L4LL Día Blog Hop 2014: Children's Author James Luna

I'm honored to share that I was invited to participate in the 2nd Annual Latina's for Latino Lit (L4LL) Día Blog Hop in celebration of Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros. The blog hop is a collaboration of twenty-four Latina bloggers who support increasing Latino children's literacy. But it's not just literacy that we support, because as important as it is that our children learn to read, we need to ensure that they have access to books and stories that reflect their lives and validate their experiences by supporting Latino authors.

Today, Sincerely Ezzy hosts twice published children's book author James Luna. In the following piece, James discusses why it's so important that we read culturally relevant stories to our children.

I know you'll enjoy it!

The Delicious Souvenirs of Memory

By James Luna 

Who will you be?  Not what do you want to be when you grow up, blah, blah, blah. Who will you be later today when you open that book, or turn on your reader?  Will you live now in 2014, 200 years in the future, or 150 years ago? What will you do? Will you evaluate evidence and formulate theories to solve the crime?  Will you face the dilemma of deciding between the two guys vying for your affection?  Will you be human, animal, or android?  And after you are done, after that pause, the breath held between the last word read and the moment you re-enter the non-book world, how will you have changed?

That to me is the wonder of reading, of stories and storytelling.  Through books, through words woven through pages, we can become someone or something other than ourselves, and through that transformation, expand our identities, and deepen our understanding.  How many times have you recommended a book because the story made you cry?  How many times have you read an event or remark in a book then laughed out loud in a silent room? Make no mistake, this can and does happen to kids at the earliest of ages when they hear stories read, and when they read even the most humble of picture books.  I believe firmly in experience as a great teacher, in long walks, telescopes and digging in the dirt. Yet reading is its own experience, an inner experience, where a character’s journey moves me to understand myself and my world better than before I read it. 

If you have read to kids, you know that they’ll moo, bark, or repeat a refrain before they can read it.  They will say an entire sentence before they can speak the individual words!  Like adult readers, they want to see themselves as part of the story, to be IN the book.  They can’t wait to partake in the adventures that happen between the page one and “The End.”  Why shouldn’t they?  There are so many wonderful places children can go when we read to and with them.  From places that are old and familiar to adults like the Hundred Acre Wood, or the small, small room, to new places like a wrestling match with Niño in “Niño Wrestles the World,”  or in the kitchen with Jorge Argueta’s wonderful poetic celebrations of food.  Adults are the guides to these new destinations.

In these new worlds, these book worlds, many precious gifts await our children. A book can develop child’s sense of empathy when we read about Rene in “I Am Rene, the Boy.”  She confirms her own worth when a character faces and overcomes the same problems she does.  Our kids explore new horizons when they read books like Monica Brown’s “Waiting for the Biblioburro.”  We open the world to wonder and awe when we ask, “What will happen next?”  An unturned page fills us with anticipation, with hope, and, eventually, relief. 

As a writer, the first person I want to experience my story is me!  I want to know what will happen to my characters, who they will meet, how they will face their fears or troubles.  I miss them when my work (teaching) keeps us apart for weeks.  I worry about them, and hope that they won’t get lost without me (I am always lost when we don’t see each other).  Of course, each of my characters reflects some part of me.  My Piggy is me, running away from everyone.  Rafa, my little mummy, is a first-rate wonderer, an explorer that eventually misses the familiarity of home.  When I read my stories to kids, I’m sharing a part of me, the wonderer or the escape artist.  I hope that the story speaks to the fugitive cookie or adventurer in them. 

When the child reading the book is a little Latino or Latina, and the book’s character speaks Spanish, or visits her abuelita, her connection to the story is so much stronger.  That being said, I relish multicultural stories that show my kids (and by “kids” I mean my 3 children and the students I teach) that there are universal truths and experiences, such as family, change, fear, loss, and new friendships.  Yet when the characters have names like Roberto, or Flor, or Rafael, I see a light go on in the faces of Latino kids.  They smile and exclaim, “My sister is named Flor” or “Rafa?! Like my Tío Rafa!” And if the character’s name happens to be the same as someone in our class, they point with the grandest of smiles.  These stories reflect something of their lives back on them, becoming affirming their place in the literary world, their spot on the bookshelf. 

Though I write in the hope that all types of children will read my books, I consciously choose to put my stories in neighborhoods similar to the one I grew up in, and similar to the one my students inhabit.  My characters’ lives and situations purposely mirror the ones I hear about daily as I teach and learn with my class.  My book “A Mummy in Her Backpack” began when a student of mine returned from a trip to Guanajuato.  My friend Rene Colato Lainez wrote about his journey from El Salvador to the United States in “My Shoes and I.”  Memories of a Cuban girl who loved to sing became Laura Lacamara’s book “Floating on Mama’s Song.” One day in the future I may write about kids from other places.  For now I’m not done mining the riches of where I live, because the stories I find there are rich.  They contain truths and humor, emotions and experiences that interest me.   We authors invite you and your children to come along, to walk, sing, and dance, and to take with you the delicious souvenirs of memory.

My stories and all the stories by Latino/Latina authors are more than a little niche or a special section in the bookstore.  Where’s the fun in that? I know our stories make all kids laugh, wonder, and root for our characters.  The settings are places where kids will want to go over and over.  All kids repeat our refrains, finish our lines, and demand an author’s favorite quote, “Read it again!”

So, who will you be soon?  And where will you go?  What travel plans are you making for your kids?  Book your trip now, and ¡Buen viaje!   I’ve got to go. A character named Roberto needs to finish telling me a strange story…

MY BELOVED WORLD by Sonia Sotomayor

I picked up Sonia Sotomayor's memoir MY BELOVED WORLD expecting to find within its pages a measuredly guarded Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, because, really, how much would an active representative of our country's highest court be willing to disclose?  I'll tell you that her unexpected candor surprised and delighted me.

Sotomayor's Advocacy Skills Apparent Early

The reader gets a glimpse into the strong-minded woman she will mature into when at a tender age she is diagnosed with Type I Diabetes, a serious life-long illness. Rather than look to her parents for strength and support, she advocates for herself and assumes responsibility for monitoring her condition and insulin injections. She does this knowing that it will relieve tension between her parents in the home.

"Does it seem strange that a child should be so conscious of the workings of her own mind?"

I read about her family's dynamics: her somewhat strained relationship with her mother, conflicted relationship with her father, and authoritative relationship with her younger brother. She was in a sense, Puerto Rican in the home and with extended family members, as they came together as a family often to eat, sing and dance. She'd soon learn, however, at Princeton and Yale Law School that as she's part of a minuscule minority of students, who are mostly White, she learns that being Puerto Rican comes in varying degrees of authenticity. It's not until she becomes active within Latino groups at  both schools that she questions herself.

Reading Sotomayor's writing and following her logic as she addresses the challenges facing this country's English Language Learners (ELLs), the masses of college readiness resources and tools available to the "haves" and scarcity of the same for students who have access to little to nothing, gives me great hope to know that a person of her caliber represents the people. Her worldview is not one of privilege. She understands the challenges facing underserved youth and immigrants in this country.
Having said that, though, the lens through which she views social conditions serves as just that -- a lens -- that informs her decisions, not one that directs them.

"I would warn any minority student today against the temptations of self-segregation: take support and comfort from your own group as you can, but don't hide within it."

Four IMPORTANT Lessons From MY BELOVED WORLD

1. Do not self-segregate in communities that remove themselves from the mainstream. Power is diluted by doing so.
2. Punch the self-esteem monster in the face every time it tries to block you from going after what's in your heart and mind. It shocked me to learn that Sotomayor has questioned her intelligence and "belongingness" so many times in her career. Sotomayor. The first Latina Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Even she's plagued by mind monsters.
3. "Bigotry is not a value."  
4. View issues from all perspectives, not just the one you champion. Right is usually somewhere in the middle.

I have nothing but the greatest respect for writers who speak their truth. Sonia Sotomayor is an inspiration to young women everywhere. We might have all benefited from watching a little Perry Mason in our youth.

THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY by Maria E. Andreu

ARC of The Secret Side of Empty by Maria E. Andreu

Thanks to mí amiga Ruby, I had the chance to read an advance reader's copy of Maria E. Andreu's debut novel The Secret Side of Empty. All I knew before starting it was that the story revolved around an undocumented high school senior.

In many ways, M.T. is a typical teenage girl. She worries about school, is in love with a boy and enjoys spending time with her classmates. Yet, while her friends are applying to colleges and learning to drive, all M.T. can do is watch. Because of her parents' undocumented status and her having been brought into the U.S. as a small child, she has no Social Security Number, no birth certificate, none of the documentation needed to apply for a driver's license or for college. Because of her circumstances, she's forced to be a spectator. M.T.'s experience is not unique, except for the fact that she's able to hide her undocumented status because of her fair features.

"A little chunk of me will always be a stranger everywhere, different chunks of stranger in different situations."

As she nears graduation, M.T. finds herself in an increasingly desperate situation as her home life spins out of control. She's trapped at home and at school with little to look forward to in the only country she knows. With the threat of being deported to Argentina in her shadow, she becomes despondent and nearly gives up on life.

"For a split second I feel like I've forgotten my stuff, but then I realize I'm just an observer. Someone who can look but can't touch."

This novel is loosely based on the author's life and is one that will touch many readers for the simple fact that we may have watched friends, family members, or neighbors suffer in silence, or give up on their hopes and dreams altogether. I'm confident The Secret Side of Empty will soften the most hardened of hearts and give readers a glimpse into what it feels like to be the victim of circumstances.

Hop on over to GUB Life to read my friend Ruby's review!

Gracias Amiga and thank you Maria for the ARC.

#L4LL: Reading LATINA LEGACIES For Hispanic Heritage Month (Week Two)

Did you know we're midway through Hispanic Heritage Month? It's gone by quickly! I'm honored to say that Latinas4LatinoLit invited me and several other ladies to lead book discussions on their Facebook page. Each of us posts weekly questions about the respective book we're reading. All the titles are by Latino authors, some, that like me, you've probably never heard of.

I had the opportunity to chose the title I'd get to discuss, and it probably comes as no surprise that LATINA LEGACIES: Identity, Biography and Community edited by Vicki L. Ruiz and Virginia Sánchez Korrol found its way into my pocketbook. I'm about half-way through this amazing anthology of short biographies. Each chapter is surprising in that it unveils historical facts about Latinas who never made it into our history books, which I think is a shame, because the stories are exactly what history should be made of -- brave, enterprising, and creative figures who positively impacted their communities.

If you have a minute, please visit the Latinas4LatinoLit Facebook page. MY BELOVED by Sonia Sotomayor, UNBREAKABLE by Jenni Rivera, and RITA MORENO: A MEMOIR by Rita Moreno are also being discussed. And feel free to jump in at any time, past and/or current posts. You might find some literacy resources, too.

Read THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET For Hispanic Heritage Month

Mexican-American author-poet Sandra Cisneros raises this simple question in her timeless classic The House on Mango Street. This book of vignettes is one that can be opened to any page without having to know what came in the story before, or what comes after, and that invites the reader to reflect on the meaning of its passages that at moments come across as bocadillos de amor, tiny morsels of love, and at others, sadness. It’s a book about gender, tradition, family, neighbors, single parents, latch-key kids, obligation, shame … denial. No topic is ignored in this book, that in all its simplicity and poetry, canvasses life in the barrio in so few pages.

Esperanza, whose name means hope, is a young Latina growing up in a poor Chicago neighborhood, in a dilapidated house, who aspires to a life better than the one she sees the women around her living.

She says about her great-grandmother whose name she inherited:

"She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was sorry because she couldn't be all the things she wanted to be. I have inherited her name, but I don't want to inherit her place by the window."

The passage that’s stuck with me is from one of the last vignettes, The Three Sisters. In it three comadres come to visit when a young baby dies. During the wake, one of the women takes Esperanza’s hands in hers, and foretells that she will “go very far.” The old woman then asks her to make a wish, after which she says,

"When you leave you must remember to come back for the others. A circle, understand? You will always be Esperanza. You will always be Mango Street. You can't erase what you know. You can't erase what you are ... You must remember to come back. For the ones who cannot leave as easily as you. You will remember?"

Esperanza feels shame because her aunt sees into her soul; it’s obvious what the young girl has wished for. Even though Esperanza does not understand the meaning of her aunt’s words, the day will come when she will.

I’m glad I finally read this book. It is one that I think should be required reading for all freshman in high school for the universality of its themes. It’s one I’ve carried around, rereading, pondering the last few weeks, making me happy, and sad with the wisdom of its words. It raises questions and depicts situations that not only apply to our Latino youth and the challenges they face as they seek to improve their lives, but also to any community that has been forgotten by not only its law-makers, but also those who have left. It begs the bigger question, “What can we do to help?”

Other questions raised by The House on Mango Street:

• How do we ensure that positive role models/mentors are available to youth when their home and/or immediate environment have none to offer?
• What does it mean to have a sense of duty to our “community?” Does it matter how we define “community?”
• How do our sense of obligation, culture, traditions and gender expectations influence our choices? Can we ever be wrong?
• If you have a moment, watch this short video clip in which Sandra Cisneros discusses what inspired her to write The House on Mango Street, where the lines of truth and fiction blurred for her and why she thinks it has resonated so much with today’s youth.

If you're looking for something to read for Hispanic Heritage Month, this is one book I'm certain you'd enjoy as much as I did.

(This post is an edited version of one previously posted on Multicultural Familia in 2011.)

Film Adaptation of Rudolfo Anaya's BLESS ME, ULTIMA in Theatres

Based on a book that was "banned, forbidden and burned." The film adaptation of author Rudolfo Anaya's BLESS ME, ULTIMA opens in theaters across the country, today. I only discovered the story a few days, ago, and am looking forward to experiencing both the book and film. In short, the story is about a young boy who struggles with his family's cultural norms and religious beliefs when Ultima, a curandera-healer, comes to stay with his family in New Mexico.  If you have an opportunity, please watch the two-minute trailer and check-out the BLESS ME, ULTIMA official website where you can find out if the film will be showing near you. In the meantime, there's always the book. :-)

NOTE: This is an unsponsored post.

Interview with INK Author Sabrina Vourvoulias & Book Giveaway

INK by Sabrina Vourvoulias

Today I'd like to share an interview with Sabrina Vourvoulias, the author of INK. I had the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of her debut early this fall and to chat with her at #Latism12, a couple weeks ago.

About INK:

Imagine living in a society where the government requires that immigrants from certain countries be branded with color-coded tattoos to denote their immigrant "status," or desirability. A place where speaking any language other than English would be punishable by law and where a minor traffic violation could lead to imprisonment at an inkatorium.

I don't want to give too much away, but these are just a few of the hair-raising situations that the four characters in this novel struggle with as they attempt to find justice and make sense of the world around them.

Eerily familiar, INK reminded me of the U.S. government's 1930s mass deportation of Mexicans, many of whom were citizens, the forced relocation of Native Americans, and the sterilization of Native American women.

GIVEAWAY:

Sabrina will be giving away a signed copy of INK on Friday, November 16th. The giveaway is only open to U.S. residents, and the winner will be chosen via random drawing. To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment. :-)

Sabrina Vourvoulias

INTERVIEW:

INK depicts a grim American society and brings to mind some of our country's dark history. As you worked on this novel, did you worry how readers might react to it? What kind of response have you received?

Interesting question. Actually, no, mostly I didn’t think about the reader’s reaction as I was writing. I got caught up in the circumstances along with my characters, and so the escalation of events and restrictions felt organic and inevitable as I was writing. Also, because I was basing all of the different restrictions on what already exists and then taking them up a notch — or basing them on historical precedent — I think I simply assumed that any future reader would understand what I was doing. And in large part they have.

I did get a comment on Librarything or Goodreads — I forget which — that said the reader found the book so plausible she had to set it aside because it bothered her so much.

Look, I think there are disturbing and difficult passages in INK, but I think that is as it should be given the kind of dystopia I set up. Still, it is a book full of hope, and love, and one that acknowledges the power and strength of community.

INK deals a lot with Central-South American folklore. What influenced you to incorporate the supernatural into your novel? What were some of the resources you'd recommend to someone interested in learning more? Is there any region's folklore that is more interesting to you, than another? Are you believer?

I grew up in Guatemala, a country with an incredibly rich tradition of pre- and post-colonial myth and folklore. I’ve always loved legends and the tales that live not only on the page but off it as well, in the telling from person to person. I fit myself into a very long Guatemalan and Mexican literary tradition when I incorporate the unseen in my fiction, and it feels as integral to me as breathing.

In terms of Guatemalan myth and legend, you can’t go wrong reading pre-colonial books like the Popol Vuh and El Varón de Rabinal. Miguel Ángel Asturias, Guatemala’s Nobel laureate for literature, wrote a collection of short stories titled Leyendas de Guatemala, and most of his novels are infused with the country’s myth and lore. A lot of the best stuff isn’t written down, of course, so if you have a chance to listen to storytellers live that can be the best resource of all.

I love mythology, fairytales, tall tales, legends, folklore and folk art from a wide variety of cultures. I’m very familiar with Greek myth because it was one of the only ways I connected with my father’s ancestral heritage, but what I really love is more anecdotal folk tale than structured myth. Los Cadejos, el Cucuy, la Siguanaba, la Llorona, el Tzipitio, los nahuales — they’re the stuff that keeps finding its way into my work.

Sabrina Vourvoulias signs books
at #Latism 12

I do believe in the unseen. I believe in science and art and spirit, and the ways they intersect in us. So, I light velas and create ofrendas so that ancestors and saints will intercede for me at the same time as I delight in reading about morphic fields, the dance of invisible particles and sound that, no matter how inaudible, never stops resonating. I love paradoxes, particularly the ones in our natures. ;)

Do you remember how the idea for INK came about?

I’ve been listening to the personal stories of undocumented immigrants for the past twelve years as part of my work in newspapers, and in writing for my blog, Follow the Lede. I've noted how much the discourse about documentation has deteriorated through those years, and how much of it has turned, at its core, anti-immigrant and anti-Latino.

For a long time I was content to write advocacy on my blog, and journalism in the newspapers where I was editor. Then, I ran across a small newspaper article tucked into the back pages of "El Diario/La Prensa of NY," about an undocumented immigrant who worked with a landscaping company in Westchester County, who had been “given a ride” by a couple of guys on the way home from work one day. Except they took him over the border into Connecticut and dumped him there without money, cell phone or any identification, but with the warning to stay out of their state. And, according to the article, he wasn’t the first undocumented immigrant to experience this sort of “border dumping.”

The story so horrified and fascinated me it turned into the impetus for me to write fiction -- and to push what I knew undocumented immigrants were already experiencing, the two or three steps necessary into all-out dystopia.

How long did it take you to write INK?

I can’t give you a real total. I’ve actively been writing INK for about five years, but some sections, characters and settings are much, much older. Ten, maybe even fifteen years older. It’s a bit like raising a kid, actually. Sometimes the changes you make are radical game-changers, sometimes they’re more subtle, but if you’re diligent one day you stand back and think, “Hello. You’re all grown up.”

How many books did you write before this one?

I had started other novels but never finished them. INK is my first book.

What was your publishing journey like?

My first short story sale ("Flying with the Dead") was to Crossed Genres magazine and the publishers, Kay (Holt) and Bart (Leib) were just lovely to work with. I grew to be friendly with Kay through social media, told her about a critique I had gotten on what was then the first chapter of my novel — which was in various stages of draft and revision, and unfinished. She very generously offered to read it. Then she asked me for more chapters. When she was done, she made me promise to finish the novel because she wanted to know how it ended. I want to think I would have finished the novel anyway, but who knows? I do know if not for Kay's enthusiasm it might have been an even longer process. So, I sent her the final chunk of INK when it was done, and she passed it on to Bart, and at some point they told me they wanted to publish it.

The rest has been wholly wonderful. Whatever advantage there is in working with a big, mainstream press with money, a wide distribution network and a big marketing budget is more than made up for by Crossed Genres’ collaborative bent, and Kay’s and Bart’s absolute belief in the work of their writers.

You are a journalist by profession, what are some of the issues or topics that you mainly write about?

I write about Latinos in America — the challenges and triumphs, the heartbreak and hardship and the resilience of our communities. I like to focus on individuals, but I’ve written a lot about the need for humane immigration reform, about SB 1070 and its copycat legislation proposed for Pennsylvania, about the use of the term “illegal” and how that has affected the way people view all Latinos regardless of documentation status. I’ve written about how voter ID and redistricting is being used to disenfranchise Latino voters; about the high attempted suicide rate in young Latinas between the ages of 12 and 17, and about Mexican-American history and literature being taken off the shelves of schools in Tucson.

We have complicated challenges ahead of us. I don’t believe we should blind ourselves to them. But I also think we should celebrate who we are and why we are — proudly, loudly — as frequently as we can. ;)

What do you read for pleasure?

Fiction, short-stories and novels. Non-fiction, journalism, poetry. In Spanish and English. I’m in love with reading.

Did you read in your genre while writing INK?

Yes. Not exclusively, but speculative fiction is my favorite reading. ;)

Do you consider yourself a genre writer?

Yes. But I’m not a genre purist. The norm of anything bores me. I like the crossroads, the intersections, the places where people eye the wall of limitations before them and fly right over them.

Who are some of the authors that have influenced your work?

In the speculative fiction genre, I’d say Octavia Butler, Emma Bull, Charles de Lint and Ursula Le Guin are the writers I most admire. Outside of genre, I love Francisco Goldman, Sandra Cisneros, Denise Chavez, Ana Castillo, Julia Alvarez, Cristina Garcia, Amy Tan and Barbara Kingsolver.

I've heard on more than one occasion that it's more difficult for Latino/a authors to get published? Do you believe that to be true?

I think our voices are distinct from what the publishing mainstream is used to, and so perhaps we don’t fit perfectly in the mold, or seem difficult to market. Add to that the fact that literary and genre magazines publish a shamefully small number of writers of color, and you’ve got a bunch of talent with a narrower “platform” than what traditional book publishers look for in a first time novelist.

It’s also been brought to my attention recently that there are only five Latina literary agents in the U.S., so that’s got to be a factor in how many Latino/a authors get a publishing contract. Small presses have a much better record of publishing works by writers of color but, by their nature they aren’t able to attract as much attention for the writers or works on their list.

And last, but not least, what advice would you give to a writer battling self-censorship?

We all battle it. The real trick is to sink yourself deep into the story or into the character’s head. So deep, in fact, that you can’t think about where you want or don’t want it to go but just let yourself be dragged along. It’s probably one of the reasons I don’t outline. It’s way too easy to start listening to that horrible little naysaying censor’s voice if there’s an outline staring me in the face.

But even without an outline sometimes the self-censor gets through. So, I put music on loud and start writing. If the censor becomes insistent, I get up and dance. Then, back to writing. Dance. Write. Dance. Write. The censor will get tired long before you do. Trust me on this.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

"Sabrina Vourvoulias is a Latina newspaper editor, blogger and writer.

An American citizen from birth, she grew up in Guatemala and first moved to the United States when she was 15. She studied writing and filmmaking at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y.

In addition to numerous articles and editorial columns in several newspapers in Pennsylvania and New York state, her work has been published in Dappled Things, Graham House Review, La Bloga’s Floricanto, Poets Responding to SB 1070, Scheherezade’s Bequest at Cabinet des Fees, We’Moon, Crossed Genres Magazine #24, the anthologies Fat Girl in a Strange Land and Crossed Genres Year Two, and is slated to appear in upcoming issues of Bull Spec and GUD magazines.

Her blog Following the Lede was nominated for a 2011 Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) award. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and daughter. Follow her antics on Twitter @followthelede."

Reading THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO, Chapters 3 & 4

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz

This post is part of a read-along hosted by Plaza Familia. Chapters 5 and 6 will be discussed the week of June 18 and readers may post their reactions to the book at a Linky provided on Thursday, 6/21 at their site. To read my thoughts on Chapters 1 and 2, click here.

Interesting that my memory held on to only the humorous aspects of this story, por que verdaderamente, what woman would want to remember another woman's desgracia? Madre mia.

In Chapter 3, the reader meets Oscar's mama, Hypatia Belicia (Beli) Cabral, an orphaned Dominicana who's saved from a locked chicken-coup by her mother-aunt, La Inca. Beli, whose parents were rumored to have been murdered by Trujillo's regime, comes from a high-profile familia in the DR. Her father had been a doctor and her mother a nurse and young Beli's pagina en blanco, or Lost Years are so horrible that the author only alludes to them.

La Inca reminds Beli every day that she will go to college and grow up to be somebody important like her parents. Trying to instill ambitions in her, she arranges for her to attend prestigious schools, where disillusionment sets in for Beli when she realizes that lineage means nothing in a country where European features are valued above being morena. Rather than bury herself in her studies to get ahead (as her daughter, Lola, does later), Beli turns her attention to the opposite sex, which is where her tragic story turns more tragic.

In Chapter 4, the reader meets Yunior, Lola's, womanizing ex-boyfriend and the first-person narrator, who becomes Oscar's roommate to help keep an eye on him. I'm not too crazy about this guy. Seems to have the best intentions, but rather than helping Oscar, he ends up making matters worse. It's at this point in the story that Oscar is so depressed, he takes a flying leap off the New Brunswick train bridge, and fails at taking his own life. Oscar's brief wondrous life has a few more chapters to go. I wanted to see Oscar succeed and find his peace, but the reader already knows that the nerd's future is bleak.

The cane fields where Beli's beaten within inches of her life at the end of Chapter 3 will come into play, again.

Reading THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO, Chapters 1 & 2

THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Díaz

This post is part of a read-along hosted by Plaza Familia. Chapters 3 and 4 will be discussed the week of June 11 and readers may post their reactions to the book at a Linky provided on Thursday, 6/14 at their site.

THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Díaz smoldered in my hands the first time I read it two summers ago. Literally. I'd never read anything like it and once I got over being embarrassed by some of the language, I was lost in another world. It's edgy and pushes the limits of decency, at times, with its sexual content. Also shocking to me was the sad but honest portrayal of the mother-daughter-relationship often experienced by Latinas. I believe that to fully appreciate the author's prose, the reader must have some basis in Latino culture and language, otherwise much of what is between the lines will be lost. It is a book written by someone who fully embraces his bicultural persona and is not afraid to surrender to the page. Without censorship. Without apologies.

The book opens with a discussion of the fukú, a curse believed to have been unleashed by Colonialism and how the dictator Trujillo, who in my opinion might as well have been the Antichrist, was the fleshly embodiment of this curse: a man who raped and pillaged his people and island. Worst for me was to learn that his dictatorship was backed by the U.S. How's that for a healthy dose of American reality, Pollyanna?

We meet Oscar, our protagonist, in Chapter 1. He's a Dominican nerd of epic proportions, living in Jersey, who's into science fiction, reading and writing. He's huge, wears glasses and is essentially a social outcast. No girl wants to have anything to do with him. At this point in the novel, the narrator is third-person and anonymous.

Chapter 2 is narrated in the first-person by Lola, Oscar's older sister, who is a strong and independent girl with a wild spirit. She's beautiful, thin, has long, straight black hair, is dark and intelligent. Her mother, a hard-working mujer, treats her cruelly and cuts her down every opportunity she has. What's beautiful about Lola is that she doesn't take it and although she could make "better" choices, more than anything, she has a will to survive.

I'm already into Chapter 3 and enjoying the rereading!

"What Do I Know?": Inspiration and the Source of Writer's Block

A few weeks ago I posted at Multicultural Familia a review for THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET by Sandra Cisneros. It's a collection of vignettes that spoke to me in ways I didn't expect and that has stayed with me since. I'm left with thoughts about the choices I've made and those that were made for me. No dwelling, here. Just awareness, understanding, optimism and hope.

Cisneros has a soothing effect on me when I hear her. She takes me away to think. These are the authors whose books I love. The ones who make me go inside to tease apart the noodles of my mind.

I wanted to share a short clip. In it, she talks about inspiration, graduate school and resonance. She also offers an explanation for writer's block that I know is 100% true for me.

Is it true for you?

HUNGER OF MEMORY: The Education of Richard Rodriguez

"A primary reason for my success in the classroom was that I couldn't forget that schooling was changing me and separating me from the life I enjoyed before becoming a student."

Hunger of Memory Resonated With This Reader

I could not take my eyes off this book when I first saw it, with its romantic sepia-toned image of a mestizo young man, staring off into a dream. It captured my imagination. What were his thoughts? I wondered. What did it mean to "hunger of memory?"

Nothing could've prepared me for it.

I read Richard Rodriguez's autobiography, a collection of six essays, with a constant churning in my stomach, feeling all-the-while, as though I'd stolen the man's diary and invaded his deepest, darkest thoughts.

Rodriguez's story is one threaded with guilt, regret, and longing for his Mexican culture, language, his private (home) life. The one he had no choice, but to give-up, in order to assume his place in public society. 

"For the first time I realized that there were other students like me, and so I was able to frame the meaning of my academic success, its consequent price -- the loss." 

Reading HUNGER OF MEMORY, I came across three central issues that have left my brain in knots (still):

1. Private identity vs. Public identity -- what have we (who've assimilated) given up of our private identities (culture and language) to assume our place in public society?
2. Bilingual education -- does bilingual education do more harm than good? Does it take away a child's right to assume their place in public society by teaching them in their "private" language?
3. Affirmative action -- is there a point at which affirmative action in education gives an unfair advantage to somebody who may be a "numerical" minority, but not a "cultural" minority, someone who's already assimilated?

I don't think I could've picked a more provocative book to read for the Multicultural Awareness Blog Carnival. I'm afraid that instead of finding answers for myself, I've dug up more questions.

So I have to ask...

Whoever said we couldn't hold onto our individual ancestry, culture, language, and be members of public society? Does it have to be all-or-nothing? I certainly don't, nor will I accept it.

Video: Richard Rodriguez on Books Learning

In this hour-long video, Richard Rodriguez explains why he does not consider himself a cultural "minority." He also addresses "multiculturalism" from the perspective of groups who silo themselves at the expense of having an expanded world-view.

Be sure to stay for the Q&A. In it he talks about the beauty of Octavio Paz's poetry, how he believes that U.S. television will feature "brown-skinned" actors who look like him, mestizo (this video is dated 1999), long before Latin America does, and his views on justice in America.

Richard Rodrigez is a complex thinker. He identifies himself as a Mexican-American, while at the same time acknowledging that he has a little bit of everybody else in him, too.

Listening to him is definitely a mind-bender. And although I don't agree with everything he says, I do appreciate his perspective.




"Once upon a time, I was a 'socially disadvantaged' child. An enchantedly happy child. Mine was a childhood of intense family closeness. And extreme public alienation. Thirty years later I write this book as a middle-class American man. Assimilated."

(I Won a Book!) Julia Alvarez Interviewed by Edwidge Danticat

I won a book.  *smiles and dances* Timing is everything. ; )

Last week, Being Latino promoted on their blog, a live webcast interview of Julia Alvarez that was set to take place later that evening on the Algonquin Books' website. They gave away two copies of Alvarez's novel, IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES, to the first two lucky readers to post the names of the Mirabal Sisters, las Mariposas, who were the inspiration behind this timeless book club favorite.

 *still dancing*

Thank you for the chance to win! I can't wait to read it.

(See Original Post: The Brilliant Julia Alvarez by Charlie Vazquez)

In this webcast, Julia Alvarez is interviewed by Haitian author Edwidge Danticat. They not only discuss Alvarez's inspiration behind the "butterflies," but also the effect the intertwined histories of the Dominican Republic and Haiti have had on their writing. In a stirring exchange between the two women, Alvarez shares a dream she has about the border that separates their two countries.

I hope you enjoy this webcast as much as I did, not only for the history lesson, but also to get a glimpse into Alvarez's creative mind: how she "receives" characters, organizes her stories and picks point-of-view.

I've included a link here to the webcast and a bulleted summary of their discussion.

• The Mirabal Sisters
• Creative process (she made me smile)
• Challenges faced by authors who write historical fiction
• Truth according to "character"
• Movie adaptation of her novel
• "Memory"
• The Haitian Massacre of 1937
• Machismo in the D.R. during Rafael Trujillo's dictatorship
• Her current project ; )
• Stay for the Q&A -- Alvarez answers some tough questions (e.g. her response to books published by Trujillo's descendants, the importance of respecting privacy, where she sees Latino literature going and what she's been reading.)

I plan on reading IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES during the month of May. Let me know if you'd like to read along!

"Grant me the intelligence and the patience to find the true pattern."

-- Mayan Weaver's Prayer

RECOMMENDED READING:

• ONCE UPON A QUINCEAÑERA: Coming of Age in the USA (non-fiction): This is the book that led me to me discover this wonderful author. It's a revealing, sometimes disturbing report (with statistics) of the challenges facing young Latinas, and how the Quinceañera, a fifteen-year-old girl's "coming out" party might be sending our daughters the wrong message. Why not make education the priority, instead?
• HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS: This story unfolds in a reverse timeline. It follows the Garcia family's defection from the Dominican Republic to the U.S. and honestly portrays the challenges the four daughters face adapting to a new culture.

BURRO GENIUS by Victor Villaseñor

“Mañana es otro milagro de dios.”

Tomorrow is another miracle of God’s.

Mexican Dicho-Saying

BURRO GENIUS is a memoir about a man who in my estimation is extraordinary.

Set in the1940s, Victor Villaseñor recounts with passion and searing detail his inspiring, sometimes incredulous story of growing up Latino, during one of the darkest periods for minorities in Southern California's history.

As a native Southern-Californian and Mexican-American in her early forties, I'm disturbed that this period in history is one I didn't know, until recently, even existed. (See: Mendez v. Westminster: Desegregating California)

Although Villaseñor learns English quickly and has an aptitude for math, he falls behind his peers in school, flunking the third-grade twice, because hard as he tries, he cannot read. Not for either of the two reasons ascribed to him by his teachers and fellow classmates, because he's a stupid, lazy Mexican, but because he has dyslexia, a developmental reading disorder that goes undiagnosed until he's forty-four-years-old, when his own children experience similar problems at school.

In spite of all the pain, loss and heartache that Villaseñor endures in his childhood, he crafts a memoir that's the literary equivalent of a family's embrace, penning a story threaded with vibrant imagery, magical realism, Mexican folklore and an intriguing (much appreciated) perspective on gender roles within the family.

I don't want to ruin this story by disclosing too much of his journey, but I'll end by saying that twice in his life, mentors played a significant role in inspiring him and encouraging him, in spite of his mysterious disability, to write. He persisted, studied, wrote every chance he had, until after 256 rejections, he accomplished his goal.

BURRO GENIUS is about what it takes to make the seemingly impossible possible. No excuses.

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK.

Have you read any memoirs or fiction that have rocked you to your core recently? Or learned something about your ancestry's history that changed your world-view?

If so, I'd love hear about it.

***

"And I thanked mi papa who'd always said to me that we, los Indios, the Indians, were like weeds. That roses you had to water and give fertilizer or they'd die. But weeds, indigenous plants, you gave them nada-nothing; hell, you even poisoned them and put concrete over them, and those weeds would still break the concrete, reaching for the sunlight of God." -- Victor Villasenor, BURRO GENIUS 

UCSD Interview:



To learn more about Victor Villaseñor and the HBO mini-series due to start filming in the Spring of 2011 based on his other work, please visit his Author Site.

You can also check out his books at Barnes & Noble and Borders, among other book sellers.