There are people out there that want you to believe their “alternative facts.” Don’t fall for that bullshit. The librarians at Harvard show us all how.
library
An Open Letter to the Denver Public Library Commission
An Open Letter to the Denver Public Library Commission:
I am writing in response to the so-called “ire” that was reported in the Denver Post regarding the new West Denver library being named after Rodolfo Corky Gonzales.
I am an author/publisher and a Denver native. I am also Chicano. My roots in Denver run deep and though I may live far from the Mile High City now, Denver will always be home.
How can one convey to you in such a limited space how iconic Gonzales is? The man is legend, not just in Colorado but nationally. Though the Chicano/a movement is not what it used to be in Denver, its roots are still there. There are those who would balk at this library – those who would like nothing more than to wipe Corky’s memory from the history books, just as they are trying to do with our books and history in Arizona, despite the fact that these things are as American as anything else. Ignorance speaks volumes.
I went to Texas and all I got was this stupid t-shirt (not really) [fotos]
So I went to Austin, TX over the weekend (that’s me on the left, standing next to a giant stone head replica of anti-Hispanic author Richard Rodriguez) to speak at the UT Austin Benson Latin American Collection.
Trusty iPhone in hand, I took these photos of my trip:
Mas…I went to Texas and all I got was this stupid t-shirt (not really) [fotos]
Bro Angeles asks ‘Hey, do you know that Hollywood taco truck?’ (video)
Bro Angeles wants to know: Hey, do you know that good taco truck in Hollywood? The one near the Starbuck’s? Video by Jeremiah Murphy.
When ‘The Hobbit’ took back Aztlán: A Latino nerd reads Tolkien
Today the names Smaug and Thorin Oakenshield will enter American pop culture. Dwarves rambling on a reconquista while Gollum plays riddles will reach a new audience because Peter Jackson filmed the nerd classic, The Hobbit — prequel to Lord of the Rings.
Film has more impact than the written word in today’s society and this version will reach a greater number of people than J.R.R. Tolkien’s book ever will. I am overjoyed that this classic will reach a greater number of gente, but I am filled with sadness that a child’s first encounter with The Hobbit will be in a loud theater instead of a quiet library.
Regardless, I look forward seeing my mental images from the book acted out in the big screen. And remembering the hours reading the book, which played a monumental role in my becoming Eres Nerd.
Mas…When ‘The Hobbit’ took back Aztlán: A Latino nerd reads Tolkien
5PM Live Stream! Pochopalooza at Cypress Park Library: ¡Ban This!
POCHO Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz joins an all-estrella Xican@ literary line-up at the Cypress Park Library Tuesday night Sept. 11 to read from ¡Ban This!, the anthology edited by POCHO contributor Santino J. Rivera.
An Evening of Mass Education starts at 5PM and features Alcaraz, Rivera, POCHO Subcommandanta del News Sara Inés Calderón, Gustavo Ask ¡A Mexican! Arellano, writer Gina Ruiz (we have her science fiction short story here) and many more.
The cool peeps at the library have lots more information on their blog. Look for live Tweets during the gig with hashtag #BanThis.
We’ll be streaming the evening here:
Mas…5PM Live Stream! Pochopalooza at Cypress Park Library: ¡Ban This!