New Anthology Shows the Best of Latino(a)/Chicano(a) Poetry in the Last Ten years

I want readers to make extra effort to check out The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry (University of Arizona Press), edited by Francisco Aragón with forward by Juan Felipe Herrera. I was impressed by this collection since the book includes every major new Latino(a) and Chican(a) poet. All, with exception of five of the poets, have published one book since 1997, so being the first book to give us a full glimps of Latino(a) and Chicano(a) poetry going back ten years. Of the poets from El Paso (or born) are Albino Carillo, Sheryl Luna, and Carolina Monsivias. Rosa Alcalá is currently teaching at the University of Texas at El Paso’s MFA program and Emmy Pérez left UTEP for TX Pan Am University in the valley just recently.

This is a fun book because I remember receiving the fresh copies of some of their first (or second or third books). In the last ten years, I had the opportunity to review Francisco Aragón, John Olivares Espinoza (Go Indio!), Carolina Monsivais, and Steven Cordova.

I think editor Franciso Aragón has been instrumental in helping to bring many of these writers as some of them were first published on Momotombo Press: Brenda Cárdenas, Steven Cordova. But also other presses have played role in bringing these poets to light: University of Arizona: Richard Blanco, Albino Carrillo, David Dominguez, Gina Franco, Carl Marcum, María Meléndez. Curbstone Press: Naomi Ayala. Swan Scythe Press: John Oliveres Espinoza, Emmy Pérez. Wings Press (which was instrumental in bring out many young Tejana poets): Carolina Monsivais, Deborah Parédez. Other poets have been publishing in journals and on the web, thus showing the increasing popularity of web publishing.

So take a look at these publishers as they are putting out our newest poets, but be careful, don’t send them the cheap stuff.

There are a few poets I think should have been in here, but I’ll save it.

Well here some books we want to mention.

LUDLOW (Red Hen Press 2007 ISBN: 978-1-59709-083-4) by Davis Mason

Davis Mason's LUDLOW is a magnificent novel in verse, having the speed, concision and accuracy of poetry with the expansiveness and character of a novel. It tells the searing story of a handful of immigrants (Greek, Mexican, Scottish, Italianâ) in southern Colorado, climaxing in the Ludlow Massacre of April 1914. "LUDLOW bowled over me with its dramatic power, kept me reading on, under its spell. This violent chapter in American labor history richly deserves a poem of epic size, and David Mason, outstanding poet and long-time resident of Colorado, is the man to deliver it. Unforgettably, its characters practically step off the page. Here is a major poem bursting with life, a book with greatness written all over it" -- X.J. Kennedy.

http://www.spdbooks.org/Details.asp?BookID=9781597090834

TALK SHOWS (Switchback Books 2007 ISBN: 978-0-9786172-0-2) by Monica de la Torre. TALK SHOWS is accomplished translator Monica de la Torre's first book of original poetry in English. "De la Torre's poetry deconstructs sets of beliefs about what it means to be a multi-dimensional subject and turns markers of gender and race on their so-called ears. Identity and gender politics are folded neatly into smart disses and observations on the specifics of cultural play and gaff, making this a book to be reckoned with" - Lee Ann Brown.

http://www.spdbooks.org/Details.asp?BookID=9780978617202

New Fiction from Freedom Voices

STORIES FROM EL BARRIO (Freedom Voices 2007 ISBN: 978-0-915117-11-6), Piri Thomas. Piri Thomas, who reached millions of readers with his best-selling autobiography, Down These Mean Streets, now gives readers of all ages a vivid slice of the life in El Barrio ”a place where people face their problems with energy, ingenuity and love. He draws vivid stories from his past experiences and makes us feel what it means to be poor and proud and generous; to be streetwise and full of bravado but frightened, too; to struggle to go straight; to be ashamed of being ashamed; to dream. Speaking in the voice of the streets and from his heart, Piri captures the spirit, the laughter and the hope of his people.

http://www.spdbooks.org/Details.asp?BookID=9780915117116

New from Zephyr Press

LETTERS FROM MISSISSIPPI: REPORTS FROM CIVIL RIGHTS VOLUNTEERS AND FREEDOM SCHOOL POETRY OF THE 1964 FREEDOM SUMMER (Zephyr Press 2007 ISBN: 978-0-939010-92-9), Elizabeth Martínez. This expanded edition includes over forty pages of poetry by students in the Freedom Schools of 1964, adding the lively voices of local participants, mostly teenagers, to those of the volunteers from the North. The new edition also includes an additional dozen biographies, resulting in a wider resource for scholarship and for a general understanding of this critical moment in civil rights history.

http://www.spdbooks.org/Details.asp?BookID=9780939010929

New Poetry from Bilingual Review Press

CENTRAL AMERICA IN MY HEART/CENTRO AMÉRICA EN EL CORAZÓN (Bilingual Review Press 2006 ISBN: 978-1-931010-39-9), Oscar Gonzales. Facing page translation. In this touching tribute, Gonzales expresses nostalgia for the beauty of his native Honduras, sharing his passion and sense of loss. Vacillating between rage and undying love, Gonzales' poems express his deep cultural appreciation for the people of his homeland while he reveals their struggles and berates a corrupt and unjust political and economic system. Inspired by Pablo Neruda, Roberto Sosa, and Jorge Luis Borges, Gonzales hopes to "lessen the antipathy within Honduras and awaken a social consciousness" through his poems, which are presented in both Spanish and English. Gonzales was awarded Yale University's coveted Theron Rockwell Field Prize in 1991 for his anthology of poems Donde el plomo flota (Where Lead Floats). He was the first undergraduate to receive the award.

http://www.spdbooks.org/Details.asp?BookID=1931010390

Chicano(a) Art; Arte Publico Press book wins award; First book on Chicano artist Gronk; Cubans beyond Miami; Call for stories

El Paso Community College Spring Art Festival Gala Reception & Awards Ceremony

Make sure to attend the Spring Art Festival Gala Reception & Awards Ceremony, Thursday, April 26, 2007, 5:30 p.m. at the ASC Auditorium,

9050 Viscount, El Paso, Texas.

Don’t miss the fun – music, refreshments, art exhibit, student awards, poetry and literary readings, fashion show, and distribution of the new CHRYSALIS edition!

As a special highlight to the evening, Amado M. Peña, Jr. and his wife, J.B., will be joining us and will be selling his latest art work in all price ranges in the ASC Board Room from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. Amado will sign each purchase for you!

Artist Vania Soto to have art show

Latina Artist Vania Soto with connection of Kansas City, Cd. Juárez, and El Paso will be having at art show tomorrow, April 26 at 119 N Bridge St. Smithville, Missouri 64089 just north of Kansas City. 6-8:30pm. Check out this Kansas City artist.

News from Arte Público Press: Jose Angel Gutierrez and Victor Villasenor

Arte Público Press has informed Pluma that their The Making of a Civil Rights Leader (Pinata Books, 2005), by Chicano political legend Jose Angel Gutierrez has been selected for inclusion in the New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age 2007 annual listing. Also, Victor Villasenor’s bilingual picture book, Little Crow to the Rescue/El Cuervito al Rescate (Piñata Books) was named the inaugural winner of the Lacapa Spirit Prize, which is sponsored by the Northern Arizona Book Festival and Northland Publishing. www.artepublicopress.com.

The first major book devoted to the influential Chicano artist.

The University of Minnesota Press has released GRONK by Max Benavidez
(95 color photos ISBN: 978-0-89551-105-8 | hardcover (comes with DVD about the artist)(also in paperback), A Ver Series.

This is the first major book devoted to the influential Chicano artist.

Gronk was born in 1954 in East Los Angeles. He began his career as an urban muralist and has grown into an international figure who has created sets for operas and computerized animation for panoramic screens. In this sweeping examination of Gronk’s oeuvre, Max Benavidez elucidates how the artist can cross genres, sexual categories, and ethnic barriers, yet still remain true to himself. From street murals to mail art, from large-scale action painting to performance art and operatic set design, Gronk has made a lasting mark on the Chicano art movement, the punk scene, gay art, and the cultural world stage.

“There is no question that underrepresented artists like Gronk are a vital part of 21st century art history.” —Los Angeles Times

“Benavidez offers a riveting, clear-eyed and contextualized midcareer examination of Gronk’s development not only as an artist but also as a person.” —El Paso Times

For more information, including the table of contents, visit the book’s webpage:
http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/B/benavidez_gronk.html

For more information on the A Ver Series:
http://www.upress.umn.edu/byseries/aver.html

A pioneering look at the influence of Cuban-American culture—beyond Miami

U of Minnesota Press has also put out CULTURAL EROTICS IN CUBAN AMERICA by Ricardo L. Ortíz (2006 ISBN 978-0-8166-4795-8)(also in paperback).

A pioneering look at the influence of Cuban-American culture—beyond Miami.

Looking beyond South Florida, Ricardo L. Ortíz addresses the question of Cuban-American Diaspora and cultural identity by exploring the practices of smaller communities in such U.S. cities as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. Highlighting various forms of cultural expression, Cultural Erotics in Cuban America traces underrepresented communities' responses to the threat of cultural disappearance in a hegemonic U.S. culture. Focusing on artists who have had an ambivalent, indirect, or nonexistent connection to Miami, he presents close readings of such novelists as Reinaldo Arenas, Roberto G. Fernández, Achy Obejas, and Cristina García, the playwright Eduardo Machado, the poet Rafael Campo, and musical performers Albita Rodríguez and Celia Cruz.

For more information, including the table of contents, visit the book’s webpage:
http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/O/ortiz_cultural.html

Plan Ahead to attend C.M. Mayo Events this Summer

July 21, 2007 Queretaro, Mexico
Mundo al Mundo / World to World Translation Workshop. C.M. Mayo to present Tameme (www.tameme.org), Mexico: Traveler's Literary Companion (www.cmmayo.com/mexico.html), and offer a talk about publishing literary translations. More information about this event at www.cmmayo.com/events.html.

September 12, 2007 New York City
King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, New York University and the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York. C.M. Mayo to present her anthology of Mexican fiction and literary prose, Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion, with Mexican writer Monica Lavin and others. More information at www.cmmayo.com/events.html.

New book on Human Rights and Guatemala

The University of California Press has just released To Save Her Life: Disappearance, Deliverance, and the United States in Guatemala (ISBN 978-0-520-24597-6) by Dan Saxon. Eric Stover, author of The Witnesses: War Crimes and the Promise of Justice in The Hague says “"Dan Saxon has written a compelling and provocative book about the checkered history of United States involvement in Guatemala and the politics of human rights activism. Read this book and you will understand why the way in which we respond to human rights crimes often says more about our humanity than the abuses themselves.”

Part human rights drama, part political thriller, part love story, this riveting narrative chronicles the disappearance of one woman as it tells the larger story of the past fifty years . . .

For more information, click on To Save Her Life

Monica Gomez and David Williamson to give next Tumblewords Workshops in El Paso

Where: Memorial Park Public Library 3200 Copper Avenue (915) 566-1034

Cost: Free, but donations accepted for the presenter

When: All events are Saturday afternoons from 12:45 to 2:45

Contact: Donna J. Snyder (915) 328-5484 tumblewordsproject@yahoo.com or Ken Kenyon kenktx@aol.com or (915) 490-6672.

Tumblewords meets Saturdays 12:45 to 2:45 at the Memorial Park Library. This group has met regularly for over 11 years, providing a supportive, non-threatening environment for writing and reading aloud of work in any format written by the participants on that day.

On 5 de Mayo Monica Gomez will present "Dust Mote or Goddess?" Gomez, Songwriter, guitarist, vocalist, humorist, arts educator, motivational speaker, martial artist, broadcast professional, and poet, believes "Poetry is the ultimate introspective exercise. It turns us inside out so we can see how beautiful we are...especially the parts we thought were too dark to share. "

On May 12, David Williamson will present "Semantic Relativity." Wiliamson is a local writer, musician, and scholar making a return appearance as Tumblewords presenter.

Non-Profit seeks immigrant stories for anthology

A non-profit group is seeking to create an anthology of first-person personal histories of undocumented workers in the U.S. They have special need of Mexican and Central American accounts and can provide interpreters to work with willing participants.

The author of this series is looking for individuals who would be willing to tell their stories and will honor any need for confidentiality (especially from attorneys and clients) and will be scrupulous in respecting that need.

Below is their press release about the project. You can contact Peter Orner, editor at peterorner@aol.com.

The VOICE OF WITNESS

book series

ILLUMINATING HUMAN RIGHTS CRISES AROUND THE WORLD THROUGH ORAL HISTORY

By allowing the victims to speak for themselves, the Voice of Witness series seeks to empower those people most closely affected by human-rights crises. Each book in the series is:

• A ground’s-eye view of crucial social-justice issues.

• Designed to appeal to everyone from students to policy-makers.

• Filled with enthralling narratives that will grip any reader.

• Exhaustively fact-checked and confirmed with both the narrators

and primary source documents.

• Carefully edited to maintain the narrators’ unique voices, and the

integrity of their stories.

Voice of Witness is a non-profit organization. All sales proceeds go toward funding future books.

Coming in 2007:

UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS

THE PLIGHT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN THE U.S.

Immigrants who come to America illegally often find themselves subjected to dehumanizing conditions. What’s more, if their employer wrongs them, they have no legal recourse. Should being an undocumented worker preclude a person from being provided their basic rights?

The third book in the Voice of Witness series will feature the stories of men and women who have come to America seeking a better life for themselves and their families. Their struggles to fit into a society that refuses to recognize their existence are often tragic, and sometimes shocking. They are people working in the most dangerous and demeaning jobs, without the benefit of medical coverage or a living wage. Still, undocumented workers come from every corner of the globe and occupy positions in myriad industries. The American economy depends greatly on immigrant labor, yet the government does not provide for their safety or well being. It is a growing disparity and one that constitutes a genuine human-rights crisis.

Peter Orner—acclaimed author of The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo—will guest-edit Undocumented Workers (working title), and his San Francisco State University graduate students will help conduct the interviews.

The book will be produced with the utmost respect for the privacy requirements of the narrators, and as with all VoW books, our staff will work closely with the interviewees to maintain the factual accuracy of the stories.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions about the book or the series.

Undocumented Workers: The Plight of Illegal Immigrants in the U.S.

Edited by Peter Orner Contact: peterorner@aol.com

Coming in Fall 2007

Chicano poem put to song; Rigoberto Gonzalez reviews; Racist Houston Mayor; Grande wins Premio Aztlan; Espada readings

Check out Rigoberto Gonzalez’ Review of Alex Espinoza’s Still Water Saints

http://www.elpasotimes.com/living/ci_5724619

Award-winning classical music groups to cover Jalapeno Blues

Songwriter, Gabriela Frank has written music for Chanticleer using poet, Trinidad Sanchez, Jr.'s poetry from his latest book, Jalapeno Blues. The songs will be introduced at the following event:

Minnesota Public Radio presents Chanticleer in concert at The Fitzgerald Theater on Wednesday, May 23, 7:30 p.m..

Praised by the New York Times for its "precise, pure, and deeply felt singing," and by the Los Angeles Times for its "luxurious perfection," Chanticleer vocal ensemble were honored with a 2003 and 2004 GRAMMY® awards.

Chanticleer has developed a remarkable reputation for its vivid interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz, and from gospel to venturesome new music. With its seamless blend of twelve male voices, ranging from countertenor to bass, the ensemble has earned international renown as “an orchestra of voices.” Based in San Francisco, Chanticleer has developed a remarkable reputation for its vivid interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz, and from gospel to venturesome new music.

RACIST HOUSTON MAYOR INSULTS AMERICAN INDIANS

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Houston's Mayor Pro Tem Michael Berry insulted American Indian
listeners during his talk show on slavery and Indians on KPRC Radio
950. The American Indian Genocide Museum in Houston urges others to
respond.

Houston's Mayor Berry said:

"We need to stop wasting all this time and energy apologizing to the
American Indian, which we continue to do ... We give them casinos, we
give them special licenses, we give them special scholarships and why
I don't understand .."

" We conquered them, that's history - Hello "

" You got to be against giving welfare to the American Indians
because of the fact , that 200 years ago they were whipped in a war.
Lets just call it what it is, they lost a war."

His websites:

http://www.michaelberry.com/

http://www.houstontx.gov/council/5/index.html

email Michael Berry: iam@michaelberry.com

Contact Houston City Council members: http://www.houstontx.gov/
council/index.html

Reyna Grande Wins Premio Aztlán Literary Prize

The University Libraries at the University of New Mexico recognizes emerging writer, Reyna Grande, an English as a Second Language and Citizenship Teacher at the Los Angeles Unified School District, as the winner of the 2006 Premio Aztlán Literary Award. Ms. Grande will receive $1,000 and deliver a public lecture on Thursday, April 26 at 4 p.m. in the Willard Reading Room in UNM’s Zimmerman Library. Prior to the reading, a talk for students takes place, also in the Willard Reading room, at 11 a.m. Both events are free and open to the public.

Across a Hundred Mountains is a stunning and poignant story of migration, loss, and discovery as two women -- one born in Mexico , one in the United States -- find their lives joined in the most unlikely way. The phenomenon of Mexican immigration to the United States is one of the most controversial issues of our time. While it is often discussed in terms of the political and economic implications, Grande, with this brilliant debut novel and her own profound insider's perspective, puts a human face on the subject. Who are the men, women, and children whose lives are affected by the forces that propel so many to risk life and limb, crossing the border in pursuit of a better life? Grande’s book, published by Atari Press Simon and Schuster, will be available for purchase at the event.

Reyna Grande, born in Guerrero , Mexico , in 1975, followed her parents to the United States at nine years of age. She graduated from the University of California , Santa Cruz , in 1999 and was named a PEN Center USA Emerging Voices Rosenthal Fellow in 2003. She lives in Los Angeles with her son.

The Premio Aztlán Literary Award is a national literary award, established to encourage and reward emerging Chicana and Chicano authors. Renowned author, Rudolfo Anaya and his wife, Patricia, founded Premio Aztlán in 1993. The prize was reestablished in their honor in 2004 by the University of New Mexico Libraries

To be considered, each entrant must have authored no more than two books as well as being active in the Chicana/o community. Former Premio Aztlán recipients, Denise Chavez, Pat Mora, Alicia Gaspar de Alba and Sergio Toncoso and Mary Helen Lagasse, have become well-known literary figures.

For more information about Premio Aztlán Literary Award, contact Teresa Marquez at: or phone (505) 277-0582.

Martin Espada Readings until end of May

April 27: Reading, 10AM, Crispus Attucks Middle School, Indianapolis, IN, Contact: Rafael Méndez, RMendez@imcpl.org

April 27: Reading, 7:30PM, Etheridge Knight Festival of the Arts, Basile Theater, Indiana History Center, Indianapolis, IN, Contact: Eunice Knight-Bowens, EKFestival@aol.com

May 1: Reading, 1PM, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School, South Hadley, MA

Contact: Erin Feldman, efeldman@pvpa.com

May 19: Commencement Address, 10:45AM, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA

Contact: Judy Raper , jraper@hampshire.edu

May 21: Lecture, 7PM, Milton Academy, Milton, MA, Contact: James Connolly

james_connolly@milton.edu

An evening with Texas Poets and Writers

Saturday, March 31, 2007
9:30 am - 4:00 pm

Main (Downtown) Library, El Paso, Texas
501 N. Oregon

915-543-5401

Free & Public is Invited

* Art Exhibit and Mercado by Writers and Artists

* Panel Discussions

* Readings & Book Signing

* Musical and Dance Performance

Featuring Writers featured in Hecho en Tejas: An Anthology of Texas Mexican Literature: Dagoberto Gilb (Editor), Sergio Troncoso, Ben Alire Saenz, Dr. Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Christine Granados, Richard Yañez, Cecilia Balli, Tammy Gomez, Norma Cantu, and Sheryl Luna

6:00 pm -- Fiesta Celebration Dinner/Drinks ($20.00 per person) featuring reading by Dagoberto Gilb & music by David Garza, Main (Downtown) Library

Useful Links:

http://www.elpasotexas.gov/library/_documents/Hecho_en_Tejas_Poster_2007.pdf

http://www.unmpress.com/Book.php?id=11280144152120

http://www.newspapertree.com/culture/1159-a-storm-made-in-tejas-review-of-hecho-en-tejas-an-anthology-of-texas-mexican-literature

http://www.texasobserver.org/article.php?aid=2374&print=true

Hecho en Tejas events; Trini Sanchez, Jr. recieves award; Espada readings

Hecho en Tejas Events

I just got my copy of Hecho en Tejas in the mail and I am very impress. Don’t miss Dago’s roadshow:

El Paso: 30-31 March
Austin: 1 May

Scenic Drive in Cd. Juarez!

Mountain road aims to speed travel around Juárez

By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times

http://www.elpasotimes.com/business/ci_5491426

Carne Verde, Piel Negra: An Avocado from Michoacán

C.M. Mayo who edited Tamame which stopped publishing its review and now is focusing on chapbooks. The first one out the door is a story by the winner of Mexico’s San Luis Potosí Award for Short Story called Carne Verde, Piel Negra: An Avocado from Michoacán. www.tameme.org.

Agustin Cadema was born in 1963 in te Valle del Mezquital, Meico. A poet, fiction writer, essayist, and translator, he’s published more than 20 books. He currently teaches s seminar on Mexican culture and literature at the University of Debrecen in Hungary.

Carlos Callejo Interview

Check out this video interview with El Paso artist Carlos CAllejo: Link to video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5174935911009382751

Former UTEP Chicano Studies Secretary Walks on

I received notice that former UTEP Chicano Studies secretary Ana Osante died in San Diego, California in February. A memorial services for her was hosted on Feb. 31^st

My carnal Trinidad Sanchez, Jr. still receiving awards

Happy news from St. Mary's University!

Trinidad Sanchez, Jr. has won an award posthumously from the President's Peace Commission, The Art of Peace Award. The PPC is 21 years old now, we have been giving this award to people who promote peace and human understanding through their art.

The pogram was held last week combined with the annual President's Peace Concert. Poets/friends of Trino's read from his work. Interspersed were musical pieces. It ended with a speech honoring Trinis work and then the award was presentation” a plaque that incorporates a piece of art by Bro. Cletus Behlmann.

Regina notes to us that Trini will have a book out this year from University of Texas at San Antonio and another from St. Mary's University next year. He will also be honroed at Wayne State University in Detroit April 5, 2007.

Matrin Espada On the Road Again

March 29: Reading, 7 PM, Living Literature, Northeast Campus, Tarrant County College, Hurst, TX. Contact: Rebecca Balcárcel REBECCA.BALCARCEL@tccd.edu or Cynthia Baw CYNTHIA.BAW@tccd.edu

March 30: Workshop, 9 AM, Living Literature, Northeast Campus, Tarrant County College

Hurst, TX, Contact: Rebecca Balcárcel REBECCA.BALCARCEL@tccd.edu or Cynthia Baw CYNTHIA.BAW@tccd.edu

April 5: Reading, 7 PM, Albion College, Albion, MI, Contact: Helena Mesa. hmesa@albion.edu

April 14: Reading, Boundaries and Alliances in the Americas and Beyond, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, Contact: Marcus Rediker, marcusrediker@yahoo.com

Apr16: Reading, 6 PM, Six O’Clock Series, Ohio Room, Hadley Union Building, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, Contact: Ken Sherwood, sherwood@iup.edu

April 20: Reading, 7 PM, Poets Against War, Border Book Festival, Mesilla Community Center

Mesilla, NM, Contact: Denise Chávez, bbf@zianet.com

April 21: Lecture, 1PM, The Redemption of Pablo Neruda, Border Book Festival

Mesilla Community Center, Mesilla, NM, Contact: Denise Chávez bbf@zianet.com

April 21: Reading, 7PM, Premio Fronterizo, Border Book Festival, Mesilla Community Center

Mesilla, NM, Contact: Denise Chávez bbf@zianet.com

April 27: Reading, 10AM, Crispus Attucks Middle School, Indianapolis, IN, Contact: Rafael Méndez, RMendez@imcpl.org

April 27: Reading, 7:30PM, Etheridge Knight Festival of the Arts, Basile Theater, Indiana History Center, Indianapolis, IN, Contact: Eunice Knight-Bowens, EKFestival@aol.com

For more information see www.martinespada.net.

Mujeres Escritoras Reading in EPT

El Paso Community College Spring Arts Festival presents

Howls in the Desert: Mujeres Escritoras A Literary Event featuring Sehba Sarwar

and Special Guest Readers

Wednesday, March 28

6:30-8:00 p.m.

EPCC Rio Grande campus

Little Temple (906 El Paso St.)

Free Admission Public is Invited

Sehba Sarwar's critically-acclaimed, first novel, Black Wings was published in 2004 through Alhamra Publishing. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Sehba is presently based in Houston, Texas, where she serves as Founding Director of Voices Breaking Boundaries, a non-profit multi-media arts organization, and cohosts a radio show and is involved in the anti-war/ pro-immigration movement. Recipient of several artist awards from Houston’s Cultural Arts Council, Sehba’s fiction/poetry has been published in anthologies in the US, Pakistan and India. She contributes to The News and Chowrangi while working on a second novel.

For more information, contact Richard Yañez: ryanez4@epcc.edu

Book signing and reception hosted by EPCC PaPaGayo Literary Center and Women Writers' Collective (www.womenwriterscollective.org)

Ocean Sur: A new Spanish-language publishing project

After developing a strong editorial line of books on and from Latin America over its nearly 18-year history, early in 2006 Ocean Press decided to establish a separate Spanish-language publishing project: Ocean Sur.

Ocean Sur now has a list of almost 60 titles in Spanish and is presently publishing about four new titles each month. Ocean Sur will publish the Spanish-language editions of Che’s works as part of the important Che Guevara Publishing Project that Ocean Press initiated in association with the Che Guevara Studies Center in Havana. Aleida March is the director of this Center.

Ocean Sur has already met with an immediate enthusiastic response in several countries in Latin America where distribution agreements have been made. These include: Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina and El Salvador.

Ocean’s office in Havana, being the only foreign language book publisher with a presence in Cuba, will continue its longstanding distribution of both English and Spanish books to the tourist market in that country. And new offices of Ocean Sur have now been established in San Salvador and Caracas.

Ocean Sur titles will be distributed by CBSD, Ocean Press’s distributor in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Some of the first titles already published under the Ocean Sur logo have been:

• America Latina entre los siglos by Roberto Regalado (a leading Cuban political analyst). Launched in recent months to great acclaim in several countries (including Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, Colombia and Mexico) this book, published in a second, updated edition after Evo Morales’s electoral victory in Bolivia, discusses the options for left political parties and social movements today, arguing that the road of social democracy will not be able to meet aspirations in Latin America for social justice and economic development. (This book is now available in English as Latin America at the Crossroads.)
  http://www.oceanbooks.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=171

· Una guerra para construir la paz by Schafik Handal (FMLN leader who died in January 2006), a brief review of the historic peace process in El Salvador. This book was launched in San Salvador in January 2007 as part of the Sao Paolo Forum in the presence of 600 people. General coordinator of the FMLN Medardo González presented the book, which is a coedition of Ocean Sur with Editorial Morazán, the recently established publishing house of the FMLN.

· Guerra o paz en Colombia: Cincuenta años de un conficto sin solución by Carlos Lozana (editor of Voz, the only left-wing newspaper in Colombia). A highly successful launch of this book was organized in Bogotá in late November, attended by over 400 political figures.

Three new books on Venezuela from Ocean Sur were launched in November at the Caracas bookfair.

• Venezuela y Chávez by Fidel Castro, a selection of Fidel's speeches and letters on Venezuela, from his first visit in January 1959 to his speech in 2006.

• Por qué soy chavista: Razones de una revolución by Farucco Sesto, a significantly expanded new edition of a book by Venezuela's minister for culture.

• La unidad latinoamericana by Hugo Chávez, a book that includes Chavez's speeches at Porto Alegre in 2005 and at the UN in September 2006 and which shows how the Bolivarian revolution is gaining pace in Venezuela and having a growing impact on the continent.

In addition to a wide range of books on Latin America, Ocean Sur will also publish Contexto Latinoamericano, a quarterly journal of political analysis and commentary. Contexto is edited by Roberto Regalado (a leading Cuban political analyst) with an editorial advisory board representing a broad range of political currents and individuals of the Latin American left. It will be published four times a year and the first two issues have just been printed. Individual copies can be ordered now for US$14.95. For subscriptions, write to info@oceansur.com

Aleida Guevara remembers her father, Che

Oceanfilm has just released a moving new documentary on DVD in which Che’s daughter recalls with great tenderness the extraordinary bond between her parents and describes a side to Che previously unseen — Che as the loving husband and father.

Aleida also recounts several fascinating anecdotes from her childhood and describes coming to terms with her father’s decision to go to Bolivia, as well as her own decision to follow in his footsteps as a doctor and social activist.

http://www.oceanbooks.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=163

Aleida Guevara is the eldest daughter of Ernesto Che Guevara and Aleida March. She works as a pediatrician in Havana and is an international activist for social justice.

The DVD is in Spanish with English subtitles, and contains some unique footage and stills of Che with his family. Order now for US$24.95 (individuals only).

Fabián Escalante on the secret war against Cuba

Cuba’s former counterintelligence chief Fabián Escalante has now completed his three-volume history of the CIA’s secret war against Cuba with the publication of two new books:

• JFK: The Cuba Files. The untold story of the plot to kill Kennedy
• Executive Action: 634 Ways to Kill Fidel Castro

Escalante himself was recently accused of complicity in the Kennedy assassination in the Miami Herald, but in this series he argues convincingly that the crime was the result of a conspiracy between those who had violently opposed the Cuban revolution — the Cuban exiles, the Mafia and the CIA — who all felt betrayed by the Bay of Pigs debacle and Kennedy’s apparent moves toward a rapprochement with Fidel Castro.

By assassinating President Kennedy and presenting the crime as a Cuba-inspired plot, Escalante says they hoped to remove an obstacle to their plans and to provide a pretext for decisive military action against Cuba. He also explains the intimate links between the Kennedy assassination and the plots against Fidel.

http://www.oceanbooks.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=118

Escalante’s account of the more than 600 attempts on Fidel’s life is rather melodramatic and occasionally quite farcical. But there is no denying that these attempts were deadly serious — and illegal, as subsequent US government inquiries such as the 1975 Church Commission concluded.

http://www.oceanbooks.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=169

Read Fidel in his own words

Amid all the speculation about what will happen in Cuba after Fidel, Ocean Press offers an outstanding range of books by Fidel Castro that help anyone interested to fully understand the man and the revolution. These include two new titles:

• Fidel and Religion: Conversations with Frei Betto on Marxism and Liberation Theology, a new edition of an international bestseller with a new preface by Frei Betto explaining the impact of the first publication of this fascinating dialogue.
  http://www.oceanbooks.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=152

• Fidel: My Early Years, with an introductory essay by Gabriel García Márquez and some unique photos of Fidel as a child and young man.

http://www.oceanbooks.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=101

Forthcoming in early 2007 will be the long-awaited Fidel Castro Reader, which presents the voice of one of the great masters of the spoken word, as this selection aptly demonstrates. This book features some of Fidel’s most memorable speeches, including his addresses to the UN General Assembly: the first in 1960 on the famous occasion when he and his entourage left the Waldorf Astoria and went to stay up in Harlem, where he met Malcolm X; and the second in 1979 when he spoke representing the Nonaligned Nations Movement.

The Fidel Castro Reader will also include Fidel’s response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and his “Letters to George Bush” written in 2004 in response to provocations against Cuba at the UN. These two epistles have all the fire and brilliance of classic Fidel and read like his “parting shots” at what he calls the US “Empire”. The Fidel Castro Reader concludes with his message from his hospital bed in August last year.

Guerrilla Warfare: A new edition of a Che classic

Often regarded as a manual for would-be guerrillas, this is, in fact, Che’s own incisive analysis of what actually happened in Cuba and why. As part of the Che Guevara Publishing Project, in association with the Che Guevara Studies Center (Havana), Ocean Press has released a new, authorized edition of this classic revolutionary text with a new foreword written by Harry “Pombo” Villegas. This edition is a new translation and includes for the first time Che’s corrections and his suggestions for further improvements to the text.

For Che, the subjective factor is always primary: “The positive feature of guerrilla warfare is that each guerrilla fighter is ready to die not just to defend an idea but to make that idea a reality. That is the essence of the guerrilla struggle. The miracle is that a small nucleus, the armed vanguard of a great popular movement that supports them, can proceed to realize that idea, to establish a new society, to break the old patterns of the past, to achieve, ultimately, the social justice for which they fight.”

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Forthcoming in early 2007 will be Che’s unpublished and highly controversial book on political economy, Critical Notes on Political Economy: A revolutionary humanist approach to Marxist economics.

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