Arte Publico starts E-newsletter

Arte Publico press recently sent me an E-newsletter that they just started. it has some news on Alicia Gaspar de Alba and her recent awards for her book Desert Blood. I'm not sure how you subscribe to this but here's the contact info:

Arte Público Press
email: http://by116fd.bay116.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?mailto=1&msg=4D5149D4-C9A4-486B-BEDF-1B574C3D3E24&start=0&len=33216&src=&type=x&to=carpen@uh.edu&cc=&bcc=&subject=&body=&curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&a=4a042bc73eb718a3372825d38a5ba5a448302f94ecf899a4e5cc910606fb2a9a
phone: 1-800-633-ARTE
web: http://www.artepublicopress.com

I think they will be putting this out monthly.

PUBLISHERS IN THE MIDDLE OF CITY COUNCIL-SEGUNDO BARRIO BATTLE

Check out The Newspaper Tree for an interview with Bobby Byrd publisher of Cinco Puntos Press in El Paso. His daughter Suzie Byrd is on city council and a supporter of efforts to "redevelope" the El Paso's Downtown. Cinco Puntos Press published David Romo's book, Ringside Seat to RevolutionAn Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juarez: 1893-1923. Romo is on the opposite side of the "redevelopment" plans. It's an intersting read.

GROWING UP BEEF

An organization I was part of in Lawrence, Kansas, Apoyo Trabajador, hosted a panel for our Student-Labor Week back in the Spring. We hosted a panel with students who had grown up in beef-packing towns like Liberal, Dodge, Emporia, and Garden City, Kansas. I forgot the town in Colorado, but I think it's Fort Morgan. I facilitated the panal. Check it out on KC Currents.

Fronteriza Papers Slug it out

Years ago when the El Paso Herald Post folded, the El Paso Times had no rivalry in the city. Worker at the Times would tell me that the would rush to get the afternoon paper to see how the Post covered the same story. This occured even though the Post was owned by the same company as the Times and was just over the skybridge in the next building. But that ended when with the demise of most afternoon papers.

It was always a rumor that El Diario de Juarez would start their own Spanish-language daily on the El Paso side of the river. I can't quote a statistic but word was the El Diario de Juarez out sold the Times in El Paso. I don't know if that is true, but the rumor came true and El Diario de El Paso was born. Later, the Times would start doing some Spansih language stuff to fight back. All this is very interesting to me as a writer. The news of the Diario coming onto the Times turf sparked national news.

Recently, El Diario sued the Dallas Morning News for defamation. Check out this story: Avanza la demanda de EL DIARIO contra The Dallas Morning News. Also see The Newspapers Tree's story.

New Flooding in El Paso; Lincoln Barrio hit badly

Is the city letting the Lincoln Barrio flood so it can building more hospital land there?
See article:
Rains drench region; Rio Grande overflows

Fears increase as river inches to flood stage

Also, El Paso's sheriff wants to make sure that families of mix immigration status and victims of domestic violence who may be undocumented don't call the Sheriff's Department for help. To see the story, clerk here.

This disappointed me. Everyone knows the law enforcement and the Chicano/Mexicano community have never been real good friends. Even in a city like El Paso where you district attorney, sheriff, etc are all Latino or "Hispanic." Most law enforcement use racial profiling as is, now adding immigration enforcement to their duties of the sheriff's deputies, means they'll have to profile more.

There are several good reason that law enforcement should not enforce immigration laws. First, it breaks down the trust between the Chicano community and law enforcement. Not that there was any to begin with. Over half of Chicano and Latino families are of mixed immigration status. This means that some in one household might be citizen, a tia might be a permenent resident, one might be a refugee, another might be undocumented. If we see neighbor's house across the street being broken into, why should we call the sheriff is they are going to take our relatives away.

Also, it's been shown that women who are victims of domestic violence are less likely to report their situation to the police because it may involve them or their husband being deported if they are undocumented. When our immigration system treats women as property already, this makes sheriff enforcement of immigration harder on these women.

Another reason, is the most law enforcement are not trained to do immigration enforcement. If police and sheriff departments are racial profiling and committing abuses already, this is likely to increase if they enforce immigration laws. I was speaking to one ICE (which enforces immigration law) official, which I won't name, and he said over 75% of calls/tips about "illegals" turn out to be citizens. He said, "It pisses us off because most Americans think any brown person is undocumented and when we go out and check, it just wastes are time."

New books

hello everyone

Not much other news, but here are some new book

The Mountain in the Sea: Poems by Victor Hernández Cruz



"[Cruz’s work] proves the extraordinary range of this great, enduring poet, whose articulately persuasive humor and intelligence bear persistent witness to a meld of peoples."
—Griffin Poetry Prize citation

From website:
Renowned for his pioneering mixture of both Spanish and English in poetry and prose, Victor Hernández Cruz has now incorporated Arabic language and North African culture into his unique poetic idiom. Divided into three sections, these poems explode with the energy of Cruz’s recent experiences in Northern Africa and paint vivid portraits of musicians, artists, writers, and religious and cultural figures that pay tribute to the New York of his youth and the wider world that he continues to explore.

As America attempts to understand its place in the world, many poets have been looking not at our differences, but at our connections. In The Mountain in the Sea, Cruz builds poetic bridges between an electrified Latino New York, African influenced Puerto Rico, Spanish influenced North Africa, and Arab-influenced Spain, uncovering the confluence our various geographies, histories, languages, and mythologies.

In the Break (Hardcover) (Little, Brown Young Readers July 12, 2006 ISBN: 0316008745) , Jack Lopez

Denise Chavez' newest book

Hey everyone. Here's a link to a review by Daniel Olivas on Denise Chavez' newest book, A Taco Testimony. Looks like they changed the cover. Anyway, go to: El Paso Times Taco Testimony Book Review.

Ediciones EON and other Mexican Writers

Some of the newer writers that have gain acclaim are Yuri Herrera and Selfa Chew. Herrera el Ganador del Concurso Nacional de Novela Joven de México and Ganador del Premio Nacional Frontera de Palabras/Border of Words 2003 published Trabajos del Reino (Adentro). Poniatowska plugs this book: “Este libro habla “de la relación, compleja entre los artistas y los hombres poderosos, y una figura que me interesaba mucho era la del artista cortesano con respecto al rey”, dijo. Con Trabajos del reino, el joven escritor de 34 años Yuri Herrera entra por la puerta de oro en la literatura mexicana. Ciento una páginas bastan para consagrarlo. Los capítulos, sin numerar, son fulgurantes. Ni una palabra de más. La prosa es escueta, dura, certera y sabe a pólvora porque Yuri la dispara con precisión. Nada de andarse por las ramas; esta novela es concluyente y definitive.”

Azoque en la raíz (Ediciones EON) was recently published by Selfa Chew. “Nada de estos mundos y de estas fronteras parece resultarle ajeno a Selfa Chew. Las experiencias del mero vivir cotidiano se unen a la experiencia extraída de la literatura, de la multiplicidad cultural (China, México, Estados Unidos) y de la formación académica. No hay en Azogue en la raíz un discurso metafórico paralelo a los avatares sociales, sino que los busca y los traspasa, porque se halla enrai-zado en ellos: es así que el protagonista lírico ejerce una voz poética fuerte, decidida, inclusiva.” - Saúl Ibargoyen, México, D. F. “A través de un examen incondicional de la memoria, este poemario descubre con gran acierto, los significados marginales de ciertas fronteras. Soledades que se desdoblan en despedidas, ausencias y demoras junto a antepasados chinos y mexicanos. Con una pasión recóndita, logra la hablante de estos textos disfrazarse de amores y muertes, balcones y bambú. Estas coordenadas fraternales o familiares en Azoque en la raíz propician cohabitar con ilustraciones de objetos, pequeños insectos o pedazos de brazos, como “vuelos de las horas” Sin distancias, profundamente próximo, este poemario es una rara y entrañable cosecha de la palabra.” - Reseñó: Lourdes Vázquez de Nueva Cork.

Other noteworty books on Ediciones EON are:

Callejón Sucre y otros relatos (Ediciones Eón, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, New Mexico State University y El Colegio de la Frontera Norte ISBN 9685353409), Rosario Sanmiguel. A diez años de su primera publicación Callejón Sucre y otros relatos es un libro vigente que nos permite vislumbrar la múltiple realidad de la vida fronteriza, el vasto panorama de las subjetividades silenciadas o distorsionadas por los discursos hegemónicos. eongraf@prodigy.net.mx.

Las eras imaginarias (Ediciones y Gráficos Eón Segunda Edición ISBN 9685353085), Sergio Mondragón. Oportuna y necesaria reunión de la poesía completa — anteriormente publicad en varios libros — de un autor insoslayable en la actual lírica mexicana. eongraf@prodigy.net.mex.

Review of Arturo Islas biography

Hello folks, my review of Dances with Ghosts by Fredrick Luis Aldama, the biography of Arturo Islas. Go to The Newspaper Tree.

HONORING TRINIDAD SANCHEZ, JR.

CINCO DE MARZO

La luna

sol de la noche

llena y sonriendo

siento las caricias

los besos de tu boca.

Hoy noche de poesía

cantame los versos

querio tanto

la primavera de tu alma

la frescura de tus ojos.

La luna

tantos cantos

tantos poesías.

Sigues escondiendote

por la mañana

desapareciendo

devolviendo cada noche

más y más desfrazado.

La Luna

llena y sonriendo

quiero desnudarme

y llenarme con aquel amor

tan sabrosa

de esta noche.

THE FIFTH OF MARCH

The moon

sun of the night

full and smiling

I feel your caresses

the kisses of your mouth.

This night of poetry

sing me the verses

I long for

the Springtime of your soul

the freshness of your eyes.

The moon

full of song

full of poetry.

You keep hiding

in the morning

disappearing

returning each night

more and more naked.

The moon

full and smiling

I want to undress

and fill myself with the

delicious love

of this night.

Pictures of flooding int the Lincoln Barrio

Good morning everyone. The El Paso Times posted some photos today of the flooding in the Lincoln barrio of El paso. Take a look. More later...

Check out this nice story on Trinidad Sanchez, Jr. by the Denver Post.

More on Mexican Authors and Floods

Texas Flood

Please see these links:

Dirt and mud buries Socorro neighborhood

Neighborhood in Upper Valley marooned by street flooding

Pets taken to El Paso shelters

Residents near Lincoln Park try to clean up

South Side residents go back home

Clint neighborhood fights rising waters

Chickens succumb in Montana Vista

Canutillo inhabitants struggle to regain lives

Saturday is stormy, but allows cleanup

Las Cruces: No relief for residents as storms thrash area

Destruido el drenaje

A few more on Mexican Writers

Sombra en plata / Shadow in Silver: A Bilingual Edition was recently published on Swan Isle Press (ISBN 0974888117) by Mexicana poet Olivia Maciel and translated by Kelly Austin. In her fourth book of poems, Mexican-born Olivia Maciel lyrically evokes another America. She writes with the critical and contemplative eye of a poet, revealing mystery and beauty in places dark and light, near and far. The richly allusive language of Sombra en plata / Shadow in Silver is a terrain at times steep, fevered, and sensual: a harmony of words scented of earth and sky. Her poems are catalysts for transformation, challenging the reader with a vision of a world where myth and the quotidian are intimately intertwined. Exploring complex and unpredictable landscapes, Maciel is both a guide and fellow traveler on a fascinating journey through memories and emotions. Maciel eloquently draws from both collective and personal histories. This new bilingual compilation will be a pleasure to turn to again and again.

Laura Esuvel, author of Como agua para chocolate, released Malinche: A Novel on Atria Press in May (ISBN 074329033X). When Malinalli, a member of the tribe conquered by the Aztec warriors, first meets Cortés, she — like many — believes that he is the reincarnated forefather god of her tribe. Naturally, she assumes that her task is to help Cortés destroy the Aztec empire and free her people. The two fall passionately in love, but Malinalli gradually comes to realize that Cortés's thirst for conquest is all too human. He is willing to destroy anyone, even his own men, even their own love. Throughout Mexican history, Malinalli has been reviled for her betrayal of the Indian people. However, recent historical research has shown that her role was much more complex; she was the mediator between two cultures, Hispanic and Native American, and two languages, Spanish and Náhuatl.

Luis Arturo Ramos has put out several books in the last year or two. Violeta – Perú (Difusión Cultural UNAM y Ediciones Eón ISBN 9685353212,): “La actualidad temática y la propia escritura de la primera novela de este destacado autor, ameritan una nueva edición. El tópico tradicional del viaje, en esta ocasión, el realizado en autobús por el protagonista a través de la Ciudad de México, sustenta un relato intenso y de trágico final.” Another book by Ramos is Los argentinos no existen (Ediciones Eón ISBN 9685353468): “Las acciones se desarrollan a mitad de los años 40 en el Centro Histórico de la ciudad de México y agolpan hacia un final impredecible pero rigurosamente construido, Los argentinos no existen es una sólida novela corta inscrita dentro de los cánones del género negro que, sin embargo, parodia con mordacidad la simpleza argumental que ha alcanzado la novela policiaca en México.” Cuentos (casi) completes by Ramos is a collection consisting of four books of tales; Rainbows at Seven Eleven, a novela; Violeta-Perú, a novel in its third printing; and Los argentinos no existen, a short crime novel. Luis Arturo Ramos is one of Mexico’s gems. He is a writer that every americano writer should read.”

One recent award winner of the 2005 Winner of the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize is The Wake (Paperback) on Curbstone Press published last fall (ISBN 1931896232). It is written by Margo Glantz and translated by Andrew Hurley: “What do I feel?" asks the narrator, Nora Garcia, as she goes back to a Mexican village she has not visited in years to attend the funeral of her ex-husband, a famous pianist who has died of a massive heart attack. This deeply moving novel is the unspoken answer to Nora's self-questioning. "The heart has reasons that reason knows nothing of," Pascal said, and this aphorism of knowing and not knowing is at the core of the novel. Employing motifs of "the heart," modes of music from the tango to Bach, and allusions to poetry, the text is a rich amalgam that reveals a life lived deep within the culture of the late twentieth century. Like her ex-husband, Nora is a musician, a cellist, and so it is fitting that her novel takes the form of a canon and fugue: phrases circle and repeat, variations are introduced, motifs come and go and intermingle, reflecting a paralysis of the grieving. The novel moves inexorably toward the burial and the revelation of Nora's complex, emotional reaction to Juan's death.

Words of The True Peoples/Palabras De Los Seres Verdaderos: Anthology Of Contemporary Mexican Indigenous-Language Writers: Volume Two/Tomo Dos: Poetry/Poesia was recently published by the University of Texas Press (2005) in their Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Series in Latin American and Latino Art and Culture (ISBN 0292706766). It is edited by Carlos Montemayor and Donald Frischmann. This is the second book in a major three-volume trilingual anthology of Mexican indigenous writing. As part of the larger, ongoing movement throughout Latin America to reclaim non-Hispanic cultural heritages and identities, indigenous writers in Mexico are reappropriating the written word in their ancestral tongues and in Spanish. As a result, the long-marginalized, innermost feelings, needs, and worldviews of Mexico's ten to 20 million indigenous peoples are now being widely revealed to the Western societies with which these peoples coexist. To contribute to this process and serve as a bridge of intercultural communication and understanding, this groundbreaking anthology — to be published in three volumes — gathers works by the leading generation of writers in 13 Mexican indigenous languages: Nahuatl, Maya, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, Tojolabal, Tabasco Chontal, Purepecha, Sierra Zapoteco, Isthmus Zapoteco, Mazateco, Ñahñu, Totonaco, and Huichol.

The University of Texas Press has also put out a book focusing on post-Revoluionary writers. Writing Pancho Villa's Revolution: Rebels in the Literary Imagination of Mexico (2006 ISBN 0-292-70697-9) by Max Parra: “The 1910 Mexican Revolution saw Francisco "Pancho" Villa grow from social bandit to famed revolutionary leader. Although his rise to national prominence was short-lived, he and his followers (the Villistas) inspired deep feelings of pride and power amongst the rural poor. After the Revolution (and Villa's ultimate defeat and death), the new ruling elite, resentful of his enormous popularity, marginalized and discounted him and his followers as uncivilized savages. Hence, it was in the realm of culture rather than politics that his true legacy would be debated and shaped. Mexican literature following the Revolution created an enduring image of Villa and his followers. This book focuses on the novels, chronicles, and testimonials written from 1925 to 1940 that narrated Villa's grassroots insurgency and celebrated — or condemned — his charismatic leadership. By focusing on works by urban writers Mariano Azuela (Los de abajo) and Martín Luis Guzmán (El águila y la serpiente), as well as works closer to the violent tradition of northern Mexican frontier life by Nellie Campobello (Cartucho), Celia Herrera (Villa ante la historia), and Rafael F. Muñoz (¡Vámonos con Pancho Villa!), this book examines the alternative views of the revolution and of the Villistas.”

HONORING TRINIDAD SANCHEZ

TRYING TO STEAL A

LOVE POEM FROM A POET

During our passionate love making

when you caressed and kissed me

were you trying to draw the words

of a poem from my mouth?

Was your tongue searching

for flavors of rhyme on my palate?

Did you think that in the heat

of the moment one of my best lines

or one of my favorite metaphors

would melt into your kisses?

Must I remind you about

the meaning of copyright!

By Trinidad Sancehz, Jr.

There's a Flood Down in Texas/Steve Crosno dies/Honoring Trini

If you haven't heard about the floods in El Paso, take a look at the websites of El Diario or El Paso Times. I remember back in 1989 or 88 when it flooded real bad. Album Park's pond flowed over the parks boundries. I remember jumping off the trees into the water. It must have been about 8 or 9 feet. They've losed down many streets around the park. I can't image what's going on in the valley. I know Montana Vista has had problems.

They also evacutated people in Canutillo and Vado. Then there the people by Anapra. Just check out the websites and you'll see.

I think some Stevie Ray Vaughn in appropriate.

Texas Flood

by L.C. Davis / J.W. Scott
recording of 1983
from Texas Flood (Epic EK-38734) & Live Alive (Epic EGK-40511)

Well there's floodin' down in Texas, all of the telephone lines are down
Well there's floodin' down in Texas, all of the telephone lines are down
And I've been tryin' to call my baby, Lord and I can't get a single sound

Well dark clouds are rollin' in, man I'm standin' out in the rain
Well dark clouds are rollin' in, man I'm standin' out in the rain
Yeah flood water keep a rollin', man it's about to drive poor me insane

Well I'm leavin' you baby, Lord and I'm goin' back home to stay
Well I'm leavin' you baby, Lord and I'm goin' back home to stay
Well back home I know floods and tornados, baby the sun shines every day

VETERAN DJ PASSES

Veteran DJ Steve Crosno died today. Catch it on the El Paso Times tomorrow. I'd give you the link, but the Times' website has been so messed up lately, I won't even try.

HONORING TRINIDAD SANCHEZ JR.

Here's a poem that Lalo Delgado wrote for Trini....

HASH

At brother Jeff’s

you get three halves

for a dollar’s worth of verse.

At this cultural center

when you enter

you leave the blues outside.

At this café

Poetas de mucha fe

comparten copias

and Xikus,

those would be Hikus

done by Xicanos.

I asked

if it is proper

to serve hash

at a pre birthday bash

and was told

My question had rash,

maybe form a contaminated stash.

Here words inspire thoughts

and thought inspire poems

in a milieu

circa 1920

or ever earlier

in Africa or Yucatan.

We embrace each other

with warm words

and soon we forget all about

the birthday boy

who, of course, is unforgettable.

Trinidad means three, three halves

this evening at brother Jeff’s.

Albelardo “Lalo” Delgado

Denver, Colorado

Publishers looking South at Mexicana Writers

Recently publishers have been looking at Mexican writers to translate their older works in to English. The University of New Mexico has just put out The Skin of the Sky (ISBN 0-8263-4120-9) a novel by Elena Poniatowska, one of North America’s greatest writers. The book is about Lorenzo de Tena, Mexican astronomer born in the 1939s. He’s the illegitimate son of a wealthy Mexico City businessman and poor, but intelligent, peasant woman. Lorenzo is introduced to science by his mother, beginning his life-long passion. When his mother dies, Lorenzo and his sibling are taken to live with their father. The children have difficulty adjusting to a life of wealth and privilege, but Lorenzo devotes all his attentions to astronomy. He eventually goes to Harvard to complete his studies and returns to Mexico, determined to elevate Mexico’s scientific rankings.

In Tinisima (ISBN 0-8263-4123-3), this fictionalized account of the life of Tina Modotti (1896-1942), Poniatowska devoted ten years of research to fully understand the woman who was so caught up in the social and political turbulence of the pre-World War II decades. At different times in her life, Modotti was a silent screen actress, a model for Diego Rivera's murals, and a lover of photographer Edward Weston. She was also a champion for the Mexican people who lovingly referred to her as Tinisima. In 1929, Modotti was accused of the murder of Julio Antonio Mella, her Cuban lover. She fled to the U.S.S.R. to escape the Mexican press and then to Europe, where she became a Soviet secret agent and a nurse under an assumed name, returning to Mexico to meet an early death at the age of forty-five.

Last year, UNM Press republished her first book Lilus Kikus, which was first published in 1954. When it was first publsihed, it was labeled as a children's book because it had a young girl as protagonist, it included illustrations, and the author was an unknown woman. This is the first United States edition. It also includes four of Poniatowska's short stories with female protagonists, only one of which has been previously published in English.

Poniatowska is admired today as a feminist, but in 1954, when Lilus Kikus appeared, feminism didn't have broad appeal. Twenty-first-century readers will be fascinated by the way Poniatowska uses her child protagonist to point out the flaws in adult society. Each of the drawings by the great surrealist Leonora Carrington that accompany the chapters in Lilus Kikus expresses a subjective, interiorized vision of the child character's contemplations on life.

Sandra Cisneros plugs Poniatowska: “When I read Elena Poniatowska, I’m reminded why she’s my hero, why I write, what kind of writer I aspire to be. She’s not only an exquisite writer, she’s an extraordinary human being. It’s this humanity that make her writing soar.

Poniatowska has won various awards and has written over 50 books. Born in France to a Mexican citizen of French ancestry, she lives in Mexico City.

Poniatowska’s writing is also included in Responding to Crisis in Contemporary Mexico: The Political Writings of Paz, Fuentes, Monsivais, And Poniatowska (Hardcover) on Univ of Arizona Press published last fall. (ISBN 0816524912). The book is edited by Claire Brewster: “Regarded as among modern Mexico’s foremost creative writers, Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, Carlos Monsiváis, and Elena Poniatowska are also esteemed as analyzers of society, critics of public officials, and both molders and mirrors of public opinion. This book offers a reading of Mexican current affairs from 1968 to 1995 through a comparative study of these four writers’ political work."

HONORING TRINIDAD SANCHEZ, JR.

We will continue honoring Trinidad Sanchez, Jr. by posting some of his poems

LALO Y LOLA STAND TOGETHER

for Lalo and Lolo Delgado

porque han llegado a celebrar

los cincuenta años de amor

but they do not stand alone . . .

their familia, los nietos y bisnietos

los comadres, compadres y los poetas

locos de todo tamaño stand with them.

Fifty years of standing together has made

them like the double ll

the 12^th letter of the Spanish alphabet,

a metáfora, la llamada a la felicidad.
Lo han hecho porque cada uno tiene

la llave del corazonazo de su amante.

They stand together

. . . como el fuego de una llama caliente;

. . . como un llano, lleno de aqua viva;

. . . como las llantas de una bicicleta

that have been around the barrio y han

dado sus vueltas más de cincuenta veces.

Lola y Lalo actually have the same name . . .

for if you switched the first two letters to the end

Lalo becomes Lola and Lola becomes Lalo!

They stand together despite the fact

they have only one “L” in their names.

They have kept their distinct personalities

and lived a life sin much llorar y llovizno;

pero seguro lo han tenido

porque el amor no crece en tierra seca.

Lola y Lalo cosejan, a los demás,

que es el llamamiento – the call for dialogue

that has kept them on their feet

para este momento sagrado.

Lalo y Lola stand together porque al fin,

como buen Mejicanos y Chicanos que son

entienden bien . . .

“Que es mejor morir de pie que vivir de rodillas.”

Trinidad Sánchez, Jr.

Denver, Colorado

Trinidad Sanchez, Jr. - Farewell Arrangements

FAREWELL ARRANGEMENTS

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

5p.m.

Rosary and Mass

Our Lady of Guadalupe

1321 El Paso

San Antonio, TX 7820

Celebration of Life Blessing and Wake

Following Rosary and Mass

Bihl Haus Arts

2803 Fredericksburg Rd.

San Antonio, TX 78201

In Lieu of Flowers, please send donations to:

Mrs. Trinidad Sánchez, Jr.

2803 Fredericksburg Rd. #1215

San Antonio, TX 78201

to help with medical expenses.

BENEFITS

Gemini Ink & Society 0f Latino & Hispanic Writers

513 S. Presa

Contact: 889-6274

Friday, August 4, Gemini Ink, in partnership with the Society of Latino and Hispanic Writers, will host a First Friday Reading benefit for our Honorary Chairman, Trinidad Sanchez Jr. The First Friday event will be at Gemini Ink, 513 S. Presa, and will begin at 6:30 p.m. The event is open to the public, admission is free and free parking is available at Gemini Ink's designated parking lot. Light refreshments will be offered.

Donations will be accepted to help Trinidad and his family offset the medical bills.

I would like to ask your support in two ways:

1. Please consider volunteering to attend this event to read one of Trinidad's poems, or one of your own. Due to time constraints, we ask that the poem being read be limited to 3 minutes (maximum!) in length. If you would like to read a poem at this event, please email me by 5 p.m., Sunday, July 30. We only have room for around 8 readers since Gemini Ink will also be getting a group of readers together too. In your email, please let me know the name of the poem you will be reading so that we may avoid duplication.

2. If you do not want to read, PLEASE consider attending the event anyway as a show of support to Trinidad and his family. Even if you can't help out with a small monetary donation, just your presence, thoughts and prayers will go a long way in bringing comfort to his family.

He is a true giant in the San Antonio poetry scene--he has been an energetic proponent and performer of poetry in the schools for more than 20 years, and has appeared more than 1000 times in schools and poetry venues.

3. Books By Trinidad for Sale

********************************************************************

Come celebrate the life and words of Trinidad Sánchez Jr.,

poet, activist, teacher and author of the bestselling “Why Am I So Brown?”,

at Ruta Maya Riverwalk Coffee House on

Sunday August 6, 2006 from 2-8 pm.

Suggested donation: $5.
Trino is also uninsured, adding to the worry his family

already feels, so please attend this celebration/fundraiser

and help support one of the great voices in Chicano literature.
There will be an opportunity to sign up and share our words,

read from his poems, tell stories and make music that celebrates Trino

and the spirit he has imparted to us and so many others.

Books By Trinidad for Sale

What: Trinidad Sánchez Jr. Celebration and Fundraiser
When: Sunday, August 6, 2006 2-8pm
Where: Ruta Maya Riverwalk Coffee House

107 East Martin, San Antonio, TX 78205
Contact: 210-223-6292

********************************************************************************

What: Trinidad Sánchez Jr. Celebration and Fundraiser
When: Sunday, August 20, 2006 2pm
Where: Bihl Haus Arts

2803 Fredericksburg, San Antonio, TX 78201
Contact: 210-732.3502

Details to Follow.