If you forgot stuff to stuff stockings with, try cutting up and using these memorias:
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| Not mine, but maybe... |
* "Traíste mis Kreesmas?" My abuela would say those words, pronouncing the last one like I spelled it, with a very long E sound. It was the closest that an old india-mexicana could do to melt into the pot of conquered south Texas. She was asking if I'd brought her a Christmas present, maybe wondering whether I'd forgotten her.Her chemistry and electricity passed into the ether long before I was old enough to gift her anything of value, and I only wish I'd spent more time chatting at length with her, like I did towards the end, hers, not mine. I still think it's one of the cutest things--an old person asking about "mis Kreesmas," a heavy Spanish-laden accent that goes back even further in history to the time before the Olmecs. Before there was a Xmas.
* The most memorable Kreesmases when I was young were those held at my abuela's house. All the tíos would come and the primosand, sometimes, relatives that we didn't even know we had. The abuelo died early, from cirrhosis and spending months or years away from abuela, that she always forgave him for, and took him back. In between his stopovers, abuelafilled in her life with El Otro, whatever current man had moved in that she's hooked up with. El Otro's name changed, but there was usually one there. Especially on Kreesmas mornings when cabrón Tío Jesse would wake us all up at 5 or some unnatural hour. To open presents that we'd already opened. His family lived in Colorado, so they rarely came, but it was a treat to see the out-of-state cousins. I don't remember El Otro ever getting one, though abuela probably gave him late night treats.
* Tamales. Every Chicano family always makes tamales for the holiday, right? (Actually, not if they're cheap enough to buy, which they no longer are in Denver.) Over the years, our families had also cooked other things. Argentinian empanadas, fried or baked, buffalo burger or of cualquier cosa. Or albóndigas soup or tons of burritos, on occasion. The type of food didn't matter. It was the communal, tribal means of production that made the cooking enjoyable.
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| Not one of mine. |
* Gingerbread houses. I loved making those, once upon a time. Not gringo gingerbread houses, but adobes or Zuni pueblos or barrio dioramas with Homie figurines. When I was a teacher, I'd make one for my class and let them play with it, destroy it (not always just the boys) and eat their hearts out, diabetically. I'm thinking of trying a new type, less diabetic-inducing and healthier, out of corn meal. Maybe with some Homies and other knickknacks I have around. I'll post a pic, if it happens.
* Possibly my best Krismas teaching was a first-grade class that got a visit from Greg Allen-Pickett, a teacher-friend who'd guided my wife and I through Yucatan a previous Krismas. My class of mostly immigrant students knew Santa would visit the room because I'd arranged it with Greg who had his own outfit. When this near-seven-foot man of broad shoulders and build entered the room, in costume, the kids were delighted. When they tugged on his huge white beard, they were surprised to learn it was real! But, when he spoke Spanish to them better even than their regular teacher, they were astounded. Greg left the state, and I left teaching. However, I doubt the memory of the most realistic, bilingual Santa ever left them.
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| Definitely not gentry |
* My gentrified barrio has dark corners to show who's a gentry just living here temporarily, as an investment, who's the Chicanos with families, and who are those in transition. No Xmas decorations? A transient investor or a Chicano widower whose kids rarely visit. A few decorations? A really poor Chicano family or gentry who might be identifying their neighborhood as a home. Chingos of decorations? A hipster-rich gentry or abuelos with lots of kids and grandkids who do visit them. I'm stereotyping, but it gives you an idea of why I'm not overjoyed by the 7 out of 10 bare-front houses on my block.
* Most of you know that author Reyna Grande is spending the holidays in Iguala, Guerrero, where the 43 students were disappeared. It was her hometown that she trekked north from, as described in her books. She recently raised more than $5k for toys and food to present to the people of the village she left decades ago. It's like she's playing Santa, among some of the poorest people in the world, with some of the most minimal facilities, and walking around every corner wondering who might lurk to disappear you. Hopefully, she'll provide La Bloga with an extended report after she returns. I imagine that the only thing better than reading it will have been accompanying her. I'm sure that waiting list is longer than Santa's.
* Now that my two siblings are in their 30s, and wife Carmen has mellowed, neither bunch pays much attention to this father's ideas. But once upon a time, I'd come up with different gift-giving ideas. "No gift over $20," when I knew they had no money. "Everybody make gifts to give instead of buying any," when they were all young enough to have fun doing that. "Save newspaper comics to use as wrapping paper instead of buying any" was one of my better ones I still try to practice. There were other ideas, but I've forgotten them. Not sure how many more Krismases there will be, for me, but I won't run out of ideas, even if I run out of believers.
* Ya son muchos años that I had this asshole boss. One Xmas night, he took his young kids and his 38 Special outside. Shot into the sky. Told them he'd killed Santa Claus. He said they cried but they stopped believing, which was his intention. Go figure. He wasn't a Chicano guy. Chicanos shoot their 38s on New Year's Eve night.
* I'm completing work with dramatist Jose Mercado, on my first stage play, Los Doce Días de Mis Krismas. (I needed help since my two CU-Denver college classes mostly taught me professors were superior to any student's work or thoughts.) Some of you have read the story on La Bloga, as a radio script, but Mercado formatted it for a play and says it's funny now. I thought it was before. After it's officially copyrighted, I'll get it out in the world, however that's done. And maybe you'll get to see it one Krismas. It's even funnier than Jose thinks.
* The "American" gift-giving around Krismas makes less sense the longer I live. Stuff to fill an assumed obligation is no gift; it's some type of duty that lacks the spirit of. This ironically reminds me of the year I made umpteen individualized, riding horse sticks for nephews and nieces. The kind that's like a horse head on a pole, and you ride it around using your leg-power, dragging the bare end of the stick over the polished wood floor or carpet. The kind my generation had when we were kids. They were cool. The ones I made went over like Obama's Cuban announcement at Rubio's Xmas party. A couple of kids tried riding them, looking for the gas pedal or the electronic display, but most of my creations soon found themselves in the attic or garage or Goodwill pile. I should have been crushed; they'd taken weeks of cutting wood, sanding, painting and decorating. Which turned out to be the most fun they provided anyone.
* Whenever I go to Mexico or even a poor neighborhood in the U.S., I inevitably see little kids playing with a lot less than electric Hummers they can ride or remote drones they can spy with. Instead, I've seen little girls in raggedy clothes stirring the ground with a twig, making designs, drawing scenes or imagining future paths. Or a couple of boys sorting rocks of different sizes, maybe preparing their teams or armies for a slaughter. Kids don't need stuff; they need opportunity for their imaginations, time to explore and discover the world's wonders.
* In that spirit, below are the opening paragraphs to my first children's story in English, that three bilingual publishers have already decided should be put where the wooden horses are gathering dust. I made copies of the tale for people who helped me with it and for relatives who have small kids. It may not have happened on a day that would become our Krismas, but it's my attempt to capture the wonderment that children find in the world, instead of in stuff. I hope it provides you with a touch of the same. Es todo, hasta que recibes tus Kreesmas. - RudyG
* * *
The legend of Sleeping Love begins in the most ancient times on the Central Continent. For the hundred members of a tribe of First People, a day of marching and foraging seemed like it would end as countless others had.
Instead, dozens of the boys and girls suddenly sprinted far ahead. On the mountaintop, they stopped. Only a little of the cold penetrated their animal-skin clothes, and their run had warmed them. They shaded their eyes against the low sun, and what they saw, steamed them up. Hopping around like crickets, they screamed, "Grand Ta, Grand Ta, come look at it all!"
As Grand Ta shuffled faster, his chest filled and he sensed it glowing. He thought, Almost makes me cry whenever they want to share their discoveries with an old man. Smiling, he patted his wrinkled cheek. Ah, nothing smooths out this turtle skin, anymore. Sweeping back his rabbit hair cloak, he accidently passed it directly through his nagual. The mountain lion-spirit growled a friendly warning at him. Too bad no one else can see or hear you, huh, my faithful companion. Its growl turned to a purr.
When he reached the youngsters, he let himself hope. Maybe we finally found it. They let him through and dozens of fingers pointed. At gigantic ahuehuetlcypress trees holding up the sky. Over an endless, deep-green valley full of wonders. He was so amazed, he couldn't hear every child.
"See, Ta, see?" He saw armadillos escaping into the underbrush. Children saw the hunter, a spotted ozelotl jaguar. They heard it cough-grunt, and they got the giggles from trying to imitate it.
"Look at them!" The youngsters saw dancing pieces of rainbow, which they playfully mimed. Grand Ta saw red-green-blue-feathered parrots and quetzalscrossing the rainforest.
"Just listento those!" Scores of ozomatlimonkeys swung from branch to branch. They chattered in funny tongues, making the children giggle louder. Grand Ta also caught the giggles.
He thought, This land is so bewitching, they could forget our Ancestors and their teachings. I will be remembered as a worthy Elder only if I use this moment to strengthen their minds and hearts. When they were out of wind, he signaled for the children to gather where he had started a sacred circle. Adults moved aside and stayed back.
The young people sat and squeezed one another's hands. They hoped there would be time to play before night fell, but they could wait a little longer. The tribe had been traveling for thousands of years and even more miles. Searching for a prophet's vision….
[I'll give you a hint: it wasn't a shining star.]
Guest Post by Reyna Grande
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| Iguala, Birthplace of the Mexican Flag |
On September 26th, my hometown of Iguala, Guerrero was the site of one of the most horrific crimes in recent Mexican history. Forty-three students from a rural teachers college in Ayotzinapa were abducted by Iguala police and handed over to the local drug gang, Guerreros Unidos. No one has seen the students since, and they are feared killed in a mass incineration. It was later discovered that the Iguala mayor and his wife were involved, and it is believed that the police was acting on the mayor’s orders. The failures of the Mexican government, and the incompetent way it has handled the situation has led the Mexico people to say they’ve had enough; they are tired of corruption, impunity, and the continued violation of human rights. National protests have been held for the past two months across the country as the Mexican people fight for reform, justice, and change.
Before the tragic events that took place in Iguala on September 26th, hardly anyone in the U.S. had even heard of my hometown. Iguala is a mid-size city surrounded by mountains located between Mexico City and Acapulco. Seventy percent of the people in Guerrero live in poverty. I experienced that poverty first-hand when I lived there. That poverty, and the lack of opportunities, was what drove my father, and later my mother, to leave Iguala and head to the U.S. Then one day I also left Iguala, and at nine years old I found myself running across the U.S.-Mexico border in search of a better life. I made it across the border on my third attempt, and I vowed that I would never forget where I had come from.
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| A little girl who will benefit from Reyna's efforts. |
This summer, I returned to Iguala to visit my family. I hadn’t been there in four years, and I was shocked to see that my old neighborhood had gone from bad to worse. More and more people are living in extreme poverty. Shacks have sprouted where there weren’t shacks before. As I watched the children playing in the dirt, I decided I was going to do something special for them. I decided that I would come back in December and make their Christmas unforgettable.
On September 6th, I launched a fundraiser campaign for a Christmas Toy Giveaway. In sixty days I raised over $5,000 dollars with the support of friends and strangers who believed in my project. On December 17th, I will go to Iguala with my son and host a Posada in my old neighborhood, where, in addition to a goody bag, all children will receive toys and every family will receive a special Christmas dinner.
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| The Grande Familia in Iguala, December 12, 1979. |
I know this isn’t enough, and in the future I would like to do much more for the people in Iguala. But for now, I think that what I am doing is more important than ever. After what happened in Iguala in September—the disappearance of the students, the numerous mass graves found in the area, the fear and horror that the community has endured—I think that my Christmas Toy Giveaway will provide a little joy to what otherwise has been a bleak and sad time in the city, and in the country as a whole.
I urge you to stand in solidarity with the Mexican people as they fight for a better Mexico. Together, we can all make a difference.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times interviewed Reyna Grande for a story on how the missing 43 has affected L.A. immigrants. Read the article here.
Reyna Grande's Upcoming Toy Giveaway in Iguala, Guerrero
From the Macondo Newsletter
Reyna Grande
Macondista Rene Colato Lainez is celebrating his 10th year anniversary as a published author. Congratulations to Rene, and here's to many more years and many more books!
Ten Wonderful Years
By Rene Colato Lainez
At the end of 1999 many people were setting goals to accomplish in the new millennium. I was one of them. At the time, I was already an elementary teacher and had written several books to share with my students. I still remember those "classic books" that my students enjoyed reading such as, "Fabiola, Fabiola", "El número uno", "Un cuento de colores."
My students enjoyed my books so much that I began to wonder what I had to do in order to publish my work. I wanted to see my name on the cover of a book. I met children's book authors Alma Flor Ada and Isabel Campoy at the teacher's writing workshop "Teachers in the Classroom." They read some of my books and told me that yes, my work was publishable! Then I met the wonderful macondista, Amada Irma Pérez. She shared the submission guidelines of her publisher, Children's Book Press, and told me to give it a try. She told me that some day in the near future we could be signing books together.
At that time, this was a sueño. After meeting Alma Flor, Isabel, and Amada, I set my own goal, to submit my manuscripts for publication. I started to submit my stories in March 2001. Soon, I received my first rejection letter. It was painful to read it but on the bottom of the letter someone had printed, "Your story has a big heart. We wish you luck."
I did not give up and 2001 was a year of rejection letters. I joined SCBWI, took some creative writing classes and wrote new stories. In the summer of 2002, I received an email from Arte Público Press, asking me for revise my manuscript with the promise that they might publish it if they liked the revision. I made the changes and by October 2002, I had a contract for Waiting for Papá.
I remembered the day, I had a flu and fell sleep holding the contract. When I woke up, I looked at
my chest wondering if the contract was just a dream. But it was still there. I read it again and shouted "I will have a book! I am an author!".
The book was published on October 31, 2004. Now 10 years later, I have written 9 children's books, a story in an anthology, 6 books for elementary reading programs and many poems and short stories for a children's magazine, Revista Iguana. I love writing children books and I have more coming out soon.
I organized a celebration party for my anniversary. It was a costume party and many friends came wearing costumes from characters of my books. Of course, I was René, the boy!
Xánath Caraza
From October 23 – 25, 2014 in Kansas City, the Latina/Latino Studies Program (LLS), University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) will host and organize the NACCS Midwest Focus: Latin@s in the Midwest: Past, Present, and Future. The conference theme–Latin@s in the Midwest: Past, Present, and Future–recognizes the rich historical and growing presence of Latin@s in this region. Our goal is to promote awareness and further develop knowledge and analysis of historic, current, and future developments that impact the Latin@ population.
Keynote Presenters:
Dr. Alberto Pulido: “Everything Comes from the Streets” Documentary on Lowrider Culture
Dr. Rogelio Saenz: “Demographics: Latinos in the Midwest”
Dr. Rusty Barcelo: “Navigating Our Midwest Latina/o Journey in Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities for the Future”.
Latina/Latino Studies Program at UMKC
The mission of Latina/Latino Studies (LLS), a program based in the College of Arts and Sciences, is to function as a vehicle for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teaching, research and outreach focusing on Latinas/os-Chicanas/os in the U. S. The LLS program will provide an awareness and understanding of the wide diversity of Latino communities, cultures and backgrounds. The development and expansion of our curricula will serve to empower our students with the concepts and skills to better understand a rapidly growing Latina/o population. The LLS program will engage students, scholars and the greater Kansas City community in collaborative projects, programs and service learning efforts. These efforts will foster new curricula and advance research and outreach scholarship to create new knowledge to better understand the cultural, economic, and historical experiences and contributions of U. S. Latinas/os-Chicanas/os and their diasporic origins.
EL PROGRAMA
THURSDAY OCTOBER 23, 2014 |
4:30-6:00 REGISTRATION –STUDENT UNION THEATER FOYER
5:30- WELCOME
Leo Morton, Chancellor
Miguel Carranza, Latina/Latino Studies
Theresa Torres, NACCS
Juan Betancourt, ALAS
6:00 Introduction to the Video: Everything Comes from the Streets
7:00 Question / Answer Session with Alberto Pulido, Director and Co-Producer and Rigo Reyes, Co-Producer
7:30 RECEPTION SU THEATER FOYER
Low Rider Car Display Administration Bldg Parking Lot – Cherry Street
FRIDAY OCTOBER 24, 2014
9:00—5:00 REGISTRATION STUDENT UNION (SU) THEATER FOYER
10:00-11:30 CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Session 1.1 Moderator: Room Bloch 211
ROUNDTABLE: Gustavo Carlo, Sarah Killoren Francisco Palermo Katharine Zeiders and Cara Streit
TITLE: Socializing Agents and Experiences Associated with Latino/a Children and Youth Well-being
Session 1.2 Moderator: Viviana Grieco Room Bloch #212
ROUNDTABLE: Valerie Mendoza, María Torrez Anderson, Fatima Rodríguez Al-Makhim, Christina
Valdivia-Alcalá
TITLE: Chicana Testimonios: Growing up Chicana in Kansas, Three Generations of Experience
Session 1.3 Moderator: Morgan McMichen Room Bloch 213
ROUNDTABLE: María Vásquez Boyd, José Faus, Miguel Morales
TITLE: The Latino Writers Collective: Creating and Sustaining a Community of Writers, Advocates, and Educators
Session 1.4 Moderator: Erica Hernandez Scott Room SU 302
WORKSHOP: Judy Ancel and Saira Gordillo
TITLE: They Just Cut Our Program’s Budget. Now What Do We Do?
11:30-12:00 POSTER SESSION SU Theater Foyer
Victoria Santiago & Claritsa Santiago
TITLE: ESL Misconceptions: Making a Good Program Even Stronger.
Jessica Rodas
TITLE: An Evaluation of Organizations in Kansas City in Improving the Health of the Latino/Hispanic Community.
Joseph Salazar and Idaima
TITLE: Assessing Obesity of Latino Children in Southwest Kansas via Ventanilla de Salud para Niños
12:00-1:00 LUNCH
1:00-1:30 POSTER SESSION SU Theater Foyer
1:30-3:00 CONCURRENT SESSIONS 2
Session 2.1 Moderator: DJ Ferman Room Bloch 211
ROUNDTABLE: April Bermudez & Matthew García
TITLE: (dis)Placed Ecologies, (dis)Placed Communities: Social Art Practice and the Homeland
Session 2.2 Moderator: Jessica Rodas Room Bloch 212
ROUNDTABLE: Patricia Alvarez-McHatton, Dea Bermudez-Marx, and Erica Hernandez-Scott
TITLE: Maestras: Past, Present, and Future
Session 2.3 Moderator: Morgan McMichen Room Bloch 213
READING: Xanath Caraza, Natalia Treviño and Minerva Margarita Villarreal
TITLE: La Poetry en el Midwest y en México: Chicanas/Mexicanas con Ganas
Session 2.4 Moderator: Jorge Palomares SGA Chambers/SU
ROUNDTABLE: Moises Orozco, Eduardo Coronel, Daniel Muñoz, Jonathan Mendoza, Wendy Ramírez, Angeles Rivera-Centeno, Alberto Jimenez
TITLE: Meaningful Connections between Latina/o students at a Community College in Illinois
Session 2.5 Moderator: Vanessa Aguilar Room SU 302
TITLE: Researching Women and Gender in the Midwest
Linda Garcia Merchant: Five Layers Of Performance Art: Creating the Films, ‘An Evening with La Tess”
Andres Lazaro Lopez: A Conceptual Note on Latino Professionals: The Future of Latina/O Scholarship On Paid Labor
Kandace Creel Falcón: Railroad Settlement Narratives: Invisibility And Chicana Feminist Interpretations Of Mexican Women’s Representations in Early 20th Century Kansas
BREAK
3:15-4:45 CONCURRENT SESSIONS 3
Session 3.1 Moderator: Norma Cantu Room Bloch 211
Panel: Gloria Anzaldúa
Visnja Vujin: Gloria Anzaldúa’s Female Borderland Identities in Sandra Cisneros’ Fiction
Sarah Becker: Beyond Borderlands: Spiritual Mining and the Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa Papers, 1943-2004
Norma E. Cantú, Vanessa Aguilar Maritza Fernandez: Researching Latina Traditional Culture in Kansas City: An Anzaldúa Third Space feminist Approach
Session 3.2 Moderator: Patrica A. McHatton Room Bloch 212
ROUNDTABLE: Randy López, Jackie Madrigal
TITLE: ¿Qué hiciste en la escuela hoy?: How High Schools Can Make Meaningful Connections with Spanish-Speaking Households and Get Them College-Ready
Session 3.3 Moderator: Morgan McMichen Room Bloch 213
ROUNDTABLE/READING: Elizabeth Martinez, Xanath Caraza, Andres Rodríguez
TITLE: Gathering Words: A Special issue of Diálogo
Session 3.4 Moderator: Amelia Montes Room SU 302
Panel: Brown Mujeres Navigating Predominantly White Midwest Spaces
Belinda Acosta: Brown Body: White Faces: The Brown Female Body as Authority Figure in The Predominantly White Classroom
Bernice Oliva: Naming The Whole World A Borderland: Performance of the Teacher Self
Amelia Montes: Directing an Ethnic Studies Program in the Midwest: Challenges and Successes
4:45-5:00 BREAK
5:00-5:30 FEATURED SESSION SU Theater
POETRY READING BY MINERVA MARGARITA VILLARREAL
5:30- Plenary Talk SU Theater
Dr. Rogelio Sáenz, Dean, College of Public Policy, University of Texas at San Antonio
Title: Latinos and the Changing Demography of the Heartland: Implications for the Future of the Midwest
7:30 RECEPTION SU THEATER FOYER
SATURDAY OCTOBER 25, 2014
8:00—11:00 REGISTRATION— STUDENT UNION FOYER
8:30 A.M. BUSINESS MEETING SU Theater
9:00-10:30 CONCURRENT SESSIONS 4
Session 4.1 Moderator: Jessica Rodas Bloch 218
Panel: Education Matters
Heather Hathaway Miranda: ¡Sí Se Pudo! ¿Sí Se Pudo? Latina/Latino Student Activists in The 1990s
Hannah K. Noel: Developing a Responsible Pedagogy
Uzziel Pecina: Leadership for English-Language-Learner Programs: Uniting Policies, Practices, and Parents to Support Secondary Students
Session 4.2 Moderator: Alice R. Bloch 213
Panel: Chicana Studies at Kansas State University
Yolanda Broyles-González:
TITLE: Jenni Rivera Enacting Mujerismo (Womanism): Change And Continuity Of The Oral Tradition
Isabel Millá
TITLE: Engineering Chicana Heroism In Border Dystopian Sci-Fi Film
Norma A. Valenzuela
TITLE: The Evolution Of A Transnational Imaginary In United States Latina Drama: Mujeres In Search Of “Home”
Session 4.3 Moderator: Alberto Villalmandos Bloch 324
READING: Miguel M. Morales, Ruben Quesada, Joseph Salazar
TITLE: Queridos: Midwestern Gay Latino Poets
Session 4.4. Moderator: Theresa Torres SU 302
WORKSHOP: José García
TITLE: West Side Chronicles - City Life Chicano Style
Session 4.5 Moderator: SGA Chambers
ROUNDTABLE: Gabriela Díaz Sabates and Marcelo Sabates
TITLE: Reshaping the Multicultural Landscape at a Midwestern University
10:30 BREAK
10:45 CLOSING PLENARY
Dr. Nancy “Rusty” Barceló, President, Northern New Mexico College
TITLE: Navigating our Midwest Latin@ Journey in Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities for the Future
In Other News
Reyna Grande in Kansas City, University of Missouri-Kansas City
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| Norma Cantú, Reyna Grande and Xánath Caraza |
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| Las Esmeraldas, ESU |
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| Gregory Robinson, Ph. D., Xanath Caraza, Kevin Rabas, Ph. D., ESU |
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| During my keynote at Emporia State University |
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| Univesity of North Georgia, Dahlonega Campus, lunch with LASO |
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| After lunch with Alvaro Torres, Ph. D. and Maria Guadalupe Calatayud, Ph. D. with LASO students |
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| University of North Georgia, Dahlonega Campus |
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University of North Georgia, Gainesville Campus, LSA
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| My poem "Frente al mar" |
0 Comments on NACCS Midwest Focus: Latin@s in the Midwest: Past, Present, and Future in Kansas City as of 10/20/2014 2:28:00 AM
By: Melinda Palacio,
on 9/11/2014
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Melinda Palacio
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| Michele Serros and Melinda Palacio |
In 1995, I heard Michele Serros read at Martinez Bookstore in Santa Ana. At the time, I didn't see myself as a writer. My mom's best friends, Mary Rose and Eddie Ortega are avid readers and collectors of Chicano Literature. I had no idea what I was in for when I went along for the ride with the Ortegas. I met my first published author, a young jubilant Chicana whose stories were so real and close to home, I laughed without realizing the magical impact of that experience.
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| Michele Serros reading at a fundraiser for the 2010 Latino Book and Family Festival |
In the past twenty years, Michele's stories and books have become iconic and required reading in high schools and colleges. I never thought decades later we would both be featured authors on panels and writer pals who send each other late night texts. Earlier this year, I had my own debut at Martinez Books. Thanks to Reyna Grande, who gathered 140 Latino authors for the 2010 Latino Book and Family Festival (see photos and post on
La Bloga), I met Michele Serros again as a fellow published author.
Less than a year after that moment of meeting Michele Serros again at the Latino Book and Family Festival, I knew that she had some complicated news she wanted to share. But she was hesitant to come out with it. I remember seeing her again in Berkeley when she came to hear me read with Francisco X. Alarcón at Moe's Books. She hinted at her illness, but didn't say outright, I have cancer. I think she was hoping the disease that claimed her mother would go away and that she wouldn't have to burden her family, friends, and fans with the knowledge that she was fighting for her life.
In April 2013, she could no longer ignore the diagnosis. The cancer advanced to Stage 4 adenoid cystic carcinoma, affecting her bones, liver, lymph nodes and paralyzing her left vocal chord.
Some of her friends convinced her to join a
crowd funding campaign to help pay for the astronomical price of what her insurance does not cover. Michele Serros chose to stand down cancer in a public way, sharing photos from her hospital stay on
Facebook and writing about her lucha on the
Huffington Post. Join
her campaign and help her say, Hasta La Bye Bye Cancer! You will even be able to join in her chorus of gritos September 16. As of yesterday, she has raised $26, 517 out of a goal of $30, 000.
I hope that Michele exceeds her goal. I look forward to belting out a grito for her on September 16, Mexican Independence Day and the last day to contribute to her
GiveForward Campaign, 'A Latina en Lucha Needs You Mucha.'
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| Michele Serros and Mary Rose Ortega |
Mary Rose Ortega writes:
| "Over the years, I have been to several of her readings, have read and collected her books. All her books are personally autographed. She has brought back many memories and has added laughter to my life. I feel she has included us on her day to day struggle because she knows we care. She puts laughter on the persistent cancer that she is fighting. As a Chicana, I feel that she has always made me proud and when a friend is in need, we need to be there for them. So please give, what you can, to help her in this fight against Cancer." |
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Mona AvaradoFrazier and Michele Serros
at the Ventura County Museum where Michele was the keynote speaker for the Latina Film Festival.
Lucy Rodriguez-Hanley made a short film based on one of Michele's short stories. |
Mona AlvaradoFrazier writes:
"We are homegirls, Michele and I. Not only did we attend the same high school, are from the same hometown, and in the same critique group but we are homegirls in the fight against cancer. My own fight was nine years ago.
When Michele told me she had cancer, there were no words that I could say, I could only hug her tight, and feel the struggle ahead that is a battle for life as it is known before the word 'cancer,' is uttered.
Michele is genuinely sweet, a quality hard to come by when you suffer the loss of a parent and grow up in an economically depressed urban area. She is kind, witty, talented, and so much more. But the quality I know her best for is her ganas, that unique ability to survive and thrive whatever the odds.
Florencia writes:
"As far as I'm concerned Michele Serros put Oxnard and El Rio on the map! My favorite all time poem of Michele's is "Dead Pig's Revenge." I've read and re-read it through the years. Recently, I read it aloud to my children; they couldn't stop laughing. But the best part is they could relate: to the chicharrones, to growing up in Oxnard. Michele's poetry and stories are theirs too.
Through her stories she shows us how life is hysterical, joyful, cruel, and baffling...but somehow we get through it and it is all damn beautiful. But damn this cancer that tugs at Michele's life...it is too soon, too many unwritten stories only she can write.
With the help of Facebook, she has taken us with her on her lucha against cancer. She shows us all how to face life's toughest challenges with grace and authenticity. And like the young Michele in "Dead Pig's Revenge," this to will have a happy ending."
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| Reyna Grande |
La Bloga friend, Reyna Grande writes:"| "Michele is a wonderful human being and a talent writer who has inspired me by her hard work and dedication but also by the strength and resiliency she ha s shown during this difficult period of her life. I wish her all the best and I encourage everyone to give to her campaign as a way of thanking her for everything she has given us, her readers and fans." |
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Michele Serros, Stylish Survivor and Author
Join her Campaign. Help her fight cancer. |
This is the second interview for Count on Me: Tales of Sisterhoods and Fierce Friendships virtual Book Tour organized by Condor Book Tours. Las week, Las Comadres interviewed author Lorraine López about her story in this wonderful anthology. To read the interview visit http://www.labloga.blogspot.com/2012/12/guest-comadres-golden-age-of-bookstores.html
Today, Las Comadres interview author Reyna Grande.
Reyna Grande on Count on Me
LAS COMADRES: Have you had a chance to read any of the stories?
REYNA: I have. I think I have read most of the stories and I’m really impressed with them and I think that my favorite is Carolina DeRobertis’ piece- because it was very profound and I just love her writing .As I was reading it, a lot times I felt like getting up to grab a highlighter so I could highlight some of those sentences because they were just absolutely beautiful. The last essay which I just read last night was Luis Alberto Urrea’s piece. And again, they’re just really incredible and very touching and I love the topic – writing about a Comadre. The comadres that I am reading about are just really amazing people.
LAS COMADRES: Is there a character in the book you most identify with?
REYNA: I think I just really enjoy reading these stories because every writer who has written a story for the anthology, they all come from… it’s just interesting to me to see how the writing prompt which was to write about a comadre, how everybody just made that their own, you know? And how diverse each story is… and that is what I really like about this and also I love learning about who the people in their lives are because some of these writers and some of them I have met in person and some of them I haven’t met in person but I’ve read their work and these essays are so personal. But, it really gives me a chance to get to know them through these pieces they turned in for the anthology. For me that’s been one of the reasons why I enjoyed reading the anthology so much because it really gives me a chance to get to know these authors whose works I admire; to get to know them in a more personal level.
LAS COMADRES: Your story is about a mentor and about friend, about somebody that… really – truly is credited with where you are and how you moved forward as a student. What do you hope readers get out of your personal story?
REYNA: Well there’s two things, the first thing is that what I would like them to see is that when you are going through really difficult times its okay to ask for help. I think that sometimes we fail to do that; sometimes we are dealing with problems on our own and we’re afraid to seek help. And for me- that was the best thing I could ever do was to go look for Diana and to share with her what I was going through. Otherwise she wouldn’t have known about it and wouldn’t have been able to offer that help to me. The other thing that I would like my readers to learn from my story is how teachers and especially right now – with the situation that education is in – with so many teachers that are being criticized and being laid off and all these horrible things that are happening to teachers right now I would like people to see what a big difference a teacher makes in the life of a student. There’re so many people like Diana who go above and beyond what a teacher is. They don’t just limit their teaching to the classroom. (But) They also care about their students enough that they worry about their students’ personal lives and what’s going on outside the classroom with them. For me – this is my love letter to Diana and all teachers.
LAS COMADRES: So Diana, does she know about it?
REYNA: Yeah, she knows about it. I sent her a copy just before I submitted it. I wanted her to read it, (just) out of respect, because I wanted (her) to see what I had written about her, and I wanted her to tell me if she was okay with that. Just to get her approval. Yeah, she… I think the first time I ever thanked Diana for what she did for me was in 1999 when I graduated from UC Santa Cruz and the university actually flew her up there so that she could be at my graduation. So, Diana knows and I always make sure to tell Diana how grateful I am for everything she’s done for me. She was very happy when I told her about the anthology and when I told her I was writing about her.
LAS COMADRES: So, you’ve seen the theme of the book and the topic of everybody choosing to write about a comadre. Do you think there’s a distinction between saying you have a friend or saying you have a comadre?
REYNA: In a way – yes, because a comadre, (I think) its a little bit more than a friend. You know, I think the meaning of a comadre definitely goes beyond just a regular friendship. And, for me – that’s why I consider Diana my comadre, because she’s not just a friend that goes in and out of my life. She’s someone that’s really important and whom I’ve known for a long time and who knows everything about me and who is always there for me. And, she accepts me for who I am, and she has always been very encouraging, always pushing me to become a better person. So to me – that’s what a comadre is – and it’s someone you know and you want to have a relationship with for the rest of your life.
LAS COMADRES: So why do you think – give me three (if you can narrow it down to three) main reasons why a woman needs a comadre in her life.
REYNA: Well, I think a woman needs a comadre because… there’s always going to be moments in your life that you cannot face on your own and they can be great moments that you want to share with someone and they could be very difficult moments that you need someone to hold your hand, to tell you that things are going to be okay. And sometimes your family – you might not have that kind of relationship with the family member, and you might find it in a friend that might give you that support and who can be there for you when you need her.
LAS COMADRES: Now I'm going to shift over to questions about you. Where do you get your inspiration from – not just from writing – but just life in general? Are there sources that you get your inspiration from?
REYNA: I’ve always drawn my inspiration from my childhood experiences because I had a pretty difficult childhood and a lot of the things that happened were just very traumatic and they left a lot of scars. And what I've always done –(like) with my writing but also with anything, anything that I try to do; any goals that I have. I always look at my childhood and all the hardships that I went thru and the sacrifices that had to be made. I always tell myself that I have to honor those sacrifices and I have to honor all that pain and hardship and heartbreaks that I went through. The way to do that is by making good choices and by working hard to make my dreams a reality. (So), you know things sometimes get hard but I always tell myself that I have gone through worse. If I made it through that, I can make it thru anything.
LAS COMADRES: So you use your experiences in your childhood.
REYNA: Yeah, I think I definitely learned a lot when I was a kid about sacrifices and working hard and not letting anything bring me down. I learned to find my inner strength. And that’s what I …when things get hard or I have challenges that I’m dealing with, I always look at my childhood and try to find that strength that I know is there within me.
LAS COMADRES: Are there specific literary works that you might draw your inspiration from?
REYNA: I have a lot of favorite books, actually and sometimes when I have writers block and I can’t write, I go to those books and I read through them and I find my favorite sections and I get inspired again to write. Some of those books are The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, which is one of my favorites; The Prophet, by Kaliel Gibron; and I like The Fountainhead by Ann Rand; and I like Margaret Atwood’s works also. So that’s what I do –I just look thru my bookcase and pick out a book and I read – and then pretty soon I feel like writing again.
LAS COMADRES: What do you consider your greatest achievement?
REYNA: My greatest achievement is getting my MFA, because I come from a family that didn’t have a lot of opportunities when it came to education. I know - my grandmothers …probably only went to first or second grade and my own father only went up to the third grade. My mother only studied up to the sixth grade. So, you know going from that kind of background to having an MFA and being the first in my family to graduate from college – to me, that’s the greatest thing because I feel that because I have been able to accomplish that – now my own children are going to go to college and my nieces and nephews are going to go to college because I’ve done it already. I can push them to do it; I can give them advice; I can guide them through their college experience.
LAS COMADRES: Yes, you’ve definitely changed the future for your family, for the next generation…sometimes I think we take that for granted.
REYNA: Yeah, I think so too. But I always tell people –especially, you know I do a lot of speaking at high schools – I always tell those kids that it only takes one person to change the course of a family. And so I encourage them to be that one person that going to make a difference.
LAS COMADRES: Do you get a chance to spend much with family? …with family from Mexico?
REYNA: Oh, from my family from Mexico… I don’t get to see them a whole lot. I try to go to Mexico as often as I can – which is not as often as I would like. I would say maybe like every three to four years I’ll go to Mexico to visit my family. And I have some uncles and aunts and cousins down there and I like to go there because it keeps me humble. You know, I think sometimes I lose sight of things and sometime I forget that there are people that have less than I have and that I shouldn’t complain or that I shouldn’t want more than what I have. So when I go down there, it makes me appreciate what I do have and it snaps me back into reality. Like for example, a few years ago when I had my daughter we were living in a two-bedroom house and one bedroom was for me and my husband and the second bedroom was for my son and when we had my daughter she was sharing our bedroom. You know we had her crib in our bedroom. And then my husband and I decided to start looking for a bigger house. Now that we had two kids we said “well, lets look for a three bedroom house” and I went to Mexico around that time that we were looking for houses. I went to Mexico to see my family and my uncle said ‘oh, what’s new in your life” and I just started telling him that we were house hunting and we were looking into a bigger house because my daughter, who was nine months old, needed to have her own bedroom. And then, I just caught myself and I looked around and I realized who I was talking to; and I was talking to my uncle who lived in a one room shack with his seven children and his wife and I’m telling him that we need a bigger house because my nine-month old needs her own bedroom. Do you know what I’m saying?
LAS COMADRES: Yeah, yeah – it snaps you back to reality.
REYNA: I wanted to slap myself. It’s so inconsiderate and I wasn’t doing it to brag or to be inconsiderate. I just lost sight of where I was or whom I was talking to…. Then I realized that over here in the US, a lot of times we want a bigger house and we want a bigger car and we want more of this and more of that and a lot of times we’re not happy with what we have. When I go to Mexico – I remember that. I remember that! And that’s why I try to go -so that I don’t forget where I come from.
LAS COMADRES: Do you have a favorite motto or quote – something that stays with you every day? That guides you?
REYNA: Well, there’s one that kind of ties in to what I was just talking about, and it goes
“The less I want, the less I need”
LAS COMADRES: Do you know who said it?
REYNA: I don’t know who said it…but it just stayed with me. You know I try to say that to myself everyday. ‘The less I want, the less I need’ because sometimes I do start wanting things that I really don’t need. So, I say that to myself. And then, there is a quote by Ernest Hemmingway that I really love about writing. “There’s not much to writing, you just sit down at the typewriter and bleed”. I love that quote because I feel like a lot of times people don’t understand what – all the emotional exhaustion that comes when you write because you really are bleeding, you know. Especially like my writing – I write about pain and about loss and my writing is really depressing because it comes from this part of myself that has a lot of that pain that just needs to come out. A lot of times when I'm done writing for the day, I just feel so emotionally exhausted, and I do feel that I just bled all over the page.
Don't ever get your first book published; skip straight to the second.
My life's such a torrent with duties around publicizing
The Closet of Discarded Dreams that eating, bathing, cutting my nails or hair, and sometimes even breathing have nearly become lost habits.
So, when I get an Email that
Reyna Grande, who was flying in to read from her third novel, is about to land in Denver and maybe has no place to stay and could I help, it's almost a relief to have new, different priorities. My responsibilities turned out to be merely putting her and hubby up for the night–híjole!
If you've never heard Reyna speak and do a reading, you've missed demasiado. Yanked out of my own tiny first-book tasks, I sat with others at Tattered Cover Bookstore as she told of her childhood, growing up, her life, her family relationships and trials that epitomize what every young mexicanito who crosses al Otro Lado undergoes. Her reading widened my self-centeredness some, deflated my overindulgence in my first novel being published. It was good for me. She the pocha and me the chicano connected for just one moment at the reading, when I realized how much we shared in common when we'd been young brown kids in this intolerant society.
The Distance Between Us, A Memoir is her book. Read it, but better yet, go hear it. Reyna headed off for another read at Whittier Public Library, but you can
go here to see where else you might be lucky enough to catch her.
Back to self-promotion – Albuquerque and a TV interviewKASA 2 Fox TV has a weekday morning show called
Santa Fe Style Show and interviewed me about
The Closet of Discarded Dreams as their featured book of the month! If you want to see how a Chicano pitches to an audience in the land of the Hispanic,
go here.
Author doesn't do good phone – Denver WESTWORD.com interviewOur biggest alternative-newspaper's website features an interview by Cory Cascciato today. It taught me how different phone interviews are from live ones on TV. You can
go here to read my ramblings.
Chingaus – The Closet arrives!
My first reading is this Sunday. I've never seen the book, though the Ebook's been available online since Sept. 1. I'm sitting on the front patio, drinking Negras, wishing I could down a half a bottle of Knob Creek, looking up the street every time I hear a vehicle, hoping it's FedEx, wondering how I'm going to tell my audience Sunday that they can't buy the book because it didn't get here in time. Other than that, I'm fine. Mi amá is here for the reading, but she's enjoying Reyna's book because MINE HASN'T ARRIVED and might not. One day left for deliveries.
A FedEx truck stops down the street. Then leaves our block. Cagada! A UPS truck stops next door, delivers and gets back to head off, again. Puchísima! Then he pulls up ten feet like to deliberately tease me that he was leaving. And brings us 2 boxes he sets on the porch. The book. The books. I'm not exhilarated. I'm not tirando somersaults. I don't believe it. It's as surreal as some of
The Closet.
My wife Carmen takes a pic, but it shows nothing of relief, because there is none. It's just here. And Sunday I won't have to disappoint at least those wanting a copy. To see whether my reading is anywhere as suave as Reyna's, you'll have to be there:
Debut reading & signing of
The Closet of Discarded Dreams
by Rudy Ch. Garcia
Su Teatro's Denver Civic Theater
721 Santa Fe Dr. 5:00pm
Door prizes galore.
Oh, yeah, and you'll even be able to purchase a copy! De verdad.
Es todo, hoy,
RudyG
Melinda Palacio
For those that cannot take advantage of the Comadres Writers Conference, a new book, out next month, Count on Me: Tales ofSisterhoods and Fierce Friendships, offers readers a view into the role of comadres and compadres for authors; there's one essay by compadre Luis Alberto Urrea.
Nora Comstock is always busy, but the next two months might prove her busiest with the writers conference and publication launch party of Count on Me at La Casa Azul Bookstore, September 20, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 143 E. 103rd Street, NY, NY.
Comstock, the founder of the international and national group, talks about seeing the book in print.
"I have the advanced reading copy and I sleep with it! It is the most amazing feeling to have it actually finished. It seems like a dream. Everything seemed to get done so fast. When you work with consummate professionals, it is a seamless process. I did not expect it to go so smoothly. Writing the intro was very hard both because I am not a writer and because I had so much to say. I kept trying to put all my feelings and thoughts into a small space. They had to cut a lot."
The book is inspiring to anyone who's ever relied on a friend, not just any friend, but the kind of friend you know will be there for you no matter what. One of my good friends and comadres, Reyna Grande, is in the anthology. Reyna's moving memoir, The Distance Between Us, is garnering rave reviews. A modified chapter from her memoir is in Count on Me. Reyna writes about her teacher and mentor, Diana Savas. Diana is a perfect example of a comadre because she immediately recognized that Reyna needed more than a friend and offered to fulfill the role of family, confidant and nurturer in order to support a young woman, very much like herself, who wanted to do well in college. Thanks to her comadre Diana, Reyna went on to publish two novels and a memoir and participate in the Las Comadres Book Club as an author and presenter. Reyna says she felt very honored to contribute to the anthology:
"The topic was especially appealing because I immediately thought of my former teacher and mentor as the subject of my piece. I'm grateful to las Comadres for giving me the chance to thank my teacher publicly for what she did for me."
Upcoming Events in Los Angeles, CA
September 4, Reyna Grande presents her new memoir, The Distance Between Us, Tuesday at Vroman's at 7pm, 695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena CA 91101.
(You can wish Reyna a happy birthday, September 7)
Countdown to publication...
New Book
Highly recommended (this is a beautiful, insightful, and important book):
Borderlines: Drawing Border Lives / Fronteras: Dibujando las vidas fronterizas Steven and Reefka Schneider, Introduction by
Norma E. Cantú
Spanish translation by José Antonio RodriguezWings Press, 2010
From the publisher:
Borderlines/Fronteras brings together images and stories, sights and sensations, in an aesthetically beautiful series of bilingual poems and drawings that portrays the people of the borderlands as they are seldom seen, peeling back the layers of fear and mistrust to reveal an rich and vibrant culture.From the Introduction by Norma E. Cantú:
The Schneiders have crossed the bridge with charcoal, pastel, and conte, and with words. And we are better for it. We peek into the lives of characters and learn how to look beyond to the stories. ... Through images and words, this book invites us to reflect, to consider the stories, the lives and the realities of life on the U.S - Mexico border. But it also impels us to dwell on our own work, asking us to tend to the wound that will not heal, to do work that matters.Kathleen Alcalá:
These compassionate portraits, from the accordion player to the bead seller, show their everyday public lives, la gente decente on whose backs we have constructed the vast, complicated economy and culture that is the border today. In the discussions of walls, guns, drugs and abstract policies, we need to remember that ordinary individuals live here too, and always will. Ed Conroy (review in the
San Antonio Express-News):
At a time when Arizona's new immigration law has created an intensified national controversy over the value and worth of the people of our border regions, one new book has the power to make us pause to reflect on the stories and conditions of their lives. ... These faces come to life in the charcoal and pastel drawings of Reefka Schneider, who fascinatingly captures both the graphic details and emotional truths etched into faces young and old by the harsh social and natural realities of border life. And those faces breathe with life in the poems of her husband, Steven P. Schneider, crafted clearly with the intention of creating a narrative that captures a moment in life and its emotions for each person. ... The result of their work is a series of 25 poignantly moving vignettes of border people and their lives, expressed as a page of poetry in English and Spanish, and, opposite, the portrait that is integrally joined to the poem. Voces Unidas Por Ame
Angela de Hoyos passed away on September 24 in San Antonio. The obituary in the San Antonio Express-News, by
Edmund Tijerina , begins:
Among the most influential poets of the Chicano movement and in Texas literature at large, Angela de Hoyos died Thursday at her South Side home. She was 86. “An exquisite poetic voice and one of the first Chicana poets to publish, Angela was not only significant as a writer but also as a pioneer in Chicano publishing,” writer Carmen Tafolla said.
De Hoyos' published works include the collections Chicano Poems: For the Barrio, Woman, Woman, and Arise Chicano! Her poem To Walt Whitman remains one of her most quoted pieces.
You can read the rest of the article
at this link. Our condolences to the family, her many fans, and readers.
Authors in Town
National Book Award-winning author Sherman Alexie will read from and sign his new adult book War Dances (Grove), a heartbreaking and hilarious collection of stories that explore the precarious balance between self-preservation and external responsibility in art, family, and the world at large. Brazen, and wise, War Dances takes us to the heart of what it means to be human. The new beginnings, successes, mistakes, and regrets that make up our daily lives are laid bare in this wide-ranging and provocative new work that is Alexie at the height of his powers. Free numbered tickets for a place in the book signing line will be available at 6:30 pm; one ticket per customer in line. Seating for the presentation prior to the signing is limited, and available on a first-come, first-served basis to ticketed customers only.Tattered Cover Book Store Historic LoDo
1628 16th St.
Denver, Colorado 80202
 Reyna Grande came to the United States at age nine to join her father, who had left her behind in Mexico for several years. She went on to become the first person in her family to obtain a higher education. She holds a B.A. and an M.F.A. in creative writing. Her first novel, Across a Hundred Mountains, received the El Premio Aztlan Literary Award in 2006 and an American Book Award in 2007. Grande will read from and sign her new novel Dancing with Butterflies (Washington Square), the story of four very different women whose lives interconnect through a common passion for their Mexican heritage and a dance company called Alegría.
Visit Reyna Grande’s website
Tattered Cover Book Store Highlands Ranch
9315 Dorchester Street
Littleton, Colorado 80129
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A book launch featuring editor Patrick Millikin and contributors Charles Kelly, James Sallis, Laura Tohe, Robert Anglen, Kurt Reichenbaugh, Stella Pope Duarte, David Corbett, and Jon Talton[from
Akashic's website]
Brand-new stories by:
Diana Gabaldon, Lee Child, James Sallis, Luis Alberto Urrea, Jon Talton, Megan Abbott, Charles Kelly, Robert Anglen, Patrick Millikin, Laura Tohe, Kurt Reichenbaugh, Gary Phillips, David Corbett, Don Winslow, Dogo Barry Graham, and
Stella Pope Duarte. Sunshine is the new noir . . . Phoenix: its name evokes new beginnings, a place to start over fresh, new west rising out of the ashes of the old. From its frontier origins, Phoenix has always had a dark, lawless side. It is a city founded upon shady development deals, good ol' boy politics, police corruption, organized crime, and exploitative use of natural resources. Close proximity to the Mexican border makes the city a natural destination spot for illegal trafficking of all kinds--narcotics, weapons, humans.
Modern-day Phoenix is a textbook case of suburban sprawl gone unchecked. Endless cookie-cutter housing developments, slapped up on the cheap, metastasize outward into the desert. All of the concrete and asphalt traps the heat, raising the temperature to apocalyptic extremes. What does all this mean? Crime, and lots of it.
Marisela Treviño Orta has been honored with the
2009 PEN USA Literary Award for Drama for her play
Braided Sorrow, a haunting and poetic meditation on the missing women of Juárez, Mexico.
Su Teatro produced the 2008 world premiere of
Braided Sorrow to great acclaim. The
Denver Post called it "alternately haunting and beautiful." The
Rocky Mountain News called it "chilling reality and artful imagining."
Westword called it "gutsy." And the
North Denver Tribune called it "important."
Other 2009 PEN award winners include
Steve Lopez (The Soloist), Dustin Lance Black (Milk), and Elmore Leonard (Lifetime Achievement). Past winners include
Ray Bradbury, Neil Simon, Rudolfo Anaya, Steven Dietz, Sandra Cisneros, Cherrrie Moraga, Woody Allen, Sarah Ruhl, Barbara Kingsolver, and
Charlie Kaufman.Treviño's amazing play (her first) had previously won the
2007 University of California, Irvine Chicano/Latino Literary Prize.
Braided Sorrow was also featured in Su Teatro's 2007 New Play Reading Series, a project that illustrates Su Teatro's commitment to produce, present, and promote new and exciting work by Chicanos and Latinos from across the U.S. and beyond its borders.
Metropolitan State College of Denver has announced that artist and educator Delilah Montoya is the 2009 Castro Distinguished Professor. Montoya is Associate Professor of Photography at the University of Houston. As the announcement says, her work, "grounded in the mestizo/a experience of the Southwest and borderlands, brings together a multiplicity of syncretic forms and practices from those of Aztec Mexico and Spain to cross-border vernacular traditions all of which are shaded by contemporary Native American customs and values." There are a variety of events planned during her stay on campus, October 11 -14. You can get all the details and complete agenda on the Metro State website,
here.One special piece of the schedule is that Montoya's 10’ x 8’ Photo Mural,
La Llorona in Lilith’s Garden will be on display beginning in late September through the closing reception at the Institute for Women’s Studies and Services, 1033 Ninth Street Park.
One of Montoya's talks is entitled
Codex Delilah, Six Deer: Journey from Mexicatl to Chicana. Montoya
approaches the Spanish/Indian encounter from a mestizaje perspective. As a Chicana, Montoya is conscious of how the historical contributions of women have been undermined or completely ignored. This project attempts to correct that injustice by rethinking the traditional interpretation of the European/ Native Encounter. The narrative of this artist book is viewed from the perspective of Six Deer, a fictional young Mayatec girl from the Tutuepec region near present-day Mexico City. From her home to the nuclear weapons laboratories in New Mexico, the codex details Six Deer's journey of enlightenment.
All events free and open to the public. To RSVP to any event or to find out more information, please contact Mercedes Salazar -
[email protected] or 303-556-3124.
The Castro ProfessorshipThe Richard T. Castro Distinguished Visiting Professorship was initiated in 1997 to foster multiculturalism, diversity and academic excellence at Metropolitan State College of Denver. The professorship brings renowned Latina and Latino scholars, artists and leaders of distinction to Metro State to conduct classes, seminars, performances and lectures for students, faculty and the larger Denver community. Richard T. Castro Distinguished Professors have included the following luminaries:
•
Cherrie Moraga, playwright, poet, essayist and educator
•
Carlos Fuentes, novelist and diplomat
•
Carmen Lomas Garza, artist and author
•
Ana Castillo, novelist and poet
•
Dolores Huerta, United Farm Workers vice president
•
Richard “Cheech” Marin, actor and art collector
Chile Today
In honor of the recent chile harvest, the beginning of fall, and the misunderstood relationship many of us have with chile - Jalapeño, Serrano, Bolita, Güerita, Ancho, Anaheim, even Red Peter - here are a few lines of affection for my favorite condiment.
1
My jalapeño
picked fresh from the garden
bites back with hot teeth.
2
I have sweated, cried
burned lips and scorched throat.
It must be true love
3
Love hurts and love burns.
Such a demanding lover.
Chile with all meals.
Your turn. Post a few words to La Bloga's comments, poetic or otherwise, haiku or not, about your relationship with chile. Make them picante pero sabroso.
Later.
It's refreshing to read about Reyna's experiences about a teacher as friend. Growing up, I remember my peers seeing teachers as the authority, and sometimes the enemy. Sometimes, we're taught that it's not right to have adults as friends, and we should stick to friends our own age.
My 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Gutierrez, was a friend and mentor, helping me get through a rough year. She challenged me in my studies, knowing I was bored with the standard curriculum. Once a week, I went to her house and had dinner with her family, and I received extra tutoring - not because I wasn't doing well in school, but because I was ready to learn more.
Growing up and into adulthood, some of my closest friends are 20+ years older than me, sometimes old enough to my parents, and some grandparents. I enjoy my friendships with them because there is so much I learn from them. Teachers don't necessarily have to be in the classroom.
Reyna brings back those memories of my teachers from elementary school. They were supportive and caring, something that isn't the norm these days.
I've read her first two books and they were so well written, it was hard to put them down. 'Dancing with Butterflies' was a book of the month for Las Comadres Latino Book Club and I am so glad I found this author.
Reyna's story in this anthology is moving. Thank you for highlighting her works and the anthology for all to share.