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front (l) Peggy, Laura. Back (L) Hilda, Felicitas, Beckie, Gloria and Delia.
Teatro Chicana
A Collective Memoir and Selected Plays
By Laura E. Garcia, Sandra M. Gutierrez, and Felicitas Nuñez
Foreword by Yolanda Broyles-Gonzalez
"This collection of testimonials of early Xicanistas and their work in teatro is an important contribution to the preservation of the spirit and energy that made the Chicano Movement."—Ana Castillo, author of The Guardians and So Far from God"These memoirs are the personal, honest, and riveting testimonials of seventeen Chicanas who performed Chicana theater during the 1970s. These carnalas empowered themselves and thousands during the tumultuous years of the Movimiento by performing plays for working-class communities. From college campuses to the fields where campesinos toiled, estas mujeres had the courage to fight gender inequality. We need their courage today. And we need their stories for a new generation of Chicanas and for working women everywhere."—Rudolfo Anaya, author of Bless Me, Ultima and Curse of the ChupaCabra"'Órale, ya era tiempo.' Stories of 'the Movement' too often emphasize men's roles, ignoring the vital participation of women or relegating them to the sidelines. In Teatro Chicana, women are central to the ideas, emotions, strategies, writing, art, and music of the 1960s and 1970s when this country—and much of the world—rocked with revolutionary imagination and fervor. The Chicano Movement, like most social movements, also had many women warrior/leaders—this struggle was shaped and ignited by women, fed and nurtured by women, with many men at their sides. I was part of this—I knew first hand how feminine spirit, energy, and love embraced and impelled us. Seeing it again through the voices of the elder-teachers in this book, I'm reminded—no movement is complete without la mujer."—Luis J. Rodriguez, author of Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. and Hearts and Hands: Creating Community in Violent Times_______________________________________________________________
The 1970s and 1980s saw the awakening of social awareness and political activism in Mexican-American communities. In San Diego, a group of Chicana women participated in a political theatre group whose plays addressed social, gender, and political issues of the working class and the Chicano Movement. In this collective memoir, seventeen women who were a part of Teatro de las Chicanas (later known as Teatro Laboral and Teatro Raíces) come together to share why they joined the theatre and how it transformed their lives. Teatro Chicana tells the story of this troupe through chapters featuring the history and present-day story of each of the main actors and writers, as well as excerpts from the group's materials and seven of their original short scripts.Edited by:Laura E. Garcia is the editor of the Tribuno del Pueblo newspaper, a bilingual publication that gives voice to the poor and to those fighting unjust laws, such as those that make the undocumented immigrant an animal of prey. She lives in Chicago.Sandra M. Gutierrez is a lifelong community activist who has advocated for immigrant rights, unionization, youth counseling, and cultural diversity. She lives in Pasadena, California.Felicitas Nuñez was a co-founder of the Teatro de las Chicanas and continues to be a driving force behind the organization. She lives in Bermuda Dunes, California.
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FILM IN THE PARK at Dusk
A program for the entire family, free of charge!
Elsa y Fred (Argentina/Spain)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Mozart Park
2036 N. Avers St.
Chicago, IL
Fred is 78 years old and a recent widower falls in love with his neighbor Elsa who claims to be younger. They fall in love, scandalizing their children and even their grandchildren. She is bound and determined to change Fred. She makes him laugh though, something he has not done for many years.
_______________________________________________________________
Based on the book by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Adapted by Lynne Alvarez
Directed by Henry Godinez
July 12 – August 10, 2008
Part of the Goodman Theatre Latino Theatre Festival
Goodman Theatre in the Owen, 170 N. Dearborn St.
Chicago, IL
Save $5 at any Friday performance! Use promo code "5off" to save $5 per ticket at any Friday performance July 12 through August 10. (Discount subject to availability. No exchanges or substitutions. Limit: 8 tickets per order.)
Call (312) 443-3800 or Groups of 10 or more call 877.4.GRP.TIX
Suggested for everyone age 8 and older
Esperanza Rising is the story of a wealthy Mexican girl whose privileged existence is shattered when tragedy strikes, and she and her mother must flee to California. Forced to work in a migrant labor camp, Esperanza must learn to rise above her difficult circumstances and discover what she's truly made of. Set in the turbulent 1930's, and based on the popular book by Pam Muñoz Ryan, Esperanza Rising is a poetic tale of a young girl's triumph over adversity.
Henry Godinez
Director Henry Godinez, a Chicago Children's Theatre Artistic Associate, directed our Inaugural Production of A Year With Frog and Toad. Henry is the Resident Artistic Associate at the Goodman Theatre, where curates their biennial Latino Theatre Festival and directed six seasons of A Christmas Carol. He serves as Artistic Director of Northwestern University's Theatre and Interpretation Center, and is the co-founder and former Artistic Director of Teatro Vista.
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NUEVO DICCIONARIO CONFECCIONADO
POLINESIA: mujer policía que no entiende razones.
CAMARON: aparato enorme que saca fotos.
DECIMAL: pronunciar equivocadamente.
BECERRO: observar una loma o colina.
BERMUDAS: observa a las que no hablan..
TELEPATIA: aparato de TV para la hermana de mi mamá.
ANOMALO: hemorroides.
BENCENO: lo que los bebés miran con los ojos cuando toman leche.
CHINCHILLA: auchenchia de un lugar para chentarche.
DIADEMAS: veintinueve de febrero.
DILEMAS: hablale más.
DIOGENES: la embarazó.
ELECCION:
lo que expelimenta un oliental al vel una película polno.
ENDOSCOPIO: me preparo para todos los exámenes excepto por dos.
MANIFIESTA: juerga de cacahuates.
MEOLLO:
me escucho.
ONDEANDO: sinónimo de ondestoy.
TALENTO:
no está tan rápido.
NITRATO: frustración superada.
REPARTO: trillizos.
REPUBLICA: mujerzuela sumamente conocida..
SILLON: respuesta afirmativa de Yoko Ono a Lennon..
SORPRENDIDA: monja corrupta y muy dispuesta...
ZARAGOZA : bien por Sarita!!!!!!
Lisa Alvarado
By: Lisa Alvarado,
on 6/19/2008
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Your humble writer this week was blessed had the task of trying to fill the shoes of Johanny Vazquez, at this month's Palabra Pura. La Divina is in Puerto Rico where I'm sure she's enjoying family and holding court. In a bedrock venue of Chicago's Mexican community, Decima Musa, Palabra Pura offered two dynamic poets, and the pre-show conversation was a lively, full-bodied discussion on female aesthetics and female presence on stage. The evening resonated with work that puts flesh on the bone, that breathes a sense of everyday spirituality and working-class nobility into their work.
Naomi Ayala is the author of This Side of Early (Curbstone Press, 2008) and Wild Animals on the Moon (Curbstone Press, 1997). Her third collection of poems is forthcoming from Bilingual Review Press in 2009. Ayala’s work has appeared in numerous journals and has been anthologized in Seeds of Fire: Contemporary Poems from the Other USA (Smokestack Books/U.K., 2008), Boriquén to Diasporican: Puerto Rican Poetry from Aboriginal Times to the New Millennium (University of Massachusetts Press, 2007), The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry (University of Arizona Press, 2007), and Latino Boom: An Anthology of U.S. Latino Literature (Longman, 2005). Ayala works as an education consultant (with a specialty in curriculum design and development), a translator, and teacher, and is currently serving as the Director of Development for Fiesta DC.
From Consortium, about This Side of Early...These poems straddle two landscapes—contrasting the imprints of gentrification with the supernal, come by way of the woods. Ayala’s poems deconstruct the political world of man, offer hope through a compelling, lyrical spiritual intimacy, and bridge the gap between the two with words full of ecological intensity. Her deep connections with the working class combine with a love of the land to offer us lilt and dream, revelation and foretelling. Many of the "seeings" she brings us walk the edge of cultural resilience, where the illusion we see of the outside world speaks to us most when we turn within.
Diana Pando is a megaphone for Latinos in the arts. She has been Managing Director of Teatro Vista, Interim Managing Director for Teatro Luna, and worked with Luna Negra Dance Theatre and DeLaTorre Fine Arts. Through Teatro Vista she has been able to initiate dialogue between communities and arts groups resulting in youth outreach programs in the Back of the Yards neighborhood and increased Latino theatre in Little Village. She is one of the founding members of Proyecto Latina, a collaborative between Teatro Luna and Tianguis Bookstore and former contributing writer for Dinero Magazine. She has contributed writing to Teatro Luna's critically acclaimed show MACHOS, Lunaticas, collaborated with artist Luis DeLaTorre and maintains a blog called Art Botanas for Latinos in the arts.
She is a member of the Latina Leadership Council for the Chicago Foundation for Women. This October she will be the featured reader at Proyecto Latina hosted at RadioArte. Currently, she works with the Community Media Workshop helping nonprofits tell their stories. She is a lifelong resident of the Bridgeport neighborhood where she resides with artist Luis DeLaTorre and their dog Cometa
READING IS FUNDAMENTAL
Focus on Your Community
Support the fledgling Chicago Public Schools Literacy Program, Padres a Padres, which in turn supports the Latino community. The program serves 3 and 4 year old children who do not have other available preschool options. The program is unique in that the parents are in the classroom learning how to read books to their children to instill a love for reading and learning in their children. Twice a week, along with other activities, the teacher reads a book to the class and the children get to take a new hardcover copy of the same book home with them. The class is taught in Spanish and all books are Spanish language.
The program also includes an outing to the local library and home visits by CPS staff. This program has a wonderful parenting component and focuses on closing the book gap ('well-off' kids have hundred of children's books in their homes; 'poor' kids have only a handful). Your book donations have helped to support this program. Luz Maria Solis, the program administrator at CPS, (CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS) just reported to that nearly 25% of this year's Padres a Padres class have been accepted to the Orozco Regional Gifted Center for English-Language Learners.
If you would like to continue to support this Chicago Public Schools collaborative initiative (CPS partners with the Chicago Park District and Chicago 's museums for Padres a Padres), please consider purchasing one or more new Spanish language hardcover books.
Book Donations:
Oso Pardo and Oso Panda books - available at Amazon.com
Buenas Noches Luna - available at Amazon.com
If you are ordering the books online, please have them shipped directly to:
Luz Maria Solis
Chicago Public Schools
125 S. Clark St., 9th floor
Chicago, IL 60603
Phone: (773) 553-2019
... and put "Donation for the Padres a Padres Program from [your name]" in the gift message.
Feel free to call Luz Maria Solis if you prefer to make a cash donation or are interested in selecting a different book title from the Padres a Padres curriculum.
AND FROM MI NIETO, RICH VILLAR y ACENTOS
Greetings all.
Acentos is pleased to announce the inaugural issue of the ACENTOS REVIEW, a new journal of writing by Latino and Latina authors. It is online right now at http://www.acentosreview.com.
Seven poets and one visual artist grace the June 2008 issue:
Ray Gonzalez
Rachel McKibbens
Sheila Maldonado
Christina Olivares
Jose Olivarez
Mundo Rivera
Griselda Suarez
Visual: "Man With A Guitar," by Alexandra Cespedes
The poets represented here comprise a remarkable mosaic of emerging and established Latino and Latina writers from different areas of the country. The work sprawls, breathes, bites, and turns. It demands. It is not easy. These are the poems we love, and these poets make beautiful conversation. They honor us with their presence and set a high bar for subsequent projects. Acentos sends its sincerest gratitude to each of them. Deepest thanks also to our co-editors Raina Leon and Eliel Lucero, who insisted that this project was doable and then willed it into reality.
Now then, a word about subsequent projects.
We are right now accepting submissions of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, reviews, interviews, and translation for the Latino Heritage Month issue (September 2008). See the submission guidelines for further details. We look forward to reading your work!
Log onto www.acentosreview.com and check out the fuss. We are extremely excited about this project, and we welcome your comments and queries: [email protected]. See you soon!
Vaya,
Rich Villar
for the Acentos crew.
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Teatro Luna receives two Non-Equity Jeff Awards!
Teatro Luna wins two Jeffs for Machos: Best New Work and Outstanding Ensemble! These awards are extra exciting for us because they recognize what we value most about our work: creating original ensemble based shows. Machos was a huge community effort and so this award goes out to a lot of people: the 100 men who contributed stories for the show, the 20 women who collaborated on writing the show, the 45 people who transcribed hours of interviews, and of course... to the uber-talented cast of Machos, a bunch of ladies who worked hard to learn how to be men. Felicidades to our big Luna Family!
Lisa Alvarado
"The significance of Amelia Jones's Body Art/Performing the Subject cannot be overstated. Body Art is a book that is long overdue, and one that I suspect will drastically change the field of feminist art history, particularly as it concerns the performative art production of seventies artists." —Performing Arts Journal
"If art history traditionally has been a male-dominated enterprise, O'Dell and Jones renegotiate its gender. The stories these two writers tell, and the images they reproduce, suggest that their revisionary critical practices are not justified but revelatory." —Henry Sayre in Art Journal
"Insightfully self-reflexive and critical re-reading of modernism and postmodernism." —Saul Ostrow, Bomb
"In her latest book, Body Art/Performing the Subject, Amelia Jones locates her critical project with particular reference to the work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Simone de Beauvoir and Judith Butler, and thus joins the increasing number of feminist philosophers, film theorists and art historians exploring notions of performativity, embodied subjectivity, situated knowledges and the phenemenological intersubjectivity of the interpretive act. Jones's book represents a particularly powerful enunciation of the reconception of the subjectivity of the artist and the historian calling into question both the production and interpretation of art as moments of active negotiation of 'body/self' boundaries and limits." —Art History
This book is a scholarly exploration of the use of the body in performance art. Although the author’s style was incredibly dry, the work profiled was fascinating. The most compelling and representative essay for me was, ‘The Rhetoric of Pose: Hannah Wilke.' In this essay, Jones profiles an artist who explores physicality, identity, and decay. Wilke kept a photo diary of her battle with cancer, and in a series of photos, she details all the aspects of chemotherapy, including the loss of her hair.
In a photo entitled Brush Strokes, the viewer sees clumps of hair arranged as objets d’art. I found this last image particularly evocative and moving. So much of popular ideas of female beauty and femaleness itself, is associated with hair. Wilke deftly suggests loss, mortality and devastation with the scattering of a few items. It triggered for me ways in which I might want to tight shot of my own body parts in a photo collage about aging. It also resonated with others ideas I've encountered of artists claiming sexuality beyond airbrushed ideas of femaleness and "perfection."On a critical note, despite the book's tremendous strengths, Jones’ essays are limited in their global appeal due to a very dense, almost inaccessible style of writing. I realize that this is an ongoing criticism of mine, but it’s one that, sadly, I’m forced to make time and time again. Form and style continue to be a major way in which those who nominally control the art community exclude the general public. Class and cultural biases continue segregate artists of color and working class artists by exactly the language used in the book and the audience the author assumes is reading it. This is a self-defeating practice on the part of those who claim to be progressive artists, more understandable coming from the old guard which art critics like Jones claim to be reacting against.
Lastly, there is very little to be found in the way of emotional content in the book. I kept wanting to ask: “But how did viewing this piece make you feel?”
Still, Jones provides the reader a provocative opportunity to explore the work of artists pushing the envelope, who use their bodies to explore identity, culture, gender and race. I was challenged to think how I can continue use my body sparely and truthfully to look at the same themes.
By: Lisa Alvarado,
on 3/5/2008
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Teatro Luna Fabulousness!
Teatro Luna has a BRAND NEW SHOW opening on March 6th, but you can catch it now! This Saturday and Sunday see a sneak preview of Teatro Luna's most intimate show yet... SOLO TU, a collection of four interwoven solos all about different women's experiences with PREGNANCY.One woman thinks she's finally built the perfect family - Mom, Dad, Cute Kid- until an invasion of mice makes her wonder what's really going on. Another woman finds herself caught up in the worst kind of Baby-Daddy-Single-Mama Drama. Meanwhile, a woman in her third year of trying to get pregnant decides her pregnant friends make her want to vomit, and her close friend wrestles with pro-life activists, hospital robes, and how she feels about having an abortion in her 30's.Saturday @ 7:30 pm and Sunday @ 6pm
SHOW RUN: March 6-April 6 2008 Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays @ 7:30 pm Sundays @ 6pm Chicago Dramatists 1105 W. Chicago Ave, at Milwaukee Tickets $15, Student and Senior Discount on Thursdays and Sundays only, $10 $12 Group Sale price, parties of 8 or more For tickets, visit www.teatroluna.orgMind, you the company is filled with talented, writers and performers, and it was rough to pair down, but gente, enjoy this interview with three of Teatro Luna's members, Diana Pando, who does administration for the group as well as writing, Tanya Saracho and Diana Herrera, both writers/actors.
DIANA PANDO
Talk about the differences in each. Is there a genre you feel is your "favorite?"As an emerging writer, I think my strengths are poetry and fiction writing. I’m dabbling in playwriting because I’m absolutely fascinated by creating dialogue and having actors bring the characters to life. Even though I’ve been doing theatre administration for Teatro Luna they teach me so much about the process.Talk a little about Proyecto Latina. What do you hope it provides for community writers, and book lovers?Proyecto Latina is a wonderful community based initiative between Tianguis Bookstore, Teatro Luna and myself. This open mic takes place every 3rd Monday of the month at Radio Arte and it’s a place for Latina’s to come out and show off their talent whether it’s poetry, fiction writing, belly dancers and Hula Hoopers it’s an open mic that brings together emerging and established Latinas in the arts to share, explore and encourage their creative pursuits. We are impacting that next generation by giving them an outlet to show off their creativity. Irasema Gonzales, owner of Tianguis Bookstore, has done an amazing job of lining up some the best features. There’s even a chismé box where you can drop your anonymous chismé and we read them during the open mic. Please drop in and check it out. Log on to http://www.tianguis.bizWhat are you sources of inspiration? A source of inspiration for me is walking through the city. I’m a big fan of long walks despite a toe spur gone amuck. Anyway, too much information. Friends always look at me with suspicion when I tell them we are just three blocks away. Rightfully, so I guess. Three blocks is the equivalent of ten blocks for me. I’m a wanderer. I love to look at people, places and things. Me embobo luego, luego, especially when I’m in Mexico City. There is nothing like being in the Zócalo on a rainy day. Definitely inspires and leaves me drenched. I always forget my umbrella…What's the role of female friendship in your daily life and as a writer?Funny you should ask this question. It’s my lifeline! I can’t go back to anything else. In 2002, Irasema Gonzales invited me to see a reading of Sandra Cisneros up at Loyola. I was feeling a little lazy and it was cold out. Thankfully, she dragged me out there anyway. It was an amazing reading and what came out of it was such a blessing. After the reading Sandra was signing her book and answering questions. There was this annoying girl with a red shirt talking and talking to Sandra. “Hurry Up” I wanted to yell “We want to talk to Sandra too!” The line finally began to move and when we got there Irasema asked about writing groups and Sandra told us to connect with the woman in red. The woman in red is now a dear friend and fabulous writer. Our writing group consists of Lizann Acosta, Professor of World Literature & Teatro Luna Artistic Associate, Irasema Salinas, Tianguis Bookstore Owner, Family Dr. Yolanda Cardenas, Magda Banda Ph.d Candidate in Comparative Education and me. Sandra probably has no idea but she’s our writing group madrina.Where would you like to be creatively and professionally in ten years? In ten years, I will be producing consistent work in different generes of writing, collaborating with other Latinas on projects, encouraging Latino professionals to support the arts through philanthropy, create the Mariposa Atomica Arts Fund and do advocacy work for the arts. Latinos enrich the arts in the city of Chicago and it’s important that we support and cultivate those efforts.Tell us something not in the offical bio.I have an 800 pound Dalmation and he’s more than a decade old, I’m a mascara junkie and my favorite mantra is vision + action = Reality.
TANYA SARACHO
(Courtesy Time Out Chicago)
Talk about the differences in each. Is there a genre you feel is your "favorite?"I'm mostly a writer for the stage. I don't have a talent for poetry. I respect poets immensely. To be able to structure and mold words aurally and rhythmically is a talent I truly admire.Talk a little about Proyecto Latina. What do you hope it provides for community writers and book lovers?I can't believe we've been doing Proyecto Latina for two years now. I remember the first time we did it, and how we filled Meztli Cafe and how every one was excited about every performer. You could feel the electricity in the place. Not much has changed, the location perhaps, but people are still excited to hear and support new work by Latina writers-of all genres, not just poetry. It provides a much needed outlet and cocoon to nurture our work.What are you sources of inspiration? What's the role of female friendship in your daily life and as a writer?All my plays are about females. I don't think that's limiting in the least; They all deal with a female central character and I can't deny it, each and every one has at least a bit of coloring that I draw from the women in my life. My mother, my sisters, my Teatro Luna sisters (who are more than friends)... I take the ribbons of vernacular from their mouths and plaster them on the stage. Their words are much more brilliant than mine will ever be. They are wise and funny and flawed. It's my friend's Yadira's zinger lines and her obsession with the perfect meal. It's my friend Miranda's struggle for her dreams and the sting failure causes. It's Tatiana's depression and her unwillingness to come to surface, but her attempt at it every day. It's my friends navigating their contradictions. Those things are much more interesting than anything I'd come up with on my own. Now I might piss people off. Make them angry because I just take one tiny little shade of blue here, or a smudge of brown and they think that's definitive of my opinion of them. But that's never the case. I am often in trouble for it though.Where would you like to be creatively and professionally in ten years?I'd love to be feeding myself fully with the work. Sharing it with as many people as possible. In whatever form. Whatever that means. Whether bigger stages. More productions. Far reaching publications. I'm not sure what that means, but I'd like to have figured it out and be in a place to open doors for other people. Be on the founding stage of programming that makes sure our voice is being heard. In ten years I would have liked to have gotten out of my myopic state and attempt a period piece about hoodoo in the American South during the late 1800's. Nothing to do with Latinidad. That's just a little project that has been rattling in my brain. But it's a long time for that one. In a decade, I'd like to have a cannon of work I can be proud of, but having the best yet to come. Also, in ten years Teatro Luna will be an institution; financially healthy, administratively strong, artistically excellent. Still doing the work.Tell us something not in the official bio.I am addicted to divination and getting my cards read. Every week. Every. Week. My name is Tanya Selene Saracho Armenta, and I am a divination addict.
DIANA HERRERA
Talk about the differences in each. Is there a genre you feel is your "favorite?"I don't work too much in poetry, except what I write in my journals that will never been shown to ANYONE 'cause it's really bad poetry! But here we go with the other two. My favorite has to be playwriting because I think I have a God complex. Seriously, it's intoxicating to create this whole world and populate them with these people that use YOUR WORDS to express themselves…then if you're lucky you get a chance to see it LIVE!! How cool is that? Also, though…there is that moment of CONNECTION. When you make a bulls-eye with the hearts of your audience members. There is nothing as gratifying as when someone comes up to me after a show and tells me, you were writing about me. I wrote a piece in "The Maria Chronicles" about visiting my brother in prison, and after shows I had several people tell me about their experiences with family members in prison. One lady told me that after my piece she reconciled with her brother and visited him for the first time in years. That really touched me. It might sound trite, but it's true…writing plays for me is like reaching out and saying "I'm not alone, you are not alone…for this moment we will be taking this journey together". I write because sometimes these feelings I have are so intense it becomes necessary to overflow them onto paper. I chose to share my journey, though, instead of locking it up in a diary (well, except my poems. Those don't need to be shared!).So where does performance fit in? To me, performance is another level of connection with the audience. It's very cathartic, and it's wonderful because you get instant gratification…laughter during a one-liner delivered just right, silence during a dramatic moment…applause. Oh, the applause! Performing is such a high, because you are on this tightrope wire where any sudden change (even something like the theater being too hot or the seats too uncomfortable) will distract your audience…you have to EARN their attention…but once you've earned it what a RUSH.Talk a little about Proyecto Latina. What do you hope it provides for community writers and book lovers?I've enjoyed participating in Proyecto Latina in the past…unfortunately I've been absent from the monthly events for a while. However, I think it's such a wonderful opportunity for new artists…and I LOVE that there is a set limit of people that can perform, that it's a 5 minute time limit and that there is a featured performer. That is key…to be able to enjoy these "tastes" of performance without being overwhelmed by a 4 hour open mike. I know being able to hear various artists has inspired my own writing. I'm hoping I can start attending again…I've missed it!What are you sources of inspiration? What's the role of female friendship in your daily life and as a writer?My family is a HUGE source of inspiration for me—we have this carefully honed sense of humor that I use in my writing. They are very supportive of me—I talk a lot about them in my pieces and I haven't been disowned. Yet. I love comedy, so of course I'm all over female writers like Tina Fey—even watching the old episodes of The Carol Burnett Show gives me inspiration as a writer. Currently I'm working on a two-woman show, and we are using "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe" as inspiration…Jane Wagner and Lily Tomlin collaborated on this piece, and it's amazing.Where would you like to be creatively and professionally in ten years?Creatively, I'd like to still be writing and getting my work produced…if I can perform occasionally that would be a bonus. It's hard because I do have a family now, and I'm the primary breadwinner…so not only do I have to balance work with family, I have to find time to write and stay involved in projects as well. The good thing is that my husband is VERY supportive—in fact, he's the one that keeps pushing me to take on these projects and he's great about covering the night shifts at home, taking care of our daughter and the house. So it's just a matter of figuring out what the next step is…the point is, I can't figure out next year, much less TEN years from now!!Tell us something not in the official bio.I am a HUGE fan of science fiction—my favorite authors include Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, HP Lovecraft, Charles Beaumont…and I LOVE TV shows like "The Twilight Zone", "Heroes", "Lost"�anything with a sci-fi edge to it! And yes, I was one of those geeks that stood in line for Star Wars tickets. Han Solo was my first crush.
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Women and Creativity Conference/Lisa Alvarado Shameless Self-Promotion Department Gente: I've been blessed enough to have been asked to perform
The Housekeeper's Diary at the conference --
Friday, March 7, at 8 PM at the
National Hispanic Cultural Center's Roy E. Disney Center for the Performing Arts, as well as a reading for high school students at the Center's Wells Fargo Auditorium, Monday, March 10th at 10 AM.
Conference Info:
Women and Creativity 2008 is organized and presented by the
National Hispanic Cultural Center in partnership with more than 25 local arts organizations, artists, writers and independently owned-business. This year, we have an inspiring offering of more than 50 exhibitions, performances, workshops, classes, and engaging discussions in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Women and Creativity partners invite you to dedicate an afternoon, evening or entire weekend in March to attend events and workshops that awaken and nourish your own creativity and support the creativity of our communities. Although we shine a special light on women’s creativity during this festival, we invite and encourage the participation of men at all events.
The National Hispanic Cultural Center, along with our partners in
Women and Creativity 2008, believe that creativity, art and self-expression are central to sustaining healthy individuals, organizations, business and communities – so, join in and celebrate the creative women in your community and the creativity inside yourself.
There will also be a fabulous
PEÑA FEMENINA Sunday, March 9th at
NHCC's LA FONDA DEL BOSQUE;Other Artists:
Alma Jarocha,
Leticia Cuevas, Anabel Marín, Otilio Ruiz, Victor Padilla
Jessica López
Bailaora Xicana, Flamenco
marisol encinias, vicente griego, ricardo anglada
Lenore Armijo
Angélica
Cuevas
National Hispanic Cultural Center 1701 4th St, SW Albuquerque, New Mexico
More Conference News from Demetria Martinez
On Saturday, March 8 at 3 p.m. the first-ever Spanish-language anthology of work by women who reside in New Mexico will be unveiled at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque. Titled Metamorfosis, the book was co-founded by Demetria Martinez, Rosalee Montoya-Reed and Maria Nieves de Abajo Bajo. Please join us to celebrate International Women's Day, poetry, the Spanish language and creativity. A reception will follow. Please RSVP at 724-4777.
And Lastly, news from La Divina, Johanny Vasquez
Hola to Everyone: I will be participating at the Nuestras Voces: Women's Poetry Night at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign this Thursday, March 6, 2008. The event will take place at from Caffe Paradiso7:00 to 9:00 pm. This will be my first time at U of I, so I'm extremely excited. If you live in the area or know people that live in Urbana/Champaign, please come by or let them know. For more information got to my blog at:http://johannyvazquezpaz.blogspot.com/ or to the University Site at:
http://www.mechauiuc.org/ThursdayChicanasLatinasInTtheArts.html Hasta la vista, Johanny
Lisa Alvarado
Time for a new word of the day (perhaps, though, as I’ve said before I should call it word-of-the-random-timeperiod since it has never been a daily offering in my blog). Anyway, today’s word is: FOIBLE
Foible (noun) a failing or weakness of character.
So a foible is a failing one has, but I’ve noticed that the term is often used in an almost endearing way – as in ‘he has his little foibles’ rather than ‘his foibles really annoy the heck out of me.’
The word has got me thinking. "What are my foibles?" I asked Primula, but she wouldn’t have a bar of this sort of soul-searching. “I’m not going to list your faults, Pemberthy dear,” she admonished. “I love you warts and all. I don’t want to hurt you.” Warts? I have warts? Lucky my fur keeps them covered. Anyway, Primula suggested if I wanted to know about my foibles, it was better to do some quiet reflecting on them for myself. So, I started a list, and here it is, for public consumption.
Pemberthy’s Foibles:
1. I have very poor balance. This is what led to me falling from the shelf which, ultimately, was a good thing because that’s how I met Primula.
2. I tend to be a bit gruff. However, since I met Primula, I am much happier and much nicer to be around.
3. I am sometimes a little conceited. Yes, I know as one is cute and fluffy as well as being a great singer and a good writer, that I have a lot to be proud about, but at times I forget to be modest. I’m working on it, though.
4. I have warts. Apparently. Though I didn’t know this till Primula told me so today. I’m not sure if this is a foible or not – after all, warts are just a skin condition, really. – not a personality trait.
So, there you have it – a list of my foibles. Can you still love me after knowing my faults and failings? (That sounds like the title of a book – faults, failings and foibles.) I do hope so. I try hard to be loveable.
By: Lisa Alvarado,
on 2/27/2008
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photo of raulsalinas by Bruce Dye
From Lisa, La Blogista: We hope this stirs and ignites you. Please leave a comment and more importantly take raulsalinas' example to heart....Gracias to Juan Felipe Herrera
hail raúlrsalinas :: 1934 – 2008 :: hail liberationlove raúlr was in red. he came in lower-case, strutting down thru the brown cadre in red, a red bandanna across his forehead & taut around his black tresses down to his shoulders, smilin, boppin’ slow & glowin’ hard, in blue tramos planchados & curled to show the calcos spit-shined black solid, bluish tattoos, turquoise rings & gold medallions, a slung-fine chain swingin’ down the black spaghetti-thin belt, under the amber light in the center of the waiting audience, this is where the street-royal carnal found his calling, throttled the mic & peered into the brown cadre huddled on the floors, some of us squeezed against the shadowy aisles, the rest of us in crescent shaped circles, in strange awe, smeared hot against each other’s shoulder bones, the dark jeweled man in red stood under that first-time sparkle-light, his veined muscled arms swayed at his sides, then, he spoke, his bold baritone sounds found a silky-river way into our head, then coursed through our blood as if we were one blood, what was he all about? what was happening to us? where were we headed, now that we had been set off in motion? raulr was riffin’, blowin’, boppin’, snappin’ spittin’, talkin’-singin’ for the new freedom-body, without the locks, fetters & guards of officialized history, policies, and summations of our multi-dimensional self. november 13th, 1973, raulr appeared in the morning, at the floricanto first national chicano literature conference at USC, thirty-eight years old, one year after he had finished doing his time at leavenworth penitentiary, i sat in the center row, dressed in a tzotzil tunic i had brought back from chiapas in ‘70, miguel mendez, tomás rivera, teresa palomo acosta, zeta acosta by the doorway, then raulr popped the mic again & flowed into “un trip thru the mind jail y otras excursions,” he was speakin’ black, caló, tex-mex, chicano & some kind of san francisco beat mantra chakra choppin’ language meant to pierce your awareness: who are you? who did you think you were? what is oppression? how is it constructed? how many of your rooms does it occupy? who else resides in these chambers? is there a way out? then, the baritone voice slid back into the crimson body under the lights – raúlrsalinas ambled away, into the fresh trembling borderless nation. raúlr’s nation was borderless, he had crossed it, on foot as on the page & the stage, speaking, riffin’ & teaching human verses & unity actions – from working class “barbed-wired existence” barrios, from the land of high school force-outs, from grave stones of bullet-riddled camaradas, from “narcotic driven nerviosidad,” from suicided “colonias” & familias, to “ex-convictos activistas doing good in cities of chavalos gone bad,” to “trenzas indigenas,” dedicated to a revitalized indi@ collectivity, to “cantor de cantinas, pasándole poems a perennial pachukos prendidos, hoping to ease their pain,” “cantando colores de flores in arco iris danza,” ”learning en la lucha,” honoring the oak tree at the margins of a desolate collective capitol, honoring “indias, comadres wearing ski-boots so essential para caminar.” raúlr too was a walker, a walker-writer of the chican@ inferno & finder-seer of "rainbow people spirit." raulrsalinas was a true liberator: a kind fire-word man of soul-jazzed languages, a writer within & without prison walls, a socio-political mind-jail wall-breaker-scribe-singer, a collector, reader & translator of stolen cultura-tablets, a speaker of & for tender homage & eulogy to the invisibilized, a fearless warrior seeking the paths to our indigenous selves, lands & pueblos, relentless in responding to the “animales transnacionales” & militarized hydra machines, a shaman in demin, re-conjuring herstories of unwritten pachuka murders & oppressions across the southwest & pacific northwest, undoing the anthropological & sociological tyrannies of el pachuko, that is, all of us, in lower-case motion – raulr sings in a mid-fifties bebop alto & baritone gold-gilded sax voice, from pine ridge to chiapas, from el barrio de la loma to the diné rez, from shoshone & arapaho tierras to la selva lacandona, healing-gathering, healing-working – “respeto, paz y dignidad,” raúlr offers his life-quest harvests to all of us. what else, raúlr? you were speaking of lower-case love – everything we all are, have been & will ever be. in liberation --juan felipe Herrera, 2/25/08 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
And from poet Oscar Bermeo:Just wanted to pass along that last week, there was a tribute to raulsalinas
Among the readers sharing their thoughts and presenting the work of Raul
Alejandro Murguía
Tomás Riley Francisco
J. Dominguez
Marc Pinate
Naomi Quiñones
Leticia Hernández-Linares
Lorna Dee Cervantes
Nina Serrano
Jack Hirschman
Darren de Leon
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More teatro news, Denver-style
The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare Thursday – Saturday, February 28 – March 1 Thursday – Saturday, March 6 – 8 7:30pm King Center Rawls Courtyard Theatre Auraria Campus, Denver Tickets: $12 General Admission $5 UC Denver students Sponsored by: Theatre, Film and Video Production Department.
José Mercado, new Assistant Professor of the Theatre, Film & Video Production Department, directs a contemporary telling of a classic comedy driven by mix-ups, coincidence and slapstick humor, with the events confined within the action of a single day. The Comedy of Errors is Shakespeare’s earliest, shortest and most farcical play. It tells the story of two sets of identical twins and the wild mishaps that occur through mistaken identity. Before joining the faculty at UC Denver, Mercado was head of the theatre department at North High School where he directed "The Zoot Suit Riots", the first high school production to play at Denver Performing Arts Center’s Buell Theatre. Prior to teaching, he worked as an actor in Los Angeles after earning his Master of Fine Arts degree in Theatre from UCLA. He is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild and Actor’s Equity Association. He is also a member of the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs.
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Women and Creativity Conference/Lisa Alvarado Shameless Self-Promotion Department Gente: I've been blessed enough to have been asked to perform
The Housekeeper's Diary at the conference --
Friday, March 7, at 8 PM at the
National Hispanic Cultural Center's Roy E. Disney Center for the Performing Arts, as well as a reading for high school students at the Center's Wells Fargo Auditorium, Monday, March 10th at 10 AM.
Conference Info:
Women and Creativity 2008 is organized and presented by the
National Hispanic Cultural Center in partnership with more than 25 local arts organizations, artists, writers and independently owned-business. This year, we have an inspiring offering of more than 50 exhibitions, performances, workshops, classes, and engaging discussions in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Women and Creativity partners invite you to dedicate an afternoon, evening or entire weekend in March to attend events and workshops that awaken and nourish your own creativity and support the creativity of our communities. Although we shine a special light on women’s creativity during this festival, we invite and encourage the participation of men at all events.
The National Hispanic Cultural Center, along with our partners in
Women and Creativity 2008, believe that creativity, art and self-expression are central to sustaining healthy individuals, organizations, business and communities – so, join in and celebrate the creative women in your community and the creativity inside yourself.
There will also be a fabulous
PEÑA FEMENINA Sunday, March 9th at
NHCC's LA FONDA DEL BOSQUE;Other Artists:
Alma Jarocha,
Leticia Cuevas, Anabel Marín, Otilio Ruiz, Victor Padilla
Jessica López
Bailaora Xicana, Flamenco
marisol encinias, vicente griego, ricardo anglada
Lenore Armijo
Angélica
Cuevas
National Hispanic Cultural Center 1701 4th St, SW Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Teatro Luna Fabulousness!
Teatro Luna has a BRAND NEW SHOW opening on March 6th, but you can catch it now! This Saturday and Sunday see a sneak preview of Teatro Luna's most intimate show yet... SOLO TU, a collection of four interwoven solos all about different women's experiences with PREGNANCY.
One woman thinks she's finally built the perfect family - Mom, Dad, Cute Kid- until an invasion of mice makes her wonder what's really going on. Another woman finds herself caught up in the worst kind of Baby-Daddy-Single-Mama Drama. Meanwhile, a woman in her third year of trying to get pregnant decides her pregnant friends make her want to vomit, and her close friend wrestles with pro-life activists, hospital robes, and how she feels about having an abortion in her 30's.
Saturday @ 7:30 pm and Sunday @ 6pm
SHOW RUN: March 6-April 6 2008Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays @ 7:30 pmSundays @ 6pmChicago Dramatists 1105 W. Chicago Ave, at MilwaukeeTickets $15, Student and Senior Discount on Thursdays and Sundays only, $10$12 Group Sale price, parties of 8 or moreFor tickets, visit www.teatroluna.org
Lisa Alvarado
I asked my friend
Sally to give me a writing prompt to get my pen moving again, as I haven’t written much lately.
She challenged me to write a story of 26 words, with each word starting with the next letter of the alphabet. This is my attempt:
A beautiful cougar deftly explores forests grumpily. Hovering, it jumps knight-like moving nimbly over puddles. Quickly running, staying to unlit walkways. Xavier yells ‘Zikes!’
Primula liked it, but had to ask who Xavier was. ‘That’s easy, Prim dear,’ I explained. ‘Xavier is the wood cutter, out to start work in the early morning when he comes across the cougar. Wouldn’t you yell ‘zikes’ if you came across something as scary as a cougar?’
Primula smiled. ‘You have such an imagination, Pemberthy dear,’ she said.
I think she meant it as a compliment.
What have you written lately? Perhaps consider putting your skills to the test and try writing an alphabet story.
Zzzzzzzzz. Wha? Who? Where?
Dearie me, I must have slept through January. It’s February already and here I am writing my first blog post for the year. I hope you haven’t missed me too much while I had a little post-Christmas hibernation.
I was woken by a little nudge by a bear called Edmund who dropped by to visit me and left a message here. I had to wake up enough to go and visit his blog. Wow! Edmund is off to the Arctic – for a picnic! How cool! (Terrible pun, that, but I am a punny guy). I am seriously impressed by Edmund’s plans. I wonder if Sally would let me go off travelling? And if Primula and the others could cope without me?
Anyway, I will enjoy reading more about Edmund’s travels through his blog. You can read it
here.
Christmas is coming and the toyroom is abuzz with the festive spirit. There is tinsel and baubles and angels and candy canes and EVERYTHING. Toys are carolling, toys are laughing and toys are scurrying around preparing Christmas surprises for each other. It's lovely :)
I thought it might be nice to decorate my blog in honour of the special season, so made the snowglobe (above) at at
BillyBear4Kids.com (Copyright ©1999 ), a cute bear-themed site with lots of Christmas fun.
Primula and I have been teaching the other toys all our favourite Christmas songs and carols. It's wonderful how a good sing along can lift your spirits so high. I love Christmas. I hope you have a good one at your house.
Another busy day today – I did over 14 000 steps, mostly while sweeping and mopping my floors!
So I have clean floors, but still managed some work (household chores don’t count as work – they are just a tedious necessity). I added nine new book reviews to Aussiereviews, including three by other reviewers. I also helped Pemberthy to compose a new poem – his first for quite some time – in
By:
Sally Murphy,
on 11/16/2007
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Scribblings
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I have been tagged by Joh at johblogs. I’ve never been tagged before, but figure I’ll give it a go.
Here’s how it works:
Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their
I’ve been a bit slack of late when it comes to blogging. This bear has been a little lazy, and there really is no excuse. I suppose the coming of spring has a little to do with it. I’ve spent so much time singing, enjoying the warmer weather and looking out of the toy room window at Sally’s beautiful spring garden, that I’ve just not been paying enough attention to my blog and my writing skills. So, being a Sunday, and with a gentle calm throughout the toy room, I’ve decided to spend just a few moments blogging.
But what to write about? I suppose that’s every writer’s dilemma at times like these, and being a bear makes no difference from any other writer – though perhaps a little furrier. Perhaps I should write about how lucky I am to be able to write. To be able to take up my pen (or at least my keyboard) and write away, expressing whatever it is I fancy, is a gift I’ve been given. Not every bear has my way with words, or my adeptness at typing with paws – and as I’ve been given this gift, I really should use it more often.
So what are you good at? Writing? Singing? Sport? Glory in that gift this sunny Sunday, and make the most of it. There are probably many around you who wish they could do what it is you can do.
Well, what are you waiting for? Go! (And enjoy.)
Spring has sprung here down under. From the toyroom window I can see Sally’s garden all abloom with bright and beautiful flowers. There are ranunculi, anemones, sweet peas, gerberas, poppies and more all raising their beautiful heads to the sky. Earlier there were jonquils and daffodils, but they’re just finishing, as are the multi-coloured freesias.
Spring is such a wonderful season. People (and toys) no longer moan about the cold (I myself have been known to do this in winter) and it is not yet so hot it could singe your fur. There are birds building nests and people singing. Sally even sang as she did the vacuuming this morning. As if there were some joy in doing the housework!
But I suppose the point isn’t think whether the task deserves joy – but to carry that joy with you whatever you’re doing. Life’s too short to be grumpy and gruff. Whether it’s spring or summer, autumn or winter, we need to find pleasure in here we are and what we’re doing. Otherwise life is passing us by. So what song are you singing today?
By: Sally Murphy,
on 9/8/2007
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Pemberthy's Ponderings
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I've written a new poem. Here it is:
Though others may be fair
Fabulous, free and fine
I love being a bear
My life is without care
No finer life than mine
Though others may be fair
I no longer grump and glare
Instead I sing and shine
I love being a bear
From my stuffing to my hair
I feel simply divine
Though others may be fair
Yes you may stop and stare
Wondering why I do not whine
I love being a bear.
If you're wondering about the form, this poem is a villanelle. The structure of the form is based around the first and third lines of the opening stanza, which form the essence of the poem and are each repeated as the concluding lines of the other four stanzas.
If you want to read some of the other poems I've written, I have previously tried:
A triolet
An acrostic
A diamante
An abbreviated haiku
An a haiku
Writing poetry is fun, and good for the spirit. You should try it some time.
By: Sally Murphy,
on 8/23/2007
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The fifth day of my story sessions in honour of children’s book week. Today I thought I’d have a little fun and read my life story to the other toys. See, Pemberthy Bear isn’t just a story about me – it’s also about all the other toys as well, because they’re all there, in the beautiful pictures that my friend Jacqui painted of us. So, in a week where we are sharing and celebrating books, what better book than to share than one in which we all appear?
Anyway, I had a bit of fun with toys. They were all gathered for story time and I had hidden the book under a cushion before they got there. Then I made them guess which story I’d chosen. I gave them hints. ‘It’s a tale of a beautiful heroine overcoming overwhelming odds,’ I hinted. ‘It’s almost too sweet to bear,’ was the next hint. It took a while but eventually Robbie Robot guessed. Then I read them the story, and they all wondered anew at seeing themselves brought to life in the lovely illustrations.
It really was a lovely story session. It’s wonderful that we all have this book to share and remind us of how blessed we are to have each other. And of course I must admit that I love being the star of the book. How lucky am I to have a friend like Sally, willing to write my story down and share it with the world, and a friend like Jacqui who was able to portray me so beautifully in her illustrations.
I’m a lucky bear!
Day two of my story reading sessions, and the other toys were all eagerly sitting on the cushions before I’d clambered down from my shelf. They really do love being read to. I should do it more often.
For today’s session, I’d chosen
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy, by Lynley Dodd. I do love animal stories, and Hairy Maclary is such a cutie. Anyway, once everyone was settled, I read the story.
Spotty, the little toy dog, was very excited to see ‘Bottomley Potts covered in Spots’. He yapped excitedly and chased his tail until Primula gently reminded him that we hadn’t finished the story. After the story was over, Spotty paraded around the toy room declaring HE was Bottomley Potts . It was so very cute.
I am so enjoying Book Week. And it’s only just begun!
Not content with two blogs (this one and Pemberty’s Ponderings), two websites (my author site and Aussiereviews), last night I decided to have a go at Squidoo, and created a new lens Rhyme Time, which focuses on rhyming books for children. At present it’s mostly a collection of links, but I’m thinking I might also include some reviews of rhyming books. I’m pretty passionate about good rhyme.
The
My friend (and official biographer) Sally came back from Perth with a new word for me. Sally had been listening to Erin Brockovich, and according to Brockovich, it’s her favourite word. The word?
Sticktoitive (adjective) tenaciously resolute (also spelt stick-to-it-ive)
Brockovich recounted the story of her mother always using the word whenever she was finding life hard. ‘Where’s your sticktoitiveness?’ her mother would say. Brockovich eventually told her mother to stop using the word – because it wasn’t real. Hah! Her mother made her open the dictionary – and sure enough there it was.
Anyway, as soon as Sally told me this tale I reached for the toy room dictionaries. It wasn’t in the Collins Australian Dictionary, but it is there Websters College Dictionary, which comes all the way from the United States. The word has US origins, which is why it’s there, I guess.
I think it’s a great word and a great way to live life. If Primula had no sticktoitiveness, she wouldn’t have persevered in getting this bear to sing. And if I had no sticktoitiveness, I wouldn’t have mastered the art of typing – keyboards are NOT paw-friendly.
Are YOU sticktoitive? If not, why not try to develop some sticktoitiveness in the areas of your life you find challenging?
It’s been a busy couple of weeks here in Murphville, hence the scarcity of my posts here. Wish I could say I have been slaving away at my new best seller, but, although I’m still plodding on my two current projects, much of my busyness has been non-writing related.
Last weekend I left the Murphlets in the good care of their grandparents for a few days and headed to the big smoke with my beloved.
'Granma' left a comment to let me know that Pemberthy is a much loved resident at her house in Busselton. Wonderful news. Busselton is a nice beach-side town in the the South-West, a place I visit often.
The map now looks like this, with the new dot the orange one on the South West coast.
Have you seen my beautiful picture book, Pemberthy Bear? I'm tracking his progress around the country - you
Pemberthy, the singing, blogging bear has written another poem. This time he's been quite adventurous and written a triolet. This is a French poetic form with eight lines, and the challenge of repeating lines, but Pemberthy likes challenges. You can read his new composition here.
I’ve written another poem, again all about ME. Here it is:
I used to sit upon my shelf
Quiet and alone
Preferring to keep to myself
I used to sit upon my shelf
It wasn’t so good for my health
To sit and moan and groan
I used to sit upon my shelf
Quiet and alone
This one is a triolet, which is a French poetry form. You might have spotted the pattern. In a triolet the first line is repeated on lines four and seven, and the second line is repeated in line eight. Lines three and four rhyme with line one, and line six rhymes with line two.
Have you written a poem lately? If not, why not write a triolet? There’s a wonderful article with a better explanation and some more examples here.
With no new Pemberthy sightings for a while, I’ve done some more online digging and found him at more libraries. I love thinking of Pemberthy being available at libraries, where kids can discover him and take him home for a week or two. Anyway, Pemberthy can be found at the Woolgoola and Coff’s Harbour libraries (though the latter is on loan) – these are the burgundy and lime green maps in the
What a quiet weekend it was here in the nursery. Primula managed to get hold of a copy of the Harry Potter book and spent the whole weekend engrossed in finding our what happens to Harry. I do love reading but found myself unable to read the Harry Potter series – they are so heavy that my little paws just can’t hold them up! So I stick to beautiful picture books, which are a little lighter, or, of course, reading online.
If you’ve looked closely at the illustrations in my life story, then you’ll know that we have some great books on the shelves here in the toy room. The Big Friendly Bear could well have been written with me in mind and The Bear Facts has some enlightening information for those of you who are not bruins. New Toy on the Block is full of suspense and Left on the Floor brings a tear to the eye. Then there are the nonfiction offerings. Primula’s favourite is Joy of Signing, and 101 Ways to Freeze is compulsory reading for every toy – we don’t want to be caught singing and dancing when one of our humans enters the room.
If you hadn't noticed these book titles in the background when reading my life story, have another look next time you get the chance. You know, the book's not just about me - I'm just the star!
Primula has finished Harry Potter, has wiped away her tears and is ready to sing with me again. So it’s back to normal here in the toy room.
By: Sally Murphy,
on 7/17/2007
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Teddy bear, teddy bear,Turn around.
Teddy bear, teddy bear,Touch the ground.
Primula taught me this song this morning, and the other toys had fun joining in, even though most of them aren't bears. Primula said it didn't matter - she said people love this song, too.
So, after a little singing session was over I started wondering about other songs about bears and I went cruising the Internet. I think google was created just for curious bears such as myself, to satisfy our whimsical curiosities.
Anyway,I found a whole lot of songs about bears, here. I've heard Teddy bear's Picnic before (I think I've even blogged about that one), and of course Primula has been teaching me Teddy bear, teddy bear, but I was surprised just how many there were. My favourite was You are my teddy bear sung to the tune of You are my sunshine. I wonder if I can get Primula to sing it to me?
But some of the songs I didn't like, because they suggested bears are scary and should be hunted or run away from. One even mentioned a gun! I think I might have nightmares tonight.
No I won't - because Primula is here with me, safe in the toyroom. She's a wonderful friend, is Primula.
Gotta go sing.
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Your dictionary entries hit the spot this summer morning!
Your own inspiration?
RudyG
Hey Lisa, thanks for the report about the mujeres of El Teatro Chicana. It'll be great to read about El Movimiento from the perspective of mis hermanas.
I started writing Chicano poetry back in 1969, for El Malcriado, the farmworker's paper in Delano, Califas, also a few anthologies.
Then I participated in Chicano Reader's Theatre in East Los Angeles College's forensic events. I wrote my own material and was even interviewed on a tv show called "It Takes All Kinds." When my (then) husband and his bar room buddies saw me expressing my Chicanismas, his pals urged him to leave la "Vieja Chingona!" And he did! Hîjole, what a price I paid for being a Chicana-Poeta-Warrior.
Bueno, QUE VIVA LA CAUSA! Thanks for informing me about this body of literature that I can share with my family and friends.
nlf
c/s Con/Sabias