Approaching May

Javier Huerta on SB 1070.

May Day march to begin at Chicano Park at 11am on Sat.

Lalo Alcaraz at UCSD

An Evening with Chicano artist Lalo Alcaraz at UCSD.

Stuff

If you want to see a powerful film, check out That Evening Sun. It's been some time since I've seen something like this. Hal Holbrook is so great!

***

I found a cool copy of Lost Body, poems by Aime Cesaire with illustrations by Pablo Picasso.

"The houses out here

at the foot of the mountains

are not even as well arranged as hobnailed boots

the trees are explosions whose last spark

goes out washing over my hands

which tremble a little"

***

Here's an interview I did a couple of weeks ago @ La Estrella De Túcson

Mexican Poet Wins Cervantes Prize

Jose Emilio Pacheco wins Cervantes Prize.

Also here.

Chance

the city
has no
electricity

"what
a nightmare!"
I say

"a chance
to count
stars"

you say
pointing
to the sky

Francisco X. Alarcón

* * *

I want to thank the Tucson Poetry Festival board for offering me the chance to participate in this year's program.

Reading alongside gypsee yo, Sonya Renee, and Linda Russo was great fun. To say they got down would just not be enough.

Another highlight for me was the state-wide high school poetry contest, and being there to meet and hear the student winners. Also present that day was Dr. Ofelia Zepeda. It was an absolute honor to meet her.

This spring break has been an interesting one to say the least. My parents, brother, his fiance, sis., brother-in-law battled that 7.2 earthquake, rode it, fought back. I wasn't there, but I can only imagine the experience. I still remember the '79 earthquake. I was in my backyard with Willie Joe and Susie. I think we were playing marbles. Anyway, my swingset looked like it was walking toward us. "Ma! Ma!" I screamed as I tried to get into the house. And that shit was only a 6. something. Everyone I speak to who experienced the recent earthquake has the same glazed look, the return, a rattling, noisy dishwasher in the head. My parents haven't had a good night's sleep in nearly a week.

When it struck, my family was in the backyard, everyone except for my mother who was upstairs in her bedroom. In the midst of all this mess, my younger brother reacted and ran his ass into a possessed house. Dishes flying, glasses breaking, the dude ran in. Like I say, you either got it, or you don't.

Fortunately, my family is alive and well. For those who have been impacted by this in ways that one could only imagine, I can only send my prayers of prayers.