So I have done some commentaries on facebook, part comical, part comical, part serious and what ever anyone reads into it. However on one of the commentaries I was sent a nasty reply by the cartoonish Lalo Alcaraz. I'm not one that sits back, I go on the offense and defense simultaneously.
So we went back and forth on points that merit a discussion but when the heat got too hot he de friended me. Technically we were never friends. But for the simple reason that he did not like what I told him. I at least heard him out but he was quick to cut me off.
Then the same happened with Ask a Mexican, Gustavo Arellano but with him it was a commentary over Muslims and I went back and forth with a woman whose in love with that culture and claims that Mexican culture comes Middle eastern roots. As I told her, the numbers of Spaniards never made it to Mexico and much less north. I took a cultural point, Muslims will push their culture and you can forget about anything pork. And when Spaniards claim they are part North African then I might be open but I doubt that.
So the Ask a Mexican response was to de friend me, but as I said, we were never friends. I could never be friends with people from Zacatecas--something about those people rubs me the wrong way.
The point I make is that these voices for Mexicans are quite close minded and don't like to be challenged and when they are, they turn and run. It's easy to critique people who don't know internally but when someone knows internally they can't handle being challenged. They act like their words are gospel when they are not. And when I mentioned to Alcaraz to stop spreading ignorance he acted like as if he was superior and being talked down to was not something he was used to.
It is easy to preach to the choir but to go outside of the comforts of the four walls is quite different.
And just because Whiteness has given them a voice does not mean they are correct. They push that undocumented are the same as Mexican Americans because they were raised here. Lets ignore laws because they don't matter. But the fact many are not US born proves that they are not Mexican Americans which is their own exclusive cultural legal animal created by law, US law.
The list could go on but why elaborate.
These guys represent the worse of American Higher Education, which is the creation of a close minded individual much like their professors. Why? Because they are never wrong for they are gospel. I'm glad I don't read their stuff and contribute to more ignorance.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Floricanto Press August Newsletter
sales@floricantopress.com
Floricanto Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Home
Twelve New Titles
Floricanto is pleased to announce the release of the following new titles:
Aurora. By Rafael Castillo. ISBN:978-1888205-30-5
Rafael Castillo's characters are a Chicano variation of Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks," sleepless souls lost in their own thoughts," Jacinto Jesus Cardona, author of Pan Dulce: Poems These eleven tightly-packed short stories, often allegorical yet visceral, range from the phantasmagorical "Aurora", whose misdeed has condemned her to a cyclical river of Eternal Return, to the agnostic Tomas and faithful Pedro in the theological "Penitent of Guadalupe Street", where truth is an enigma wrapped in a metaphor. In another story, a bellicose dwarf is murdered and the story is told from shifting points of view. In "Dwarfs and Penitents," an angry jilted husband searches the cobblestone streets of Prague in search of vengeance, while in "The Sands of Dhahran," a middle-age soldier battles his demons during Operation Desert Storm. In these luminous stories, Castillo give us penitents, dwarfs, lost youth, WWII vets, pachucos, doppelgangers, and memorable others populating the American literary landscape. ___ Rafael Castillo teaches writing and literature at Palo Alto College in San Antonio, Texas. He is the author of Distant Journeys, and his writing has appeared in The Arizona Quarterly, College English, Imagine, English Journal, Frank, New Mexico Humanities Review, Puentes, Southwestern American Literature, Saguaro, and ViAztlán. His fiction has also been widely syndicated and anthologized in Under the Pomegranate Tree (Washington Square Press), Lone Star Literature (W.W.Norton), Hispanic Link, (Washington, DC) and New Growth (Corona Press). "Castillo has a poet's feel for language and a gritty sense of urban reality. Aurora and other stories is a welcome addition to the growing body of Mexican American literature," Don Graham is the J. Frank Dobie Regents Professor of American Literature and English at UT-Austin, and a writer-at-large for Texas Monthly.
"Complicated, interesting, and enthralling, Castillo has one of the most authentic voices coming out of Aztlan. Our inheritance is in his words." Sheila Sanchez-Hatch, author of Strong Box Heart
"A personal memory of profound intimacy and delicately layered...Castillo's book is enticing and energizing." Carmen Tafolla, Sonnets To Human Beings.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mourning for Papá: A Story of a Syrian-Jewish Family in Mexico. By Jacobo Sefamí. ISBN: 978-1-888205-31-2 $26.98
Using the death of the father as a point of departure, the novel is divided into ten chapters, a structure that is particularly effective because the chapters correspond to the ten days that begin on the Jewish New Year and end on the Day of Pardon... Thus the mythic time of a millenarian religion such as Judaism is strategically juxtaposed to the recapturing of a family's memory that is both contemporary and unmistakably Mexican... The dialogues are tinged with Jewish humor. Jorge Schwartz
Each character lives simultaneously within three cultures -Jewish, Syrian, and Mexican-in a hybrid narration that produces fascinating mixtures. Lucía Guerra
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Competing Truths in Contemporary Latin American Literature: Narrating Otherness, Marginality, and the Politics of Representation. By Sandro R. Barros. ISBN: 978-1-888205-32-9. $26.95
The overwhelming success of the filmic adaptations of Before Night Falls by Cuban exile Reinaldo Arenas, The Virgin of the Assassins by Colombian writer Fernando Vallejo, and City of God by Brazilian author Paulo Lins attracted audiences worldwide to rediscover and rethink the content of these works as enigmatic messages of disillusionment and abjection regarding the Latin American realities they promote. The original texts' representation of sicarios, favelados, and homosexual dissidents undermines the conceptualization of the Latin American continental identity as "Other" in relation to dominant Eurocentric and North American perspectives. Competing Truths delves into the question of to what extent the fictional and autobiographical truths purported by the aforementioned bestsellers engage in the process of fixating conventional paradigms of "Third World" identity, such as poverty, violence and exclusion, as images of consumption for world audiences. Furthermore, Competing Truths examines what constitutes truth and reality from a perspective that assesses Latin American history and culture in a contest for the very meaning of the postmodern truth. Competing Truths presents a critical reflection of three of the most compelling and successful novels emerging from the Latin American literary scene at the end of the 20th century, questioning the politics behind their historical, racial, and gendered representations. Competing Truths explores the Latin American identity within a literary fictional framework and realistic social paradigms, a dichotomy that challenges the reality of identity of the social types. Lector, The Hispanic Book Review Journal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heaven is Hard to Swallow - Paraísos duros de roer. By Rafael Pérez Gay. Translated in to English by Dr. Eduardo Jiménez Mayo. ISBN: 978-1-888205-29-9 $26.95
A forlorn psychoanalyst; a cultural historian exploring the possibility of life after death; a middle-aged couple that schedules a rendezvous with a younger version of itself; a man who compensates for his phobia of death and dying with intense sadomasochistic practices; a writer who futilely explores the sexual habits and customs of Mexico City: These five short stories comprise the body of Heaven is Hard to Swallow (Paraísos duros de roer), the latest masterpiece of the phenomenal Mexican publisher, journalist and fiction writer, Rafael Pérez Gay.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dreams Sueños. By María del Pilar Muñoz. ISBN: 978-1-888205-24-4 $22.98
Interpretation of dreams has been practiced by mankind for thousands of years. The hermeneutics of dreams varies from culture to culture. Latino culture has always been fascinated with the mystery of dreams and has its own approach to their significance. We can learn a lot from our dreams about ourselves, our past, present and future, our fears and hopes, our community, our health, mental state, feelings and much more... Dreams is a book that will help you understand your dreams, look at the interpretations and meanings of dream symbols, learn special methods of self dream psychoanalysis, reveal the subtle inferences and meaning of common dreams, such as falling teeth, flying, falling, chase, and more. You will also find here interpretation of special dream themes like scenes, sounds, feelings and colors, numbers, animals, food, houses, ocean, forest and etc...look for items and symbols that are prevalent in your dreams. Piece together the bits of information, search for their meanings, then shape the significance, which may clarify the next steps you should take in life and enlighten understanding for a more fulfilling life. Dreams can be instrumental in guiding your decisions, providing you courage to accept fate, dealing with sorrow, self awareness, and understanding prophetic dreams and your future, and achieving psychological health. Norma Godina-Silva, Ph.D., Founder, Director, ESL-BilingualResources.com
"Dreams will open your minds avenues into a different cultural spectrum of understanding. A plus read for one who wishes to know more about the significance of dreams and how to use them to broaden one's scope of life." Elbert García, Santa Rosa, New Mexico.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a Train Called Absence/Paletitas de Guayaba. ISBN: 978-1-888205-20-6 $23.95 Bilingual edition.
This is a bilingual edition. On a Train Called Absence/Paletitas de Guayaba the story is narrated in the first person by the protagonist, Marina, who is traveling by train from New Mexico to Mexico City in search of her identity, her history, and answers to many questions that are tormenting her. As the train carries her through the Mexican landscape, she has flashbacks of her life in New Mexico, a failed romance, and a previous journey. The narration also flashes forward to her arrival, and to her discoveries and adventures in Mexico, where she confronts both her historical and mythical past as well as her complex, multicultural present.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cuba Libre. Mentirita! By Carlos T. Mock, M.D. ISBN: 978-1-888205-16-9 $25.95
The Cuba Libre ("Free Cuba") is a cocktail made of Cola, lime, and rum. This cocktail is often referred to as a Rum and Coke in the United States and Canada, where the lime juice is optional. Bacardi claims ownership of the original, while some have also claimed it for Havana Club. It seems unlikely, however, that anyone could safely identify the first individual to combine rum and Coca-Cola-when seven or eight individuals lay claim to the creation of the Margarita, a far more complex drink-let alone identify the brand. Both the cocktail and its name remain politically loaded due to the history and current status of Cuba-United States relations. The situation is further complicated by Bacardi's political involvement in Cuba. Cuba Libre is sometimes called "Mentirita" ("little lie") by Cuban exiles opposed to the current Communist government run by Fidel Castro, as a comment that Cuba is currently not free. Cuba Libre "Mentirita" is a history book.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suzanna. By Irene I. Blea. ISBN: 978-1-888205-21-3 $23.95
When young girls quickly grew up to be old women, young Suzanna was raised by her grandparents who received a letter from Don Felipe Montoya asking for the child's hand in marriage. Don Felipe is old enough to be her father. He agrees to the abuelito's condition that he delay obtaining Suzanna as a wife until she becomes a woman, or until her thirteenth birthday, which ever comes first. The wedding takes place in the northern New Mexico village church on a weekday with only the necessary parties in attendance. Thus, Suzanna becomes isolated on Don Felipe's failing prairie ranch with her home-made rag doll, Cleotilda as her only friend. In two years Suzanna gives birth to two sons. The remoteness of the ranch is made worse by drought, failing live stock, Don Felipe's silence, his sternness, and sexual appetite. Economic hardship forces Felipe to seek work elsewhere. He migrates north securing employment on a Wyoming sheep ranch. He arrives to announce they are moving to Colorado where he will work in a steel mill. Suzanna and does not want to move. Felipe beats her badly into relocating. Her grandfather sooths her bruises and agrees she must go with her husband. The truck is loaded with household furnishings and before the family crosses the state line Felipe stops for gasoline. During the trip Suzanna agonizes about leaving her children behind, but at a gas station she grabs a flour sack containing Cleotilda, a santo and a few articles of clothing and runs. Suzanne is a truly outstanding first novel. Don Bullis, Author-Historian
"A well written coming of age story of a young Spanish girl tossed into marital domesticity by her grandparents. It is filled with vividly captivating details that just entices you to read on." Sandra C. Lopez, Author of Esperanza: A Latina Story
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chalino: A Chronicle Play of Fulgor and Death. By Julián Camacho Segura. ISBN: 978-1-888205-12-1 $22.95 Bilingual edition.
With "Chalino", Julian Camacho writes about a raw, unflinching Mexican icon with an unapologetic honesty only he can provide. He excels at bringing this story to larger than life tale because he possesses one of the most experienced voices among his contemporaries. Oscar Barajas, Author, "True Tales from the Wireless Clothesline"
Rosalino "Chalino" Sanchez was a Mexican immigrant from the Mexican state of Sinaloa who came to the US in search of opportunity. In his pursuit of perseverance his gift and talent for writing corridos for the common working class man initiated a world wind phenomena that appealed to Mexican-American youth in Los Angeles, California. Chalino's corridos provided a cultural medium in which Chicanos identified with their own roots. Chalino's contribution to the musical genre of corridos bridged Mexican immigrant music of the Mexican corrido with Mexican-American youth. Chalino's corridos and music have forever changed the social fabric of Chicanos in the music scene in Los Angeles. His music helped many Chicanos have a cultural reaffirmation of who they are allowing Mexican youth in Los Angeles to immerse more deeply into their own Mexican Norteño culture. Chalino's unique singing style turned him into a legend that many have tried to imitate, but there will never be another man like him. Chalino defied the odds and became successful starting his own legacy as the king of corridos. Through his art form Chalino left behind his fame and a corrido legacy that was materialized and created in el rancho de Los Angeles, California. Marcos A. Ramos, University of California, Berkeley
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day of the Dead/ Día de los Muertos. By Manuel Luis Martínez. ISBN: 978-1-888205-19-0 $25.95
This is the most riveting and complex narrative of the Mexican Revolution. "I am Berto Morales. I am the false son of a nameless and blind man. I am War. I took his land through a pretense. I am Pestilence. When his heir returned to claim his birthright, I killed him. I am Murder. His comrades returned to find me, and failing to do so, took the life of my wife and child. I was Love. I determined to meet injustice with injustice. I am Hatred. I brought war to those who ended my life. I am Executioner. I am guilty of sins that have no name. I have come to the slaughter uninvited and have determined to give my life freely." And so begins the saga of Berto Morales set during the Mexican Revolution, the landscape of Day of the Dead is littered with the victims of a brutal war, one populated by a cast of villains, saints, heroes, and ordinary people whose roles are often impossible to reconcile.
"Martínez continues his fine writing on Day of the Dead, and offers further proof of the wide range of Chicano literature. The reader will acknowledge that our ties to tradition serve as a most appropriate title on this tightly-written work ." Rolando Hinojosa
"In his novels Manuel Martinez writes the naked truth, and he does so twice: once when he relates the almost unknown American history of underprivileged Mexican immigrants, who never had the power or status to tell their unbelievably courageous and human stories themselves; and a second time when he makes us confront questions of identity, morality, justice and vengeance that are as relevant to anyone living in present day America and the world as they are to his protagonists. In Day of the Dead, Martinez executes this feat in clean, compassionate prose, poignantly direct and lacking in clichés." Assaf Gavron, has published four novels, a collection of short stories. His fiction has been translated into German, Russian, Italian, French, English and more, won prizes, was adapted for the stage, and optioned several times for movies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hasta la Vista, Baby! By Donna Del Oro. ISBN: ISBN: 978-1-888205-17-6 $22.95
"I thought it was great. I mean, I was hooked from the very first page because of all the wit and humor. I found myself laughing a few times ...and that was only the first three chapters!" Sandra Lopez, author of ESPERANZA and BEYOND THE GARDENS
"A fun romp to read! Hasta La Vista, Baby! is a deft mix of humor and raw emotion with unforgettable characters. Donna Del Oro is an author to watch!" Loucinda McGary, award-winning author of The Wild Sight and The Treasures of Venice.
Hasta la Vista, Baby! is a romantic comedy set in Silicon Valley.
Sonya, the artist, is blind to everything but beauty. She learns the hard way that it's never too late to wake up, wise up and grow up!
Muralist Sonya Reyes Barton experiences an emotional meltdown when her handsome, cheating husband, Earl, announces at a family BBQ that he needs a divorce so he can marry his pregnant girlfriend. In front of all the Bartons, Sonya has a nervous breakdown, chases Earl with a barbecue fork, eventually winds down and collapses.
How does the worst day of Sonya's life eventually become the best thing that ever happens to her? How does she gain insight into herself and her choice of men? More importantly, how does Sonya learn to forgive herself and move on? There's still life after forty-two and she's determined to find it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mujeres de Conciencia/ Women of Conscience. Spanish English parallel text and photography by Victoria Alvarado. ISBN: 978-0-9796457-7-8. 2008 $79.95 Oversized, Hardbound.
This is an art book with magnificent black and white photos of prominent Latinas who have made definite and long standing contribution to the Hispanic community and the country at large. This photographic essay constitutes an important collective biography as well, with great journalistic insight and integrity into the lives of leading Latina women in the fields of education, science, literature, business, law, the arts, journalism, politics, and other fields of endeavor. This coffee table monograph, which has been published with art-book quality as a collector's edition, provides stunning artistic, B&W photographs of each subject with a parallel biographic journalistic essay in Spanish and English. The biographies explore the life-changing events of each subject, the personal mix of elements, circumstances, and values which allowed these women to set goals and objectives toward most successful careers and contributions to society. There are 72 leading women included in this collective biography and an extraordinary photographic essay offering the most incredible array of role models to inspire, guide and motivate young Latinas. This title is an important addition to reference collections and individual libraries for they are testament to the vision and values of la Mujer Latina.
Floricanto Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Home
Twelve New Titles
Floricanto is pleased to announce the release of the following new titles:
Aurora. By Rafael Castillo. ISBN:978-1888205-30-5
Rafael Castillo's characters are a Chicano variation of Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks," sleepless souls lost in their own thoughts," Jacinto Jesus Cardona, author of Pan Dulce: Poems These eleven tightly-packed short stories, often allegorical yet visceral, range from the phantasmagorical "Aurora", whose misdeed has condemned her to a cyclical river of Eternal Return, to the agnostic Tomas and faithful Pedro in the theological "Penitent of Guadalupe Street", where truth is an enigma wrapped in a metaphor. In another story, a bellicose dwarf is murdered and the story is told from shifting points of view. In "Dwarfs and Penitents," an angry jilted husband searches the cobblestone streets of Prague in search of vengeance, while in "The Sands of Dhahran," a middle-age soldier battles his demons during Operation Desert Storm. In these luminous stories, Castillo give us penitents, dwarfs, lost youth, WWII vets, pachucos, doppelgangers, and memorable others populating the American literary landscape. ___ Rafael Castillo teaches writing and literature at Palo Alto College in San Antonio, Texas. He is the author of Distant Journeys, and his writing has appeared in The Arizona Quarterly, College English, Imagine, English Journal, Frank, New Mexico Humanities Review, Puentes, Southwestern American Literature, Saguaro, and ViAztlán. His fiction has also been widely syndicated and anthologized in Under the Pomegranate Tree (Washington Square Press), Lone Star Literature (W.W.Norton), Hispanic Link, (Washington, DC) and New Growth (Corona Press). "Castillo has a poet's feel for language and a gritty sense of urban reality. Aurora and other stories is a welcome addition to the growing body of Mexican American literature," Don Graham is the J. Frank Dobie Regents Professor of American Literature and English at UT-Austin, and a writer-at-large for Texas Monthly.
"Complicated, interesting, and enthralling, Castillo has one of the most authentic voices coming out of Aztlan. Our inheritance is in his words." Sheila Sanchez-Hatch, author of Strong Box Heart
"A personal memory of profound intimacy and delicately layered...Castillo's book is enticing and energizing." Carmen Tafolla, Sonnets To Human Beings.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mourning for Papá: A Story of a Syrian-Jewish Family in Mexico. By Jacobo Sefamí. ISBN: 978-1-888205-31-2 $26.98
Using the death of the father as a point of departure, the novel is divided into ten chapters, a structure that is particularly effective because the chapters correspond to the ten days that begin on the Jewish New Year and end on the Day of Pardon... Thus the mythic time of a millenarian religion such as Judaism is strategically juxtaposed to the recapturing of a family's memory that is both contemporary and unmistakably Mexican... The dialogues are tinged with Jewish humor. Jorge Schwartz
Each character lives simultaneously within three cultures -Jewish, Syrian, and Mexican-in a hybrid narration that produces fascinating mixtures. Lucía Guerra
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Competing Truths in Contemporary Latin American Literature: Narrating Otherness, Marginality, and the Politics of Representation. By Sandro R. Barros. ISBN: 978-1-888205-32-9. $26.95
The overwhelming success of the filmic adaptations of Before Night Falls by Cuban exile Reinaldo Arenas, The Virgin of the Assassins by Colombian writer Fernando Vallejo, and City of God by Brazilian author Paulo Lins attracted audiences worldwide to rediscover and rethink the content of these works as enigmatic messages of disillusionment and abjection regarding the Latin American realities they promote. The original texts' representation of sicarios, favelados, and homosexual dissidents undermines the conceptualization of the Latin American continental identity as "Other" in relation to dominant Eurocentric and North American perspectives. Competing Truths delves into the question of to what extent the fictional and autobiographical truths purported by the aforementioned bestsellers engage in the process of fixating conventional paradigms of "Third World" identity, such as poverty, violence and exclusion, as images of consumption for world audiences. Furthermore, Competing Truths examines what constitutes truth and reality from a perspective that assesses Latin American history and culture in a contest for the very meaning of the postmodern truth. Competing Truths presents a critical reflection of three of the most compelling and successful novels emerging from the Latin American literary scene at the end of the 20th century, questioning the politics behind their historical, racial, and gendered representations. Competing Truths explores the Latin American identity within a literary fictional framework and realistic social paradigms, a dichotomy that challenges the reality of identity of the social types. Lector, The Hispanic Book Review Journal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heaven is Hard to Swallow - Paraísos duros de roer. By Rafael Pérez Gay. Translated in to English by Dr. Eduardo Jiménez Mayo. ISBN: 978-1-888205-29-9 $26.95
A forlorn psychoanalyst; a cultural historian exploring the possibility of life after death; a middle-aged couple that schedules a rendezvous with a younger version of itself; a man who compensates for his phobia of death and dying with intense sadomasochistic practices; a writer who futilely explores the sexual habits and customs of Mexico City: These five short stories comprise the body of Heaven is Hard to Swallow (Paraísos duros de roer), the latest masterpiece of the phenomenal Mexican publisher, journalist and fiction writer, Rafael Pérez Gay.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dreams Sueños. By María del Pilar Muñoz. ISBN: 978-1-888205-24-4 $22.98
Interpretation of dreams has been practiced by mankind for thousands of years. The hermeneutics of dreams varies from culture to culture. Latino culture has always been fascinated with the mystery of dreams and has its own approach to their significance. We can learn a lot from our dreams about ourselves, our past, present and future, our fears and hopes, our community, our health, mental state, feelings and much more... Dreams is a book that will help you understand your dreams, look at the interpretations and meanings of dream symbols, learn special methods of self dream psychoanalysis, reveal the subtle inferences and meaning of common dreams, such as falling teeth, flying, falling, chase, and more. You will also find here interpretation of special dream themes like scenes, sounds, feelings and colors, numbers, animals, food, houses, ocean, forest and etc...look for items and symbols that are prevalent in your dreams. Piece together the bits of information, search for their meanings, then shape the significance, which may clarify the next steps you should take in life and enlighten understanding for a more fulfilling life. Dreams can be instrumental in guiding your decisions, providing you courage to accept fate, dealing with sorrow, self awareness, and understanding prophetic dreams and your future, and achieving psychological health. Norma Godina-Silva, Ph.D., Founder, Director, ESL-BilingualResources.com
"Dreams will open your minds avenues into a different cultural spectrum of understanding. A plus read for one who wishes to know more about the significance of dreams and how to use them to broaden one's scope of life." Elbert García, Santa Rosa, New Mexico.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a Train Called Absence/Paletitas de Guayaba. ISBN: 978-1-888205-20-6 $23.95 Bilingual edition.
This is a bilingual edition. On a Train Called Absence/Paletitas de Guayaba the story is narrated in the first person by the protagonist, Marina, who is traveling by train from New Mexico to Mexico City in search of her identity, her history, and answers to many questions that are tormenting her. As the train carries her through the Mexican landscape, she has flashbacks of her life in New Mexico, a failed romance, and a previous journey. The narration also flashes forward to her arrival, and to her discoveries and adventures in Mexico, where she confronts both her historical and mythical past as well as her complex, multicultural present.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cuba Libre. Mentirita! By Carlos T. Mock, M.D. ISBN: 978-1-888205-16-9 $25.95
The Cuba Libre ("Free Cuba") is a cocktail made of Cola, lime, and rum. This cocktail is often referred to as a Rum and Coke in the United States and Canada, where the lime juice is optional. Bacardi claims ownership of the original, while some have also claimed it for Havana Club. It seems unlikely, however, that anyone could safely identify the first individual to combine rum and Coca-Cola-when seven or eight individuals lay claim to the creation of the Margarita, a far more complex drink-let alone identify the brand. Both the cocktail and its name remain politically loaded due to the history and current status of Cuba-United States relations. The situation is further complicated by Bacardi's political involvement in Cuba. Cuba Libre is sometimes called "Mentirita" ("little lie") by Cuban exiles opposed to the current Communist government run by Fidel Castro, as a comment that Cuba is currently not free. Cuba Libre "Mentirita" is a history book.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suzanna. By Irene I. Blea. ISBN: 978-1-888205-21-3 $23.95
When young girls quickly grew up to be old women, young Suzanna was raised by her grandparents who received a letter from Don Felipe Montoya asking for the child's hand in marriage. Don Felipe is old enough to be her father. He agrees to the abuelito's condition that he delay obtaining Suzanna as a wife until she becomes a woman, or until her thirteenth birthday, which ever comes first. The wedding takes place in the northern New Mexico village church on a weekday with only the necessary parties in attendance. Thus, Suzanna becomes isolated on Don Felipe's failing prairie ranch with her home-made rag doll, Cleotilda as her only friend. In two years Suzanna gives birth to two sons. The remoteness of the ranch is made worse by drought, failing live stock, Don Felipe's silence, his sternness, and sexual appetite. Economic hardship forces Felipe to seek work elsewhere. He migrates north securing employment on a Wyoming sheep ranch. He arrives to announce they are moving to Colorado where he will work in a steel mill. Suzanna and does not want to move. Felipe beats her badly into relocating. Her grandfather sooths her bruises and agrees she must go with her husband. The truck is loaded with household furnishings and before the family crosses the state line Felipe stops for gasoline. During the trip Suzanna agonizes about leaving her children behind, but at a gas station she grabs a flour sack containing Cleotilda, a santo and a few articles of clothing and runs. Suzanne is a truly outstanding first novel. Don Bullis, Author-Historian
"A well written coming of age story of a young Spanish girl tossed into marital domesticity by her grandparents. It is filled with vividly captivating details that just entices you to read on." Sandra C. Lopez, Author of Esperanza: A Latina Story
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chalino: A Chronicle Play of Fulgor and Death. By Julián Camacho Segura. ISBN: 978-1-888205-12-1 $22.95 Bilingual edition.
With "Chalino", Julian Camacho writes about a raw, unflinching Mexican icon with an unapologetic honesty only he can provide. He excels at bringing this story to larger than life tale because he possesses one of the most experienced voices among his contemporaries. Oscar Barajas, Author, "True Tales from the Wireless Clothesline"
Rosalino "Chalino" Sanchez was a Mexican immigrant from the Mexican state of Sinaloa who came to the US in search of opportunity. In his pursuit of perseverance his gift and talent for writing corridos for the common working class man initiated a world wind phenomena that appealed to Mexican-American youth in Los Angeles, California. Chalino's corridos provided a cultural medium in which Chicanos identified with their own roots. Chalino's contribution to the musical genre of corridos bridged Mexican immigrant music of the Mexican corrido with Mexican-American youth. Chalino's corridos and music have forever changed the social fabric of Chicanos in the music scene in Los Angeles. His music helped many Chicanos have a cultural reaffirmation of who they are allowing Mexican youth in Los Angeles to immerse more deeply into their own Mexican Norteño culture. Chalino's unique singing style turned him into a legend that many have tried to imitate, but there will never be another man like him. Chalino defied the odds and became successful starting his own legacy as the king of corridos. Through his art form Chalino left behind his fame and a corrido legacy that was materialized and created in el rancho de Los Angeles, California. Marcos A. Ramos, University of California, Berkeley
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day of the Dead/ Día de los Muertos. By Manuel Luis Martínez. ISBN: 978-1-888205-19-0 $25.95
This is the most riveting and complex narrative of the Mexican Revolution. "I am Berto Morales. I am the false son of a nameless and blind man. I am War. I took his land through a pretense. I am Pestilence. When his heir returned to claim his birthright, I killed him. I am Murder. His comrades returned to find me, and failing to do so, took the life of my wife and child. I was Love. I determined to meet injustice with injustice. I am Hatred. I brought war to those who ended my life. I am Executioner. I am guilty of sins that have no name. I have come to the slaughter uninvited and have determined to give my life freely." And so begins the saga of Berto Morales set during the Mexican Revolution, the landscape of Day of the Dead is littered with the victims of a brutal war, one populated by a cast of villains, saints, heroes, and ordinary people whose roles are often impossible to reconcile.
"Martínez continues his fine writing on Day of the Dead, and offers further proof of the wide range of Chicano literature. The reader will acknowledge that our ties to tradition serve as a most appropriate title on this tightly-written work ." Rolando Hinojosa
"In his novels Manuel Martinez writes the naked truth, and he does so twice: once when he relates the almost unknown American history of underprivileged Mexican immigrants, who never had the power or status to tell their unbelievably courageous and human stories themselves; and a second time when he makes us confront questions of identity, morality, justice and vengeance that are as relevant to anyone living in present day America and the world as they are to his protagonists. In Day of the Dead, Martinez executes this feat in clean, compassionate prose, poignantly direct and lacking in clichés." Assaf Gavron, has published four novels, a collection of short stories. His fiction has been translated into German, Russian, Italian, French, English and more, won prizes, was adapted for the stage, and optioned several times for movies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hasta la Vista, Baby! By Donna Del Oro. ISBN: ISBN: 978-1-888205-17-6 $22.95
"I thought it was great. I mean, I was hooked from the very first page because of all the wit and humor. I found myself laughing a few times ...and that was only the first three chapters!" Sandra Lopez, author of ESPERANZA and BEYOND THE GARDENS
"A fun romp to read! Hasta La Vista, Baby! is a deft mix of humor and raw emotion with unforgettable characters. Donna Del Oro is an author to watch!" Loucinda McGary, award-winning author of The Wild Sight and The Treasures of Venice.
Hasta la Vista, Baby! is a romantic comedy set in Silicon Valley.
Sonya, the artist, is blind to everything but beauty. She learns the hard way that it's never too late to wake up, wise up and grow up!
Muralist Sonya Reyes Barton experiences an emotional meltdown when her handsome, cheating husband, Earl, announces at a family BBQ that he needs a divorce so he can marry his pregnant girlfriend. In front of all the Bartons, Sonya has a nervous breakdown, chases Earl with a barbecue fork, eventually winds down and collapses.
How does the worst day of Sonya's life eventually become the best thing that ever happens to her? How does she gain insight into herself and her choice of men? More importantly, how does Sonya learn to forgive herself and move on? There's still life after forty-two and she's determined to find it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mujeres de Conciencia/ Women of Conscience. Spanish English parallel text and photography by Victoria Alvarado. ISBN: 978-0-9796457-7-8. 2008 $79.95 Oversized, Hardbound.
This is an art book with magnificent black and white photos of prominent Latinas who have made definite and long standing contribution to the Hispanic community and the country at large. This photographic essay constitutes an important collective biography as well, with great journalistic insight and integrity into the lives of leading Latina women in the fields of education, science, literature, business, law, the arts, journalism, politics, and other fields of endeavor. This coffee table monograph, which has been published with art-book quality as a collector's edition, provides stunning artistic, B&W photographs of each subject with a parallel biographic journalistic essay in Spanish and English. The biographies explore the life-changing events of each subject, the personal mix of elements, circumstances, and values which allowed these women to set goals and objectives toward most successful careers and contributions to society. There are 72 leading women included in this collective biography and an extraordinary photographic essay offering the most incredible array of role models to inspire, guide and motivate young Latinas. This title is an important addition to reference collections and individual libraries for they are testament to the vision and values of la Mujer Latina.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
New Book on My Christian Experience
It is strange to write a book about Christianity when I don't believe in the concept of Christ for cultural purposes. As a Cucapah Mayo Apache from Inglewood, CA I cannot believe in traditions from northeastern Africa. I just can't, those are myths that are not believable but more than that, they refer to customs and cultures from other people that I do not have a DNA relationship to. I'm not Middle Eastern, African or Mediterrenean. And I see Christianity as cultural genocide because most know the Bible stories but few know their indigenous stories. Even worse, they defend Christianity and laugh at our beliefs in brujeria-witchcraft and dreams. At least the dream was real but 2000 year old stories that were translated from translations has no place in North America. Could Apache traditions be imposed in the middle east and be told that the bible is fake? How would they react?
My new book deals with my experience in the 1980's attending an Anglo Mid Western Protestant Church. It is being edited but has been submitted for publishing consideration. The book is not fiction rather a lived experience.
My new book deals with my experience in the 1980's attending an Anglo Mid Western Protestant Church. It is being edited but has been submitted for publishing consideration. The book is not fiction rather a lived experience.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
I love blogging
Nobody reads them. And I don't want to beg them to read and sell myself like I was an unwanted oversize polo shirt that is either pink or purple. No wonder nobody wants them.
I'll keep writing and pretend somebody reads like I need attention.
I'll keep writing and pretend somebody reads like I need attention.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Consequences To Writing
If anyone wants to dive into the world of writing I only recommend one thing. Beware of the Mexican immigrant, Mexican American politically correct and the so called "educated" Mexican populace; males and females, feminist and gay or not.
They will destroy your reputation if you are independent and do not parrot their believes. They will smear your reputation and you will be shout out of any writing circles or teaching spots if you teach. But that is the problem, who made them "the keepers of the culture". They can't be open minded to creativity and you are instantly wrong even if they have never published a sentence. They believe that being Mexican American is in their experience only and the rest have no say.
They can't sit and debate without insulting and acting with their esteem arrogance that they forget what they are to debate about. They remind me of the stupid three males who were drinking beer in a park in Laguna Niguel and singing. They began to each claim to sing better than the other that they ended up fighting. Finally one was dead and the other two prosecuted and are going to jail. All because two couldn't hear the other one out so they killed him. And yes they were Mexicans.
That is how this crowd is but they couldn't sit and hear one out because they believe their studies makes them superior when their education is not who they are. They believed the verses too much.
Just beware, that if you write you will be persecuted. But do it to show who has more testosterone of the spirit.
suave
They will destroy your reputation if you are independent and do not parrot their believes. They will smear your reputation and you will be shout out of any writing circles or teaching spots if you teach. But that is the problem, who made them "the keepers of the culture". They can't be open minded to creativity and you are instantly wrong even if they have never published a sentence. They believe that being Mexican American is in their experience only and the rest have no say.
They can't sit and debate without insulting and acting with their esteem arrogance that they forget what they are to debate about. They remind me of the stupid three males who were drinking beer in a park in Laguna Niguel and singing. They began to each claim to sing better than the other that they ended up fighting. Finally one was dead and the other two prosecuted and are going to jail. All because two couldn't hear the other one out so they killed him. And yes they were Mexicans.
That is how this crowd is but they couldn't sit and hear one out because they believe their studies makes them superior when their education is not who they are. They believed the verses too much.
Just beware, that if you write you will be persecuted. But do it to show who has more testosterone of the spirit.
suave
Monday, June 28, 2010
Unemployment and Not Liked
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-49809-LA-Unemployment-Examiner~y2010m6d28-Certain-Unemployment-Should-Not-Be-Legally-Permitted
I wrote this article and I thought you might like it or not.
Based on the arbitraryness of the work place.
The workplace is worse than hell.
I wrote this article and I thought you might like it or not.
Based on the arbitraryness of the work place.
The workplace is worse than hell.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Don't Read
I have to admit, I'm not a reader anymore. Reading was not improving my hand skills. As my mother once told me, you can read many books but don't know how to use a hammer. And she was right, how many times had I not banged my thumbs with compressed steel.
But that wasn't the reason I stopped reading. I stopped reading because I felt detached from real life and it was not helping with my social life. I was becoming a hermit and was resembling one of those Jesuit priests without the bribing. But it was in layers. I first stopped reading theory. I got tired of the stupid Political Science Theory, then the Urban Planning Theory--Ed Soja and Allen Scott were overrated--ok I didn't read it but I glanced at it.
Then I stopped reading the history books because they all sounded the same. I was not turned on. Why teach if you can just read the book. Too anal, too much Marxism or Proudism, too English American and too righteous.
Then I stopped reading in Spanish. I had read most of the Gabriel Garcia Marquez stuff but after the third novel, I felt I was reading too much history of Colombia. But he's lived in Mexico City since the mid 1960's. What does he really know of Colombia? Then he focused on those French writers that he interloped was a type of poetry. I couldn't take it. Though I have to admit, I liked the whorehouses he wrote about but after a while I thought to myself, I must go but they cost money and are banned in California. All great books take place in whorehouses but there are none in California.
The other stuff--feminism and lifestyles I could careless. Another type of personal history like Marquez.
I even read the Chicano Generation but it was too East LA or too Texas which I dispised both and even tried Mexico and Mexico immigrant but that is another type of self history which I also could not relate to. I don't care for stories on crossing mountains in Mexico to get here.
I got tired and just gave up reading. I even learned that many whom I taught with also did not read. And thought, if the leaders aren't reading why would the followers unless it is a phone text.
So I gave up reading.
But that wasn't the reason I stopped reading. I stopped reading because I felt detached from real life and it was not helping with my social life. I was becoming a hermit and was resembling one of those Jesuit priests without the bribing. But it was in layers. I first stopped reading theory. I got tired of the stupid Political Science Theory, then the Urban Planning Theory--Ed Soja and Allen Scott were overrated--ok I didn't read it but I glanced at it.
Then I stopped reading the history books because they all sounded the same. I was not turned on. Why teach if you can just read the book. Too anal, too much Marxism or Proudism, too English American and too righteous.
Then I stopped reading in Spanish. I had read most of the Gabriel Garcia Marquez stuff but after the third novel, I felt I was reading too much history of Colombia. But he's lived in Mexico City since the mid 1960's. What does he really know of Colombia? Then he focused on those French writers that he interloped was a type of poetry. I couldn't take it. Though I have to admit, I liked the whorehouses he wrote about but after a while I thought to myself, I must go but they cost money and are banned in California. All great books take place in whorehouses but there are none in California.
The other stuff--feminism and lifestyles I could careless. Another type of personal history like Marquez.
I even read the Chicano Generation but it was too East LA or too Texas which I dispised both and even tried Mexico and Mexico immigrant but that is another type of self history which I also could not relate to. I don't care for stories on crossing mountains in Mexico to get here.
I got tired and just gave up reading. I even learned that many whom I taught with also did not read. And thought, if the leaders aren't reading why would the followers unless it is a phone text.
So I gave up reading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)