Library is one of 77 not-for-profit organizations to receive a grant to host a Big Read project in 2013/2014. This year, the library has chosen Luis Alberto Urrea’s novel, Into the Beautiful North (Little, Brown), which tells the story of nineteen-year-oldNayeli, who lives in Tres Camarones, a Mexican town nearly empty of men, including Nayeli's father, who went north to the U.S. to seek work. Inspired by the classic film, The Magnificent Seven, Nayeli and her three closest friends are commissioned by the new village president, Nayeli’s Aunt Irma, to travel north into the U.S. to bring back men to protect their town from encroaching drug-dealers. In this classic quest tale, Urrea uses humor and compassion to address issues of cultural differences and to depict the many borders in life that both divide and connect.

For a complete list of Big Read events, visit the Santa Monica Public Library’s website.

I am delighted that tomorrow night, I will help celebrate Into the Beautiful North by participating in a panel discussion at the Santa Monica Public Library. Here are the specifics:

WHEN: Tuesday, April 29

TIME: 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: Main Library, Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium, 601 Santa Monica Boulevard

WHAT:Marissa Lopez, author of Chicano Nations, moderates this panel discussion on the history of Latino literature, as well as its contemporary incarnations. Learn about The Big Read author Luis Alberto Urrea’s place in the canon of fiction set in Mexico. Panelists include Daniel Olivas, author of seven books including The Book of Want; Reyna Grande, novelist, memoirist, and author of The Distance Between Us; and Veronica Reyes, Chicana feminist jota poet and author of Chopper! Chopper! Poetry from Bordered Lives.

The panelists, clockwise from top left:
Marissa Lopez, Reyna Grande, Veronica Reyes
and Daniel Olivas.

Come enjoy the fun!

↧

Ruben Salazar Mementos. Water&Power. Sci-fi Latinos. Anaya Conference

April 28, 2014, 11:01 pm

≫ Next: Feliz Día del Niño/ Happy Children's Day

≪ Previous: Santa Monica Public Library celebrates The Big Read 2014: "Into the Beautiful North: A Novel" by Luis Alberto Urrea

The Papers That He Kept

Michael Sedano

Wednesday morning select television viewers will wake with knowledge and rekindled interest in Ruben Salazar’s role in U.S. history. That’s the morning after tonight’s PBS showcase of “Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle—A Voces Special Presentation.”

PBS promises the film “removes Salazar from the glare of myth and martyrdom and offers a clear-eyed look at the man and his times. The film, produced and directed by Phillip Rodriguez, includes interviews with Salazar’s friends, colleagues and family members, and Salazar’s own words culled from personal writings” that included a private journal."

USC’s Boeckmann Center for Iberian & Latin American Studies holds Salazar’s personal papers. Doheny Memorial Library catalogs the trove as Correspondence,  Newspapers,  Photographs, Realia.

Researchers can cull through the literary and printed ephemera that a man like Ruben Salazar chooses to accumulate, stuff important for a reason--that moment, a smile, a reverie.

The papers tell their own Salazar documentary. There’s the newspaperman’s string book; of hundreds of bylines he keeps a select few, by himself, by other writers.

He keeps his parents’ passports, his high school diploma, a warm letter from Otis Chandler. The family includes something Ruben Salazar never saw, a surveillance frame of the target walking along Whittier Blvd. on August 29, 1970 toward the Silver Dollar Cafe.

Salazar was one of three chicanos killed during a day of police rioting (Lyn Ward and Angel Diaz died in separate incidents). Until that day, Ruben Salazar served as a one-man information resource about chicanos in the sixties. He informed a cross-section of Angelenos while empowering his subject matter.

Salazar introduced chicanos to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, authoring Stranger in One’s Land.

As a Los Angeles Times reporter, Salazar's beat revolved around the region’s growing raza presence.

When Salazar took over the television news operation for KMEX, Salazar brought informed journalism to the region’s millions of Spanish-speakers.

Some think encouraging the movimiento through fair reporting, and riling up the Mexicans with unbiased news, made Ruben Salazar dangerous. And that got him killed.

Aztlán and Viet Nam:
Chicano and Chicana Experiences of the War.
Ed. George Mariscal pp199-200

That "US" in front of the serial number means Draftee. Here 23-year old Ruben Salazar demonstrates superior proficiency in military correspondence over a 35 hour course he completed on December 21, 1951. Pre-information age, every form was typed by hand. The Army churned out so many Military Correspondence students the Certificate is torn from a perforated roll just large enough to contain the words.

The typist—likely Salazar himself—makes a typo, Supeiior, that he overstrikes with an “r.” He's a bit sloppy with his shift key causing some capital letters to jump up off the baseline. Good enough for government work.

Barbara Robinson, who manages the Boeckmann collections, leafs through a binder. The Salazar collection isn’t large, a few lineal feet of shelf space in the vast archives of USC’s Doheny Memorial Library. For me, there’s sweet coincidence—not an irony—Doheny library lies only a few miles south of the places where Salazar spent much of his work life, the Times and KMEX.

A handful of cardboard boxes, some clear plastic bins, a Samsonite briefcase. This is not the stuff generally found in the public records of Salazar’s accomplishments and memorials. These are Ruben Salazar’s personal papers, the mementoes he kept for himself, his private persona. Here’s his stringbook, his birth certificate, his Army MOS qualification. His parents’ Mexican passports. His high school diploma from El Paso High, jumbled together, each document tells its own story.

El Paso High School diploma, January 1946. His birth registry places that event in Juarez. He enrolls in El Paso public schools. He keeps an elementary school achievement, and his diplomas.

Felix Gutíerrez and Barbara Robinson inspect the Mexican passorts in Salazar's parents names. Gutíerrez, a professor at USC, worked with Los Salazar to bring the papers to the Boeckmann Center.

Doheny Library's ever-growing Chicana Chicano and Latin American Literature collection offers formidable resources for scholarly researchers. Robinson's stewardship of the Boeckmann collection ensures solid holdings of Chicana Chicano titles, as well as a rich store of Spanish language resources.

Samsonite attaché cases were a useful fashion rage in the late 1960s. Hard shell case and roomy insides protected files, loose change, flat materials. Salazar's was empty.

Salazar's career was reaching apogee in 1970, as this Newsweek magazine article, "Chicano Columnist," indicates. The caption below the foto reads Shake the Establishment, a reputation Salazar earned not as a campaigner but as a working journalist who reported what he saw.

Everyday ephemera includes notes, postcards, business cards, manila envelopes with folded anonymous papers the journalist and private man kept with him.

One file folder holds a b&w glossy with Salazar, Otis Chandler, and Marilyn Brant, along with a letter from Otis. There's also a snapshot portrait of Salazar at his typewriter.

In his holiday letter, publisher Otis Chandler congratulates employee Salazar on a string of successes, including returning from Saigon.

Chandler probably enclosed a check, given the publisher's bonhomie and allusion to Salazar's importance to the paper. The postscript alludes to something Salazar published that drew some judge's ire. Just reporting what's there to report, the p.s. affirms, "Hell, all you did was cut him up beautifully!"

Included in the documents Salazar kept are a receipt for registry of his birth in Juarez, his Army MOS certificate, a draft of one of his final bylined columns, a 1939 elementary school certification for reading 20 books, a portrait of teenager Ruben Salazar.

The published version of this draft ran in the Times on July 17, 1970. A month later, Salazar will become a hero malgre lui.

Gutíerrez touches Salazar's figure. In the police surveillance photo, Salazar walks from Laguna Park to the Silver Dollar Cafe.

Water&Power Opens May 2

The fourth chicanarte film of 2014 debuts in selected AMC theaters May 2, Richard Montoya's screen adaptation of his taut stage drama Water&Power.

Water&Power comes in the wake of three razacentric offerings, Cesar Chavez, Cesar's Last Fast, and the Ruben Salazar documentary PBS aired last night.

Montoya's project comes with high hopes of setting attendance records for an indie project. Based on the theatrical trailer below, Montoya's noir drama comes with highly stylized cinematography and directorial vision that should be a visual and narrative delight.

La Bloga looks forward to hearing your views, and those of your friends, on Water&Power. Why not Organize a big group of friends to celebrate Cinco de Mayo weekend by taking in dinner and a movie?

Mail bag
UC Riverside Hosts Latinos in Sci-Fi Wednesday April 30.

Science fiction and speculative fiction writers and readers will convene in room INTS 1113 on the UCRiverside campus for a 10 a.m. panel featuring trailblazing writers of speculative and science fiction.

Following lunch and informal discussion, a short film screening and panel titled “Latinos in Hollywood and Beyond” will take place, featuring Jesús Treviño, writer and director of “Star Trek: Voyager,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “SeaQuest DSV,” and “Babylon 5”; Michael Sedano, La Bloga Latino literature blogger; and UCR Ph.D. candidates Danny Valencia, Rubén Mendoza and Paris Brown, who will address the topics of Latino science fiction, SF as pedagogy in Latino communities, and Mexican dystopias and religion, respectively.

The all day event enjoys sponsorship from Department of English CHASS Tomás Rivera Chair Eaton Collection, UCR Libraries Department of Comparative Literature Department of Media and Cultural Studies Mellon Science Fiction Group, Center for Ideas and Society.

The event is open to the public and is free, other than campus parking fees, and meals.

The Science Fiction and Technoculture Studies (SFTS) program at UC Riverside began in 2007 when College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Studies Dean Stephen Cullenberg decided that the college should have an academic unit to complement the strength of the Eaton Science Fiction Collection in the UCR Libraries, Vint said.

Drawing on faculty from across the college, the SFTS program enables students to develop a critical understanding of the cultures of science and their dialectical exchanges with contemporary popular culture. The program currently offers a designated emphasis at the Ph.D. level and soon will offer an undergraduate minor. The curriculum encompasses courses in the social study of science and medicine, the history of technology, creative expression addressing relevant themes, cultural analysis of print and media texts dealing with science and technology, and the cultural differences in technology, including non-western scientific practices.

Mail bag
Cal State LA Hosts Anaya Conference Friday and Saturday May 2 and 3

On Friday and Saturday, May 2-3, Cal State L.A. will host a free scholarly and literary forum focusing on well-known Chicano writer Rudolfo Anaya and his literary work, which spans more than 40 years. Anaya belongs to the first generation of Chicano writers who pioneered and charted one of the most vigorous and theoretically-grounded ethnic literatures in the United States.

Featuring scholars representing Asia, Germany, Mexico and the United States, the 2014 Conference on Rudolfo Anaya: Tradition, Modernity, and the Literatures of the U.S. Southwest includes two plenary sessions on topics ranging from Anaya's novels to Mesoamerica and the U.S. Southwest.

"This conference proposes a re-examination of Anaya's work according to the several phases of his writing, from the early New Mexico trilogy that began with Bless Me, Ultima (1972), to his most recent novels, such as Randy López Goes Home (2011), and The Old Man's Love Story (2013)," explained Professor Roberto Cantú, who is the conference organizer.

The conference opens on Friday, May 2, at 8:30 a.m. with hospitality coffee and pastry, followed by a powerful day of lecture and discussion by a cast of international scholars. Saturday's events likewise commence at 8:30.

Rudolfo Anaya donates two cases to the Librotraficantes who smuggled the books
into Arizona, where Bless Me, Ultima was banned and removed from classrooms

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Feliz Día del Niño/ Happy Children's Day

April 29, 2014, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Chicanonautica: California, Arizona, and the Chicano/Latino Future

≪ Previous: Ruben Salazar Mementos. Water&Power. Sci-fi Latinos. Anaya Conference

Celebrate El día de los niños / El día de los libros
with 8 diverse live author + illustrator readings

To sign out visit

https://www.qlovi.com/qa

April 30th Lineup

Carmen Tafolla and

* * *

BOOK FIESTA

Review by Ariadna Sánchez

¡Estas son las mañanitas

Que cantaba el Rey David

a todas las niñas y niños

Aquí en La Bloga te

Celebramos a ti!

In Many Latin American countries, but specifically Mexico, people celebrate El Día del Niño on April 30^th (The day of the Child). Fun activities are held to honor the youngest members of the Mexican society since early morning until the moon appears with her bright light over the starry sky.

Children around the world deserve the very best education, opportunities, and services in order to develop their full potential. By linking books to El Día del Niño celebration, the children of México and other parts of the world are engaged with literacy while having fun.

Book Fiesta! is a bilingual picture book written by award-winning author Pat Mora and majestically illustrated by Rafael López. Pat Mora’s exquisite text invites families to read books and enjoy its benefits while riding aboard a train, floating in a hot-air balloon or sailing with a whale. Reading is a magical journey towards success! Mora is the founder of the family literacy initiative El día de los niños/ El día de los libros; Children’s Day/ Book Day, now housed by the American Library Association (ALA).

Book Fiesta! brings families together to embrace friendship, culture and literature. Reading one book at a time creates a strong community of readers.

¡Felicidades Niñas y Niños!

↧

Chicanonautica: California, Arizona, and the Chicano/Latino Future

April 30, 2014, 11:01 pm

≫ Next: Elena Poniatowska

≪ Previous: Feliz Día del Niño/ Happy Children's Day

by Ernest Hogan

Time warping here: As you read this, the trip to California for UC Riverside’s Science Fiction and Technoculture Studies Program’s A Day of Latino Science Fiction will be over, and I’ll be back home in Arizona. As I write this, all that’s in the future, so I can have something to post in advance, while I’m still over there. Ah, the miracles of modern technology!

I’ll do my usual travel thing of carrying around a little notebook/sketchbook and jotting and sketching what I discover, so the next Chicanonautica will be all about that.

Meanwhile, I’m assembling notes on what I should say about Latino Science Fiction, and thinking about the impending trip, and what it means to visit California in the springtime of 2014 A.D.

This is because it finally happened, California now has a Latino Majority. Or is it Hispanic? Brown?

The labels are a big controversy that has to be explained over and over: I use the term Chicano to describe myself because it lets the world know where in geography and history I come from. Chicano is one of the many subsets of Hispanic, which is a subset of Latino. Latino is from the term Latin America, that was coined by the French when they envisioned their empire flourishing in this hemisphere with a Francophone elite. When we become Latino we must include the Portuguese-speaking Brazilians and the French-speaking Haitians and Québécois.

The appealing thing about Latino is that its a hemispheric majority.

(The other hemisphere being divided into Asian and African sectors.)

Yeah, I know there are some who prefer the Mexica label, wanting to reject the influence of the Spanish language and empire on our heritage, uniting all the peoples of the Americas as natives, but I’ve been to Mexico. I’ve heard descendants of the Zapotecs and the Maya say that they don’t like being lumped in with the Mexica/Aztecs. As one said, “The Aztecs were the Nazis of Mexico.”

And ask some Navajos or Hopis who invented the taco.

I’d rather take the high ground. As in La Raza Cosmica.

The media seems to be playing down the second coming of California Latina. We are reminded that Latinos have never been big players in politics, either as voters or politicians. While visiting my family in California during past elections, I was amazed that how most of the people I see on the streets are brown, while the candidates tend to predominately white. The Republicans are scared of us, and the Democrats tend to act like they won us in a crap game. And I admit, I see politicians as aliens, and deal with them using lessons I learned from science fiction.

But the tide, and the culture -- or should I say La Cultura -- is turning, changing.

I expect to see the future on this California trip. The future of the Latino hemisphere, and of Arizona.

Despite the general impression, and the outback Nazi towns, Arizona is not a redneck utopia with Sheriff Joe rounding up all the “Mexicans” and putting them into camps. In the west side of the Metro Phoenix Area where I live, Latinos, African Americans, and immigrants from Africa are starting to outnumber the Anglos. It’s starting to look and feel like Latin America around here.

This is what fuels the political firestorms over Arizona, but the trend shows no sign of petering out.

So, like a good Chicanonaut, I’m getting ready for this expedition, while on the streets around me more people are talking to themselves, and people come into the library asking for advice on how to start their own countries, apply for work with the CIA, or are just typing long, stream-of-consciousness reports on the Department of Homeland security’s website. And in my backyard, a dead lizard is sprawled just outside my back door, undergoing the slow process of natural mummification.

Ernest Hogan is the author of Brainpan Fallout and somehow the Father of Chicano Science Fiction.

↧

Elena Poniatowska

May 1, 2014, 11:01 pm

≫ Next: A Day of Latino Science Fiction - thoughts & info

≪ Previous: Chicanonautica: California, Arizona, and the Chicano/Latino Future

Elena Poniatowska

The Miguel de Cervantes Pri ze ( Premio de Literatura en Lengua Castellana Miguel de Cervantes), established in 1976, is awarded annually to honor the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. The prize is highly regarded, often referred to as the Noble Prize for Spanish language literature. The candidates are proposed by the Association of Spanish Language Academies, and the prize is awarded by the Ministry of Culture of Spain. The winner receives a monetary award of 125,000 euros, making it one of the richest literary prizes in the world.

Past winners include Jorge Luis Borges, Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, and Mario Vargas Llosa. The 2013 winner (announced April, 2014) is the Mexican writerElena Poniatowska, only the fourth woman to win the prize.

During the award ceremony (held each year on the traditional commemoration of Cervantes' death, April 23), Spain's King Juan Carlos said Poniatowska has always had a commitment to humanity, especially women, giving "a voice to the disadvantaged."

The Spanish monarch delivered his address at the University of Alcala de Henares. He added that the prize to the 81-year-old writer "is a tribute to all the people who, like the honoree herself, have paved the way for achieving the promise of a better future."

"Humanity is the center of gravity of the works of Elena Poniatowska. The need to give a voice to the disadvantaged, to bring to light the contradictions of progress, to denounce social discrimination and all kinds of injustice, make up the spirit of her literary production," King Juan Carlos said.

"Elena Poniatowska helps women elevate themselves with their own voice and find roles that they are entitled to by rights," the King concluded.

Hector Tobarin the Los Angeles Times reported:

Throughout her life Poniatowska penned works of journalism that focused on the struggles of the poor, and on the activists who resisted the power of the one-party government that dominated Mexican life for much of the 20th century.

Reporters in Mexico today are still living in “difficult and terrible situations, because Mexico is the most dangerous country in the world to be a journalist,” she said.

Poniatowska herself received threats in 1971, when she released her book about the Tlatelolco massacre (the book is available in English as Massacre in Mexico). It was the first account to challenge the official version of events that night, and implicated army troops in the killing. Her Mexico City publisher, an exile from Spain’s right-wing dictatorship, received many threats.

“They told him they were going to burn down his office,” Poniatowska told El Pais. “He answered: ‘Look, I was in the Spanish Civil War. I know what war is, and this book will be published.’ Then they spread the rumor that the army was going to seize his business, but it was just propaganda. The whole world ran out to buy the book. Four editions were printed in one month. It was crazy.”

“This is an opening for many women, because there are many more women who deserved this more than I did,” Poniatowska said in a Mexico City news conference before leaving for Madrid.

In her acceptance speech, the author referred to Miguel de Cervantes' most famous novel, Don Quixote, and its windmill-fighting main character.

"I'm a writer who can't talk of windmills because they don't exist anymore, so I speak about those humble wanderers who with their pack, their pick and spade make their own luck and trust in an impulsive writer to recall what they have told her."

As further proof of Poniatowska's universal respect, I offer the comments of two of my fellow bloggers who are great admirer's of Poniatowska:

Em Sedano: [Elena Poniatowska is] one of the greater American writers. I heard her read from La Piel del Cielo at the Long Beach Latino museum. Place was packed with Spanish-speakers for the Spanish language presentation. For English-only readers I recommend Here's to you, Jesusa! as a companion piece to Tinisima.

Xánath Caraza: La literatura de Elena Poniatowska ha causado gran impacto en mi formación como escritora. Su estilo es accesible y, muchas veces, se desplaza entre la ficción e historia, reflexionando constantemente sobre la sociedad mexicana, la evalúa y nos cuenta sobre las rupturas dentro de ésta. La primera vez que la leí fue a través de su libro La noche de Tlatelolco: testimonios de historia oral. El impacto que causó en mí sigue vigente, fue como si a través de sus líneas me hubieran echado un cubetazo de agua fría entre sonido de balas y helicópteros sobrevolando los edificios de la Ciudad de México. El libro trata de la represión del movimiento estudiantil de 1968 en México y específicamente del 2 de octubre de ese año cuando los estudiantes en la Plaza de las Tres Culturas en Tlatelolco fueron emboscados. Muchos de estos estudiantes se consideraron desaparecidos, además de los asesinados en medio de confusión, que hasta ahora, nunca ha sido plenamente clarificada. Uno de los estudiantes desaparecidos era mi tío, que un año más tarde fue encontrado en la prisión de Lecumberri, junto con otros líderes estudiantiles. Mi tío, una vez que salió de Lecumberri, se mudó de la Ciudad de México y nunca más volvió a hablar del asunto. Los que me contaron de esto fueron mis padres, quienes también fueron a la protesta desde la ciudad de Xalapa. Me contaron que tuvieron que caminar muchas cuadras para poder llegar a la Plaza de las Tres Culturas. Todavía faltando cierta distancia para llegar, empezaron a escuchar los helicópteros y disparos. Luego vieron una estampida de gente que corría hacia ellos, tratando de huir, en medio de un caos total, ropa ensangrentada en el piso y zapatos esparcidos por todos lados. Cuando, años más tarde, tuve en mis manos La noche de Tlatelolco, al hojear el libro, recuerdo, haber oído los helicópteros y a la gente gritar en ese 2 de octubre de 1968. He procurado leer a Elena Poniatowska toda mi vida, para mí es un ejemplo a seguir. Como escritora es altamente productiva. Las voces en sus novelas son tridimensionales y se vuelven de carne y hueso en cada una de sus líneas. Pudiera seguir hablando de ella por largo rato pero eso será para otra ocasión. Qué gusto que haya recibido tan importante premio literario, el Premio Cervantes 2013. ¡Enhorabuena, Elena Poniawtoska!

Photo by Xánath Caraza

It has been reported that the author will donate her prize money to a Mexican foundation aimed at promoting culture in her homeland.

____________________________________________________________________________

Review of Tinisima

Elena Poniatowska has written more than forty books in a variety of formats and genres. Probably her best-known work is the nonfiction investigative book, La noche de Tlatelolco (Massacre in Mexico) (1971), about the 1968 government repression of student protestors in Mexico City. She also wrote about the devastating 1985 Mexico City earthquake, Nada nadie. Las voces del temblor (Nothing No one: The Voices of the Earthquake) (1988.) In each of these books she used eyewitness accounts that she obtained herself by interviewing survivors, prisoners, victims and others who were directly impacted by the events.

Her fiction includes her first novel, Lilus Kikus (1954), a coming-of-age story about Mexican women before feminism. It centers on a young girl who is molded by society to become an obedient bride. In Hasta no verte Jesús mío (Here's to You, Jesusa!)(1969), a book labelled as "remarkable" by the New York Times, Poniatowska brilliantly tells the story of the "silent world of an illiterate campesina."

Tinisima is historical fiction based on the life of Tina Modotti -- artist's model, actor, world-class photographer, bohemian, revolutionary, and lover of some of the world's most famous men such as Edward Weston and Diego Rivera. She also was framed for the assassination of the charismatic Cuban revolutionary, Julio Antonio Mella, one of her many other lovers, spied throughout Europe for Stalin's Comintern, and suffered immensely during the Spanish Civil War, the conflict that finally broke her. During the twenties she was admired and loved throughout Mexico (the people affectionately referred to her as Tinísima) because of her sympathetic photographs that graphically and poetically depicted the plight of the poor and working people of her adopted country (she was born in Italy in 1896.) In the thirties she gave up photography but lived an exciting and dangerous life as a Communist operative in the cause of the revolution. She volunteered in Spain as a nurse and in other capacities during that country's tumultuous civil war. When she died in 1942 of heart failure, in Mexico, she was practically unknown, withdrawn and depressed.

Her story encompasses major events of the Twentieth Century and her life is filled with themes that are relevant today -- feminism, leftist sectarianism and male chauvinism, the betrayal of idealism, art vs. political art, etc. -- but, more importantly, her life is a testament to the power of the individual who sees wrong and wants to make it right, and then pursues that goal as her life's work.

Poniatowska researched this book for ten years. She dug into all the sources available to her at the time including several biographies. She also interviewed numerous people who were on the scene with Modotti including her last lover, and fellow spy, Vittorio Vidali. The author traveled to Italy to talk directly with Vidali. The interview lasted a week and resulted in more than 350 pages of questions and answers.

Based on all that research, in lesser hands the book could have ended up as a turgid academic tome. But Poniatowska's talent combined with the inherent richness of Modotti's life produced a marvelous read. The book is written in a straightforward, journalistic style (Poniatowska started as a reporter) that never loses its balance. Through the use of Modotti's letters and official references such as court transcripts, the reader is inserted in the middle of the historical events, but the intimate observations from Tina herself, as interpreted by the author, add texture and subjective flavor. Written in the present tense, for the most part, the book engages the reader at the most personal level. Without speaking directly to Modotti, this is as close as we are going to get to knowing what was on her mind, her motivations, fears, triumphs and disasters.

Poniatowska originally published Tinisima in 1992. I read the excellent trade paperback edition published by the University of New Mexico Press in 2006. One feature I especially liked about the book's layout is that each chapter begins with a photograph taken by Modotti or Weston, or that is relevant to the story such as a news shot of policemen questioning Modotti. The translation is by Katherine Silver.

Fine examples of Modotti's photography can be seen on the Museum of Modern Art'swebsite.

Later.

↧

A Day of Latino Science Fiction - thoughts & info

May 2, 2014, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: I Give You América Tropical

≪ Previous: Elena Poniatowska

Wednesday this week, I joined other Latino writers for the workshop sponsored by Science Fiction and Technoculture Studies Program at Univ. of California, Riverside, organized and hosted by Sherryl Vint, Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies. Appended are the 2. La Bloga Spec Lit Directory, and 3. links I promised to post. [photos by Michael Sedano]

Prof. Sherryl Vint

1. The workshops were great, a great hostess and audience for the event. Being there with Mario Acevedo, Ernesto Hogan, Rosaura Sanchez, Beatríce Pita, Jesús Treviño and La Bloga's Michael Sedano was uplifting. What immediately follows are my notes, only some of which I shared there:

Latinos have had to follow Anglo-Americans; they kept invading our lands, our Aztlán and our islands. That's their history and why we had to adopt and follow the ladder of the American Dream, even when forced to assume the role of Boogie Man. As U.S. society "allowed" Latinos to enter, we worked our way up, saving money, buying homes, sending kids to college, becoming professionals, established or famous. Our relatives the immigrants do the same, getting a credit card, a home, buying a big black truck, etc.

As our gente's educational level rose and Latino spec writers emerged. We weren't uneducated before; the problem was the literary establishment's English-only prejudice about accepting Spanish. Getting past the East Coast/White Boy publishing curtain, latinos' SF works were/are being published, winning awards as best sellers, even making their way into movies; no Nobel Prize winners, yet. In the SF Hugo Awards for Best Professional Artist, Daniel Dos Santos and John Picacio were nominated this year and last year, with Picacio taking it in 2013.

However, latinos haven't always followed the exact path of Anglo writers, and this speaks to why we may not need to and maybe shouldn't follow in their footsteps.

Anglo sci-fi lit arose in the 1930s with John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Damon Knight, Frederik Pohl, Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury. They called it the Golden Age of science fiction--golden as in blond-haired--with stories centered on scientific achievement and progress, like at the first World Science Fiction Convention held in NY in 1939.

5 of the 6 Latin@ authors

My father grew up in those times and with that technological awareness; he read SF pulps every day. He never became a Rudy Rucker mathematician or David Brin scientist and never wrote SF. He rose as he could, up to supervisor of military jet maintenance, a prestigious position for a tejano in the 1950s. But, as a Mexican, he was tracked into Tech High School, otherwise he might have graduated from college and written SF, and I could've pimped off his fame.

Decades later, the "forward-thinking" SF establishment opened its white-man's club to women and then, people of color. The rear, kitchen door was always open, but now the front door is ajar. Now that Latinos have a foot in the door so they can't close it on us, what directions will we take or even create?

In a recent interview, YA novelist Matt de la Peña asked, "Where's the African-American Harry Potter or the Mexican Katniss?" Elsewhere, author Armando Rendón asked where are the "guidelines appropriate to writing aimed at Latino children, created by Latino literati who understand their needs?"And a member of our better, mestizo half, Sherman Alexie, said, "I want to see more brown kids as characters!"Such statements made me begin to wonder if there are different paths Latino SF could take.

We know Latino youth need Latino-authored stories about Latino heroes and heroines. If you need backup to convince your principal, school board or politicians, just check the recent and ongoing #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign.

Focusing on mainstream, YA sci-fi (and fantasy), there are five, frequent themes: Good vs Evil, Love Triangles, Paranormal Beings, Dystopian futures and the Superhero. What perspectives do Latinos bring to these themes? I'll skip the struggle of good vs. evil that could be the topic of a whole conference. I'll also skip Twilight's love triangles of two hunky boys competing for one hot girl because I was never the former nor did I get the latter.

Ernesto Hogan & Mario Acevedo

#3. Paranormal beings, like aliens, vampires, werewolves, mermaids, zombies, shape-shifters, fairies. Latinos bring indigenous Taíno zemí spirits and the huracán god, and La Llorona and El Cucui from Mexican heritage. But we didn't stop there, even as Anglo SF writers appropriated our monstruos. Mario Acevedo gave us a Chicano vet bitten by an Iraqi vampire. Ernesto Hogan gave us sentient, gaseous life-forms on Jupiter. Magical realism regularly emerges from the latino heritages.

Theme #4 in YA SF- Dystopia, which includes futuristic, dismal settings where teens battle tremendous odds, and sometimes, adults, in order to save humanity. What I'd like to see from Latinos is more about ourdystopias. A future where there's no electricity, no lights or power, no gas for cars or food on store shelves? Hey, Latinos (and all the poor) have been living that dystopia before Anglo SF writers even knew how to misspell the word.

What about portraying the barrios, when mamá can't pay the utilities because she only has a lowly typist job. Zombies stomping all around in the future? Try making it to the baño in the middle of the night when the rats are playing all over the sink, without crunching the cucarachas that're running all over the floors! You want hunger games? How 'bout your familia doesn't qualify for food stamps, and the only things in the cupboard is cans of lima beans and garbanzos. I don't think Latinos have even begun to exhaust the contemporarydystopias we could write for mainstream U.S. readers.

I believe theme #5 is the biggest challenge--and opportunity--for Latino SF writers. The lone hero on a quest to save the world or to defeat the forces of evil.

Only a part of the Riverside audience

To take just one old white-guy SF, R.Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, the character Michael Smith was raised by Martians to have psychic powers and superior intelligence and battles evil, church forces and starts a new religion that will remake and save human, gringo society. In another of my favorite readings, The Foundation Trilogy, Hari Seldon develops the statistical math to save the intergalactic empire but he's outflanked a human mutant named The Mule, who's even more gifted and powerful.

Catniss in Hunger Games (2008) or Frodo in Lord of the Rings (mid 50s) are slightly different. These heroes need allies because they are not superhuman enough to accomplish their deeds, alone. They need help, they need to gain or win friends for that. They're like today's kids. Actually, they're also like my 30-year-old kids when they were growing up with friends of other colors--white, Asian and multi-ethnic.

So what can Latinos bring to this theme? In Afro-6, maybe the first Chicano SF novel, blacks form a military alliance with Latinos of NYC, the Boricuas. Think on that for a second. The first latino SF book. Wasn't just about Latinos. It was not about a Latino Robin sidekick for an ethnic Batman vato--it was about two ethnic groups, communities uniting, about black and brown solidarity.

In another examples, Jesus Treviño's screenwork includes Ed Olmos in Battlestar Galactica--as the admiral, not a drug lord. Treviño also wrote for the multinational cast of Star Trek.

Afro-6didn't come out of the civil rights struggles; it pre-dated them. However, ethnic mixing is not surprising for NYC. Remember, the book Afro-6 came out 50 years ago. Realize how many decades it took the old white-guy SF writers to have characters, peoples cross that line. Some still never leave their fictionally colorless Gringolandia where many characters are still college-educated scientists. So, what different routes have Latinos taken?

As in all Latino lit, our SF includes the successful, middle-class Hispanics. But a lot of it doesn't. Looking at today's panelists, The Techosand Migros in Lunar Braceros were the homeless and unemployed; Mario Acevedo's Felix Gomez character and my protagonist didn't graduate from college; Ernesto Hogan's character Pablo Cortez, a self-educated dropout, probably spent most of high school in detention or suspended. And Jesus Treviño's characters in The Fabulous Sinkhole live in a poor, border town colonia. Qué. Curioso. Somos. How different the Latino SF protagonists--no?

Jesús Treviño on media panel

The indio Sherman Alexie also said, "With YA, you can make real, significant, social change." In general, the same is possible with sci-fi and spec lit. Latino SF is politically and socially more progressive because of our shared histories dominated by U.S. Manifest Destiny, oppression and exclusion. Again, looking to the panelists' novels, this is developed in Lunar Braceros to a great degree. Cortez on Jupiter is about a Chicano artist dealing with an unbelieving, white establishment. The Chicano protagonist of Nymphos of Rocky Flats doesn't just get screwed over like so many latino Iraqi War vets, he returns home vampire-bitten! And my hero in The Closet of Discarded Dreams has one goal--to get out of a mad, consumer-goods-worshipping world where americanos' dreams are his nightmares.

But speaking about the lone hero in SF, in Afro-6, Lunar Braceros and in my novel, there's something else--united action, popular uprisings, mass movements like those of the 60s and 70s. The last Hunger Games novel has rebellion and urban guerilla warfare and the defeating of the establishment, much like Afro-6. But that's still an old, white-guy SF story. It's not new.

I'll pimp my novel to get to a new theme different from the lone hero. Not to do a spoiler, in the book, the hero is only part of a mass movement. That movement is spontaneously organized, works by democratic consensus and volunteer brigades. They don't have Twitter or Facebook, but they use a crowd-sourced Grapevine to organize themselves. The multinational population divides up based on their skills and abilities. Their efforts succeed in helping stall the forces of evil long enough for others to realize how my hero plugs into their struggle. If the book had been published when I finished it, I could have taken credit for predicting the Occupy Movement.

I don't think Latino SF writers have tapped into our roots of communal action enough yet and there's reasons we should. From our indio roots, come many traditions of councils of elders, some matrilineal, where it wasn't just one, big warrior who saved his people. Also, all latinidad have familial, even clan, traditions where mass action helps everyone survive (not to romanticize us as perfect). From the annual communal clearings of acequías in the Southwest to almost magical way families contribute to a tamalada, we have historically proven methods of accomplishing almost anything. If you've never seen one, try describing the dynamics of an Easter celebration at abuela's house.

One great, black author who went beyond the lone hero theme was Octavia Butler in her Parable of the Sower series where the Oya heroine begins a religion, a movement to "shape God and the universe." Now there's something mass(ive)--a peaceful, though not passive, movement.

Some Latino SF writers will explore developing our own themes to shape the future, something going beyond the lone hero, however much the Hero's Quest must be used as a narrative approach. I don't know all of what might come out of that. I do know the Afro-6 revolution isn't necessarily it, but not because I'm a pacifist. My first published novel began my thinking that I further developed in a just completed YA manuscript, Hearts bruised, dreams mended.

UC-Riverside grad students on panel

But we don't need a new jefe, caudillo, chingón Supermacho imposing his will, followed around by his bodyguards, having his pick of the women, and leading and saving his people. A female one, either. We need Latino heroes and heroines for the 21st Century.

Dystopia, economic collapse, unaffordable college, homelessness, Global Warming catastrophes, even the heightened racism against immigrant and "legal" Latinos--this isn't some futuristic SF, it's what many young people face now and for their foreseeable futures. In our small way, Latino SF writers can give allchildren something--new themes, methods, paths. Hope. Esperanza. Poder. Fuerza. We can't follow in the footsteps of the East Coast, Anglo-male dominated publishing industry, anymore. We need our own Latinonautica, we need to show others a multinational effort for change, what Ernesto Hogan terms, "an international, Latino New Wave in speculative fiction."

2. La Bloga Spec Lit Directory

[Speculative literature = science fiction, fantasy, horror, magic realism, a lo menos]

Below is the latest list of Latino spec novelists, only their first books, publishers, and websites in chronological order. I welcome contributions to making this more complete and current and will periodically update.

[Self-described: Chicano, Cubano, Hispanic, Mexicano, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Sudamericano, American y más, expanded as needed. ?? = undetermined by us. Publisher in parens.]

1922Campos de Fuego-breve narración de una expedición a la región volcánia de "El Pinacate", Sonora Gumersindo Esquer [M]. "A Mexican Jules Verne." This came out after the Border got put up, but we could claim Esquer as a precursor.

1969Afro-6, Hank Lopez. [MA?] (Dell Publishing) According to NYTimesobit, Lopez was "born in Denver of parents who had emigrated from Mexico." A futuristic thriller about a Black, armed take-over of Manhattan. [Copyright includes Harry Baron, not listed as co-author.]

1972 Bless Me, Última, Rudolfo A. Anaya (Ch] (Quinto Sol) http://www.neabigread.org/books/blessmeultima/readers-guide/about-the-author/

1976 Victuum,Isabella Rios. (Diana-Etna Inc.) Where psychic development epitomizes with the encounter of an outer-planetary being. O.O.P.

1978 The Road To Tamazunchale, Ron Arias (Ch) (Bilingual Press) http://www.amazon.com/Tamazunchale-Clasicos-Chicanos-Chicano-Classics/dp/0916950700

1984 The Rain God:A Desert Tale, Arturo Islas [Ch] (Alexandrian Press) http://business.highbeam.com/4352/article-1G1-18616692/historical-imagination-arturo-islas-rain-god-and-migrant"

1984 The War of Powers, Victor Milán [??] (Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.) http://www.victormilan.com

1990Cortez on Jupiter, Ernest Hogan[Ch] (Tor Books) A Ben Bova Presentspublication. "Protagonist Pablo Cortez uses freefall grafitti art--splatterpainting--to communicate with Jupiter's gaseous forms of life." http://www.mondoernesto.com

1992 Mrs. Vargas and the Dead Naturalist, Kathleen Alcalá [Ch] (Calyx Books)

1993 Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel [Ch] (Random House Black Swan)

1993 Afterage, Yvonne Navarro [A] (Overlook Connection Press) http://www.yvonnenavarro.com/ Dark fantasy & horror.

1995The Fabulous Sinkhole, Jesus Treviño [Ch] (Arte Público Press) "Stories into magic realism: spunky teen Yoli Mendez performs quadratic equations in her head." Film/TV Director/Writer of Prison Break, Resurrection Blvd. Star Trek Voyager, Babylon Five, Deep Space Nine. http://chuytrevino.com/

2000 Clickers, J.F. Gonzalez [??] (DarkTales Publications) Horror. http://jfgonzalez.com/

2000Places left unfinished at the time of creation, John Phillip Santos [Ch] (Penguin Books) "A girl sees a dying soul leave its body; dream fragments, family remembrances and Chicano mythology reach back into time and place; a rich, magical view of Mexican-American culture." http://provost.utsa.edu/home/Faculty_Profile/Santos.asp

2000 Soulsaver, James Stevens-Arce [PR] (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) www.stevens-arce.com

2001 The New World Border, Guillermo Gomez-Peña [??] (City Lights Publishers) News reports from a borderless future where whites are a minority and the language is Spanglish.

2003 Matters of the Blood, Maria Lima (Cu-Am?] (Juno Books) http://www.marialima.com/

2004 Unspeakable Vitrine, Victoria Elisabeth Garcia [??] (Claw Foot Bath Dog Press) Chapbook collection of short magic realist fiction

2004 Devil Talk:Stories, Daniel A. Olivas [Ch] (Bilingual Press) These twenty-six stories bring us to a place once inhabited by Rod Serling . . . only the accents have changed; Latino fiction at its edgy, fantastical best. http://www.danielolivas.com

2004 Creepy Creatures and Other Cucuys, Xavier Garza (Piñata Books)

2005The Skyscraper that Flew, Jesus Treviño (Arte Público Press). An enormous crystal skyscraper mysteriously appears in the Arroyo Grande's baseball field. Then the stories begin. http://chuytrevino.com/

2006 The Nymphos of Rocky Flats, Mario Acevedo [Ch] (Rayo Harper Collins) http://marioacevedo.com

2006Gil's All Fright Diner, A. Lee Martinez [A] (Tor) Born in El Paso, he has other books, but may not consider his books or himself anything latino. http://www.aleemartinez.com/

2007 Firebird, R. Garcia y Robertson [A] (Tor)

2007 Abecedarium, Carlos Hernandez [??] [w/D. Schneiderman] (Chiasmus Press)

2007 Moon Fever, Caridad Piñeiro [Cuban American] (Pocket Books) http://www.caridad.com/bio/" Paranormal romance.

2008 Happy Hour at Casa Dracula, Marta Acosta [L] (Pocket Star) http://www.martaacosta.com

2008 The King's Gold:An Old World Novel of Adventure, Yxta Maya Murray (Harper Paperbacks)

2009Lunar Braceros, Rosaura Sanchez, Beatrice Pita & Mario A. Chacon. (Calaca Press)

2012 The Witch Narratives, Belinda Vasquez Garcia, [??} (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform) http://www.belindavasquezgarcia.com/ The little-known world of Southwestern witchcraft.

2012 The Closet of Discarded Dreams, Rudy Ch. Garcia [Ch]. (Damnation Books) A Chicano alternate-world fantasy. Honorable Mention, SF/F category, 2012-13 International Latino Book Awards. Discarded-dreams.com

2012 Spirits of the Jungle, Shirley Jones [H] & Jacquelyn Yznaga [H] (Casa de Snapdragon)

2012 Virgins & Tricksters, Rosalie Morales Kearns [PR +Dutch] (Aqueous Books) Magic and folklore pop out of everyday encounters. http://rosaliemoraleskearns.wordpress.com

2012 Joe Vampire, Steven Luna (Booktrope Editions) [??] thestevenluna.wordpress.com

2012 Summer of the Mariposas, Guadalupe Garcia McCall [Ch] (Tu Books) Pura Belpré Award winner; Andre Norton Award nominated. http://www.guadalupegarciamccall.com .

2012 Roachkiller and Other Stories, R. Narvaez [PR] (Beyond the Page Publishing) Winner of 2013 Spinetingler Award for Best Anthology/Short Story Collection and 2013 International Latino Book Award for Best eBook/Fiction.

2012 Salsa Nocturna, Daniel José Older [??] (Crossed Genres Publications) http://ghoststar.net

2012 Dancing With the Devil and Other Tales From Beyond, René Saldaña Jr. [MA] (Pinata Books) http://renesaldanajr.blogspot.com

2012 Ink, Sabrina Vourvoulias [L] (Crossed Genres Publications) http://followingthelede.blogspot.com

2013 The Miniature Wife & Other Stories, Manuel Gonzales [??] (Riverhead Books) www.facebook.com/pages/Manuel-Gonzales/110962335695879

2013 Spirits of the Jungle, Shirley Jones & Jacquelyn Yznaga [??] (Casa de Snapdragon)Kindle version, 2012.

2013 The Odd Fellows, Guillermo Luna [?] (Bold Strokes Books) http://friendshiploveandtruth.blogspot.com

2013 This Strange Way of Dying: Stories of Magic, Desire & the Fantastic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia [M] (Exile Editions) silviamoreno-garcia.com. Collection of fantasy, science fiction, horror—and time periods.

2013Infinity Ring:Curse of the Ancients,Matt de la Peña [??]. (middle-grade, Scholastic Inc.) "Sera sees the terrifying future, but can’t prevent the Cataclysm while stranded thousands of years in the past. The only hope lies with the ancient Maya, a mysterious people who claim to know a great deal about the future." http://mattdelapena.com

3. Websites relevant to the Latino SF workshop:

"Speculative fiction is at its core syncretic; this stuff doesn’t come out of nowhere. And it certainly didn’t "spring solely from the imaginations of a bunch of beardy old middle-class middle-American guys in the 1950s." from N.K. Jemisin's Continuum GoH speech last year in Australia, calling for "a Truth in Reconciliation commission, such as encouraging blind submissions, demanding diverse characters on book covers. Women and people of color have our own suggestions for change. . . . Who has the greater stake in teaching mainstream U.S. sci-fi "how to be multicultural, and in tune with the world?" Women and POC have learned from the mistakes and successes in sci-fi "to truly become the literature of the world’s imagination."

"According to the Cooperative Children's Book Center, fewer children's books were written by Latinos or African-Americans in 2013 than in previous years. . . . Publishers turn down 97% of manuscripts they receive, regardless of the topic."

"55% of young adult books purchased in 2012 were bought by adults between 18 and 44 years old, according to Bowker Market Research.

A multicultural books list.

About artist John Picacio's new Lotería Cards

About "Reviewing the Other"

A summary of sites about Racefail 09

About ASU's Hieroglyph Project to revitalize Sci-Fi

Daniel Jose Older's article "Diversity Is Not Enough"

Interviews of POC authors including Matt de la Peña

12 Fundamentals about writing the Latino Other

Junot Diaz’s article on the POC failures of MFAs

Es todo, hoy,

RudyG aka Rudy Ch. Garcia

1st Novel - http://www.discarded-dreams.com/

Author FB - rudy.ch.garcia Twitter - DiscardedDreams

↧

I Give You América Tropical

May 4, 2014, 4:20 am

≫ Next: 5 de Mayo, Celebrating with Palabras

≪ Previous: A Day of Latino Science Fiction - thoughts & info

Guest Blog by Maritza Alvarez

I tried to make it to the May Day march this past Thursday. I took the Gold Line and got off on Pershing Square, expecting to be greeted by a crowd of marchers chanting "Aqui estamos y no nos vamos!" Instead, I saw black and brown folk hustling for bargains on 5th and Broadway. I missed May Day, I thought. I jumped back on the train and returned to Union Station. Perhaps all the marchers, like me, were running late. I cut through Plazita Olvera, trusting that wherever I ended up was where I needed to be. That’s when I saw the arched door entrance. It was dark inside, alluring. I entered.

There it stood, David Alfaro Siqueiros' famous mural, “América Tropical.” Dead-center in front of a sun pyramid hangs a brown man tied to a crucifix. He is half-naked, blindfolded, and the menacing talons of an American eagle loom above his head. América Tropical is a fresco bearing an ugly truth filled with vibrant strokes. It speaks of a violent past and it echoes a violent present.

Eighty-two years ago, “América Tropical” was unveiled in Sonora-town, or what is now known as the Historic Plazita Olvera in Los Angeles. During that time, L.A. times journalist, Arthur Miller considered “powerful, too weak of a word” to describe the first-ever commissioned public art mural.

David Alfaro Siqueiros auto-exiled from Mexico to the U.S. with the intent of taking advantage of modern industrial tools to enhance his technique in the creation of large-scale public murals. These murals would be painted on the walls of the city, accessible to all. At the time, this was considered revolutionary, especially in a city where art was traditionally enclosed within walls and displayed for only the privileged, upscale artists, businessmen, the Hollywood elite.

On the night of October 9, 1932, these privileged art-aficionados stood on a rooftop in downtown Los Angeles, anxiously anticipating the historical unveiling. They had waited six months for Siqueiros to reveal his masterpiece. Most expected a colorful and exotic mural that would mirror Hollywood's portrayal of a “Latin” atheistic and identity. Mexican in the U.S. was the sultry Latin Lover, Rudolph Valentino, the seductive señorita, Dolores del Rio, the dancing temptress with a basket of fruit on her head, Carmen Miranda. Mexican was also the greaser, the bandit, the savage.

Siqueiros, creative genius that he was, gave the city of Los Angeles and the world a crucified Mexican immigrant with the ironic title, “América Tropical.” As if to say, “You want this little Mexican to paint you a mural? Well, here it is. Enjoy your 20th Century crucifixion.”

Siqueiros understood that as an artist he had the power to shed light on injustices impacting the Mexican community on both sides of the border. At the onset of the 1930's, as Los Angeles was preparing to host the 1932 Olympics, Mexican families were provided a “voluntary opportunity” to return back to Mexico. They called this the Repatriation Act. This policy was the local and federal governments'“solution” to the dire economic consequences of the 1929 Stock Market crash. President Hoover and later President Roosevelt prompted mass raids against Mexicans. In 1931, the first major raid was conducted at Plazita Olvera, then San Fernando Valley ,and later in El Monte. During Hoover's and Roosevelt's administrations, a total of 2 million Mexicans, 60 percent of whom were U.S. citizens, were deported. Hundreds of thousands of families were separated as a result of xenophobia and racist legislation.

That was almost a century ago, and yet it feels like deja vu. Current deportations of members in our communities are estimated at 2 million with no comprehensive immigration reform in sight. While we wait or march or demand that politicians hear our pains and protests, parents are being deported, children are being put into foster care, families are being separated and permanently damaged. Siqueiros had it right. América Tropical is still a place where immigrant workers are criminalized and crucified.

This blog could end here on a bleak note, but la lucha continua, and although I missed the May Day march, the next day I came across a Facebook posting by long-time community activist Carlos Montes regarding an LAPD checkpoint in El Sereno. It was a call to action to warn drivers. Many unlicensed immigrants have been detained at these types of checkpoints, their cars impounded, and their families often separated. I went out to help that Friday night. Others were already there, including my sister, Adriana. We held up warning signs that said "Check Point" and "Reten." We waved and re-directed drivers down alternative streets (all while under police surveillance). Thanks to our group efforts, many drivers were able to avoid the checkpoint that night. People expressed their gratitude with faces of relief, with thumbs up, or with a “muchas gracias." I know that helping someone avoid a police checkpoint isn't going to change or fix the injustices of the world, but it did serve as a reminder that there are always things we can do to contribute to the struggle. To see more: http://vimeo.com/93759625

Gracias y Adelante!

↧

5 de Mayo, Celebrating with Palabras

May 4, 2014, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Latinos in Sci-Fi. Ana Castillo Reads Give It To Me. Rudolfo Anaya Conference. On-line Floricanto de Mayo

≪ Previous: I Give You América Tropical

By Xánath Caraza

In celebration of el 5 de Mayo, Chicago activists share with us their empowering Latino Writers Initiative. See whose books have been released or will be released soon; learn about my partial itinerary in Spain and enjoy more Con Tinta NaPoMo 2014 Poems.

Chicago Latino Writers Initiative

Chicago is a great literary town and it is the perfect time for writers who are Latino to generate new work and amplify the stories being created in this city. Proyecto Latina and Gozamos are partnered and launched a groundbreaking writing initiative to cultivate a new generation of Latino writers and help promote Chicago as a mecca of powerful Latino voices. Since its inception in January it has already gone through its first series of writing workshops and is now moving into its second series of panels and workshops.

The unique partnership brings together two organizations in the community that value the power of stories told through a variety of traditional and innovative platforms. The initiative will be housed at the 1900 South in the Pilsen neighborhood, where the idea was conceived by writers and media makers DianaPando and Luz Chavez and Stephanie Manriquez.

While brainstorming programming for Latino writers, the trio realized there is a significant gap in writing initiatives in Latino communities. That is when they decided to join forces and create the Chicago Latino Writers Initiative (CLWI). “Our goal is to mobilize Chicago Latino writers to take ownership of their stories, generate new work, and create opportunities for themselves and others,” explains Diana Pando, Proyecto Latina. The initiative is also slated to expand to other writers in the Midwest.

“Chicago has corazón. We are the heartland after all. Yet we don’t get the credit we deserve for our contributions to Latino literature. Where do people think pioneering Latino writers like Sandra Cisneros, Achy Obejas, and Ana Castillo come from? Look at the Latino writers grabbing the national spotlight right now: Esther J. Cepeda, Erika L. Sanchez, Tanya Saracho, and Ray Salazar–all from Chicago,” says Luz Chavez, Tu Cultura Editor, Gozamos.

The goal of the initiative is two-fold: to cultivate and elevate the voices of Latino writers in Chicago through innovative writing workshops and resources such as a Latino writer’s directory that will be distributed to universities and other institutions. The directory will serve as the first database of Latino writers in Chicago and as a speakers bureau. “We are ecstatic about helping to shine the spotlight on the Latino writing community in Chicago,” says Stephanie Manriquez.

Recently, writer and co-founder of Proyecto Latina Diana Pando led the first introductory CLWI workshop, Puro Cuento, for 15 emerging writers. The event reached capacity within 24 hours and resulted in a waiting list of 40 people. “When you create these types of spaces for writers it’s absolute magic because something inside of them clicks and they are more compelled to generate new work. My vision by leading this workshop is to help these writers tell their stories and contribute to the larger Latino narrative from a Chicago and Midwestern point of view that is lacking in mainstream media and literary scenes across the country,” says Pando.

About the workshops

The writing workshops will be held every other month and facilitated by notable writers. There will also be two scholarships given to emerging writers to make sure that our community has access to these workshops. The goal of the multi-genre series is to give writers new skills and tools to implement into their own writing projects.

About the panels

Panel discussions covering a range of topics for writers will also be organized throughout the year. The goal is to give writers new insights and access to professionals in the writing field. Q&A included.

About the writer directory

The online Chicago Latino Writers Directory will be developed throughout the year. Latino writers of all genres (poets, essayists, journalists, screenwriters, etc.) are encouraged to reach out to us with their contact information, bio, and headshot. This database will be housed online at ChicagoLatinoWriters.com and will be easily accessible to writers and other organizations who are looking for writers who happen to be Latino. The goal of the directory is to serve as a speaker bureau and keep track of all of our writers and distribute to institutions in the Midwest and nationally.

About the writing incubator

The initiative will also roll out drop-in times for a writing incubator at the Gozamos space where writers can generate new work and build relationships with other writers in a supportive environment.

About Proyecto Latina

Proyecto Latina is a multi-media project amplifying the success and impact of Latinas in our community. Our initiatives include a reading series and a website that allow us to create a culture of self-empowerment, spotlight emerging and established Latina talent, create safe spaces in under served communities, and provide a virtual platform to chronicle stories, share resources and to insert ourselves into larger mainstream narratives.

About Gozamos

Gozamos is a Chicago-based independent online magazine and community for culturally savvy Latinos and friends. Since its launch in March 2010, Gozamos has grown into a cutting-edge new media platform that inspires, educates and entertains readers across the United States. Gozadores write what they are passionate about and bring thoughtful, unorthodox approaches to Latino cultural coverage with original content created by a talented corps of bloggers, community leaders and journalists. At its core, Gozamos strives to be a platform for those voices often ignored by mainstream media.

Learn more about the initiative

To keep in touch like our Facebook Page and visit our site at www.ChicagoLatinoWriters.com

Media Contact: Diana Pando

312-498-4067 / hola@chicagolatinowriters.com

Los libros

The Rhythm of Every Day Thingsby Sandra Santiago (pandora lobo estepario press, 2014)

The Lost Letters of Milevaby M Miranda Maloney (pandora lobo estepario press, 2014)

Confessions of a Book Burnerby Lucha Corpi (Arte Público Press, 2014)

Algunas presentaciones

Gabriela Lemmons of The Latino Writers Collective will be featured at The Writers Place on Friday, May 9 at 8 p.m. as part of the Riverfront Reading Series.

For Envision, Empower, Embrace: Inspiring Change for Women held by the United Nations Association of Greater Kansas City on Saturday, April 26, 2014, I had the privilege of being the featured poet at this inaugural, fundraising event.

In Lawrence, KS, Mammoth Publications, Denise Low-Weso and Tom Weso, hosted a wonderful reading for some of their authors on Tuesday, April 29, 2014. What a beautiful evening it was.

I have the honor to be the featured poet along with Juan de Dios García for the 2o Encuentro de Poesía in Puente Genil, Córdoba, Spain on Saturday, May 10. As part of el 2o Encuentro de Poesía, artist Adriana Manuela, inspired by my poems, has created a special series of paintings for a special exhibit at the Encuentro de Poesía. Yet to see the paintings, I am naturally looking forward to seeing them. This event is sponsored by Asociación Cultural Poética, el Ayuntamiento de Puente Genil and the Municipal Library.

El Festival Internacional de Poesía Ciudad de Granada, Daniel Rodríguez Moya and Fernando Valverde, will take place from May 12 -17. I’m happy to be part of this great Poetry Festival. For this occasion, I will be reading in Almuñecar, la Costa Tropical de Andalucía.

In Granada, Andalusia, Spain, I will be presenting my short story collection, Lo que trae la marea/What the Tide Brings(Mouthfeel Press, 2013) on Wednesday, May 21 at 8:30 p.m.. This event is sponsored by Encuentros Literarios, Fernando Soriano and Juan Peregrina. The presentation will be at La Qarmita, Calle Águila 20, 18002 in Granada, Andalusia.

More to come about my literary activities in Spain and Portugal in upcoming La Bloga Columns.

CON TINTA NaPoMo 2014

CON TINTA NaPoMo 2014has come to an end. However, I’ll continue publishing some of your powerful poems on my next posts. Thank you everyone for your participation.

Algunos poemas

Long Road to Here

by Celina Villagarcia

When I was ten

I began to keep

a blue-lined book—and quickly

found

freedom

It was that September, my voice

was born—collecting

letters that speak

of love and all that feels

like home; these words

had to be—along the way—

my definition of home

changed—I traveled

the path—a girl in

a borderland—a wife

—a mother

I was still lost—looking

for a place to call

home—then the book

revealed—

I had arrived

Originally published in PULP (Mouthfeel Press 2013)

Prometheus

By Lauro Vazquez

sometimes I think they confuse you with that other thief by the name of Harry. George Washington’s runaway slave, Harry Washington—the other Washington.

running away

from all human &

inhuman presence alike

slowly sipping the stars

with the thirst of an animal

Harry stirs in the dusk—

& descending Mt. Vernon

in the cover of darkness

Harry covertly steals fire

from the word &

words from the fire

for the burning cinder

of a world different from his

for the tiny ember

of freedom that

belongs to himself

& to everyone

When the eagle finally tore into your liver you were probably still distracted by a crease in the summer sky, an unquenchable thirst like a torch in the sky, the always-eluding mystery of your people’s freedom.

Harry, you never got away with stealing the fire & the cooling ash still gnawsat your hands.

Fibonacci

For my sons & their brilliant minds

By JP Howard

Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.Albert Einstein

The

Black boy

Blaze of light

Shine shyt everywhere

Black boy brave brilliant black boy bright

Be leader be jazz all night long be student by day

Be fiber artist be only boy in your dance class be confident in your body

Be Afro ebony fist pick sticking out your pocket, be your biggest advocate

Be black gay man be straight be true to yourself always

Be shine be son of two mamas

Be cornrows and curls

Be soul food

Be bloom

Boy

Shoulda Married the Pillow

By Daniel Chacón

I used to kiss my pillow imagining it

my girlfriend. “Love you.” “Love you too!”

And I’m having a serious make-out session

when my mom walks in. I know, mom. She’ll crackup.

But she’s looking at me with a face

I don’t know. . . She comes to my bed,

sits down, puts her hand on my head.

It’s okay. You're just curious. You know something?

What?

As a girl I pretended my pillow was a man

who was going to carry me back to Jalisco.

I shoulda married the pillow.

On Magnolias

By Odilia Galván Rodríguez

✿
for Frida

you painted magnolias
pure smelling and white
the color of soft linen
a canvas you entered then
slashed open your wounds
and bled upon

loss of life and love
splayed across in living
color or splattered
onto ecru in shades
of flowers you braided
into your hair

back to get to future
you time-walked
into your paintings
attached to your other
self reconnected to mother-
roots that reached the ancients

you bled everywhere
in beauty as bold as you
a constant image emblazoned
across our retinas burning and
wet with tears we’ve shed along
with you fragile and wild

and in love with the world.

Carcass, South Texas Dirt Road

By Octavio Quintanilla

You still remember how it looked

after the drizzle licked it clean.

What the hell was it?

Blades of grass

taking the place of teeth;

the wind’s snout

sniffing sockets for a light

long gone.

You must’ve been nine years old,

old enough to know that dust is raised

to fall on dust again.

Old enough to keep secrets.

Years turned horror into poetry.

Maybe you want to go back.

To the wood-framed house sitting

on concrete blocks.

To the mutt you saved from drowning

in a canal. To the girl

who had no faith in you.

She had a pretty yard.

Her father worked for the city.

Maybe you don’t want to remember her.

Or that your father was without legal papers.

All day digging trenches

for plumbers, always walking

on the dusty colonia road

that darkened when wet

like a monument for old bones.

MUJER QUE SE DESPIDE

Por Karla Coreas

La mujer vestida de blanco me llama.

Camino hacia ella.

Alguien me toca la espalda, me frena.

Oscilo entre el aquí, entre el allá,

entre el ayer y el mañana.

Aún reconozco mi sonrisa y mi lamento.

Aún sigo viva.

Me acerco a la orilla del río

busco verme en el agua de la mañana.

También veo la mujer despedirse

con un vestido negro de tanta espera.

Come See Chicago

by Hector Luis Alamo

Come see streets perfectly planned

Glistening titans with twinkling antennas

Come see cold waves crashing & the murky green meandering

Come see bridges

Come see metal wheels screeching blue electric fire

Bikes, busses

Green parks with green trees & beige diamonds

White hulls huddled in teal harbors

Come see Wrigley Field, & the other one

Come see American Gothic & Nighthawks. Come see Centennial Column

See bronze limbs outstretched

Buckingham Fountain

Lions guarding treasures, Picasso’s mask

Come see yourself in The Bean

Come see on State Street. On Division. On 18th Street, come see.

On Clark. Along Michigan Avenue

Under the L

Come see Milwaukee, Cermak, Halsted, Lake Shore Drive

Come see North Avenue. Western. Come see Cottage Grove & Stony Island

Come see in the Loop

The Kennedy & the Eisenhower & the Dan Ryan, come see them

Old hunting paths buried under crosswalks

Union Pacific. And Soo Line

The Sauk Trail. Route 66

Come see deep dish pizza & hot dog no ketchup

Come see Navy Pier & Skydeck. Come see Drake Hotel. Merchandise Mart

The Chicago, the Aragon, the Oriental

Come see what was the Savoy

See Old Post Office Building & Armchair Building & Diamond Building

See defiant Water Tower

But before you leave...

Make sure you’ve seen North Avenue beach packed under a searing sun

Kids chasing peacocks at the zoo

Soldier Field crammed with thousands of faces puffing steam

Fiery flowers glittering off ripples of onyx

Make sure you’ve seen the people dancing between iron flags

Babies and grownups staring into illuminated windows on State Street

A young girl stirring her curves as she walks, her smiling

The old man conjuring up his youth as he sips coffee with milk

Make sure you’ve seen them get up before the sun to dig cars out

Them guarding spaces with fists

The college student catching a bus & two trains to get to class

Her working after school for minimum wage

Be sure to see the crowded schools without libraries or toilet paper

The new schools where the teachers can’t unionize

Angry strangers marching into Daley Plaza

The toothless soldier sleeping under an overpass

Make sure you’ve seen the forgotten children

See where most of the tax money goes

Where the people used to live but were forced to leave

New businesses opening that aren't for them

Come see the enclaves of outcasts

The sons & daughters rejected by backwardness

See the foreigner treated as an alien

See him shackled & shipped away, his family broken

Make sure to see fathers destroyed

Their boys under the street light handing each other something

The intersection empty except for those boys

A single mother pacing a callous strip of sidewalk

Make sure you’ve seen “the marks of wanton hunger”

The stinging needle & the burning pipe

Welts on thighs & forearms where the leather landed

The swollen faces of departed angels

Be sure to see them shot, stabbed, raped & stole from

See violent blue lights & the hard stretcher raised

The vigils, the white-hot eulogies

Their bitter cheeks & lifeless eyes

Have you seen this city?

Come

See it

Saffron Light (Visual Poem)

by Xanath Caraza

↧

Latinos in Sci-Fi. Ana Castillo Reads Give It To Me. Rudolfo Anaya Conference. On-line Floricanto de Mayo

May 5, 2014, 11:01 pm

≫ Next: Noche de Poesía de Roque Dalton y Talleres Literarios con Manlio Argueta

≪ Previous: 5 de Mayo, Celebrating with Palabras

And Then There Were More...

Michael Sedano

The future of Chicana Chicano science fiction offers a question filled with sound and fury signifying something important happening in popular fiction. That fact manifests in Riverside, California, where the University of California campus’ Tomás Rivera Library houses the world’s largest publicly accessible collection of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and utopian literature. The University recently hosted the world's first conference on Latinos in Science Fiction.

The fury comes muted by the nature of the occasion, a junta con six authors whose work comprises nearly the entirety of chicana chicano-produced science fiction and speculative fiction. The six sit at the same table and talk craft and their novels. Pocos pero picosos.

Cinco de Los Seis: Lunar Braceros, high tech mexicas, vampires & zombies, life in other dimensions.

With Jesus Treviño behind the camera to film the historic meeting, this historic foto shows five of the six living Chicana Chicano science fiction and speculative fiction writers.

Los Seis

Rosaura Sánchez and Beatrice Pita bring copies of their hard-to-find thriller, Lunar Braceros 2125-2148. Lunar Braceros becomes the final publication from San Diego's shuttered Calaca Press.

Rosaura Sánchez develops an account of writing Lunar Braceros with distinct political awareness of her dysptopian vision of camps for labor and dissidents, privilege for a multiethnic elite, global isolation.

Beatrice Pita with Lunar Braceros

Ernest Hogan, father of chicano sci-fi. They call him that because he is. Hogan admits to the sobriquet while appearing mystified at the notion. He tells the students he read technology and science fiction as a youth and when he took to writing, he wrote what he knew, kinda. He makes up a lot of stuff, like languages and space travel with real chicanos in outer space.

Ernest Hogan autographs with a sig and cartoon alluding to his story, "The Frankenstein Penis." Getting his work into the hands of readers becomes a writer's major hurdle, Hogan relates, telling the audience accounts of bringing stories and novels back to life, as he once did. Hogan tells the collected readers he was once thought dead. Garcia confesses that's what he thought when he wrote in La Bloga that Hogan was dead. Hogan emailed back in living color. Hogan is a Thursday bloguero at La Bloga.

Mario Acevedo, bestselling author of steamy Felix Gomez detective vampire novels, has a major hit series, going full steam ahead.

Mario says he digs into the genre's rules--"tropes" scholars call them--like a nuances of one's meal of blood, a vampire's hypersexuality seen in titles like Nymphos of Rocky Flats, Jailbait Zombie. Entertainment, he says, is his goal.

Mario Acevedo speaks enthusiastically about the liberties of genre writing.

Rudy Ch. Garcia, asks what if the world's wildest dreams keep going in a separate dimension, and you fall in, get trapped in a world where Che Guevara and Marilyn Monroe are your best pals? What if looks like this, Garcia's surrealistic and entertaining The Closet of Discarded Dreams.

Rudy Garcia points to his novel's award sticker.

Jesus Treviño films the discussion from behind the camera, otherwise the author of The Fabulous Sinkhole stories would have taken a seat with the other five living authors of chicana chicano science fiction and speculative fiction. Read a recent entry in JT's Zombie Mex diaries at Latinopia.

Jesus Treviño as panelists see him.

The six writers don’t hold back in free-wheeling discussions managed superbly by profesora Sherryl Vint, who hosts the event and looks to having more. Dra. Vint is Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies. Vint, with colleague Nalo Hopkinson, have organized today's gathering.

Author talk ranged from everyday irritations to major insults, by way of explaining the presence and absence of raza in outer space and ranks of published authors.

When brown actors finally reach outer space they wear tattooed faces or wrinkly foreheads. If sci-fi were a religion, movie producers commit a mortal sin with the ultimate sacrilege of giving Ricardo Montabán’s Khan role to some guy from England.

Two blogueros surrounding vampire writer Mario Acevedo. Ernest Hogan, Rudy Ch. Garcia

Rosaura Sánchez develops her narrative.

Ernest Hogan with Cortez on Jupiter

Ernest Hogan and Mario Acevedo colloquy

Latino characters and settings don’t heavily populate sci-fi but there’s a handful. See Rudy Ch. Garcia’s column for the current La Bloga directory of titles and dates. These include 1969's Afro-6 by Hank Lopez, and Isabella Rios'Victuum in 1976. A montón of these lesser-known uncelebrated writers and titles flies back and forth from audience to the table up front. It is a delightfully informed group.

A number of hands go up when one of the authors asks who are writers? Here is the face of the future. I like that el papa, or padrino of chicano science fiction, sits in the front row, unable to see the future coming from behind him.

Latino sci-fi and media audience, future authors. Ernest Hogan at right.

UCR awards a Ph.D. through its Science Fiction and Technoculture Studies program, led by Dr. Sherryl Vint. The program looks to offer an undergraduate minor one day, right now it's all high level researchers and writers. These folks comprise the audience for Wednesday’s one-day trailblazing meeting.

Professor Sherryl Vint

Sherryl Vint and Rudy Ch Garcia consult

Lively Q&A engages Tyler Stallings

Vicki Vertiz, a poet graduate student in Creative Writing takes notes as
Nalo Hopkinson shares parallels in her sci-fi authorial path.

Lively Q&A from sci-fi author Nalo Hopkinson, who teaches creative writing at UCR. Nalo's hands hold not just a microphone but also the future. With Dr. Vint, Hopkinson leads UCR's Science Fiction and Technoculture Studies program to plan this and the university's ongoing program of town and gown service like future Latinos in Sci-Fi conferences.

Q&A brings long, complicated questions that result in engaged group responses up front. Like the literature, the conference is puro fun. Everyone is on their toes.

Ernest Hogan holds up his sketch pad as Beatrice Pita and Mario Acevedo listen.

Emerging scholars from UCR.

Danny Valencia, Paris Brown, Rubén Mendoza.

The afternoon sessions, emerging scholars take the rostrum along with Jesus Treviño and La Bloga’s Michael Sedano, in a showcase for the program’s Ph.D. students. These include Danny Valencia, Paris Brown, and Rubén Mendoza. At various levels in their program, all demonstrate confidence in their subject matters and comfort at the front of the room explaining their ideas.

Subject matter includes Latino science fiction, SF as pedagogy in Latino communities, and Mexican dystopias and religion. These are well-prepared scholars. The future is good.

I was happy seeing Rubén Mendoza. He joined emerging writers reading at Festival de Flor y Canto • Yesterday • Today • Tomorrow, 2010's reunion floricanto of the 1973 original. Now Rubén is on the cutting edge of applied razacentric sci-fi in classrooms.

Jesus Treviño talks about the future as co-panelists take it in.

The school’s Tomás Rivera Library houses the Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy in Special Collections & University Archives under the aegis of Dr. Melissa Conway.

Conway, with writer director Latinopia founder Jesus Treviño, climaxed the conference with the director’s donation of his marked-up scripts for the television programs he directed in series such as Star Trek and Babylon 5, along with others in the genre.

Steven Mandeville-Gamble, University Librarian, Alison Scott, Associate University Librarian

for Collections and Scholarly Communications, Melissa Conway, head of Special Collections & Archives, Jesus Treviño, holding archives box.

With Sherryl Vint’s specialization in media studies, Treviño's scripts should have immense value to her and UCR graduate students’ investigations. Treviño confesses to welcoming the space in his garage. Those papers now reside where Conway can let investigators have a look into the making of legendary television programming.

Riverside’s campus of the University of California has become the go-to place for study of Latinos in Science Fiction. Now, there's talk of holding the conference next year together with a workshop-based National Latino Sci-Fi Writers Conference.

Latino sci-fi and fantasy stories fill a need that only writers of sci-fi and fantasy can satisfy. Why not invite a small group of writers to workshop and develop their stories, knowledge, perspective?

Is that an idea you find appealing, a workshop to hone writing skills using science fiction as the genre? Give writers focused opportunity to browse the Holt Collection for hard-to-find gems like the ones in Rudy Ch. Garcia's Spec Lit Directory, should UCR do that?

Let's not leave it to Time to tell the future, to develop by its own inertia, out of the future, through the present, into the past. Take things by the quill and dip into the inkwell.

If Nalo Hopkinson and Sherryl Vint have the ganas, and can garner the money, next year's Latinos in Sci-Fi Conference will draw the next generation of science fiction and fantasy writers to Riverside. Are you willing to help, with an idea? a proposal? a sponsorship?

All roads lead to Riverside.

Leaving Comments at La Bloga

Find the Comments link at the bottom of today's column. Look for Javier Pacheco's mug shot and biographical sentence.

The screen capture shows Xánath's column. Today's read's Posted by msedano.

Click the red-colored message, Click here to leave a comment. This opens a new window where you paste your message or type in situ. Please click and type through the verification rigmarole so necessary to combat SPAM.

Be sure to click the box "Email follow-up comments to" This way, when your message gets a response, you'l receive an email that you've joined a conversation.

Ana Castillo Reads At Anaya Conference

Linda Greenberg, one of CSULA's emerging scholars, has the pleasure of introducing Ana Castillo, whose presentation, On Writing About New Mexico, delivers an aural montage from Castillo's work. The capstone is Ana Castillo reading from, then signing, Give It To Me.

La Bloga ran one of the first reviews of Give It To Me. I called Give It To Me the literary sensation of 2014. The next few months are going to give me the cachet of a Walter Mercado or a Criswell when it comes to predicting sure things. Give It To Me is the literary sensation of 2014.

Readers eagerly line up to buy copies of Castillo titles. These buyers are among the first to get copies. University booksellers often take a cut from conference sales but on this 90 degree day I spot one of Castillo's friends weighed down by cases of Give It To Me he's lugging in single-handedly.

A popular author rides a capricious wave. People look toward publication date--Give It To Me was released just last week--and readers rush to be among the first to get the new book. Like it, they tell a few friends; hate it, they tell everyone they know!

Reviewers offer motive power to get the new book, making readers aware of impending publication, giving a critic's benediction or a sharp stick in the author's eye. La Bloga struggled not to gush, in reviewing this outstanding hit of a book. Give It To Me is the literary sensation of 2014.

Readers Rule! The most powerful motivator among book buyers comes from word of mouth, a recommendation by an admired person. Tell a friend, that friend tells five friends, those five tell another five. And in no time at all, the book goes "viral" among ever-wider circles of friends, a literary sensation.

Photographing Castillo is a dream. She makes frequent eye contact pauses, reads at a measured pace with understated expressiveness. She selects a passage for general audiences that illustrates the tension holding two characters in fitful closeness.

Today, because Castillo doesn't have a light show, the house lights are raised to permit capturing gestures and momentary expressions. The delivery comes with a freshness difficult to find after the 50th signing event, the book still fresh in the reader's hands.

Castillo honors her work by giving the words careful, considered reading. Oral expression makes or breaks a reading. A reader comes to the lectern with two principal goals. First, to engage the audience favorably to content and writer. Second, to sell books.

Ana Castillo doesn't merely read, she conducts a workshop in reading your stuff aloud. Writers need models to emulate because so much poor reading happens all the time. When Ana Castillo brings the Give It To Me book tour to your regions, be there, observe, imitate.

Darn the microphone stand! I love this candid portrait of Ana Castillo. Composition draws one's eyes to her profile framed by coif and highlighted against her dark neutral background. Enjoying the writer's beauty and character in this wonderful moment of left-handedness, one's eyes then take in the whole image and there's that blasted blurry device impinging the beauty of the moment.

I regret not taking a foto of Castillo's bracelet on her right wrist, recounting St. Michael--my tocayo--slaying the dragon. These fotos use a 100mm lens, 1/160 f/2.8 iso3200, handheld in ambient light.

There's an article floating around about the off-kilter questions audiences throw at authors. There was a gem at CSULA, "I don't read your stuff but I read Junot Diaz…." Castillo handled the awkwardness with amused aplomb, respectful of the question and gracious to the Diaz fan. During sign my book please time--invariably a long line--Castillo engages every person in gracious personal repartée before firmando and writing something appropriate.

Reyna Grande buys two books. In the press of conference activities, Grande forgets her books and expresses relief the next morning when Corina Martinez Chaudry of The Latino Author, retrieves the lost treasures for Reyna. A worker who found the books turned them in. Chaudry and Grande were essential contributors to the Conference in diverse roles.

CSULA Convenes Rudolfo Anaya Conference

Michael Sedano

I do not remember the last time I attended an academic conference. When I found myself at two in the same week, my head was spinning around missing the excitement found on a college campus. So much interesting life goes on, and it all comes to the U. What need ever to step into the real world?

That was my mood as I took my seat in Cal State LA's fancy student union. It was old home week in several ways. LA State was my last stop before launching a career in private industry.

The familiar was simultaneously unfamiliar. Some of those people got old. Then I looked across the room and spot an old guy from the nation's best-kept cultural secret, the NHCC.

Carlos Vasquez, who organized ten years of the National Latino Writers Conference in Alburquerque's National Hispanic Cultural Center, was up to his usual travesudas across the room. Instantly I regret my playera. I should have worn my Kukulcan shirt. It's a Sir Guy style garment Carlos wore one day and I told him I admired it. The next day he brings me the shirt off his back. It's my favorite shirt.

Then my most delightful surprise of the year, not just this conference. Sitting in the front row is la madrina of La Bloga, Teresa Marquez.

Rudy Garcia, Manuel Ramos, and Michael Sedano met on Teresa's CHICLE listserv board. We formed La Bloga when the University of New Mexico shuttered the board. In one early idea, I had Teresa's permission to use "CHICLE" as the name of a chicana chicano literature replacement Listserv. Instead, Rudy and Manuel came up with "La Bloga" y hay 'stamos.

La Madrina de La Bloga, Dra. Maria Teresa Marquez

Teresa introduces the premiere showing of a work-in-progress, Rudolfo Anaya: The Magic of Words. By David Ethan Ellis and his Ellis Productions, Inc., the interview-rich film needs to be finished and gotten into distribution. The film makes a useful contribution to anyone's knowledge of the Anaya oeuvre.

If I had better reading acuity, I would have known Teresa Marquez was on program. I did note Enrique Lamadrid on the agenda, lecturing on Cultural Authority, Authenticity, and Performance in Rudolfo Anaya, who was introduced by one of those vatos whom I knew way back then, Lou Negrete. I'm not going to say Lou got all old, because he tells me he was sick.

Enrique Lamadrid

My joy at hearing Lamadrid lecture stems from photographing him at the 1973 Festival de Flor y Canto when I was in grad school at the University of Southern California. It's where I met Roberto Cantú, photographed him, too.

Horst Tonn from the University of Tübingen, Germany takes the lectern. A Citizen of the World: Transnational Imaginaries in the Work of Rudolfo Anaya, examines some of Anaya's travel writing and varied titles. He expresses keen interest in A Chicano In China.

Tonn teaches graduate level courses in Chicano Literature in Tübingen, developing his interest at UT Austin and working as a UFW organizer on the US East coast.

Dr. Horst Tonn

Tonn has not seen the Oscar Acosta video from 1973's Festival de Flor y Canto where I first photographed Cantú. Dr. Tonn teaches Acosta's novel and autobiography, so the reading from the autopsy chapter in the latter will prove incredibly useful to his teaching and his students understanding of what chicanismo felt like in 1973.

High school students in Germany study la chicanada as an element of their curriculum. ¿Que pasa, USA, that we're tan insular that we're banning chicanos from classrooms while in Germany, it's required reading?

Lunchtime conversation brings together, from right, Corina Martinez Chaudry, Sandra Ramos O'Briant, and Mario Acevedo for pleasant camaraderie while retired dean Don Dewey looks on.

The second day of the Anaya Conference engaged an early-rising audience with Mario Acevedo's delightful lecture, How the Gothic Put Its Whammy on Me.

Acevedo recounts his writer's process of jumping into vampire fiction with the full abandon allowed to fiction. Mario gives a nod to literary influences and co-conspirators in noir fiction, including La Bloga co-founder Manuel Ramos. Ramos'Desperado features the stolen tilma of Juan Diego, narcos, bad cops, false friends, good reading.

The fruits of academic conferences grow not simply from the ambiente of a campus but from the meeting's central purpose, presenting and sharing ideas about Anaya and literatura chicana.

The next program, featuring five emerging scholars of Mesoamerica and the US Southwest, offers a dual reward of knowledge and the future, a panel of emerging scholars.

Xochitl Flores-Marcial, Ricardo García, Daniela S. Gutiérrez V., Michael Mathiowetz, Kristina Nielson

The five scholars from UCLA, Cal State LA, Cal State Long Beach, hold their Ph.D. or are candidates progressing steadily to the final period on that dissertation.

This is our academic future on display. And, as at UCR, we sound strong. Teresa Marquez and I congratulated a panelist, remarking how back on our grad school days, we were the only ones in our programs, and now here are five new Ph.D. in the same place at the same time. Ajua!

Xochitl Flores-Marcial shares insights into Mexican Indigenous Traditions in the United States Southwest. Ricardo García skims across highly technical material in his paper, Yang and Yin: The Mayordomo and the Tenantzin in Indigenous Communities of Western Mexico.

Bringing the focus to El Lay, Daniela S. Gutiérrez V., in Casta, investigates Casta paintings related to los pobladores who founded the city. She shows how LA was founded by a congregation of black and mestizo gente, and how Spain's taxonomy for racial discrimination persisted onto these far western shores of Aztlán.

Michael Mathiowetz and Kristina Nielson wrap up the invigorating session. Mathiowetz illustrates two routes of cultural penetration south to north in Reconsidering El Santo Niño de Atocha del Santuario de Chimayó, New Mexico: The Prehispanic West Mexican Roots of a Chicano Cultural Tradition. Nielson keeps the conversation moving with her report on The Converging Histories of Danza Azteca.

2014 Conference on Rudolfo Anaya: Tradition, Modernity, and the Literatures of the U.S. Southwest provides many more opportunities to share ideas. A Roberto Cantú conference utilizes all the time a day allows.

Over this two day conference scheduled from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m., Cantú's time-allowed strategy allows a flowering of ideas, new professional relationships, quick hellos. It was good to say hi to poet photographer Claudia Hernandez, whose Today's Revolutionary Women of Color project soon adds Ana Castillo.

CSULA and Roberto Cantú hold conferences like this annually. Next year's conference will be Conference on Mariano Azuela and the Novel of the Mexican Revolution.

La Bloga looks forward to working with Horst Tonn and his students in their pursuit of understanding the United States through raza insight, welcoming an occasional guest columnist and related fun.

Visit the Anaya Conference webpage for details on the scholars and précis of the lectures at this fulfilling and satisfying celebration of Rudolfo Anaya's work.

Roberto Cantú praises the emerging scholars while asking a question. Reyna Grande and Maria Teresa Marquez listen.

Mario Acevedo signing for a reader. Read! raza. Everyone, Read!

On-line Floricanto de Mayo
Nancy Lorenza Green, Juan Flores, Alma Luz Villanueva, Javier B Pacheco, Anne Elizabeth Apfel

Andrea Hernandez Holm and the moderators of the Facebook team, Poets Responding to SB 1070 Poetry of Resistance, submit the work of five poets for La Bloga's May 6 On-line Floricanto:
• “Watching Cesar Chavez Sitting in the Center of the Theatre” by Nancy Lorenza Green
• “Mis versitos de las buenas noches” by Juan Flores
(“La SB1070, Una Verguenza para Arizona”)
• “Unconquered” by Alma Luz Villanueva
• “How’d we get this way?” by Javier B Pacheco
• “Migrants Working….” By Anne Elizabeth Apfel

Watching Cesar Chavez Sitting in the Center of the Theatre
by Nancy Lorenza Green

The film projects slivers
of so many people’s lives…my own
working in the fields
silenced voices of women and children
modern slavery alive and well
The power of transformative vision on film—
the amazing craft of seasoned actors
who project their spirits to sense
and feel and articulate profound meanings
Memories of everyday life
So many working families struggle to survive,
yet thrive on the knowledge that honest work
feeds a nation, nurtures the collective will
to live a peaceful, healthy life
A flood of tears when the film ends
Tears of longing for social justice
Tears of anger at the ignorance and injustice that prevails
Cathartic response to a call for action from beyond the grave:
Empowerment, self-determination reaffirmed

Nancy Lorenza Green, M.Ed. is a bilingual teaching and performing artist who collaborates with the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum and delivers cultural programs sponsored by the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

A writer, musician, and photographer, Nancy’s vision as an Afro-Chicana from the border region offers a unique perspective grounded on spiritual values.

She can be reached at: nancygreen9@yahoo.com

LA SB1070, UNA VERGÜENZA PARA ARIZONA
por Juan Flores

Nefasto aniversario se cumple este día
una ley tirana impuesta por la bruja
el corazón de muchas familias estruja
las separa y les ha robado la alegría.

Arizona se ha convertido en estado nazi
la gober preciosa como soberana absoluta
Arpaio es un ser dotado de mucho poder
como comisario comunista, casi, casi
los dos nomás pensando en cómo joder
aunque la verdad es que los dos son
hijos de… la misma mamá

Han de dispensar el florido lenguaje
pero con estos dos seres tan carajos
que solamente entienden a plumazos
hay que hablarles como el peladaje.

Ambos perdieron otra batalla legal
este lunes la Suprema Corte decidió
con gran tino dio les otro golpe letal
y la injusta ley casi les desapareció.

Apelación tras apelación han perdido
aunque mucho dinero le han metido
de las arcas del pueblo, por supuesto
pero ni así sus fans los quitan del puesto
pueslos siguen como simples borregos
los ensalzan y les aumentan sus egos.

Peroesta decisión es una victoria
conla que la Corte pasará a la historia
Definitivamente, seee laaa peeerdiooó…
Jan Brewer seee laaa peeerdiooó…

Juan Flores. Me gusta escribir desde muy joven. Trabaje en varios periodicos de Mexico, reporteando temas de politica e informacion general. Y en EU, en el periodico La Opinion, en el departamento Editorial y algunas veces colabore escribiendo temas de política. Actualmente estoy retirado.

UNCONQUERED
by Alma Luz Villanueva

I eat breakfast
and watch Moctezuma's
throat be slashed, the
conquest unfold,

Sor Juana at the
top/edge, encircled in
violet, her poet's
heart on fire, La

Virgen carried on a
banner, Coatlique in
disguise, her skulls
hidden under her

gentle dress, a
woman giving birth
with great IxChel's
help, as all women

are, umbilical cord
dangling from vagina,
child alive, survivor of
the conquest, I am

a survivor of the
conquest, a wild
mestiza child, my
poet's heart on

fire, I am the
dreamer, one of
thousands, Moctezuma
slaughtered, terrified of

our dreams, our visions,
now I sit, centuries
later, my dreams,
visions, memory,

intact- I see the
Great Books burning,
I weep, this I know,
dreams can't be

burned, I see
Sor Juana's
poet's heart on
fire,

as the woman's
vagina burns with
birth, IxChel singing,
"Dreamers, you have

survived, each century
your voices stronger,
sweeter, your poet's heart
unconquered, dream

new words,
new stories,
new Great Books, on
fire."

To Sor Juana's heart

*Written at Instituto Allende, San Miguel de

Allende, Mexico, while gazing at the magnificent mural of

Mexico's his/herstory, on fire, unconquered.

March 2014

Alma Luz Villanueva was raised in the Mission District, San Francisco, by her Yaqui grandmother, Jesus Villanueva- she was a curandera/healer from Sonora, Mexico. Without Jesus no poetry, no stories, no memory...

Author of eight books of poetry, most recently, Soft Chaos (2009). A few poetry anthologies: The Best American Poetry, 1996, Unsettling America, A Century of Womens Poetry, Prayers For A Thousand Years, Inspiration from Leaders & Visionaries Around The World. Four novels: The Ultraviolet Sky, Naked Ladies, Lunas California Poppies, Song of the Golden Scorpion, and the short story collection, Weeping Woman, La Llorona and Other Stories. Some fiction anthologies: 500 Great Books by Women, From The Thirteenth Century, Caliente, The Best Erotic Writing From Latin America, Coming of Age in The 21st Century, Sudden Fiction Latino. The poetry and fiction has been published in textbooks from grammar to university, and is used in the US and abroad as textbooks.
Has taught in the MFA in creative writing program at Antioch University, Los Angeles, for the past eleven years. And is the mother of four, wonderful, grown human beings.

Alma Luz Villanueva now lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, for the past nine years, traveling the ancient trade routes to return to teach, and visit family and friends, QUE VIVA!! And taking trips throughout Mexico, working on a novel in progress, always the poetry, memory.
www.almaluzvillanueva.com

"How’d We Get This Way?"
by Javier B. Pacheco

And this is supposed to be a "Christian Nation"?
We've got the most homicides, homeless people, human trafficking,
abandoned veterans, cancerous elders, untreated mentally ill, apathy,
alienation, & overly-stimulated vulnerable children.

That fence you straddle
between hardness and softness
erects that great divide between us
where there is no visible drawbridge.
I’m stuck on the foggy bank
wondering what you put in the moat
what circles ‘round your corporal castle?
What electric fence barbs your vibe?
convenient separation, marking distances
no chance to retrace steps
to replay the hurricanes
there is no boundless room
no open majestic sky
only light-year distances
and emotional gaps I cannot fathom
finely-embroidered sentiments washed away
pebbles causing reverberating echoes
in the depths of our splendor caverns
in the cold abyss of avoidance, of neglect
as time takes its course
magic gold reverts to rotted tin
how did we allow the gentle tide to go out?
allowing the storm to stay,
bringing in the cold front
because your castle is a prison
your beliefs are set to stone,
imposing a motionless cloister effect
once again we’ve come to blows
without addressing the circumference
without finding out what circumstance
converted this garden to thistles
and thistles to desert,
altering our relationship?
thrusting us from Spring to Winter
from sincere friend to subtle foe?
Neglect feeds hardened adversaries
it does no better when its flesh and blood:
We went from weekly family dinners
to unfriendly distances, glacial dissolution;
instead of creating a harmony of belonging
of interpersonal nourishment
reconciling our separateness
we’ve become hesitant, benign strangers
operating only at the surface
distant and noncommittal
conventionalized duty and honor
erecting impenetrable barriers
people “too busy” to be family,
who cannot be questioned
carrying arsenals of automatic reprobation
like fully-loaded weapons, sensitive to the touch,
a ready Pavlov response to any hint of reprimand
shooting from the hip--the damage already done
we are merely corpses going through the motions
of removing splinters lodged in the heart,
distances aggravated by time and neglect
converted into carnivorous, territorial behavior
in an irrecoverable process of generational and sibling
rivalries
building better kinships with neighbors
than with blood relatives.

The Police now dress in full flak outfits
drive armored vehicles
are store-bought by wealthy contributors
use deadly force dispassionately
shoot and ask questions later
“Community Policing” is an old fairy tale
when the authorities stray from
love, fairness, righteousness, and mercy;
squashed vibratory rate.
Today’s devils and derelicts are indistinguishable
masses are easily misled by magicians,

by the virtuous guise of charismatic high priests
a special language that can only express appearance.
How did people lose sight of the way to live?
How did we stray from our own intuition?
The Essence sleeps deeply,
people are bottled up in ancient beliefs,
stuck totally in the physical,
trading inward powers
for outward chutzpah
consumption trumps courage
we’ve enabled death
and disabled life
oblivious to our ethereal, and astral bodies
oblivious to the quality of quietness
drowned out by the clamoring strobe box
and false oratory of modern barbarians.

Migrant Working…
by Anne Elizabeth Apfel

Hold up...Hold up here....
No wait a minute let me get this straight...
Your not worried about me taking this job....Right?
This job with my hands in the dirt....
Picking your pumpkins and watermelons and apples...
This job where I put that food on your table...
Cause if you were.. I wouldn't be here...

Why aren't civil rights civil?

You're worried about me bettering myself and taking your job..
Aren't you? That's what this is really about....
That's the darn truth....
And you know what ..? You should be scared...
I mean you should be really afraid...
Because while my hands are here in the dirt pickin your dinner...
I'm getting my body fit and filled with sunlight.

What is an elite society...?

I'm going to live many years longer than you are....
So you can keep that job....I'm not interested..
And you know what....? You couldn't do this if you tried..
You would last five minutes out here in the heat...
You're fat..your tired..you're lazy and you've lost your ability to think rationally.
I hope you're not gonna rely on those bankers to help you when your old...

Why are they paying for education...when they are only getting programmed?

Me...I can still grow something...Me and mine..we'll survive well into the future...
That lie your telling yourself that your healthier than me.....Get your face outta my cart..stupid
That's a Recipe for disaster...When your society collapses...
One Society...falls down because it's women would rather polish their nails and spray their hair..
Than get outside and plant a tree....or a strawberry or ....anything .....that touches the dirt..
Their men can no longer understand the farmer they once were from under their necktie..
I would be crying too if I were you..I really would be...You're the Devil...

Why are they going into the Church to pretend to talk to God...?

Javier B. Pacheco is a S.F. Bay Area poet and musician.

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Noche de Poesía de Roque Dalton y Talleres Literarios con Manlio Argueta

May 6, 2014, 11:01 pm

≫ Next: Santiago the Dreamer

≪ Previous: Latinos in Sci-Fi. Ana Castillo Reads Give It To Me. Rudolfo Anaya Conference. On-line Floricanto de Mayo

Mensaje de Jorge Tetl Argueta

Estimados compañeros/a,

Los invito a que nos acompañen a celebrar un maravillosos evento de poesía, honor a nuestro gran poeta Roque Dalton. Invitado especial el afamado novelista y amigo personal de Roque Dalton, Manlio Argueta. Los fondos recaudados son en apoyo al V Festival de Poesía Infantil, Mayula, 2014.

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Los invito a participar en un taller de literatura. Manlio Argueta, el reconocido escritor salvadoreño estará próximamente en San Francisco, CA, Luna's Press, dará 3 talleres de Escritura Creativa

El 10 de mayo de 9:00am-12m, el 14 de mayo de 6:30pm-9:30pm y el 17 de mayo de 9:00am -12m. Interesados en estos talleres, llame o envíe mensaje. 415-902-4754 tetl2002@yahoo.com Cupo limitado. $70 por taller. Fondos recaudados son para apoyar el V Festival de Poesía Infantil Manyula en el Salvador. Llame o escriba para inscripción.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manlio_Argueta

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* * *

My Name is Gabito/Me llamo Gabito Presentation

for ELL Bilingual Reading Night

Celebrate El día de los niños / El día de los libroswith 8 diverse live author + illustrator readings

April 30th Lineup

About the workshops

About the panels

About the writing incubator

About Proyecto Latina

About Gozamos

Come See Chicago

Celebrate El día de los niños / El día de los libros
with 8 diverse live author + illustrator readings