Espejos y Ventanas: Reflecting Light & Spirit

By Dr. Kathleen Contreras

Hero.  Super hero.  Living Legend.  Role model.  Humble.  He had all these attributes. 

Why weren’t books written about him?

Children need both mirrors and windows to reflect their own cultural background and allow them to see the light of others.

That was my motivation to research one of L.A. Dodger’s living legends and cultural icons… Fernando “El Toro” Valenzuela.  Few adult books talk about Fernando; but yet, no books for children on one of baseball’s most talented and popular ball players could be found.

Why not? 

He was someone who grew up in a humble, yet cozy family home of 12 siblings, himself the youngest. Someone who became a professional athlete in his native Mexico when he was just 16 years young. Someone, who was scouted by the MLB Dodger organization when he was barely 19 years young.  

Someone, who ignited Fernandomania, with his rockstar presence in every ballpark across the country increasing the Latino fan base wherever he pitched.  Someone who won the coveted Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year and Silver Slugger at the same time. Someone who was part of the winning World Series team. 

That someone, who became a U.S. citizen, a media broadcaster for Dodgers, owner of a Mexican baseball team, and a proud father and abuelo for his familia, deserved a place of honor in the children’s literature archives.

Researching sports articles and documentaries, especially the LA Times docu series titled: “Fernandomnia@ 40”, and speaking to baseball fans, living legends like Spanish broadcaster Jaime Jarrin, and a brief interview with Fernando (he rarely gives interviews); I was ready to write the first biography for children on one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.

Fernando, “El Toro” and Fernandomania ignited not only fans, but also lit a fire under other Latin and Asian players to play on America’s baseball fields.  Like the Statue of Liberty, Fernando’s success welcomed everyone to America’s favorite game. Players from Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Venezuela, Japan, and Korea all come to play on America’s baseball fields, widening the borders of Major League Baseball.  Now, every team in both National and American leagues has players from around the globe, speaking their native languages and the language of baseball; reflecting the global and multicultural society where we live and love.

Like so many who cross borders, Fernando success straddles both the U.S & Mexico comfortably embodying the American dream.  His story, like our story, deserves a place of honor, for our children.

Tommy Lasorda, legendary Dodger manager, echoes that sentiment: “Fernando’s great for the Dodgers, great for baseball, great for the country—both of them [U.S. & Mexico].  No matter how hard life seems; kids can look up at him and say:  He made it. So can I.”

Someone named Fernando mirrors and reflects the best of America’s favorite sport.

Whatever you call it, béisbol or baseball, Fernando Valenzuela was born to play the game.

There are two editions in English and Spanish: Born to Play Béisbol: The Magical Career of Fernando Valenzuela and Nacido para Jugar Béisbol: La Mágica Carrera de Fernando Valenzuela.  Written by Kathleen Contreras and illustrated by Christian Paniagua. Published on April, 2024. 

Visit me at https://kathleencontreras.com

You can click on this Eventbrite link to order free tickets to this coming book event! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/born-to-play-beisbol-the-magical-career-of-fernando-valenzuela-tickets-884424987947?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Summertime is Soup Weather: Climate Change Considerations

The Gluten-free Chicano Cooks

Zuppa al Polpette, Lee's Green Soup

Tipos who say it's too hot to eat soup in summer have not yet learned that a hot soup on a hot day not only hits the spot, hunger-wise, feed a body hot soup on a hot day and the body goes into a cool-down adjustment. I've believed this my entire conscious life, gente, and now, the Google will back me up!

But ni modo on all that. Delicious soup with all those nutrients is exactly what a body needs on a hot summer day. More so on a cold Spring day like we've had lately here in sunny Southern California. So it's always soup weather. And, if you're under the weather, remember folk remedies dictate hot soup for what ails you. 

My grandmother's and mother's people believe caldo de pollo cures everything and what it doesn't fix, it prevents, especially when diners add lots of hot chile.

Memories of Caldo de Pollo

When the Gluten-free Chicano makes the raza panacea--caldo de pollo--he follows his people's simple procedure: boil a chicken, add rice and a few vegetables, serve with lemon and crushed chile piquín. When the occasion calls for fancier fare, The Gluten-free Chicano's thoughts run to Lee's Green Soup, or as his fading memory recalls Lee's name for it, Zuppa al polpette.

Lee Stroud moved next door to my junior high years' Casa Sedano when her husband, the Colonel, transferred to Norton AFB. Lee and mom hit it off. They exchanged recipes, Mexican food for a world-traveler's eclectic recipes. One day I disclosed that I'd recently eaten "pizza pie" for the first time at the drive-in theatre. That was when Lee told us she was Italian from Philadelphia, and what I'd eaten wasn't pizza. Lee made us pizza, from scratch and gave me and Mom a cooking lesson.

Lee's secret rationale: Real pizza takes a lot of work making yeast-rising bread. Not only work, she emphasized, but cheese and meats are expensive. Lee taught us this absolutely delicious caldo that will engage diners into seconds. Guest fill up with soup and when the pizza comes to table, folks eat a single square (because that's all you made) and they're totally satisfied.

It's a winning strategy when soup comes to the table beautifully garnished with a sprinkle of parmesan, aromatic and dimpled with meatballs.

Lee's Green Soup is wonderfully easy to make. Here's the fundamental process.

Make a rich broth.

Earlier in the week, The Gluten-free Chicano roasted a chicken for dinner. He boiled down the carcass with a bouquet of carrots, onions, garlic, celery, and a bay leaf. Removing the particulates left a rich broth of concentrated flavor. With that, start the broth to boil lightly.

Add water sufficient to your need.

Chop vegetables

Add to the boiling broth. The veggies--celery, onion, bell pepper, carrot, garlic--cook crisply fork tender.

Make meatballs

I use a Cusineart to process the carnes. Chop a few dientes of ajo, a medium onion, some parsley. Mix half and half ground beef with pork. Add an egg, a few pinches of grated dried parmesan cheese, a handful of gluten-free bread crumbs (or a couple Tbs of rice), coarsely ground black pepper, salt.

Wash hands well, leave them wet to make forming the meatballs easier. Hand-form meatballs. I make 2" albondigas that diners cut with their spoon. Lee's cost-sensible strategy featured 1" meatballs that fit a spoon. Plan on two or three meatballs per bowl.

Plop the meat into the water and increase the flame.

Add spinach

Break apart a package of chopped spinach as you stir it into the water. Boil. When all the meatballs float to the surface, they're probably done. The soup can simmer a long time if it's the fourth quarter and Plunkett is driving to a winning touchdown.

When the meatballs, and you, are ready to serve, stir in gluten-free rice noodles and call gente to table. The noodles won't require more than five minutes or so, to become al dente.

Prepare rice noodles

Lee Stroud served narrow egg noodles. The Gluten-free Chicano uses rice noodles from the Asian/Thai section at well-stocked supermarkets. "Pad Thai" noodles come in a box and need not be cut or further processed.

Rice noodles come in tightly-wrapped coils of hard, long strips of noodle. I find the noodles easier to cook and eat if I open one end of the cellophane package and use scissors to cut the bundled noodles along the fold.

Pull the noodles out of the wrapping above the boiling pot and let them float onto the surface. Stir them into the broth. Continue boiling until all the noodles are in the bottom and have grown elastic and translucently al dente.

Garnish with hot chile flakes

If the noodles absorbed too much broth, stir in some water. This chicken soup has a rich parmesan flavor that you can enhance with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese across the surface and a helping of crushed chile. A squeeze of limon helps but is not at all necessary.

Serve the soup all by itself. If you have a gluten-free breadlike substance, butter it up, load it with chunks of chopped garlic, dust with parmesan and paprika, broil until deep brown.

Comentario al libro _Corazón de agua, Heart of Water_ por Carlos Cumpián

Comentario al libro _Corazón de agua, Heart of Water_ por Carlos Cumpián

 

Corazón de agua / Heart of Water de Xánath Caraza

(Somos en Escrito Literary Foundation Press, 2024)

Traducido al inglés por Sandra Kingery

ISBN: 979-8-9902068-2-3

 

Multilingual poet professor Xánath Caraza’s new English and Spanish bilingual collection Corazón de Agua, Heart of Water provides readers with her intimate sensorial observations in crisp elemental language expressed in mainly free-verse. She captures cataloging almost-haiku like topographical cycles of nature parallel to our human hearts’ emotional fields of contraction and expansion. Close readers will also discover there’s a bold face type contrapuntal poem interwoven in each poem.

 

There are undercurrent references of what has become our modern plague’s “lockdown” appearing interwoven with strong seasonal biological and ecological cycles as in her poem The “Origin of My Blood”, “…furrows are formed on my skin as black tears slide down. Distance is more painful with this unexpected pandemic” doing so while cognizant of our society’s interdependence on people doing their jobs which Caraza celebrates and has concern for as in the poem Raven, “I think of those who travel on the metro every day, without masks, without distance between them, without knowing what they will become.”

 

I found Caraza’s new poems reminiscent of ecological-minded poets like Diana de Prima’s early work on the natural world as well as Gary Snyder’s mindfulness love of Nature rooted in Zen practice which she suggests in lines like in her title poem, “I stir a memory to let it go. When invoked, it vanishes. I add the sighs provoked by the mares that gallop on the prairies. I imbibe the bright green, brilliant daybreak, heart of water.”

 

Corazón de agua / Heart of Water de Xánath Caraza

(Somos en Escrito Literary Foundation Press, 2024)

Traducido al inglés por Sandra Kingery

ISBN: 979-8-9902068-2-3

 

El poemario más reciente de Xánath Caraza, una colección bilingüe en español e inglés, Corazón de agua, Heart of Water, brinda al lector observaciones sensoriales íntimas con un lenguaje nítido expresado principalmente en verso libre que la poeta captura al catalogar, casi a manera de haiku, ciclos topográficos de la naturaleza similares a la contracción y extensión emocional del corazón humano. Los lectores atentos también descubrirán que hay un poema en negritas, a contrapunto, entretejido en cada uno de los poemas.

 

Hay referencias subyacentes, a lo que se ha convertido el “Confinamiento” de nuestra plaga moderna, vinculadas a fuertes ciclos biológicos y ecológicos, como en su poema “El origen de mi sangre”, “…se forman surcos en la piel / al deslizarse lágrimas negras. / Duele más la distancia / con esta inesperada pandemia”, mientras, es consciente de la interdependencia de la sociedad con el trabajo que la gente hace, lo que Caraza celebra y le preocupa como en el poema “Cuervo”, “…pienso en los que viajan en los metros / cada día, sin máscaras, sin distancia / entre ellos sin saber en lo que / se transformarán”.

 

Descubro reminiscencias de eco poesía en el nuevo poemario de Caraza, como en los primeros trabajos de Diana de Prima sobre el mundo natural; así mismo encuentro el amor intencional a la naturaleza originado en la práctica Zen, de Gary Snyder, que la poeta sugiere en los versos de su poema “Elíxir”, “…Revuelvo un recuerdo / para dejarlo ir. / Al invocarlo se esfuma. / Agrego los suspiros / provocados por las yeguas / que galopan en las praderas. / Bebo el verde esmeralda, / brillante amanecer, / corazón de agua”.

 

Carlos Cumpián

Autor de Human Cicada (Prickly Pear Publishing)

 

 

Mystery of the Missing Authors

 

I wanted to find analytical books about Chicana/o authors.  Easy enough, I thought.  Chicana/o Lit is an accepted literary category, right?  A credible topic for a university course?  That may be, but I quickly learned that there is a sobering lack of biographical and academic studies of Mexican American authors.  There must be several reasons for this, which I don't want to get into here in this short piece for La Bloga.  I will point out that I could not find a definitive biography or serious critique of Tomás Rivera, Sandra Cisneros, Ana Castillo, Denise Chávez, Michael Nava, etc., etc.  Maybe I looked in the wrong places?  Maybe I didn't go deep enough? Please point me in the right direction.  I'll be happy to list any books about Chicana/o authors that you recommend. I'm not looking for autobiographical works or reviews of specific titles.  Meanwhile, here's what I've got so far.   

__________________________

Alfredo Véa’s Narrative Trilogy: Studies on La Maravilla, The Silver Cloud Café, and Gods Go Begging
Roberto Cantú
Cambridge Scholars Publishing - 2023

[from the publisher]
With the publication of La Maravilla (1993), Alfredo Véa entered the world of letters in full possession of his craft as a novelist, blending narrative fiction and engaging anecdotes with allusions to art (music, paintings, poetry) and autobiography (e.g., his tour of duty in Vietnam), written in the poetry and prose of the world with penetrating reflections on America (as an ideal), and the United States (as a country). Véa’s narrative trilogy was recognized for its attention to language, ingenious conception at the level of plot and theme, and broad reflections on American society, its history (politics, art, religion, the entertainment industry), and its role as a world power in the twentieth century, specifically during the Vietnam war. Although recognized as a writer of great intuition and exceptional creativity, until now, no book-length study has been written on Alfredo Véa as a novelist. In this book, each one of the novels in the trilogy is analyzed and interpreted from an interdisciplinary perspective and with the general reader in mind, as well as college and university professors and students of US and world literatures.

Roberto Cantú is Professor Emeritus of English, and jointly Professor of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. For more than forty years, he taught courses on world and Latin American literature, including Chicana/o, Mexican, and Mesoamerican literatures. He is the translator (from English to Spanish) of José Antonio Villarreal’s novel Pocho (1994), and the author of José Antonio Villarreal and Pocho: A Mexican American Novel and its Tragic Plot (2022). He has edited several books, including An Insatiable Dialectic: Essays on Critique, Modernity, and Humanism (2013); The Willow and the Spiral: Essays on Octavio Paz and the Poetic Imagination (2014); The Forked Juniper: Critical Perspectives on Rudolfo Anaya (2016); and Mexican Mural Art: Critical Essays on a Belligerent Aesthetic (2021). In 1990, Cantú received Cal State LA’s Outstanding Professor Award. In 2010, he was recognized at his campus with the President’s Distinguished Professor Award.

_______________________________

The Forked Juniper: Critical Perspectives on Rudolfo Anaya
Roberto Cantú, ed.
University of Oklahoma Press - 2016

[from the publisher]
Widely acclaimed as the founder of Chicano literature, Rudolfo Anaya is one of America’s most compelling and prolific authors. A recipient of a National Humanities Medal and best known for his debut novel, Bless Me, Ultima, his writings span multiple genres, from novels and essays to plays, poems, and children’s stories. Despite his prominence, critical studies of Anaya’s writings have appeared almost solely in journals, and the last book-length collection of essays on his work is now more than twenty-five years old. The Forked Juniper remedies this gap by offering new critical evaluations of Anaya’s ever-evolving artistry.

Edited by distinguished Chicano studies scholar Roberto Cantú, The Forked Juniper presents thirteen essays written by U.S., Mexican, and German critics and academics. The essayists employ a range of critical methods in their analyses of such major works as Bless Me, Ultima (1972), Jalamanta: A Message from the Desert (1996), and the Sonny Baca narrative quartet (1995–2005). Through the lens of cultural studies, the essayists also discuss intriguing themes in Anaya’s writings, such as witchcraft in colonial New Mexico, the reconceptualization of Aztlán, and the aesthetics of the New World Baroque. The volume concludes with an interview with renowned filmmaker David Ellis, who produced the 2014 film Rudolfo Anaya: The Magic of Words.

The symbol of the forked juniper tree—venerated as an emblem of healing and peace in some spiritual traditions and a compelling image in Bless Me, Ultima—is open to multiple interpretations. It echoes the manifold meanings the contributors to this volume reveal in Anaya’s boundlessly imaginative literature.

The Forked Juniper illuminates both the artistry of Anaya’s writings and the culture, history, and diverse religious traditions of his beloved Nuevo Mexico. It is an essential reference for any reader seeking greater understanding of Anaya’s world-embracing work.

______________________________________

Rolando Hinojosa's Klail City Death Trip Series:  A Retrospective, New Directions
Stephen Miller & Jose Villalobos, eds.

Arte Público Press - 2013

[from the publisher]
Mirroring the linguistic and cultural evolution of those living on the Texas-Mexico border, Rolando Hinojosa’s Klail City Death Trip Series examines relations between Mexican-Americans and Anglo-Americans born and raised in the fictional Rio Grande Valley town of Klail City, Texas. Depicting the transformation of a place and its people “from a sleepy agricultural and ranching backwater of Mexican and American society and history” over a 30-year period, the series comprises fifteen books—published between 1973 and 2006—and reflects the importance of the growing Hispanic population in the U.S.

The people of Hinojosa’s Klail City, which has been compared to William Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County and Gabriel García Márquez’s Macondo, have dealt with the same issues as their real-life counterparts living along the border, including discrimination, generational change, drug violence and the quest for women’s rights. The editors of this scholarly volume assert in their introduction that the series, with volumes in English, Spanish and a mix of both languages, “may well be the most innovative and complex project of literary creation ever conceived and realized by a writer based in the United States.”

The eleven essays in this volume consider both broad and specialized aspects of the Klail City Death Trip Series. Divided into two sections, the chapters in the first half examine the series as a whole and look at general topics such as cultural hybridity, the individual’s needs versus those of society and the influence of Hispanic literary tradition on Hinojosa’s work. The essays in the second half explore more specific aspects, including Klail City youth going to war, women’s search for autonomy in the face of societal and familial tradition and a comparison of Hinojosa’s The Valley with Larry McMurtry’s The Last Picture Show as examples of Hispanic and Anglo literary traditions that developed in the same region.

Also included is an interview with Rolando Hinojosa, the Ellen Clayton Garwood Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the most prestigious prize in Latin American fiction, Casa de las Américas, for the best Spanish American novel in 1976 and the Premio Quinto Sol, the National Award for Chicano Literature, in 1972. This collection is an essential tool for scholars and students alike in understanding the work of Rolando Hinojosa and the people living a bilingual, bicultural life along the Texas-Mexico border.

___________________________

Bandido:  The Death and Resurrection of Oscar "Zeta" Acosta

Ilan Stavans

Northwestern University Press - 2003

[from the publisher]
The Hispanic Malcolm X. Writer. Activist. Civil rights attorney. Obese, dark-skinned, and angry. Man with a surplus of personality. Man of vision. All the above describe Oscar "Zeta" Acosta. El Paso-born, Acosta became a leading figure in the Chicano rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s, winning landmark decisions in civil rights cases as an attorney. As a tireless writer and activist, he had a profound influence on his contemporaries. He seemed to be everywhere at once, knowing everyone in "el movimiento" and involving himself in many of its key moments. Tumultuous and prone to excess, he is the Samoan in Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. In 1974, after a last phone call to his son, Acosta disappeared in the Mexican state of Mazatlán.

Hailed as "a fine, learned homage" (Kirkus), "a kaleidoscopic portrait" (Booklist), and "a game of mirrors" (The Washington Post), Bandido is a veritable tour de force. Through interviews and Acosta's writings (published and unpublished), Ilan Stavans reconstructs—even reinvents—the man behind the myth. Part biographical appraisal, part reflection on the legacy of the Civil Rights era, Bandido is an opportunity to understand the challenges and pitfalls Latinos face in finding a place of their own in America.

Later.

_________________________________


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

Chicanonautica: Sci-Fi Gonzoing While Chicano in Class

by Ernest Hogan

Once again, I taught a class at (problematic, it was online via good ol’ Zoom) the Palabras del Pueblo writing workshop. I called it “Gonzo Sciene Fiction, Chicano Style” to give myself a excuse to plug my new book, Guerrilla Mural of a Siren’s Song: 15 Gonzo Science Fiction Stories. Self-promotion is important, kids, do it whenever you can get away with it—hell, even when you can’t get away with it!  It’s called professionalism.

There I go, thinking like a teacher again . . .

When introducing themselves, students mentioned the Impostor Syndrome about being writers. I don’t have that problem; my credentials as one of the most successful Chicano writers of my generation are secure. But when it comes to being a teacher, that’s another plate of tacos.

I never wanted to be a teacher. I don't have a degree. I never did like school. All I have is over forty years of bizarre experience.

And there are people out there who like what I write. I guess it all counts for something. 

This was my second time doing this. I may get the hang of it yet.

I presented material from my updated notes. I tend to change my mind about things, and the writing biz keeps a-changing. I wrote a story over the course of the class, all the way sharing my creative process (hiljole! What a pretentious phrase). 

It was strange because I don’t usually think about what I do—I just do it. I find discussing the Art of Writing to be boring and irritating.

Interestingly enough, there were no surprises. I’ve been doing this so long that I know what I’m doing without having to ponder the mysteries of it all. Like I said, experience.

The story is called “Spawn of the New, Improved Tortilla Machine.” I was lucky enough to be inspired by all the craziness going on in the world, combined with the fact that I had promised I would write a story. The process was, and the result is, gonzo.

I’ve never been comfortable in a classroom. I tried hard to make this a non- or even anti-academic experience. Writing is not an academic activity and shouldn’t be.

Once again, I was impressed by the students. They were a diverse group from all parts of the Latinoid continuum. I tend to be Chicano-centric because Aztlán in the second half of siglo XX is where I come from, but I always enjoy other cultures that have been affected by contact with the Hispanic virus. We need to start cooperating on a global level—since we are most of the people in this hemisphere we need to come off as a majority so publishers stop dismissing us as a niche market. We have fantastic ideas coming out of a wide range of cultures—we keep creating new ones—that will make for great fiction that will entertain and enlighten the world.

For the next time—it pays well, often better than the writing itself—I will strive to make it more interactive and focus even more on the wants and needs of the students. Guess I’ll be updating those notes again.

One thing I need to work on is the market—where to send what you write. It’s something I need to do anyway. I’ve been spoiled this century, most of what I publish these days is the result of publishers and editors coming to me—thank Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca for the interwebs! But lately, I’ve built up a backlog of unpublished stories. I need to do some investigating of the mutating world of publishing. No doubt, there will be some hair-raising adventures.

Also, anybody interested in publishing one or more of these stories, besides this blog and Mondo Ernesto, I’m on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Another lesson in professionalism.

Ernest Hogan, the Father of Chicano Science Fiction, is the author of Guerrilla Mural of a Siren’s Song: 15 Gonzo Science Fiction Stories, a guidebook for the weirdness to come.

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

From LA Librería 

www.la-libreria.net 

 

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is just around the corner. Join us on April 20-21 at the University of Southern California for a weekend packed with books, authors, illustrators, activities, more books :) and, of course, lots of fun! 

 

Come and check our wonderful collection of books in Spanish at the Book Festival!

Board books, picture books, comics, chapter books, young adult books, adult books...

 

Looking for libros? Don't miss our two spots!

 

* Booth #590, across the Children's Stage

* Booth #003, next to the Latinidad Stage. We are the official bookseller for the Latinidad Stage.

Besides, there’s a terrific author line-up for all the stages. All outdoor stages and activities are free.

 Storytime and Author Book Signing hosted by LA librería

 

Come and say Hi/Hola!

 

We will be across the Children's Stage in Booth #590

 

Bilingual Storytime with Mrs. Angel and Ms. Kimi from Anaheim Public Library. April 20th, 11:00 am

Calling all LA Dodger fans, families, and especially children! Kathy Contreras will be signing copies of her new book “Born to Play Beisbol: The Magical Career of Fernando Valenzuela”. April 20th, 1:30 pm

Isabel Quintero, author of “My Papi Has a Motorcycle” will be signing copies of her brand new book “Mama’s panza”. April 20th, 2:00 pm

Holly Ayala will be signing copies of her fun and unique ABC book “ABC El Salvador”. April 21st, 3:00 pm

 

Meet Jorge Argueta, who will be signing copies of his book “Olita and Manyula The Big Birthday”. April 21st, 3:30 pm

 

Author of bilingual picture books, René Colato Laínez will be joining us and signing copies of his latest books “Do I belong here? / ¿Es este mi lugar?” and “Let's Play in the Park / Juguemos en el parque”. April 21st, 3:30pm

 

 

* Here’s what you can’t miss at the Latinidad Stage:

 

Festival goers will be able to purchase books by the featured authors below in our booth. Authors will participate in book signings following their panels.

 

* Hora de cuentos con LAPL. April 20th and 21st, 10:00 am

Recommended for your little ones!

 

 * Lil' Libros Storytime with Cindy Montenegro and Hazel Quintanilla. April 20th and 21st, 11:00 am. Recommended for your little ones!

 

* Lectura en español con Luis García, Carla Guelfenbein y Marisol Shulz. April 20th, 12:00 pm

 

* Poetry Reading with Yesika Salgado, Angela García, Melania Marte. April 20th and 21st, 1:15 pm

 

* Exploring the latino wealth gap with Gaventura, Linda Garcia and Natalie Torres-Hadad. April 20th, 4:30 pm

  

* De aquí y de Allá: The first gen experience with Julissa Arce, Verónica Benavidez and Alejandra Campoverdi. April 21st, 11:30 am

 

* When Writing is personal: in conversation with Justin Torres. April 21st, 12:25 pm

 

* Oaxacan Influence: How a community has shaped culture in all corners, a conversation with the López Family, Odilia Romero and Mireya Olivera. April 21st, 1:20 pm

 

* Blood in blood out’ with Jimmy Santiago Baca and Taylor Hackford. April 21st, 2:15 pm

 

*Voto Latino with Gustavo Arellano, Angelica Salas, Sonja Francine Diaz y Gustavo Madrid. April 21st, 3:15 pm

 

*Everything Latinidad: Challenging the Myth of the Monolith Mario, Alberto Obando, Valentina, Alan Pelaez Lopez. April 21st, 4:00 pm

 

¡Ahí nos vemos!

 

28th Poetry Month, NELA the First

Back in April 1996, the Academy of American Poets declared the first National Poetry Month. Twenty-eight years of growth and having become the world's largest literary celebration, National Poetry Month comes to Northeast Los Angeles with the first annual NELA Poetry Festival. 

 Literary Festivals don't just happen. This initial foray into a large scale event reflects organizing prowess by unnamed members of host VCP SoCal Poets, helmed by Teresa Mei Chuc with James Evert Jones. 

I just returned from the 5th annual San Diego Writers Festival, a one-day event centered around a tent city of vendors. This first NELA Poetry Festival is all about the poets and their work. 

The two day schedule from 11:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. features two readers every twenty minutes. Five- and six-voice collectives read for an hour. 

It's a massive undertaking best appreciated by attending the free event next year. Visit the festival's website (link) where the list of readers with bios and photos likely represents hours of labor and multiple messages to gather such an extensive, yet partial, list of poets. 

The festival site, Los Angeles College Prep Academy, welcomes visitors with an agricultural work area, mural-adorned retaining walls, and a beautiful amphitheater. 

Another mural covers the main entrance to the instructional building. Visit the school website (link) for a more thorough introduction to this unique high school. 

I enjoyed only a short visit to the lively festival, intending to photograph The Rose Poets, Teresa Mei Chuc, Gerda Govine Ituarte, Shahé Mankerian, and Carla Sameth. These poets have work in the upcoming book, Altadena Poetry Review; Anthology 2024, edited by Peter J. Harris. When the anthology launches, I anticipate they will read and I can take their portrait. 

Holding the floor before the veteranas of Southern California poetry are younger voices such as Rhys Langston Podell who read from his unpublished manuscripts.

That big microophone is a vital element of the superb sound system NELA Poetry Festival provides. The speakers emit clean, crisp renditions of what's being said up front in the room's poor acoustics. What poets need to remember is the mic pics up sound in a big three dimensional clover leaf pattern. Lower the mic to chest level. and speak straight ahead. The mic hears you just fine and the photographer is all happy to see faces.

Teresa Mei Chuc 

Carla Sameth

Shahé Mankerian

Gerda Govine Ituarte

Christian Perfas (aka. 'Soul Stuf' within poetry circles)