She will live most of her life without me
Al Carlos Hernandez

Herald De Paris


By process of elimination, it fell on me to babysit our infant granddaughter. The babysitter was ill, everybody had to work, and Papa Al works at home. I viewed this as a daunting yet sacred trust. I can’t remember when I had full time charge of an infant for an entire day and the responsibility wore heavily on me days before the scheduled “blessed event.” I wasn’t sure I could do it but told everybody I could.


I know about her, was at the hospital when she was born, was one of the first to ever hold her, have randomly bonded with her, and even fed her a bottle on occasion. I have loved her since before the beginning, yet I knew she could sense the fear in me. She knew that she could cry randomly and I would promise her a BMW if she would stop.


She arrived all bundled up in a high tech chair, which morphed from a car seat into a traveling basket of sorts. Mariana was bundled in a precious pastel package, a pink Jordan beanie and those caramel colored innocent eyes, rosy red cheeks, and diamond studded Latina adorned earrings.


After stilted and hurried goodbyes, it was just Mariana, me, and our dog Sally. Oh, I forgot to mention I was also doggie sitting their ten month old Maltese puppy named Mugzy.


She sat wide awake in her chair on the sofa in my office and stared me down as I checked my email. She made a few noises and I was ready with her first bottle. Bottles are somehow curved now. They are not glass, like the one my son used to crack me over the head with when I tried to nap back when I had an Afro.
This was the day when the headlines read, “Babies born recently will probably live to be 100 years old.” That’s when it struck me that Mariana will spend the majority of her life without me and I became very sad. In fact I was the one who felt like crying. In lieu of a bottle I drank another mug of hair straightening Peets coffee.


It was amazing to me that she was born into a world where the President is Black and at a time when the country was never more broke. A time when a Latina can sit on the Supreme Court, and you can watch a Mariah Cary concert on your cell phone. We have come a long way baby indeed.


She started to cry and I placed her on my lap to read my Facebook comments. All she wanted to do was to bang her hands on the keyboard and scream, which, ironically, has made me a good living by doing the very same thing.


My comments were so boring it put her to sleep while cradled in my arms. I was about to put her in bed, when Sally and Mugs started barking for no apparent reason. She awoke, quite upset at me for not keeping the dogs quiet. The two white fluffy suspects, quite proud of what they considered to be their security effort, went back to sleep in self congratulatory satisfaction.


Half asleep, half awake, I carried her around the house and the motion calmed her down. I do the same thing on my motorcycle when I go for my wind therapy while enraged about one thing or another. I always forget about what I was mad about after I come back from a ride. I was hoping a few laps around the house would do the same for the little mama, and it did. But then it didn’t.


I clicked on the flat screen and sat beside her as she sipped yet another bottle while I watched HD cartoons. Who writes this stuff anyway? Que Sponge Bob que nada! I have pitched many TV ideas and was told my ideas about “Little Genius Projects Kids” were off the wall yet the Sponge Bob people are driving Bentleys. Again I felt like crying, but she comforted me by going to sleep, making me feel that at least I succeed in doing something right.


The whole day was spent attending to her every need and/or whim. I did not get any work done at all, yet for me it was one of the more productive days in a long time. I realized that life, the celebration of life, and comforting those you love should be the most important priority. Nurturing her gave me the gift of perspective.


In the afternoon, back in the office, I treated her to musical selections which included John Coltrane, Little Joe Y La Famila, Tower of Power, Buena Vista, and Michael Jackson. She loved the Michael Jackson tunes from a time when he became an iconic, almost fairytailed myth.


I promised to be there for her and help set the template of her life. My hope is that she and her kids will someday remember the times spent with her Papa Al – at a time when the world needed heroes.

Should we be talking?

http://tinyurl.com/detfwk

There is something that has begun to happen with such regularity that it has become something that we don’t talk about but maybe we should. Jo Ann Carreon- Reyes (She is Teatro Vivo, Business Director and my lovely wife), Marisa Limon (company member of Teatro Vivo and Aztlan Folkdance) and Karinna Perez (company member of Teatro Vivo and Latino Comedy Project) need to take credit for this. They have nurtured a relationship with our three groups that lead to cross advertising for one another. We carry ads for their shows in our programs, on our emails and our websites. They do they same. We encourage our audiences to see each other’s shows.

What? Three Latino groups working in such good cooperation? Well, there is about to be a fourth, Roy Lozano’s Ballet Folklorico de Texas has been invited to also put notices in our programs for their events. Which will include a collaboration with Teatro Vivo in the fall of 2010.

We have begun conversations to coordinate calendars a little more to avoid what occurs every now and then, two shows running concurrently. It would be very difficult to make all our shows happen on totally different weeks, but we can at least open a week or two apart and give each other’s shows a boost in our programs, emails and websites.

To me this points us in a direction that is not new and every now and then comes around at the right moment. And now might just be that moment. With the city already announcing that cuts will be coming for arts funding (which to me always translates into “the groups that are trying to reach those underserved audiences will be cut”), we need a “strength in numbers” approach. The idea is to form a group of Latino arts groups and individual artists. Yes, yes, it has been done before, but one element that is present now that perhaps wasn’t there in the past is “maturity” and knowledge that we are not fighting over the same enchilada anymore. Our audiences have expanded greatly and they are diverse. We have discovered our own art forms, and they are all unique.

It is no coincidence that the Opera, the Ballet, Symphony and Zachary Scott are courting the influential Latinos to be on their boards. And it is no coincidence that those Latinos are accepting. Our small groups cannot compete with the social status that those groups guarantee. I mean let’s face it. If Teatro Vivo has a good run, in three weeks we may bring in 1500 people for one of our shows. The Opera on one night can bring in 2400 at the new Dell Theater. So when will Teatro Vivo be able to compete with that? Maybe someday.

But with a coalition of Latino groups and individuals, we can begin to compete with them immediately. Roen Salina’s Aztlan performance at the Dell was wonderful and played to, in my estimation, 500 people. When we were at the Rollins Theatre also at the Long Center, we sold out the house for 6 performances (almost 1000 people in one week). They begin to add up don’t they? So for right now, let’s keep sharing our publicity and maybe we can share a beer or coffee and just begin to plant some seeds. After all gardening is one of my favorite things to do.

http://teatrovivoaustin.blogspot.com/2009/08/should-we-be-talking.html

Hey everybody,


I’m writing to let you all know my new novel, WE WERE HERE, is in stores today. This book is incredibly special to me, and I would be honored if you’d consider picking up a copy.


As a few of you know, it is my ritual to head to a local bookstore on my pub date, hide out in the romance section and spy on my new book until I witness someone buying it. Of course, for BALL DON’T LIE I was stuck in the Park Slope B&N for over six hours, until I finally threw in the towel and bought the damn book myself (I even paid with credit card, hoping the store clerk would connect the de la Pena on the card with the de la Pena on the book jacket — sadly she didn’t). This year I’ve decided to run up to the first person I see who is even BROWSING the book and give him/her a big hug, and maybe even a kiss (unless it’s an incredibly overweight male). Then I’m going to purchase the book for this person and buy him/her a shot of Patron. Or two. So please don’t pull the mace if you’re suddenly blindsided by a 6′2″ half-Mexican.


If you’re currently injured and unable to leave the house you may also order the book online . . .


Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/We-Were-Here-Matt-Pena/dp/0385736673/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255407864&sr=1-2


B&N: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/We-Were-Here/Matt-de-la-Pena/e/9780385736671/?itm=7


Indiebound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780385736671


– I also launched a brand new website this week: mattdelapena.com


– And for those of you in NY, I’ll be at the Park Slope B&N October 20th with Libba Bray and David Levithan. After the reading we’re all heading out for drinks.


Thanks for reading all this. And again, it would mean the world to me if you picked up a copy of WE WERE HERE sometime this week!


Please let me know what you’re up to!


Matt de la Pena

The Opposite of Bravery is not, Cowardice but Conformity Discover the artist in you...

Al Carlos Hernandez

www.LatinoLA.com
http://www.heralddeparis.com/

Deep down inside, everyone has a hidden artistic talent or a proclivity for the esoteric. Some of us play musical instruments, others act, DJ, cook, decorate, design, master the spoken word, dance, tell wonderful stories, and/or make people laugh.

While exercising my artistic chops I’ve realized that it feels like I am functioning at my highest level of productivity and bliss. When creating something new that can, hopefully, inspire some kind of emotional rejoinder for the good of those around us, it seems the heart, mind, and soul are firing on all cylinders

Art happens.

Mentors have told me that eminent art occurs when the focus of the effort is centered on the quality of the work itself rather than a commercial or narcissistic outcome. A true artist needs to devoid himself of what others think and concentrate on what he has to say through his medium. That being said, most artists seem to be egomaniacs.

Carlos Santana once told me that when he plays his guitar he doesn’t feel his fingers playing the notes. All he feels is the music transferring from his soul and going out through the amps. Consistent with that theme, my suspicion is that he has direct deposit so the fat checks go right to the bank as well.

No doubt the majority of artists, not just the starving ones, have day jobs. Those fortunate enough to create art for a living are considered foolish. Unless they are rich. Then they are considered eccentric. The world wide web has opened a Pandora’s box of new artistic expression to be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home. Consumer driven media, consumer originated art, is generated though an egalitarian electronic platform. This is a place where U-Tube can make you a rock star or a laughing stock over night to tens of millions.

I truly admire those who can play music and write songs. All art aspires to the condition of music. Many of those troubadours will never monetize their sweat labor, make it big, be on TV, or release a CD, but they are authentic and accomplished artists none-the-less. Often times these talented souls have a better ability than the people who find themselves flash-in-the-pan famous.

Most expensive pro-quality music, photography, DJ set ups, and painting paraphernalia are sold to non-professionals. Pros often get endorsement deal hook-ups.

Engaging in art creates an outward expression of what is really going on in the soul. This works well when a hair designer comes up with a new color and cut, giving someone a new and hipper identity. It can work to the detriment when you experience some junk sculpture that reflects an urban blight or the ravages of a future-shock tasered society.

We really have to give it up to the musicians who have full-time day jobs yet take their bands up and down the state playing no-money gigs in dives. They do it just for the joy of entertaining people, laying it all out there in the hope that the music will get them somewhere. Someday they may find that the joy of creating the music was the greatest reward in itself. Some may be embittered and rebuke the effort as a pitiful waste of time. Those are the cats who were in it for the wrong reasons.

As a writer, I am glad that I don’t have to take my show on the road playing in dives across the country to display my chops. The downside is that the feedback, good or bad, is few and far between. If we had a band and took the show on the road, I would know immediately if people laughed or if I completely bombed. Lately, though, because of email and social media, the feedback comes to me quicker than a beer bottle tossed at the stage.

My wife and I have found in our midlife that the expression of the artistic muse vastly improves the quality of life and keeps us vital, inspired, and in the mix. She takes flute, piano, and occasional voice lessons. I have taken up the electric bass, some blues guitar, and have been called upon to paint the house. All talents being equal, I should be a painting soloist on the roller.

We have found that if you want to improve the quality of life, make an effort to let your creative juices flow. Aspiring scribes have given me their work to critique and it is always encouraging when I find the everyday, non-ego-driven folks who have real hidden talent.

My dad was a weekend musician. Being a guitar player defined his soul. He was at his happiest when playing for a house party or rehearsing every afternoon for a pizza parlor gig scheduled two weeks off. Music helped him transcend the mundane 9-to-5 life of a warehouseman. It transported him into a world were he was a special “somebody” with skill. His gravestone has a guitar etched on it. Maybe mine will have a PC.

“The opposite of bravery is not cowardice, but conformity.”
-Robert Anthony

Carlos Ruiz Zafon just wants to write

Sydney: Spanish novelist Carlos Ruiz Zafon said the success of his first adult novel was overwhelming, leading to several years of travel and little else, but now he`s back to what he does best — writing.


“The Shadow of the Wind” has sold more than 12 million copies in 50 countries since 2001, making Zafon one of the most successful contemporary Spanish writers and his book supposedly the second biggest-selling Spanish book after Don Quixote.


But it is only now that Zafon, 44, has released his second novel in English, “The Angel`s Game”, a prequel to “The Shadow of the Wind” which is set in Barcelona in the 1920s and follows a young writer approached by a mysterious figure to write a book.


Both of his books have been translated by Lucia Graves, the daughter of poet Robert Graves.


He spoke to reporters about his two adult novels that followed four young adult novels written when he was a script writer in Los Angeles:

Q: There`s a long gap between books. Why is that?

A: “When I finish a book I take about a year off and I have been doing this for many years. At the end of that year “The Shadow of the Wind” started to be a success. At the time I had agreed to go to some places to help promote the book. My life became mortgaged for two or three years and I was travelling for the book, talking rather than writing. But at some point I had to put an end to it. It got out of control. I`m a writer not a talker.”

Q: Was it hard to go back to writing after such a break?

Q: Can you balance promotion and writing more?

A: “I am going to be much more selective. I am a novelist. I write fiction and that is what I do well. To go out there and present my work is not what I am best at doing.”

Q: Are the novels still part of a four-book series?

A: “Yes. At the time I thought it would be interesting to write four stories that are interconnected but not necessarily in a sequential way. They are standalone stories. My idea was that a reader could read one or all and it would be some kind of Chinese box of fiction. At first I thought I could do it all in one book but it would be a monster book and I realized the right way would be to do one book at a time.”

Q: Will the third book in the series be your next project?

A: “I am not sure yet. I am still considering three possibilities — one is the third book and there are other ideas that intrigue me as well. I will let the idea hit me rather than the other way around. I always let it work that way around.”

Q: Would you go back to young adult fiction?

A: “I always thought that genre was kind of an accident and not my natural register. My first novel in 1992 was published as a young adult novel and it opened a way, so I stayed in that genre for three more novels. Years later I realized I was not writing the fiction I really wanted to write. I needed to break the shell. I was pretending to be something I am not.”

Q: “Shadow” has been called the second biggest selling book since 17th century Don Quixote. Does that pressure you?

A: “That is one of the quotes that publishers love but it simply impossible to quantify. We don`t really know now many copies of Don Quixote were printed or distributed. “Shadow of the Wind” was my fifth novel and I had never had that success before but by that time I had developed a perspective and it didn`t really change me much. It changes the way people feel they have to react to you. Of course I am happy my work is appreciated.”

Q: Any advice for aspiring writers?

A: “Each writer is different but what is important is that people who want to be writers have to make tough decisions. Young writers have to be aware of the realities of what they are stepping into and need some persistence and faith in themselves because the world is not going to provide those things. You have to work very hard. People think it is about inspiration and it will flow, but you have to take the job seriously and learn your craft.”
http://spicezee.zeenews.com/articles/story35992.htm

Local Chicano press to celebrate release of new title:
La Calaca Review

Calaca Press anthology features established and up and coming bilingual writers

Calaca Press proudly presents the release of the Calacanthology, La Calaca Review. La Calaca Review, edited by Bus Stops and Other Poems author Manuel J. Vélez, is the 15th title in six years by independent Chicano publishers Calaca Press. La Calaca Review features poetry and prose by well known Chicano authors including the poet laureate of California Francisco Alarcón, Chicano Movement literary icons alurista (El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán), Abelardo “Lalo” Delgado (Stupid American), raúlrsalinas (Un Trip through the Mind Jail) and work by emerging literary sensations such as Olga Angelina García Echeverría, tatiana de la tierra, Marc Pinate, Frances Marie Treviño and Rich Yañez to name a few.


Calaca Press, with the help of the Red CalacArts Collective, will celebrate the release of La Calaca Review on Saturday December 6 at 7:00pm. The book release pachanga will take place at the ICE Gallery, 3417 30th St. (near Upas) in the San Diego community of North Park. Calacauthors Michael Cheno, Olga Angelina Garcia Echeverria, Rod Ricardo-Livingstone, Elba Rosario Sanchez and others to be announced will read their respective selections from the book. There will be a book signing session to follow featuring the aforementioned Calacauthors as well as poet Debby Fernandez Badillo and La Calaca Review cover artist Sal Barajas. To close the event local radical rockeros Acteal will get down with their socially conscious rock en español.


Calaca Press is a Chicano family-owned small publishing house dedicated to publishing and producing unknown, emerging, and established progressive Chicano and Latino voices. With a commitment to social justice and human rights Calaca Press strives to bring about change through the literary arts. For more info visit www.calacapress.com, email calacapress@cox.net, or call (619) 434-9036.


The Red CalacArts Collective, a project of the Calaca Press, is a not for profit multidisciplinary arts and activist organization that focuses on creating, publishing, producing, and presenting Chicano, Latin American and indigenous related art focusing on issues dealing with human rights and social justice. For more info visit www.redcalacartscollective.org or email RedCalacArts@hotmail.com.


This event is part of Razafest a (continuing) goodwill series celebrating 33 years of Chicano art, culture and activism. For more info visit www.saveourcentro.org or email centrowatch@aol.com.


La Calaca Review features poetry and prose by Calacauthors:
*alurista
Francisco Alarcón
Francisco Aragón
Debby Fernández Badillo
Esmeralda Bernal
Susie Carranza
Michael Cheno
* tatiana de la tierra
Abelardo Delgado
Roberto Tinoco Durán
* Olga Angelina García Echeverría
J.J. Gurrola
Liito
Yolanda López Cisneros
Angélica Meléndez
* e. raul navarrete
Marc Pinate
* reina a. prado
Eréndira Ramírez
* raúlrsalinas
* Rod Ricardo-Livingstone
* Elba Rosario Sánchez
Trinidad Sánchez Jr.
Zaidee Rose Stavely
Linnet Taylor
Gabriel S. Torres
Frances Marie Treviño
* Antonieta Villamil
Rich Yañez
Edited by Manuel J. Vélez
Cover art by Sal Barajas
Illustrations by Gabriel J. Vélez

More info below on names starred.

ELBA ROSARIO SÁNCHEZ

was born in Guadalajara, México and grew up in San Francisco’s Mission District. She is a writer, teacher and cultural activist who lives and works in Oakland, California. Her book, Tallos de Luna/Moon Shoots was published by Moving Parts Press in 1992; her work was included in the anthology New Chicana/Chicano Writing, published by the University of Arizona Press; she was the founding co-editor of Revista Mujeres, a bilingual publication for and by Chicanas and Latinas; she participated in volume 1 of the Raza Spoken Here series and she is the co-poet (along with Olga Angelina García Echeverría) on the spoken word CD, When Skin Peels, both produced by Calaca Press. Her CD, book, chapbooks, and other publications, have been collections of bilingual poetry and she is now venturing into her bag of pocha stories.

Antonieta Villamil

Antonieta Villamil se crió entre Los Andes Suramericanos y las montañas perdidas de California. Es autora de los libros de poesía: Traigo como arena en los ojos un poema inmenso; Suave y lento; y Razones de la señora bien y veinte poemas bastardos. Ha publicado en Southern California Anthology, Mississippi Review, Rattle, Brújula/Compass, Realidad Aparte, Puesto de Combate, Pearl y Spillway. Vive en California donde dirige proyectos para Poetry Society of America. Dirige las revistas Moradalsur y The Poem. Se sospecha que Antonieta sufre de un extraño hechizo de magia azul.

Rod D. Ricardo-Livingstone

was born and raised in Fresno, California. Being only the first generation of the Ricardo family removed from the long hours and hard work of the agricultural fields of the central San Joaquin Valley, he learned to appreciate the sacrifices of his family’s campesino blood and the value of education. He attended and graduated from CSU Fresno ¬ with much thanks to his mother’s inspiration and the guidance of his tío & godfather, David Ricardo; also to Juan Felipe Herrera for getting cilantro stuck between Rod’s teeth. Rod is a member of the Royal Chicano Navy based in Fresno under the admiralship of Gary Soto. He is currently working as a high school English teacher in Carlsbad, CA and is still writing to give voice to the locura, lágrimas, and love of la vida.

alejandra ibarra (aka reina a. prado)

alejandra ibarra, (published pen name), is notoriously known as a seductive poetess throughout the Southwest. Graduate school prompted a need to express a repressed voice of desire. Through her poetry she challenges the taboos imposed on Chicana/Latina women by delving into the realm of the erotic. Her poems arouse the deepest desires locked in our psyche.


Since her debut as a poet at Diva Delights, Performing Arts Center, California State University, Northridge, she has presented her work at: The 1999 San Jose Floricanto Festival; ReGen Salon July 1999 along with artist Olivia Armas; and has shared her work with intimate audiences in the Bay Area, Washington D.C. and Tucson. Her poetry can be read in the Winter ‘97 and Summer ‘98 issues of Border Beat, a literary arts journal published in Tucson. She also collaborates with the all woman, multi-disciplinary art collective L.A. Coyotas. Some of her poems are included in their forthcoming publication L.A Coyotas: Urban Howls, 1996-1999.

Olga Angelina García Echeverría

Olga Angelina Garcia Echeverría is a Chicana poet who was born and raised in East Los Angeles, California. Ms. Garcia is a self-professed “battered bilingual” who code-switches, disrespects the English language, and uses poetry to portray a politicized identity. She received her BA in Ethnic Studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz and her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso. She has performed her work at libraries, public schools, bookstores, taco shops, and college campuses throughout the L.A. area. She has also presented in San Diego, San Francisco, El Paso, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico City and various places in between. Her work appears on two spoken word CDs produced by Calaca Press, “Raza Spoken Here” and “When Skin Peels.” In the summer of 1999 she edited and published “Sol y Sombra,” a collection of bilingual poems by inner-city Latino youth. Calaca Press will publish her first collection of short stories, Con el nopal en la frente and Other Urban Tales from the Barrio.

tatiana de la tierra

Born in Villavicencio, Colombia in 1961 and raised in Miami, Florida, tatiana de la tierra is a bilingual bicultural writer whose work focuses on South American memory and reality, her experience as an immigrant in this country, and lesbian phenomenology. De la tierra has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso and a Master of Library Science from the University at Buffalo. She is the 2002 co-winner of the New California Media Award for reporting on International Affairs and the 2001 creative non-fiction winner of the Just Buffalo Literary Awards. Her essays and short stories have been published since 1987, most recently in Herotica 7 (2002), This Bridge We Call Home (2002), The Power of Language/El poder de la palabra (2001), Gynomite: Fearless Feminist Porn (2000), Pillowtalk Two (2000), Latino Heretics (1999), Women on the Verge (1999), Chasing the American Dyke Dream (1998) and periodicals such as Aztlán, El Andar, Críticas, Mid-American Review, Flyway Literary Review, and Cimarron Review. de la tierra was co-founder and editor of the Latina lesbian magazines esto no tiene nombre (1991-1994) and conmoción (1995-1996). She is currently a librarian at the University at Buffalo.

alurista

alurista, one of the Chicano movement’s renown poets, was born in México City and raised in Morelos before moving to San Diego, Califas as a teenager. Dedicated to the Chicano movement, he helped co-found the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA), the Brown Berets, Chicano Park, the Centro Cultural de la Raza, the Chicano Free Clinic and the Chicano Studies Department at San Diego State University. He received his B.A. at SDSU and eventually earned his M.A. and Ph.D at UC San Diego. As a published poet since the late 1960’s, he has published nine collections of poetry, including Floricanto en Aztlán, Nationchild Plumaroja, Spik in Glyph?, Return: Poems Collected and New, z eros and et tú…raza?, which was awarded the National Book Award for Poetry by the Before Columbus Foundation in 1995.

raúlrsalinas

Ombligo left buried en un callejon off South Alamo & Grayson Sts. en San Anto, dropped la escuela & muelas del juicio after years of miseducation en el Eastside de Osten. Mad dash pa los trabajos en fertile san jo, califas orchards de chavacan. Attempts to fit into the “ozzie & harriet” mold, failed miserably during late-teens, cold war years. Chiva comes calling, jazz jaunts & junk. East Los & Temple St. uptown heroina horrors. 15 roller coaster rides through timeless corridors of notorious/infamous dungeons & caves in the jail machine. Viciosos die, emerging conciencia politica, poets born of lucha bust from the cage; Raging in exile. Northwest land of sacred salmon soothes dragons nursing old wounds, centros of struggle, home to the rez, fishing rights/ the fight to free the eagle man. el caribe la onu, america central, north africa, paises socialistas y el fin del exilio. End of the exile, return to aboriginal homelands, Tejazz. Red Salmon lives to spawn and spawn again. Libros & centro de Resistencia, haven-refuge for castaway chavalos, not letting forget convicted masses. Passing poets put us on the mic and here we iz.


raúlrsalinas was the executive director of Red Salmon Arts and Resistencia Bookstore in Austin, TX.

Brent Beltrán of Calaca Press

Brent Beltrán was born in San Diego, Califas and currently reside just south of San Diego in National City. My dad, Octavio Ruben Beltran, was born in San Diego and served in the U.S. Army during the Viet Nam War (luckily he was never sent to fight). His father was from Sinaloa, México and his mother from El Paso, TX. They eventually moved to the Tijuana/San Diego region and had a family of 10 children (my dad being the 4th oldest). My mom, Norm Jean Beltran (formerly Hayes), was born in Canada to Scottish/Irish parents and moved with her family as a young child to a small town in Minnesota.


My parents met while my dad was serving in the military. A fellow Drill Sergeant was married to my mom’s sister, and he introduced the two. They eventually married in 1970 (my mom’s parents wondered what the kids would look like) and approximately 9 months later out popped a Gen X pocho.


I’m a product of California’s public education system. I went to Bay Park Elementary and Clairemont High School both in San Diego. I was not a fan of school (though I did end up being voted class clown…my brother followed suite nine years later). Just a typical underachieving kid with a slightly above average GPA. Also I was part of the Model United Nations class, which helped expose me to countries beyond the US.


I’m a Chicano Studies community college dropout. I attended San Diego Mesa College in 1988 and was in a car accident the following year, which required three months of hospitalization. I eventually returned to Mesa a different person, and shortly thereafter joined M.E.Ch.A. Participation in M.E.Ch.A. showed the limits to campus organizing, and I soon sought other community organizations to work with including the Raza Rights Coalition, Unión del Barrio, the Chicano Mexicano Prison Project and others. I eventually left school to pursue organizing with these groups.


My wife, Consuelo Manríquez de Beltrán, and I started Calaca Press (Http://www.CalacaPress.com) for a variety of reasons including:


1) We want to help raise the social and political consciousness of our community by publishing relevant progressive literature.


2) We want to help publish authors who do not have the same opportunities to be published by mainstream presses. Especially Chican@authors whose work is progressive and uses code-switching.


3) Consuelo recognized the lack of good relevant literature for her students and wanted to create something to provide those materials.


4) I had acquired desktop publishing skills by working with various community newspapers and organizations (such as Voz Fronteriza and La Verdad) and wanted to continue in some way.


Calaca began in 1997, and we came out with our first title in 1998. November will mark six years of Calaca. Once a printer refuse to print a book called Santa Perversa and Other Erotic Poems. The printer said his workers refused to work on the book because of its erotic nature. Most of the workers were Mexicano, and I think they felt offended by the title and subject matter (I don’t know any printer who gives their workers power to dictate what they can or can not print). The printer also said that they couldn’t publish it because they also do children’s stuff and it wouldn’t look right. I should have pointed out their hypocrisy since they also print a horse racing magazine for the local track. Anyway, we took our business elsewhere.


The future of Latino authors in the U.S. all depends on the author. Authors that cave in to the mainstream will be published and have big advances and lots of attention. Those that write for real won’t get that. They’ll be relegated to small presses like Calaca.


The future for Calaca Press? Calaca has many things planned for the future.


1) Red CalacArts Collective: We are in the process of creating a progressive arts organization that will combine activism and the arts.


2) CalaCafé & Bookstore: We want to open a coffee shop, bookstore, art gallery and performance space all rolled into one.


3) Continue publishing and producing ChicLit: We will soon be publishing an anthology collection of poetry and short stories called La Calaca Review. We are working on our 3rd CD in the spoken word series Raza Spoken Here, which will feature 10 different Calaca poets. After that we will publish a collection of short stories by East LA’s code-switching Calaca, Olga A. García.


For his future Beltran says, “In the next recall election I may consider running for governor ”


His advice is to fight injustice. There is nothing greater than struggling against injustice. Be humble but be strong. Have principles. Believe in something other than the American dollar.

Willie Perdomo, Author

Willie Perdomo is the author of Where a Nickel Costs a Dime (Norton, 1996) and Postcards of El Barrio (Isla Negra Press, 2002). His work has been included in several anthologies including Metropolis Found (Crown Books, 2003), The Harlem Reader (Three Rivers Press, 2003), Poems of New York (Everyman’s Library/Knopf, 2002), Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam (Three Rivers Press, 2002). His work has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Bomb, Russell Simmons’ One World Magazine and Pen America: A Journal for Writers and Readers. He is the author of a Visiting Langston, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book for Children, illustrated by Bryan Collier (Henry Holt/Books for Young Readers, 2002) and has been featured on several PBS documentaries including Words in Your Face and The United States of Poetry as well as HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and BET’s Hughes’ Dream Harlem.


Perdomo was the recipient of a NYFA Poetry Fellowship 2001. Recently, he has published short stories in the anthologies Wachale!: Growing up Latino in the USA (Cricket Books, 2002) and Brown Sugar 2: A Collection of Erotic Black Fiction (Washington Square Press, 2002). Perdomo has taught workshops for the Cave Canem Foundation, Bronx Writer’s Center and the Friends Seminary School. He is currently working on his next book, Emergency Money.
From powerful poetry to Spanglish lexicon “Smoking Lovely,” by Willie Perdomo’s (Rattapallax Press, $12) latest book, “Smoking Lovely,” makes Latin Manhattan’s neighborhoods sparkle like a Fourth of July night sky. With muscular language that’s funny and surreal, Perdomo explores love and struggle. He makes readers stop uptown and visit the forgotten – like the character Kriptonite, a thug to some, but in Perdomo’s poem, a man who has been in love and in trouble. A Nuyorican Pablo Neruda, Perdomo finds a love poem’s pulse and takes it. From “French Roast’s” syncopated sensuality to “Seesaw’s” hard knocks -”I go up in smoke and come down in a nod”- Perdomo makes a connection between getting high and getting hurt. Perdomo uses the tragic and talented lives of salsa soneros Hector Lavoe and La Lupe as cautionary tales. Like the legendary salsa singer Lavoe, Perdomo possesses gifts and demons. In “The Day Hector Lavoe Died,” Perdomo’s piercing images conjure and transcend his hardships: “I do backstrokes in the drip coming down my throat.” Throughout the collection of 31 poems (accompanied by a CD), love is the common denominator. Like the jibaro singers, Perdomo’s got love for los niños, the Amadou Diallos of the world and, ultimately, “la gente.” So much love, you can hear the Fania-All Stars playing “Mi Gente” between “Smoking’s” pages. – David Mills


“Smoking Lovely, Willie Perdomo’s second volume of poetry, confirms his hard won place in American letters. Addiction, poverty, class and racial identity, love and recovery are examined with a devastating and streetwise voice, marked with irrefutable artistic integrity and craftsmanship. These poems sing, howl, and heal with a sad and searing wisdom akin to genius. Smoking Lovely is destined to become not just one of the best books of the year but of the decade.” — Sapphire, author of Push and Black Wings & Blind Angels
“Willie Perdomo is an electric poet. His poems crackle with energy. The poet knows his beloved barrio, what to celebrate and what to condemn. He also has the courage to confront his own demons. There is raw pain in this voice, and much more: humor, irony, music, intelligence.” –Martin Espada, author of City of Coughing and Dead Radiators and Alabanza


“This book like all good volumes of poetry is an articulation of the poet’s and the poem’s sense of belonging. These poems belong in this book.” — Paul Beatty, author of Joker, Joker, Duece and The White Boy Shuffle.


“Willie Perdomo introduces crack to poetry with the genuine craftiness of the gentleman who presents his ex-lover to his wife. What’s said carries as much weight as what isn’t. Each stanza looks you squarely in the eyes and holds the stare a moment longer until it is pressed into your mind that rock bottom is no different than sky high.” — Saul Williams, author of She and award-winning actor in Slam


“Whether we’re talking Puerto Rico or the US, the Poetry Society of America or the corner of 123rd Street and Lexington Avenue, there is no poet alive who can match the lyrical intelligence, ferocious wit and searching humanity of Willie Perdomo. Perdomo is the hurricane we all write home about. He is to the word what lightning is to the sky. He is Langston and Hector (Lavoe) and Whitman and Mír. He is the heart in struggle with itself. Perdomo writes damnation as though it were heaven and breaks the ordinary — a mother calling her children home, a weed-trip to Brixton, heartbreak — into gold. He’s the Puerto Rican diaspora’s unofficial poet laureate and what he knows about being of color, being between languages, being poor, being a man, being in trouble, could save your life.” — Junot Díaz, author of Drown


Like a dose of Jim Carroll’s Basketball Diaries, and a Billie Holiday song with a Miguel Pinero chaser, Willie Perdomo’s long awaited follow-up to his powerful debut is a sizzling cocktail of drug addiction, love, recovery, and truth. The familiar Lexington Avenue of East Harlem continues to be his Yoknapatawpha but the world has become his lab in this collection of serious prose and gunfire verse. These poems find room to depict the change in urban scenery, the de-romanticization of withdrawal, a homeless man’s spin on empowerment zones, the global humor of a drug run and the reflective clarity of a train ride. As the poet declares in “Lexington Avenue Prelude,” “This is the face-to-face appointment with the Department of Human Resources/That you can’t miss even if you tried.”

Additional Praise for Willie Perdomo:

“Perdomo isn’t talking about the self-imposed exile of an artist but a whole community that’s been disfranchised against it’s will. His tie to that community is intergenerational, and he can move from the street talk of his peers to old-fashioned Latin lyrical faster than Celia Cruz can turn on her stilettos.” — The Nation

Reviews for WHERE A NICKEL COSTS A DIME:

“Drawing on rap, jazz, Langston Hughes and the rhythms of the streets, this collection bristles with congas, timbales, police sirens and wino oracles. In poems that are scalding, toxic and dizzying, Perdomo reminds us that there is something wrong when feeling joy suggests mangled sanity.” — Publishers Weekly


“Many critics have lauded him as the next Langston Hughes and with a remarkable first collection of poetry entitled Where a Nickel Costs a Dime, Willie Perdomo may have little or no trouble living up to that expectation.” — The Source


“The already rich and diverse canon of Latino literature now includes a fresh young voice who uses Spanish Harlem as the setting and inspiration for many of his poems. Drawing from a hybrid Latino identity that embraces traditions from rice and beans to Langston Hughes Perdomo’s latest poems establish him as one of the most important Nuyorican voices of his generation.” Ed Morales, Latina Magazine

Praise for WHERE A NICKEL COSTS A DIME:

“Where a Nickel Costs a Dime is all about time. Where one learns that the cruelest prison of all is the prison of the mind. Willie has risen above to express the clarity of truth of what life is all about in Los Barrios. Punto!” — Piri Thomas, author of Down These Mean Streets


“Langston Hughes has been reincarnated and lives in Spanish Harlem. His name is Willie Perdomo. Where a Nickel Costs a Dime is a priceless, precious package of poetry.” — Claude Brown, author of Manchild in the Promise Land
“As you will see, Willie Perdomo is a new and important voice, a Djali (Griot), and here he is right on the gig. Like they say, Djeli Djeli Djeli Ya (gettin down) and rising up!”– Amiri Baraka


“In the words of Muhammad Ali Willie Perdomo’s poems ‘float like butterflies, sting like bees.’ They have grace and power and don’t waste their time, but zoom down the subway tracks to the true heart of New York City, Harlem, which is brown and black, and talks back in its dialect of drugs, death, and destiny.”– Ai, National Book Award-winning author of Vice

Rep Your Favorite Latino/a Book for Hispanic Heritage Month

I borrowed this idea from Darcy Pattison; what’s below is a summary of Pattison’s tips, which can be read in their entirety at http://www.darcypattison.com/authors/random-week. One more suggestion from Dr. Zetta—make sure your local library HAS books by these authors; I’ve had to ask the Brooklyn Public Library to order Jo Ann’s books…ALSO, remember that Latino/a books are great to read ALL year round!


As an author, I thought of one way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. We can celebrate our books written by our own and win a book in the process. I borrowed the idea from Darcy Pattison doing Random Acts of Publicity Week and as they say, “Why reinvent the wheel.” I thought her idea and her tips were perfect to celebrate our books for this month. Please read on and join all the fun!!!

To Participate:

1. Daily Acts of Publicity. Each day, do one Random Act of Publicity. You can choose to concentrate on one Latino/a friend’s book; you can choose a different Latino/a author/book each day; you can promote a Latino/a book you like, even if you don’t know the author.


2. Post a comment when you complete the review or post or how you do the publicity on BronzeWord Latino Authors on that day with a link to your post, what type of review it is, and your email address.


3. At the end of the week, a random name will be picked and a book will be awarded.


4. If anyone would like to contribute a book to the grand finale winner bundle, please contact me.


5. There will be a grand finale winner for the person who posts the most reviews for the five weeks.


6. There will be weekly winners:

Here are the books a winner will receive each week.


Week 1: Zumba® By Beto Perez , Maggie Greenwood-Robinson ISBN: 0446546127


Week 2: Evenings at the Argentine Club By Julia Amante ISBN: 0446581623


Week 3: Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz By Belinda Acosta ISBN: 044654051X


Week 4: Tell Me Something True By Leila Cobo ISBN: 0446519367


Week 5: Amigoland By Oscar Casares ISBN: 0316159697


Here are some good suggestions:

Random Acts of Publicity: Reviews

Reviews add credibility: they are the marketer’s tool of using a testimonial. The twist on Amazon and other sites is that celebrity testimonials don’t matter as much as just another reader’s comments. To be effective, though, the comment must ring true, they must be authentic and credible.


To go the extra mile, video testimonials are the most effective tool out there. Sure, it’s an act of love to record and post a testimonial about a friend’s book, but it would really make a difference! Or add a photo of a kid reading your friend’s book. Anything extra makes a difference.

The More Reviews the Better

I’ve looked for studies about the effect of reviews on sales, but haven’t found anything solid. But anecdotal information says that the more reviews the better. There seems to be break points at about 20-25 reviews and 100 reviews, at least. That is, over 25 reviews and there’s a bump in sales. Over 100 reviews and there’s a big bump in sales. (If anyone has seen a study to corroborate this, let me know!)


Bad reviews don’t necessarily hurt, as long as there are just a couple. In fact, I’ve seen information that says a few bad reviews make all the others seem more plausible. Too much good can be unbelievable: remember the keys are authentic and credible. No book will please everyone.

The More Recent the Reviews the Better

Should you review older books? Yes! The more recent the reviews the better the title does on searches.


HINT: My books are older and in dire need of reviews!!!!!


So, here’s one strategy for reviews. Everyone knows that the best sales time is the Christmas holidays. Books are given as gifts, more books are sold in November & December than other months, etc. What you really want, then, is a concentration of reviews in September and October – recent reviews for the holiday season.


Good news: We’re just in time to help a friend’s book!

Your Random Act of Publicity Task for the Month

Your task: Post at least one review of a book per week.


Places to post reviews:
Amazon
Borders
B&N.com
Library Thing
Good Reads
Shelfari


Any suggestions for other places to post reviews?


Please post at BronzeWord Latino Authors about what you’ve done today to be eligible to win a book.


TIP: At the very least, you want a webpage to be in the top 30 results of a search results, or your chances of clicks are virtually zero.

You can also:

Word of Mouth: Talk to kids!


Word of Mouth: Talk to parents!


Word of Mouth: Talk to booksellers, librarians, teachers, or other professionals!


Word of Mouth: Talk to anyone! But a bit of explanation, followed by your enthusiasm – that’s what will help spread the word.

INTERVIEW: Film producer Frank Aragon (Down For Life)

By Al Carlos Hernandez

LOS ANGELES (Herald de Paris)

– Produced by Boyle Heights native Frank Aragon, the Alan Jacobs’ gang drama DOWN FOR LIFE is up for a world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival – one of eleven titles added to its category Contemporary World Cinema. The film was shot on location in South-Central Los Angeles and stars local youths in the lead roles. It is based on a true story starring Danny Glover, Snoop Dogg, Kate Del Castillo, Elizabeth Pena and introducing sixteen year old Jessica Romero from the streets of Wilmington, California.


Frank Aragon’s past films include MY FATHER’S LOVE, BOYLE HEIGHTS, HOLLYWOOD FAMILIA and AND SO THEY DIE. All are part of 1211 Entertainment. Aragon’s company has been concentrating on the American-Latino audience for the last ten years. Frank is a Mexican-American (Chicano) whose passion is telling positive Latino stories. In 2001 Aragon was the recipient of the Golden Eagle Award as an outstanding independent filmmaker from Nosotros. This is Aragon’s first major film festival debut.


Frank tells us:
I was born and raised in the Boyle Heights area of East Los Angeles, eventually moving to the San Gabriel Valley so we could live a little better life away from gangs and drugs. I was raised in a single parent household; my mother and father split up when I was six. My mother was always supportive of me, she just didn’t have time to nurture me the way she wanted to. It was always just me and my sister because Mom worked a lot.
Mom always told me that I was a good storyteller. I believed her. If you tell a two year old kid that they’re good at something, they believe it and things start to happen. I wanted more grown-up things early on, like a career in the movie business. When my family found out about my dreams, and knew that I was serious, they encouraged me. They patted me on the back and said, “You can do it mijo!” My friends knew that vision was what was driving me. They fully supported me and are still expecting to have leads in future movies I make.


My sister and I grew up with television, especially FANTASY ISLAND. One film changed my life and that film was ROCKY. I knew then that an underdog could win or, at least, in the effort he was a winner.
I consider myself an actor who is also a producer/director. That is my love, my passion. I’m told I’m a gifted director. After I wrote, produced, directed and starred in my first film MY FATHER’S LOVE, I realized that I have an unshakable confidence which cannot be broken by anyone. My ultimate goal is to someday win an Oscar.


The reason I got into acting was that in the eighth grade I had a crush on my drama teacher. I was student body president and discovered that I loved the drama class so much! Reading plays aloud and then doing them on stage was the best escape for me. I owe Miss Enloe; she started it all.
My first success came from an audition. I took a bus to Hollywood and walked into a dark theater to audition for a play. I was eighteen and they cast me. We took that play to New York City and performed Off-Broadway at Harold Clurman Theatre. I had been auditioning for two years already for things in Hollywood. I even got cast as a dead body in a morgue scene in DEATH WISH IV with Charles Bronson. When I came back from New York at the age of ninteen I got cast in my first film ANGELTOWN with Teresa Saldana. Bob Morones cast me; I used to drop pictures and resumes off at his door at least once every week.


My biggest supporters have always been my daughter and certainly my family, who celebrate every success and encourage me to keep going. The biggest challenge in starting out was being able to keep pursuing my dream and still eat and live like any normal human being, I was a young man with responsibilities. My high school sweetheart and I had a daughter from all of our love for each other. I was only seventeen when she was born so I was a very young dad. My son was born four years later. Destiny and Frankie are my two children.


My first professional gig was the play I did in New York City Off-Broadway, performing next to a theater in which Melissa Gilbert and Phoebe Cates acted. I knew I was a real actor like them. I eventually ran into them at the deli on the corner and invited them to my play. They came and it was encouraging, (I loved Phoebe Cates, but I didn’t get to make out with her.) Working with young professionals on that level, I knew I could make it then.


Originally I started out as an actor but had an accident after returning from Minnesota where I had worked on a film. I asked the director and producer if I could learn to be a PA, a production assistant, as well. They asked me, “Why? You are an actor.” I told them that one day I want to direct and produce so I want to learn everything I can. I wanted to be by the camera at all times.


That film was Severo Perez’s PBS film And The Earth Did Not Swallow Him by Tomás Rivera. I traveled with the film to Minnesota and there I eventually worked in every department. I was a grip, an electrician, in the prop department, the wardrobe department and production assistant. That was my first film school.


When I returned from Minnesota. I worked construction as a property supervisor. Then tragedy struck. I had freak accident and was blinded by a bungee cord that broke, hitting me in my right eye. I lost my vision in that eye and for four years I didn’t act anymore, having to undergo surgery after surgery. Eventually I went to UCLA and studied the technical aspects of filmmaking. Five years later I wrote, produced, and directed MY FATHER’S LOVE. Since then I’ve made it a point to learn it all. I do what I need to survive, to keep going until I get to the prize.


MY FATHER’S LOVE was my first serious effort, having produced, financed, written, directed, and starred in that film. It was a major undertaking and it helped me learn so many things in so many ways. Hollywood really doesn’t care about young or old. It cares about hotness. If you’re hot it doesn’t matter if you are one hundred years old. If you’re thirteen and hot then you’re welcome as well. Hollywood is driven by money and who can bring in the next big payday. In this town, if you are already successful then you are wanted. If you are smart and can deliver in today’s age, you can dictate your terms better than back in the day. Especially when you are not dependent upon them for your successes.
I have to say that there is discrimination against Latinos in the entertainment industry. I’m a Chicano and I’m brown to most Hollywood people I’m just a Mexican and sometimes I am viewed as an immigrant. They judge people based on a perception about us that is false. That being said, most people in the business are also smart, so they cannot deny our worth any longer. They are fighting tooth and nail to try to get their hands on our audiences.

What about your latest project? How did it come about? What events led up to its showing in Canada?

I got a call from producer Scott Alvarez who had seen my work as the location manger on REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES. They knew about me from Effie Brown who knew me from my film MY FATHER’S LOVE. Scott wanted to meet me and talk about a picture.


I read the script and liked it a lot. It wasn’t stereotypical and I thought I could make a difference working on the picture. I met with Scott Alvarez at an office in Studio City. Scott and I talked while Alan Jacobs, who was in an office adjacent to ours, could hear our conversation regarding a certain property. POR VIDA is the story about a young gangster girl from South Central who happens to be Latina. Even though he’d heard the conversation, I still didn’t meet Jacobs.


We talked about the film and he offered me the job of location manager, I told him I’d like to read the script again but I would like to help produce the movie. Based on my body of work I was certainly more than just a location manger. He listened. I went to La Vegas for a weekend and came back. I was offered the job.


When I returned they hired Dwight Williams who is John Singleton’s line producer and executive producer in HUSTLE AND FLOW. I met with Williams but the meeting turned into my being interviewed to be somebody’s assistant, not a location manager or even a producer. I very politely wished them the best of luck with the project and walked away. There comes a point when you have to say, “No, thank you,” because you’ve earned more than they are offering. I still hadn’t met Alan Jacobs either while he was in the adjacent office.


They went out and tried to produce the film without me. They shot for ten days out of a twenty-eight day schedule and then went dark. That means the film shut down due to lack of money, being over produced, spending too much money, you name it.


I knew that this project was an urban story and could be done cheaply if the right people were involved. People who knew the hoods of Los Angeles and knew what they were doing as independent producers, not studio producers. There is a big difference and the difference is money. Independents are accustomed to working without money and studio producers are used to having it. I learned how to work without it. To make a long story short, I got a call from Scott again. He explained everything to me saying that everyone working the film was now gone. No more money means they were no longer around. We set up a meeting at the Four And Twenty in Studio City.


This time the meeting was with Alan Jacobs and Scott Alvarez. They asked me to help them produce the rest of the film, keep a log on the days left, keep continuity, handle cast issues, handle union issues, you name it. Problems, problems. I asked them, “Okay so how much money do I have now to finish this movie?” They said only about ten percent of the original budget. I accepted the challenge and went to work.


We shot an additional nineteen days using weekends, making sure we matched continuity, actors, and new locations. No more line producers, executive producers, unit production mangers, or location managers, These jobs are usually filled by multiple people on films with money. We didn’t have any money so I did them all by myself.


I realized that this is what I’ve been grooming myself for all these years and I was so ready. The film is simply good. It is excellent. We submitted the film to Toronto and they accepted us. It is one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world. I am so excited. It is an honor in itself.

How has the film festival invite affected you? What do you hope happens there?

Being selected is my own personal confirmation that I am ready. It has shored up my confidence, giving me new birth and a passion for the next level of projects. I hope I meet some great people who don’t mind working on projects with a young Chicano like myself in the future. People who can see through the color of my skin and be okay with me, hopefully through my successes. I can help enable more talented brown people on the set who need a break too.

What is your next project? How can people support your work?

I wish I could say. It’s big. It is a comedy written by a big name writer and produced by a young Chicano on his way to making a huge name for himself. Me!!!! Oh yeah it has a strong female Latina as the lead who has yet to be cast. Someone’s going to get a big break! Especially if they are a Chicana! People can support me, and the people like me who are trying to break down some Hollywood barriers, by writing letters (emails) to the networks about me and my work. Let them know we are coming and please go see my movies the first week when they come out.


As an artist I want to changes lives. I want to affect people’s lives by the stories I’m telling, stories that make a difference in our society. I want to influence the great change that is already taking shape in our country.
My life is one story that can be anyone’s story. I know I am blessed and I will live up to all the expectations people have for me by doing the best job I can. Making a difference in others people’s lives through the stories I will tell and the films I produce, I will continue to be blessed by the very nature of the work and that process.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET-eelzH5_E&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET-eelzH5_E

We could take Follow Friday on Twitter and use it to encourage others to subscribe to Latino Blogs.

If you could post individually the names of the blog you subscribe to, this would encourage other Latinos to subscribe too. As you know, the more links and subscriptions you have on your blog, the better your blog is rated and read by search engines and easier to find by people searching the web. If you can think of another way to encourage others to subscribe please share it with me and post it for others to do too.


Suggestion:
(Your name or your blogs name) subscribes to (name of blog) at (URL address). Support Latino bloggers by subscribing. #FFBlogs


If you have a different set of words that would work better, please share them with me.


To encourage others to do the same thing Raul Ramos y Sanchez suggested:
What Latino blogs do you follow? Tweet them to #FFBlogs so others can follow them too.


Thank you for your time and consideration of this venture. Thank you for your support.


Here is mine:

Aqui Mas

A Mom of a Daughter Soldier soldiersparent.blogspot.com
Ask a Mexican www.askamexican.net
Austin Latino Neighborhood Examiner – Teresa Carbajal Ravet www.examiner.com/x-13215-Austin-Latino-Neighborhood-Examiner
Author’s Diary Rauramosycsanchez.blogspot.com
Bilingual in the Boonies www.bilingualintheboonies.com
Blogadera www.blogadera.com
Blogs by Latina – Monique Latinabloggers.ning.com
Café Latino Lifestyle Magazine Cafemagazine.com
Cancion Mexicana www.kuvo.org
Carolyn in Carolina Caroincarolina.blogspot.com
Chasing Heroes Chasingheroes.com
Christina Rodriguez christinaRodriguez.com
Corazonadas Yuyi Morales Yuyimorales.blogspot.com
Crafty Chica Blog Craftychica.com/welcome.html
cRod artblog illustrator Crodillustration.blogspot.com
Dichos de me Madre www.dichosdemimadre.com
DMSolis www.dmsolis.blogspot.com
Dust Storms Theduststorms.blogspot.com
Efrain’s Corner www.efrainortizjr.blogspot.com
El Teatro Campesino www.elteatrocampesino.com
Eljumpinbean – El Guapo Eljumpingbean.blogspot.com
Fashionista Fashionista-35.livejournal.com
FH Hispania Plaza www.fhhispaniaplaza.com
First person present – Micol Ostow Micolz.livejournal.com
GumboWriters – Jeff River Gumbowriters.com
Hasta los Gatos Quieren Zapatos Hastalosgatosqierenzapatos.blogspot.com
Hermana, Resist www.hermanaresist.com
Hispanic Trending – Juan Tornoe Juantornoe.blgos.com
Hispanic Tips http://www.hispanic_tips.com
Jennifer Cervantes www.jennifercervantes.com
Joycastrol.com www.joycastro.com
La Bloga Labloga.blogspot.com
La Chilangabacha Lachilangabacha.wordpress.com
La Linda Writes Blog.lindagonzalez.net
La Sala de la Tele Lasaladelatele
Lanuage is a virus www.languageisavirus.com
Las Comadres Para Las Americas www.lascomadres.org
Latin Baby Book Club Latinbabybookclub.blogspot.com
Latina Limon Partido www.latinalimonpartido.blogspot.com
Latina Lista www.latinalista.net
Latina on a Mission – Ms. Latina Latinaonamission.com
Latina YA Latinaya.blogspot.com
Latino Book Examiner – Mayra Calvani www.esaminer.com/x-6309-Latino-Books-Examiner
Latino Pundit – Louis Pagan www.latinopundit.com
Latino Stories – Jose B. Gonzalez www.latinostories.com
LatinoLA www.latinola.com
Laura Gonzalez – Ilustracion Lauragonzalez.co.uk
League of Reluctant Adults – Mario Acevedo www.leagueofreluctantadults.com/blog.html
Letras Latinas Blog Latinopoetryreview.blogspot.com
Lireria Martinez www.latinobooks.com”o”Bookstore
Lisa Yee’s Blog Lisayee.livejournal.com
Literanista www.literanista.net
Lori Calabrese Writes! Loricalabrese.blogspot.com
Los Bloguitos Losbloguitos.blogspot.com
Lowrider Librarian Lowriderlibrarain.blogspot.com
Madam Mayo Madammayo.blogspot.com
Mama Latina Tips Mamalatinatips.com
Marcela Landres www.facebook.com
Mayra’s Secret Bookcase Mayrassecretbookcase.blogspot.com
Me Blog is tu Blog Lauramartinez.wordpress.com
Mi Ciuelito Lindo micielitolindo.blogspot.com
Montserrat Fontes Montserratfontes.com
Multi-Culti Mami Multicultimami.wordpress.com
Musings nilkibenitez.blogspot.com
My Immigration Story www.myimmigrationstory.com
Nuncasola Nuncasola.wordpress.com
OCGente www.ocgente.ning.com
Oscar Bermeo Geminipoet.blogspot.com
Petit Four & Hot Tamales petitfoursandhottamales.blogspot.com
Pets and Their Authors Petsandauthors.blogspot.com
PowerfulLatinas.com www.powerfullinas.com
Present.org Presente.org
Qoobole – Frank Flores www.Qoobole.com
Queer Latino Musings on Literature Charlievazquez.wordpress.com
Rawsistaz www.rawsistaz.com
Rawsistaz Book Reviews www.blackbookreviews.net
Reach for More – Aspira a Mas www.reachformore.blogspot.com
Readraza Chicano Literature & Arts Readraza.com
Reforma Reforma.org
Searching for Normalcy searchingfornormalcy.blogspot.com
Sententia Vera www.sententiavera.com
Sister Outsider Entertainment www.sisteroutsider.biz
Society for the study of Gloria Anzaldua www.ssganzaldua.org
Society of Latino & Hispanic Writers Slhwnotes.blogspot.com
Sofrito For Your Soul www.sofritoforyoursoul.com
SpanglishBaby www.spanglishbaby.com
Straight Up & a Little Dirty www.bertaplatas.blogspot.com
Taco Shop Poets Tacoshoppoets.org
That Happen To Me Thathappentome.com
The Art of Random Willynillyness Theartofrandomwillynillyness.blogspot.com
The Dark Phantom Review Thedarkphantom.wordpress.com
The Fearless Blog www.thefearlessblog.blogspot.com
The Joy Diaries www.joycastro.com
The Posadas Project www.posadas-project.com The Unapologestic Mexican Theunapologeticmexican.org/elmachete/
The World of Piri Thomas www.cheverote.com/piri.html
Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural Tiachucha’scentrocultural
Tomas Riley www.yofoolio.com
Twitteros – Matt Reyes Twitteros.ning.com
Unitedstatesean Notes unitedstatesean.blogspot.com
Velez’s View philvelez.blogspot.com
VivirLatino Vivirlatino.com
Voces Adrianadominquez.blogspot.com
Writing to Insanity www.locacrazywriter.blogspot.com
Xican @ Poetry Daily http://xicanopoetrydaily.wordpress.com/

Media

Acentos Review www.acentosreview.com
Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies www.ahaa.org
Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies www.chicano.ucla.edupress/journals/default.asp
Blue Mesa Review www.unm.edu/~bluemesa
Border Senses www.bordersenses.com
Borderlands www.borderlands.org
Catalina Magazine www.catalinamagazine.com/nota_cover.htm
Contacto Magazine www.contactomagazine.com
El Andar www.elandar.com
Hispania News www.hispanianews.com
Hispanic Ad’s El Blog www.hispanicad.com
Hispanic Business www.hispanicbusiness.com
Hispanic Digital Media Hispanicdigital.us
Hispanic Entrepreneur hispanicentrepreneur.blogspot.com
Hispanic Magazine www.hispaniconline.com/magazine
Hispanic PR Wire www.hispanicprwire.com/home.php
Hispanic Radio Network www.hcnmedia.com
Hispanic/Latino News Service www.latinoww.com
HispanicVista.com www.hispanicvista.com
Latina www.latina.com
Latina Style www.latinastyle.com
Latina Voz www.latinavoz.com/index.php
Latinitas Magazine www.latinitasmagazine.org
Latino Perspectives Magazine www.latinopm.com/Latino-Perspectives-Magazine/
Latino Poetry Review Latinopoetryreveiw.com
Latino Studies www.palgrave-journals.com/index.html
Latino USA www.latinousa.org
Modern Latina Modernlatina.com
Palabra www.palabralitmag.com/index.html
Portada Magazine www.Portada-online.com
The Acentos Review www.acentosreview.com/Home.html
Urban Latino Magazine www.urbanlatino.com
Vista Magazine www.vistamagazine.com
Xispas www.xispas.com

Latino Portals

Espanol.com Espanol.com

Hispanic Connect Hispanic Connect

QuePasa.com QuePasa.com

Uno Dos Tres Uno Dos Tres

Latino/a Authors

Click on the sidebar

A.E. Roman
Aaron A. Abeyta
Aaron Michael Morales
Abelardo Lalo Delgado
Ada Limon
Adriana Lopez
Alberto Rios
Aldo Alvarez
Alex Espinoza
Alfredo Vea
Alicia Gaspar de Alba
Alisa Valdes Rodriguez
Alma Flor Ada
Alma Luz Villanueva
Americo Paredes
AmoxCalli
Ana Castillo
Andres Resendez
Angel Vigil
Aisa Onofre
Ann Hagman Cardinal
Aracelis Girmay
Barbara Renaud Gonzalez
Belinda Acosta
Benjamin Alire Saenz
Berta Platas
Blas Manuel De Luna
C.M. Mayo
California Poet
Caridad Pineiro
Caridad Ferrer
Carmen Agra Deedy
Carmen Lomas Garza
Carmen Tafolla
Carmen U. Bernier Grand
Cevile Pineda
Charley Trujillo
Cherrie Moraga
Christine Granados
Cindy Holby
Cristina Garcia
Cristina Henriquez
Dagoberto Gilb
Dan Vera Dan Vera
Daniel A. Olivas
Daniel Alarcon
Daniel Chacón
Daniel Reveles
David A. Hernandez
David Rice
Demetria Martinez
Deinise Chavez
Diana Lopez
Dr. Ricardo Sanchez
Edgardo Vega Yungue
Eduardo C. Corral
Eduardo Santiago
Elaine Romero
Elena Nazzaro
Emma Perez
Emmy Perez
Esmeralda Santiago
Esteban Martinez
Estevan Vega
Esther J. Cepeda
Evangelina Vigil-Pinon
F. Isabel Campoy
Felicia Luna Lemus
Felipe Davalos
Francisco Aragon
Francisco Jimenez
Francisco X. Stork
Gabriella Hewitt
Gary Soto Gary Soto
Gilbert Hernandez
Gina Franco
Gloria Vando
Gloria Velasquez
Gonzalo Barr
Graciela Limon
Guillermo Gomez-Pena – La Poch Nostra
Guy Garcia
Gwendolyn Zepeda
Icess Fernandez
Ilan Stavans
Isaac Chavarria
Jaime Hernandez
James Canon
Jamie Martinez Wood
Jeff Rivera
Jennifer Prado
Jerry A. Rodriguez
Jimmy Santiago Baca
Joe Cepeda
Joe Loya
John Parra
John Rechy
Johnny Diaz
Jorge Argueta
Jorge Ramos
Jose Antonio Burciaga
Jose Latour
Josefina Lopez
Joy Castro
Juan Felipe Herrera
Judith Oritz Cofer
Julia Alvarez
Julia Amante
Julie Larios
Juliette Dominguez
Junot Diaz Junot Diaz

Kathleen Alcala Kathleen Alcala

Kathleen DeAzevedo Kathleen DeAzevedo

Kathy Cano-Murillo Kathy Cano-Murillo

Kermit Lopez Kermit Lopez

L.M. Gonzalez L.M. Gonzalez

Lalo Delgado Lalo Delgado

Laura Gallego Garcia Laura Gallego Garcia

laurasalas laurasalas

Lauren Castillo Lauren Castillo

Lisa Alvarado Lisa Alvarado

Liz Balmaseda Liz Balmaseda

Lorena Siminovich Lorena Siminovich

Lorna Dee Cervantes Lorna Dee Cervantes

Lorraine M. Lopez Lorraine M. Lopez

Lucha Corpi Lucha Corpi

Lucia Gonzalez Lucia Gonzalez

Luis A. Lopez Luis A. Lopez

Luis J. Rodriguez Luis J. Rodriguez

Lulu Delacre Lulu Delacre

Lyna Sandoval Lyna Sandoval

Magdalena Gomez Magdalena Gomez

Malin Alegria Malin Alegria

Manuel Munoz Manuel Munoz

Manuel Ramos Manuel Ramos

Margo Candela Margo Candela

Maria Amparo Escandon Maria Amparo Escandon

Mario Acevedo Mario Acevedo

Marlene Perez Marlene Perez

Marta Acosta Marta Acosta

Martha Ramirez Martha Ramirez

Martin Espada Martin Espada

Martin Limon Martin Limon

Mary Castillo Mary Castillo

Mary Helen Lagasse Mary Helen Lagasse

Matt de la Pena Matt de la Pena

Max Benavidez Max Benavidez

Max Martinez Max Martinez

Mayra Calvani Mayra Calvani

Michael Jaime-Becerra Michael Jaime-Becerra

Michele Martinez Michele Martinez

Michelle Serros Michelle Serros

Micol Ostow Micol Ostow

Miguel Algarin Miguel Algarin

Miriam Herrera Miriam Herrera

Mirta Ojito Mirta Ojito

Misa Ramirez Misa Ramirez

Mitali Perkins Mitali Perkins

Monica Brown Monica Brown

Nancy Castaldo Nancy Castaldo

Nina Marie Martinez Nina Marie Martinez

Norma Elia Cantu Norma Elia Cantu

Ofelia Dumas Lachtman Ofelia Dumas Lachtman

Oscar “Zeta” Acosta Oscar “Zeta” Acosta

Paco Ignacio Taibo II Paco Ignacio Taibo II

Pam Munoz Ryan Pam Munoz Ryan

Pat Mora Pat Mora

Patrick Sanchez Patrick Sanchez

Rafael Lopez Rafael Lopez

Rafaela Castro Rafaela Castro

Raul Colon Raul Colon

Raul Ramos y Sanchez Raul Ramos y Sanchez

raulrsalinas raulrsalinas

Rebecca Gomez Rebecca Gomez

Rene Colato Lainez Rene Colato Lainez

Rene Saldana Jr. Rene Saldana Jr.

Renee Fajardo Renee Fajardo

Reyes Cardenas Reyes Cardenas

Reyna Grande Reyna Grande

Ricardo Sanchez Ricardo Sanchez

Richard Blanco Richard Blanco

Richard Vasquez Richard Vasquez

Rigoberto Gonzalez Rigoberto Gonzalez

Rolando Hinojosa Rolando Hinojosa

Rudolfo Anaya Rudolfo Anaya

Rudy Gutierrez Rudy Gutierrez

S. Ramos O’Briant S. Ramos O’Briant

Salvador Plascencia Salvador Plascencia

Sam Quinones Sam Quinones

Sandra Cisneros Sandra Cisneros

Sandra Maria ESteves Sandra Maria Esteves

Sandra Rodriguez Barron Sandra Rodriguez Barron

Sarah Cortez Sarah Cortez

Sarah Rafael Garcia Sarah Rafael Garcia

Sergio Troncoso Sergio Troncoso

Severo Perez Severo Perez

Sherman Alexie Sherman Alexie

Sheryl Luna Sheryl Luna

Sofia Quintero Sofia Quintero

Sonia Nazario Sonia Nazario

Stella Pope Duarte Stella Pope Duarte

Steven Torres Steven Torres

Teresa Carbajal Ravet Teresa Carbajal Ravet

Tino Villanueva Tino Villanueva

Tomas Rivera Tomas Rivera

Tracy Montoya Tracy Montoya

Victor Villasenor Victor Villasenor

William Nericcio William Nericcio

Yuyi Morales Yuyi Morales

Yxta Maya Murray Yxta Maya Murray

Queer Latino Musings on Literature

Charlie Vázquez

I’m the proud author of many things and have two books on the publishing horizon: a fiction collection due in November and my second novel in spring of 2010. And although I’m constantly writing and refining my fiction, it’s been my blog, Queer Latino Musings on Literature, that has facilitated my making new friends on the blogosphere and beyond. While writing and perfecting fiction is a solitary craft, blogging is “public” and helps to sharpen writing in a casual, journalistic way—one which is not necessary in fiction, where the whims of the imagination can run as far as they please.

I began my blog after my father passed away late last year, as a way to informally communicate his long and unusual story, with those who chose to “read/listen”. Despite the unfortunate genesis of my blog—and my initial experimentation with the format—it eventually evolved into what it is today: A forum where I post interviews with (mostly Latino) authors, share book reviews that I write for AMBIENTE (our nation’s largest Latino LGBT e-zine), and publish other announcements related to my own artistic life as a Latino writer in New York City.

I felt compelled to create this web-space, since it was something that did not exist when I sought it. As an author and reading series host, it has helped me find writers for my monthly NYC readings and has exposed me to new literature which has inspired me on many levels. It has forged new friendships and has allowed me to meet and befriend many of the “wizards” in my field of writing—the elders of the queer Latino literary world. It has been a perpetual joy; one that has consumed much time and energy—fuel.

As for my readership: My subscribers number into the hundreds and thousands of others read my bimonthly posts every month. I believe in quality first and only solicit to people I think might be interested. What I’m trying to do is connect Latino (and other) authors to potential readers and vice versa. There is a rich body of fine Latino literature in this country that continues to evolve as our lives as Latinos do. So it’s important to support our literary heritage by cultivating readerships for our many talented scribes. Both need the other.

Blogging, on my terms, has allowed me to achieve this to an extent. We all need to do our part in telling the fascinating stories of our lives and imaginations. And it’s a great service to bring the hard work and achievements of our writers into the hands of people who want to read their work (this includes our non-Latino allies). Reading in our country seems to be in decline and I hope that we, as literary Latinos, work the other way to enrich our culture. I’m proud to be doing my part and ask you to do yours—it’s easier than you think. Connect crucial websites to authors and readers—we’re all over the place and sometimes don’t know one another. Sometimes sending one email will make a huge impact on other people’s lives. The results of tiny actions can be enormous!

Happy reading!
Charlie Vazquez
http://charlievazquez.wordpress.com/

Richard Yniguez, The Original Boulevard Knight

By Al Carlos Hernandez on July 17, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO (Irreverent Homemaker @ Herald de Paris) – If you have watched TV or have gone to the movies over the last thirty years you know his face, even his voice, but may not know his name. He is Richard Yniquez, a seminal, in-demand character actor who has appeared in more than one hundred prime time television programs and feature films. In the Latino community he is legendary for his leading role in the theatrical film Boulevard Nights. Produced by Tony Bill, Nights was the first major release film to topically explore the lowrider culture in the early 70’s.


Richard explains, “I was born in Fresno County, California but was raised in Mexico by my father after my mother passed away while I was a child. I returned to the states when I was seventeen. My dad signed for me and I joined the Navy. Off I went into the Viet Nam controversy, heading overseas on the USS Yorktown for three and a half years. Saw most of Asia and lived through the tense years of war and social strife on board a ship. But we were not totally insulated; the problems at home affected us as well.


“Once back, and settled in LA, I did some odd jobs while attending East LA College in business administration. At this time I was living in a mortuary (Pierce Brothers, Simone on North Broadway) and was singing in the park while playing my guitar. During this time I learned of a new TV show that was going to cast from the real Latino community and they’d asked people to get involved in a crash course in acting. From that group of about four hundred they were going to pick a cast and create the first Latino family for a major prime time series on PBS. This was a soap-styled dramedy about the Avila famliy in East LA. The acting teachers were Victor Millian, Francisco Ortega, and Natividad Vacio. These men were primetime and film character actors. These were the men I had seen on TV while growing up and here they were actually teaching me the trade.


“They never choose the family from the neophytes. They hired pros. All of us who took the course were left out in the cold and didn’t understand why we were not used as promised. We banded together and formed The Mexican American Theatre Workshop. We performed throughout Los Angeles and held classes to keep our work alive. I was one of the teachers at that point, along with Mario Aniov. Can you imagine? I had only three weeks of acting under my belt, but felt it was worth keeping alive. Mario had already studied and performed the classics; he knew what he was doing.


“It wasn’t until weeks later that I was approached to play the youngest member of the Avila family. In 1968 I joined the cast and became a professional actor.”


For many Latinos the doors for acting opportunities started to open in the early 70’s, commensurate, and no doubt inspired, by social activism and a growing awareness of the emergence of Latino culture in the USA. So was it harder back then to get started in the business?


“Yes, it was a lot harder back then. Chicanos/Mexican Americans were not looked at in a positive way. Up to this time Latinos were played by non Latinos – mostly by Jews, Arabs, Italians, and even African Americans. It wasn’t until Ricardo Montalban, who formed Nosotros, and Ray Andrade, who formed Justica, that we started a serious trend in the industry and cast real Latinos in real Latino roles. Ricardo put his career on the line. I knew him very well and have had the chance to work with him up close and personal as an activist and as an actor. He didn’t shy away from controversy and was misquoted constantly. He never asked for actual Mexicans to play Mexicans. He only asked that we be given the opportunity to read for those important roles. They say that your ability to perform is determined by your last job. But we, Latino actors, don’t have those opportunities coming down the pike. People may read this and think it’s just sour grapes or that we have plenty of opportunities out there, just no actors to fill the parts. This is NOT true. And this is why we are creating our own films and internet websodes.”

What about working Latinos now? How is it for them?

“Hollywood gets into the rut of using the same faces over and over again despite the inroads that some actors and actresses have made with their careers. You see them once and you never see them again. We live in a youth oriented society, always looking for the young and beautiful in the eyes of the mainstream. And Latinos ain’t the mainstream. But we have an audience thirsty for stories they can relate to, hence we need to raise productions from our own community using that community’s voice. Our voice.”

Speaking of community, what did your family think about your decision to become an actor?

“My family didn’t think much about me becoming an actor. In fact I was laughed at. True story. They thought I was nuts. I don’t blame them. I thought I was nuts too. But there was something in me that persisted and I went on to work with some very wonderful people. Anthony Quinn, Robert Mitchum, Lucille Ball, Angela Lansbury, Glen Ford, Joan Plowright, and Ricardo Montalban, just to name a few. It was also nice to walk into an audition and be told that I had come highly recommended. I would ask by whom and the reply was always the same…Ricardo Montalban.


“There had been times when the role for a specific show was already cast. A young activist working with Ricardo would fight to get people to be seen by the production and try to get an Hispanic actor cast since the lead role was that of a Latino. All he asked for was a chance for Latino actors to read for the part. That young activist, an actor himself, was Jerry Velasco and I’ve always remembered his fight for all of us. Getting back to the family, once I started to work it was a different story. They didn’t laugh anymore. They wanted to visit the set and meet the other actors!”

What was your very first role? When did you know that you could do this?

“Cancion De La Raza, a dramedy soap for PBS. After a crash course in acting, I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It was actually theatre; you read the material, blocked it like a play, memorized it (I should say absorbed it) and then brought it to life for the cameras. For me acting is reacting. You listen and then react accordingly. In life and in acting there is no difference. The only thing different is that a writer took the time to create the scenario in which the character lives. The actor, with the guidance of the director, brings it to life. I love it!”

What is your favorite acting platform? Stage, screen, or TV? Why? Which is your least favorite?

“I like them all but prefer film acting. And there is a difference, believe me. I love to watch an actor think on film and wrestle with a problem. Steve McQueen was an expert at that…you watched his every move and you knew what he was thinking. There is a subtlety in working with film that you don’t have when working on the stage. Again it’s listening and reacting in character to dialogue that you’ve heard repeatedly. Yet each take it’s the first time. Taking your time is another interesting film thing for me. It’s that time when nothing is being said but there is oh-so-much happening. That’s the wonder of film and the trust one must have for the director.”

How did Boulevard Nights come along? Whose idea was it? Why did you want to do the role? Did taking the role stereotype you as a Latino actor? (I met and interviewed Tony Bill on radio when the film came out)

“Boulevard Nights is a very interesting moment in my life. I had nothing to do with the idea or the making of the film. I was merely an actor for hire. I didn’t even feel that I was right for the role. I thought I was too old and not really Chicano enough for what they were looking for. I didn’t want to do the film on that basis; I just felt I wasn’t right. But I was called back and the producer made me understand that the audience would believe what we told them and for me not to worry. I made my sentiments clear. They should market the film as a story of two brothers or as a love story between a young man and his girl. They went with the gang element which I think killed the point of the story. Tony Bill and I did not see the same opportunity. He did not include me in any promotion of the film and I would not have participated anyway. But, interestingly enough, the film has risen above all the negative sentiments in its time to bounce back as a classic. It is now seen with the proper eyes and appreciated for its message. I don’t think I was stereotyped. It’s what I am really, a Chicano actor who, given the opportunity, can play anything he is right for. In this business that’s key. They don’t use make-up to change an actor’s appearance unless it’s for age or special effects. I am ethnic looking in that I can play a person of Middle Eastern descent, Italian, Greek, you name it… The question is can they (Hollywood) get past the fact that my name is of Spanish origin? You don’t have to go back too far to see who the non Latinos were that play us on screen.”

What are you working on now? What kinds of projects would you like to do? Who would you like to work with? What are your plans for the future?

“I am very excited because I’ve been contacted by a gentleman who has been working on his own newsletter for the community and has created his own internet with programmable channels. He didn’t wait for Hollywood or investors. He put his money where he felt he could make a difference. And now he’s reached out to me. The opportunity to create content that makes a difference is just sparking my inner artist to express itself. Adrian Perez & The Latino Journal has me developing a partnership that can put together a machine not unlike the studio system of old Hollywood, where producers can interface with writers, directors, actors, etc… Some of the projects I hope to bring to the forefront will deal with aspects of our community that can make a difference in how we see ourselves:

American Anthology will focus on those in our ethnic communities who have contributed to the greatness of this country.

Divina Crane: A Latina psychologist who practices as a social worker under adverse conditions in the most dangerous areas of the inner city.


The Wanderer: An undercover Latino cop forced into retirement when hit by lightning. He survives and attains miraculous powers. He’s on the run from a high priced detective hired by a billionaire and also has a price on his head from organized crime. It’s the wanderer who can heal and bring people back from the brink of death. (Run For Your Life meets Highway To Heaven)


Soldaderas: A look into the lives of the women of the Mexican revolution. War hasn’t changed and women have always been in the forefront.


Circus World: A circus clown is saddled with his three nephews after an auto accident takes the life of their parents.


Ku Kul Kan (mythical Mayan hero) is a super hero living in the inner city. He uses the powers of stealth, levitation and the super human strength of the ancient aboriginal Mayan people.”

In the promotion for the film Boulevard Nights it says:

“Everything happens on the boulevard – and the boulevard happens at night.”


The question for Latino artists remains. Who’s boulevard is it?


By Al Carlos Hernandez
http://www.heralddeparis.com/richard-yniguez-the-original-boulevard-knight/45228

Efrain’s Corner

Efrain Ortiz Jr.
http://efrainortizjr.blogspot.com/

Efrain’s Corner is my view on Latino/Puerto Rican life standing with my back to a corner wall in a room, that room being the world, where I can get a full view of what is going on. With that corner view, I can share comments, thoughts, opinions, memories, and culture in relation to Latinos and the Puerto Rican diaspora. My intent being that if even one person reads something on my blog and it inspires that person to want to learn more about the culture then I have helped in preserving the same.


I did not begin blogging with the intention of writing, I only began blogging after a conversation with now fellow blogger, Phil Velez of Velez’s View. That conversation led me to curiously read his blog, and after doing so, I became inspired enough to give it a try. Initially, I didn’t think much about it and didn’t think anyone would even read any of the short posts I had written. Within several weeks of blogging, and finally, receiving a few comments, I realized the opportunity that was before me. An opportunity to share and learn more about my culture. That interest in my culture was there for a very long time, and what was lacking was the interested audience. The conversations I had with several people always seemed to show a disinterest. I decided to take the opportunity to use blogging as a platform for sharing that which I love so much, my culture. It is that sharing of cultural information, whether an event, new talent, historical figure, or comment/opinion on a current event that affects or promotes Latinos or Puerto Rican culture that motivates me. In return, I hope to become a better writer and to connect with others that share the same love for the culture.


I try to offer the reader that stops by my blog something different every time. Instead of keeping it to one subject, I prefer to spread things out. I like to offer that reader looking for a little bit of history a place to begin that search, the reader looking for a cultural event with an opportunity to support our culture, the reader looking for a different perspective on a current event with an opportunity to get that different view. I challenge the reader to learn, share, teach, and support our culture.

Efrain Ortiz Jr.
http://efrainortizjr.blogspot.com/

My Daughter’s Wedding, and I didn’t cry…

Al Carlos Hernandez
www.LatinoLA.com

Yesterday I experienced one of the proudest days of my life, a papa’s dream as it were: walking my daughter down the aisle. It was earlier in the week when I had a revelation of the beauty and perfection of the moment that was yet to come. I was holding my two month old granddaughter, my youngest son’s infant daughter in my arms. My heart went back to the days when I held my infant curly haired mija, way back in the day when I was only in my mid 20’s myself. Enamored with the beauty of life, God’s magnificence in tiny Latina form, my eyes became warm with the tears I did not allow to fall, knowing that the day to give my daughter away was looming.


Like many of you dads of the post modern, reckless, irreconcilable situation, ally-ambivalent America of the 70’s, I “weekend parented” my little ones. She was four and my little guy was three when their mom and I contractually agreed to disagree. I never missed a weekend visit or a child support check. I remember the time I walked out on a recording session in Texas with Little Joe Y La Famila in order to board planes, trains and automobiles to make it to the kids Halloween costume parade in Berkeley. I could only wave from the sidelines as she walked by dressed as a first grade princess, my son a preschool superhero. Well, she is a princess and he is a superhero to me. They are the evolved people I always wanted to be but could never get past. My housing projects bred bravado.


She told everyone the wedding would take place at 12, but it was really 12:30. Smiling on the way over, I thought back to her graduation day from SDSU with her BS in event planning. Was her timing an academic consideration, or a result of her sophisticated refined Latina-ness?


I have always prayed for my children to find the love of their lives, like I did. For me it was the second time around with the woman I call “Mi Vida.” My daughter’s wedding was four years to the day of her meeting the man of her destiny. Just like “Officer and a Gentleman” her man has just completed his BS and is going to be a fighter pilot. I could not have scripted this love affair any better. It took divine penmanship.


The nuptials were staged at a regional park, in a cove surrounded by tall dark brown and green roofed trees perched on a hillside, veiled in fauna, girded by rocks, and matted by moss. One by one they came, as the sun’s spotlight bathed famila in their Sunday best. High tech mini media captured every nuance. Friends and family from the mother’s side (many of whom I haven’t seen in 29 years) appear 29 years older. Still the same inside, while touches of gray kind of suited them in many ways. I was no exception.


I looked up a two story flight of stone stairs from the cobbled plain below. There she was, dressed in white, and more beautiful than I ever imagined, flanked by her best friend maids of honor. I remembered the moment she was born. It was as if another eye opened in my being, never knowing what we Christians call “agape love” of God. I never knew love like that before. It was then, at her birth, when my real life began. Sadly for me today is the day to hand her over to her Prince Charming, and I don’t know what say. I just hug her.


We were poised to walk down the tree lined winding cement ramp, to the place where the ceremony was to be held below. I remembered holding her hand at the mall when we used to go to the Hello Kitty store to buy stickers with the money she made helping her mom with chores.


Her jovial and kindhearted step dad took his rightful place on her left arm, while I was on her right, and we walked her down the ramp. She was a little anxious so I told her something ridiculous that Grandma Rose used to say to insult people. She laughed like she did back then. They played Isn’t she lovely by Stevie Wonder, the song that was at the top of the charts on the day she was born, and I still didn’t cry.


Life came full circle as we were asked by my older brother, her Nino, the presiding Superior Court judge who officiated: “Who gives this woman to be betrothed?” Step dad and I said, “We do,” and we did.


Dreams do come true. God always works things out in perfection. And I didn’t cry.


Until now.