Antena Books @ Project Row Houses in Houston!


(La versión en español sigue abajo.)

I am happy to announce the soon-to-open Antena temporary bookstore, reading room and lit experimentation lab, to be located at Project Row Houses in Houston, Texas. As part of Round 36 of installations, the space will open on Saturday, March 31 from 4-7pm. After that it will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 12pm-5pm. The books in the space will be from small presses across the Americas, particularly the U.S. and Mexico: evidence of textual innovation and a vibrant multilingual dialogue in experimental writing and literary community-making. Many will be for sale; others will be available for reading and browsing in the space. John Pluecker will be present in the space over the course of the exhibition: a durational performance, an investigation into building multilingual literary spaces, promoting and selling innovative books and a detonating public projects. Within the space, chairs will be available for sitting, books and chapbooks and small magazines will be available for reading, and typewriters available for writing. All visitors are welcome, and are invited to write through and beyond the various texts available in the space, writing with and toward the authors and through the location of this row house in Third Ward, Houston. In addition, Antena has organized a series of bilingual activities open to the public, including a Read/Write Club and bilingual spaces for conversation among Third Ward residents, Houston-area folks, and visitors from elsewhere.



Schedule for Read/Write Club: Weekly on Wednesdays from 6-9pm

(It's encouraged to try to read the book prior to the Club meeting; however, if you can't, still come! We will read together in the space and listen to the author read—either recorded, in person or through Skype. Then we will write together.)

April 25 - A Toast in the House of Friends by Akilah Oliver, Coffee House Press

May 2 - American Copia by Javier Huerta, Arte Público Press

May 9 - I'll Drown My Book: Conceptual Writing by Women by Caroline Bergvall, Laynie Browne, Teresa Carmody, and Vanessa Place, Eds., Les Figues Press

May 16 - The Black Automaton by Douglas Kearney, Fence Books

May 23 - Poems of the Black Object by Ronaldo V. Wilson, Futurepoem

May 30 - SABORAMI by Cecilia Vicuña, Chainlinks

June 6 - The Event Factory de Renee Gladman, dorothy, a publishing project

June 13 - one by Jen Hofer, Palm Press

June 20 - sexoPUROsexoVELOZ and Septiembre: A Bilingual Edition of Books 2 and 3 of Dolores Dorantes by Dolores Dorantes, translated by Jen Hofer, Kenning Editions / Counterpath Press

 Hope to see you there!

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Estoy feliz de anunciar la librería temporal, sala de lectura y laboratorio de experimentación literaria de Antena que estará ubicado en Project Row Houses en Houston, Texas. Como parte de la Ronda 36 de instalaciones en este conocida organización de artes comunitarios, el espacio se inaugurará el sábado, 31 de marzo de 4-7pm. Después de esa fecha, el espacio estará abierto de miércoles a domingo de 12 a 5pm. Los libros en este espacio son de pequeñas editoriales de las Américas, particularmente de Estados Unidos y México: prueba de la inovación textual y de un diálogo multilingüe vivo dentro de la escritura experimental y en el campo de la construcción de comunidades literarias. Unos libros estarán a la venta, otras disponibles para leer y hojear en el espacio. John Pluecker estará presente en el espacio durante la exhibición: un performance duracional, una investigación sobre la construcción de espacios literarios multilingües y un detonador de proyectos públicos. Dentro del espacio, hay sillas, libros y plaquetas y revistas para leer y maquinas de escribir. Toda persona es bienvenida; se les invita a escribir a través de y más allá de los varios textos disponibles en el espacio, escribiendo con y hacía los autores y a través de este lugar, esta pequeña casa en el Tercer Barrio de Houston. Además, Antena organizará una serie de actividades abiertas al público, incluyendo un Club para Leer y Escribir, lecturas, performances y espacios bilingües para conversación entre residentes del Tercer Barrio, gente de Houston y visitantes de otras partes del mundo.
Horario para el Club para Leer y Escribir: Semanalmente los miércoles de 6-9pm
(Se le invita a leer el libro antes de la reunión del Club; sin embargo, si no puedes, aún así puede venir. Leeremos en el espacio juntos y escucharemos leer al autor, sea grabado o por Skype o en persona. Después escribiremos juntos.)
25 abril – A Toast in the House of Friends de Akilah Oliver, Coffee House Press
2 mayo –  American Copia de Javier Huerta, Arte Público Press
9 mayo – I'll Drown My Book: Conceptual Writing by Women de Caroline Bergvall, Laynie Browne, Teresa Carmody, y Vanessa Place, Eds., Les Figues Press
16 mayo – The Black Automaton de Douglas Kearney, Fence Books
23 mayo – Poems of the Black Object de Ronaldo V. Wilson, Futurepoem
30 mayo – SABORAMI de Cecilia Vicuña, Chainlinks
6 junio – The Event Factory de Renee Gladman, dorothy, a publishing project
13 junio – one de Jen Hofer, Palm Press
20 junio – sexoPUROsexoVELOZ y Septiembree: Una edición bilingue de los libros 2 y 3 de Dolores Dorantes de Dolores Dorantes, traducción de Jen Hofer, Kenning Editions/Counterpath Press
¡Esperamos verl@s allí!

The world is full. It teems with particularities that push and pull on us unexpectedly, at any distance. We need a cultural imaginary adequate to the challenges of this world, a sensibility less of iconoclasm than of wonder and care.

-  Craig Epplin in a review of the Reanimation Library at the Coffin Factory

Wow, the Kony mayhem is beyond belief. All of it. Kony himself. And the U.S. campaign to stop him.

Good analyses of the effort at Foreign Policy and from a Ugandan journalist, Angelo Opi-aiya Izama.

I'm not linking to the video. You can find it easily.

Baroque on the Border de Rigoberto A. Gonzalez in Houston



Baroque on the Border de Rigoberto A. Gonzalez

Exhibición abierta del 9 de marzo al 27 de abril de 2012
Art League Houston, Galería principal

(Click here for English version on Facebook. Or scroll down.)

Art League Houston presenta Baroque on the Border, una serie de pinturas del artista méxico-americano: Rigoberto A.  Gonzalez. El dramatismo de sus cuadros al óleo representa confrontaciones violentas entre los carteles de drogas, las tropas federales mexicanas y las personas implicadas en la inmigración sin documentos. Gonzalez ofrece una artística imagen instantánea sobre lo que sucede en la frontera entre Texas y México, y, a través de la belleza de la pintura, se conecta profundamente con una rica tradición de artistas que exploran las problemáticas difíciles de sus culturas.

Gonzalez ha aprendido de los maestros del Barroco del siglo XVII, como Caravaggio y Jusepe de Ribera, y su obra refleja las tragedias mexicanas a través de un rico colorido y simbolismo provenientes de los dramas históricos y religiosos del Barroco.

Rigoberto es una voz más en esta historia, y hace referencia a una rica tradición narrativa al plasmar en sus pinturas el retrato de dos músicos que tocan corridos
-música popular de gran tradición narrativa en el norte de México- que generalmente cuentan historias de sufrimiento, opresión y violencia. Rigoberto opina que sus pinturas son corridos visuales contemporáneos; no tienen rima ni verso, pero cuentan algo a través de la pintura y el movimiento.

Calendario de actividades
Recepción inaugural de "Baroque on the Border" con RigobertoA.Gonzalez
Conferencia del artista a las 6:30 p.m.
Viernes 9 de marzo de 6:00 a 9:00 p.m. en Art League Houston, 1953 Montrose Blvd, Houston, Texas 77006

"Comprendiendo la violencia de la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México: Contexto histórico y social de las realidades contemporáneas"- Panel de discusión y exhibición satelital.
Sábado 10 de marzo de 1:30 a 3:00 p.m. en Talento Bilingüe de Houston,
333 S. Jensen Dr. Houston, Texas 77003 
http://www.talentobilingue.org/

Moderador:

      John Pluecker: escritor, intérprete, traductor y educador. Su obra surge de la poética experimental, estéticas radicales y una producción cultural entre fronteras. Ha publicado en periódicos y revistas de los Estados Unidos y México, como Rio Grande Review, Versal, Asymtote, Picnic, Third Text, Animal Shelter, Literal y HTMLGiant.  http://johnpluecker.blogspot.com/

Panelistas:

      Rigoberto A. Gonzalez: artista méxico-americano http://rigobertogonzalezalonso.com/
      Dr. Ricardo Ainslie: Profesor del Departamento de Psicología Educativa de la Universidad de Texas. Su próximo libro: "The Savior of Juarez: Mexico at the Time of the Great Drug War", será publicado en la primavera de 2013.
      Dr. George Díaz: profesor visitante durante el 2012 en el Centro de Estudios México-Americanos (CMAS, por sus siglas en inglés) de la Universidad de Houston, y profesor auxiliar visitante en el Departamento de Historia de la Universidad de Houston. http://www.class.uh.edu/cmas/about_us_visiting_scholar.asp

Las pinturas de Rigoberto A. Gonzalez servirán como punto de partida para que el panel de discusión examine la historia y contexto social de la violencia en México, particularmente en la frontera norte. En los últimos cinco años del mandato de Felipe Calderón, más de 50,000 personas han sido asesinadas en lo que se ha denominado como: "La guerra contra las drogas". Los panelistas explorarán las raíces históricas y sociales de la violencia. ¿Por qué ha crecido exponencialmente esta violencia sin precedentes? ¿Quiénes la perpetran y quiénes son las víctimas? También se discutirá el papel que juega Estados Unidos en el conflicto. Este es un evento bilingüe. Se proveerá interpretación simultánea del evento para personas que no son bilingües.

MUESTRA de la pintura barroca de Rigoberto A. Gonzalez
Domingo 11 de marzo de 1:30 a 3:30 p.m., ESTUDIO 3 de la Art League Houston,
1953 Montrose Blvd, Houston, Texas 77006
http://www.artleaguehouston.org/
$10 socios / $15 no socios

Estaremos tras bambalinas con el maestro méxico-americano Rigoberto González en una demostración de dos horas, y veremos cómo crea el impactante estilo barroco de sus pinturas. Su obra forma parte de la exhibición Baroque on the Border en Art League Houston, del 9 de marzo al 27 de abril de 2012.

 "Representando la violencia en la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México: los artistas lidian con problemáticas contemporáneas a través del arte" - Panel de discusión
Lunes 12 de marzo, a las 6 p.m. en Art League Houston, 1953 Montrose Blvd, Houston, Texas 77006

Panelistas:

      Rigoberto A. Gonzalez: artista méxico-americano http://rigobertogonzalezalonso.com/
      Melisa Ramos Palermo: estudiante de doctorado en la Universidad de Rice Experta en el Barroco italiano, español y mexicano; escribe sobre arte religioso católico en imágenes marianas y de varios santos.
      Delilah Montoya: artista en Houston y profesora de la Universidad de Houston. Experta en arte méxico-americano http://www.delilahmontoya.com/

La discusión comenzará con una conferencia de 30 minutos de Rigoberto A. Gonzalez, después se abrirá el panel para discutir sobre cómo y por qué los artistas han lidiado, tanto en el pasado como en el presente, con las problemáticas que surgen de la violencia y la crisis en la cultura a través de la belleza del arte. En la conferencia se identificarán las referencias artísticas del periodo barroco italiano, español y mexicano dentro de la obra pictórica de Rigoberto Gonzalez, también se cuestionará el papel de los artistas méxico-americanos en una sociedad que pasa por un momento de crisis o guerra. ¿Cómo la situación actual en la frontera del norte de México ha cambiado el punto de vista de los artistas texanos y méxico-americanos sobre el país vecino?  ¿Cómo la incesante violencia ha cambiado su relación con la frontera?

Rigoberto A. Gonzalez

Nació en 1973 en Reynosa, Tamaulipas, México, y vive en el sureste de Texas, cerca del Río Bravo, en la ciudad de Harlingen. En 1999, se graduó como Licenciado en Arte de la Universidad de Texas Pan American, y en el 2004 obtuvo la Maestría en Arte en la Academia de Arte de Nueva York. El trabajo de Gonzalez se ha exhibido en: el Centro para las Artes Visuales Stanlee and Gerald Rubin, El Paso, TX (2011), la Bienal de Texas, Austin, TX (2011), Museo de Arte de Las Cruces, Las Cruces, NM (2010), Museo y Centro de Arte Roswell, Roswell, NM (2009), Museo Harlingen Heritage, Harlingen, TX (2008), Art House, McAllen, TX (2006), Casa de la Cultura, Reynosa Tamaulipas, Mexico (2006) y la Galería de Arte Richardson, Universidad de Texas en Brownsville, TX (2005). Rigoberto A. Gonzalez ha sido un artista residente en: el Programa de Residencias para Artistas de Roswell, Roswell, New Mexico (2008/09) y Rancho del Cielo, Universidad de Texas en Brownsville y Texas Southmost College (2004), también ha recibido becas de la Asociación Nacional para el Arte y Cultura Latinos (2009/10). Lo representa la Art House en McAllen, TX.

Horario de la Art League Houston Gallery:
De lunes a viernes de 9:00 a.m. a 5:00 p.m., y sábados de 11:00 a.m. a 5:00 p.m. Cerrado los domingos. Las exhibiciones de la galería son siempre GRATUITAS.

Ubicación:
1953 Montrose Blvd. entre West Gray y Westheimer, junto a Texas Art Supply.

Baroque on the Border by Rigoberto A. Gonzalez

Exhibition on view March 9 – April 27, 2012
Art League Houston, Main Gallery

Art League Houston presents Baroque on the Border, a series of paintings by Mexican-American artist Rigoberto A. Gonzalez.   The dramatic oil paintings depict the violent confrontations between drug cartels, Mexican federal troops and people involved in undocumented immigration.  Gonzalez offers an artistic snapshot of what is happening across the Texas-Mexico border, and taps into a rich historical tradition of artists exploring difficult issues within their culture through the beauty of painting.

Gonzalez has learned from the 17th century Baroque masters such as Caravaggio and Jusepe de Ribera.  His work depicts the Mexican tragedies with similar rich colors and symbolism of the Baroque historical and religious dramas.

Rigoberto brings an additional voice to this story with a reference to the rich tradition of storytelling by placing the portraits of two musicians into his paintings. The musicians are playing songs known as a corridos, which are a narrative tradition in northern Mexico and usually express unpleasant stories about oppression and violence. Rigoberto sees his paintings as contemporary visual corridos, which are not made up of rhyme and verse, but instead of paint and movement.

Schedule of Events
Opening Reception for "Baroque on the Border" by Rigoberto A. Gonzalez
Artist talk at 6:30 PM
Friday, March 9,  6 - 9 PM  at Art League Houston, 1953 Montrose Blvd, Houston, Texas 77006

"Understanding the Violence along the U.S. Mexico Border: The Historical and Societal Context of Contemporary Realities" Panel Discussion & Satellite Exhibition.
Saturday, March 10, 1:30 - 3:00 PM at Talento Bilingüe de Houston, 333 S. Jensen Dr. Houston, Texas 77003  http://www.talentobilingue.org/

Moderator:

      John Pluecker, Writer, interpreter, translator and educator. His work is informed by experimental poetics, radical aesthetics and cross-border cultural production and has been featured in journals and magazines in the U.S. and Mexico, including the Rio Grande Review, Versal, Asymptote, Picnic, Third Text, Animal Shelter, Literal and HTMLGiant. http://johnpluecker.blogspot.com/

Panelists:

      Rigoberto A. Gonzalez, Mexican-American Artist http://rigobertogonzalezalonso.com/
      Ricardo Ainslie, PhD, Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas. "His forthcoming book, 'The Savior of Juarez: Mexico at the Time of the Great Drug War" will be out in the Spring of 2013.
      George Díaz, PhD, 2012 Visiting Scholar at the Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS), University of Houston, and Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of History, University of Houston. http://www.class.uh.edu/cmas/about_us_visiting_scholar.asp

Using the paintings of Rigoberto A. Gonzalez as a jumping off point, this panel will examine the history and the societal context of the violence in Mexico, particularly along the country's Northern border. Over the past five years of Calderón's administration, more than 50,000 people have been killed in what has been called a "Drug War." This panel will explore the historical and societal roots of the violence. Why has there been such an exponential growth of this unparalleled violence? Who are the perpetrators and who are the victims? We'll also discuss the role of the United States in the conflict. This will be a bilingual event.

BAROQUE PAINTING DEMONSTRATION by Rigoberto A. Gonzalez
Sunday, March 11, 1:30 - 3:30 PM, STUDIO 3 at Art League Houston, 1953 Montrose Blvd, Houston, Texas 77006 http://www.artleaguehouston.org/
$10 members / $15 non-members

Go behind the scenes with Mexican-American master painter Rigoberto Gonzalez and find out how he creates his powerful baroque styles paintings in a two hour demonstration by the artist. His work are featured in an exhibition Baroque on the Border on view at Art League Houston, March 9 - April 27, 2012.

"Representing Violence along the U.S. Mexico Border: Artists Grapple with Contemporary Issues through Art" Panel Discussion              
Monday, March 12, 6 PM at Art League Houston, 1953 Montrose Blvd, Houston, Texas 77006

Panelists:

      Rigoberto A. Gonzalez, Mexican-American Artist http://rigobertogonzalezalonso.com/
      Melisa Ramos-Palermo, PhD candidate at Rice University. Expert in Italian, Spanish, and Mexican Baroque and writes about Catholic religious art like Marian images and various saints.
      Delilah Montoya, Houston-based artist and professor at The University of Houston.  Expert in Mexican-American art. http://www.delilahmontoya.com/

The discussion will begin with a 30 minute artist talk by Rigoberto A. Gonzalez, and open up into a panel discussion about how and why artists have grappled with issues of cultural violence and crisis through the beauty of art both historically and in the contemporary moment. The talk will identify the historical art references from the Italian, Spanish, and Mexican Baroque periods within Rigoberto Gonzalez’s paintings and question what role the Mexican-American artist plays in society in a time of crisis or war.  How has the contemporary situation in the borderlands of northern Mexico changed Texas and Mexican-American artists' view of their neighboring country? And how has the increased violence changed their relationship to the border?

Rigoberto A. Gonzalez

Born in 1973 in Reynosa Tamaulipas, Mexico, Gonzalez lives in southeast Texas near the Rio Grande in the City of Harlingen.  He holds a B.F.A. from The University of Texas at Pan America in 1999 and an M.F.A. from the New York Academy of Art in 2004.  Gonzalez’s work has been exhibited at the The Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts, El Paso, TX (2011), Texas Biennial, Austin, TX (2011), Las Cruces Museum of Art, Las Cruces, NM (2010), Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM (2009), Harlingen Heritage Museum, Harlingen, TX (2008), Art House, McAllen, TX (2006), Casa de la Cultura, Reynosa Tamaulipas, Mexico (2006) and Richardson Art Gallery, The University of Texas at Brownsville, TX (2005). Rigoberto A. Gonzalez has completed artist residencies at the Roswell Artist Residency Program, Roswell, New Mexico (2008/09) and Rancho del Cielo, University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College (2004), and received grants from the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (2009/10). He is represented by Art House in McAllen, TX

Art League Houston Gallery Hours
Weekdays, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Closed on Sunday. Gallery Exhibitions are always FREE

Location
1953 Montrose Blvd between West Gray and Westheimer.  Next to Texas Art S


Red Rover, Red Rover.

If yr in Chicago Friday night:

Outer Space Studio, 1474 N. Milwuakee Ave.
7-11:30pm

RED ROVER SERIES is curated by Laura Goldstein and Jennifer Karmin. Each event is designed as a reading experiment with participation by local, national, and international writers, artists, and performers. The series was founded in 2005 by Amina Cain and Jennifer Karmin.

Come! Come!

Awpomeness


It's not New York, despite the cavernous avenues and the rushing throngs. It's not DC, despite the large number of black workers in uniforms and white folks in sweaters and peacoats. It feels somewhere in between.

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Keep seeing bridges that arch up beautifully into the nothing, arch up over the horizon, arch up into the wind rushing back down and onto my face.

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Almost fainted on the way down, the wind buffeting the wing had my stomach and my blood convinced that the little bent up end of the wing was about to snap off. Let everyone else exit off the plane, then asked for a Coke. Drank it as the cold wind rushed into the plane and two older Latinas worked row by row picking up people's trash they'd left behind.

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Everywhere, people yell "The weather's so nice!" and "It's so warm!" as I bundle up against the forty degree wind roaring off the lake.

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Todavía me siento mareado, casi listo para desmayarme. Pero voy a resistir el deseo de dejarme vencer.

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In line at registration for the conference, I hear an earnest young woman say to a friend as they beelined across the regal patterned hotel carpet: "I don't just want to write for the sake of writing, I want to write for my project." Lots of bridges that arch up into nowhere.

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Welcome to Chicago.

More on the Dirty War

A few weeks back, I wrote post called "It's not a Drug War, it's another Dirty War" about Cecilia Balli's article in Harper's. I lauded her for her criticism of Calderón's government and his war. I thought she was pushing the analysis further than I'd seen it pushed in most U.S. media.

Today I found an interesting critique of Balli's article by New Mexico librarian and writer, Molly Molloy.  While I read Balli's article as having a solid analysis of Calderón's Dirty War in Balli's article, apparently Molloy thinks she didn't go far enough. Check out her unpublished her letter to Harper's.

...si yo creyera que la escritura es permanente no me atrevería a decir ni jota. Pero como la literatura es tan efímera como la existencia de cualquier pobre insecto, entonces hay que escribir con frecuencia.

- Dolores Dorantes en su nuevo blog

Staying Negative


Josh Kun tracks the history and the present incarnations of the narcocorrido at American Prospect: "Death Rattle: A new musical movement turns Mexican drug violence into catchy sing-alongs." Not sure who wrote the title, since Kun is pretty clear there is nothing "new" about this musical form. And catchy sing-alongs? This ain't Kreayshawn. Narcobanda's multiple beats, conflicting rhythms and general dissonance make it pretty damn hard to sing along. But something tells me Kun didn't select the title. The rest of the essay is full of interesting analysis.

Kun makes clear that the cartels are only following the lead of the larger society, a more extreme version of what's happening all around; as he writes, "If cartels live by impunity, they are only following the example of corrupt politicians, soldiers, and CEOs." Like the Movimiento Alterado says in their song "Sanguinarios de M1:" "La gente se asusta, nunca se pregunta."

Kun also points out the important fact that many of the biggest stars in the field - the Velasquez brothers, Gerardo Ortiz, etc - have U.S. citizenship, either because they were born in the U.S. or because they've spent a lot of time north of the border line. What does this fact mean for the glamorization of violence in the genre? And the fact that most of the narcobanda acts are singing in the first-person like they're members of the cartels themselves? Kun has an opinion:

The Valenzuela brothers were born in Sinaloa but have lived most of their lives in Southern California, where they have been both omnipresent producers and sharp entrepreneurs, at the center of shaping Mexican musical tastes from within the United States. They originally worked in straight-ahead banda, or brass-band, music (their father was a member of one of the biggest bands back in Sinaloa), helped pioneer “banda hood,” or the banda hip-hop craze, of the early 2000s, and last year launched a reality show on NBC’s Mun2 channel that followed them everywhere from a spa day in Phoenix to a meeting with Snoop Dogg. It’s hard not to see Movimiento Alterado as anything but a shrewd business decision, a carefully plotted attempt to cash in on Mexican drug violence as if it were a new dance craze and to do so at a distance—from within the relative safety of the United States. As Adolfo Valenzuela recently told a reporter, “It’s a market, and I’m in the music industry. If I don’t do it, someone else is doing it.” 

It's a lot easier to perform narco-chic killer if you get to back to your palace in SoCal and don't have to risk your life every day on the other side.

At the end of the story, Kun finds something hopeful in narcobanda star Gerardo Ortiz's latest album and specifically the song, "Cara a la muerte." The song is first person, telling the story of narco who's been gunned down and then sings about his lack of hope from his coffin: "Con dolor no descansa mi alma / Solo queda perder la esperanza / Dentro de mi caja." Last year, Ortiz was almost killed himself in Colima when he was attacked; his cousin, Ramiro Caro, and his driver didn't make it out alive. Kun still sees the song as more of a lamentation about all the mistakes and failures of a life badly-lived. And therein, he finds some hope:

As a rejoinder to violence, “Cara A La Muerte” is only one song—a meek offering considering the scope of Mexico’s social crisis—but it’s closer than any narcocorrido has come to joining the protesters and the poets and the bereaved thousands in saying ya basta, enough already, no más sangre, no more blood. It holds out a sliver of hope that as Mexico’s body count continues to grow, there might be a new song to sing.


I want to believe Kun. I listen to this music a lot on the radio (Houston's La Raza 98.5FM right now) and I actually love the multilayered beats, the chaotic pull of its accordion and the nasal strangeness of Ortiz's voice. The sound is refreshing and different from the majority of more traditional norteño music. But I can't find much hope in Ortiz. When he's asked in an interview about tracking down the people who murdered his cousin and his driver, he says he'd rather focus on the positive then think about impunity. And then there's a video of him defending narcos as doing good for the Mexican people; he makes a huge jump after that and starts to defend Hitler. His argument: narcos and Nazis, they get such a bad rap, but they've done some good for people, they've got a positive side.

Yeah, defending narcos and Hitler? Ay, Gerardo, I don't think so. If being "positive" means supporting impunity and defending Hitler, I'll just stay negative, thanks.



Houstonites! I am doing a collaborative performance with Lucas Gorham and David Feil in the Counter Crawl III festival this Saturday. Lucas and David are improvising deconstructed steel guitar and I'm live-remixing text from a book-length project, called Ford Us Over. The poetry and prose I'm remixing is thinking about crossing rivers in Texas, how science names landscapes, how language can be refigured as plant life and rocks. Better just come and experience it!


We're performing at the Mystery Spot at 4pm-ish. You can either bike along with the Counter Crawl crew or email or call me for the Mystery Spot location. Here are details I copied from the Alter Audio site about the whole, all-day, multi-venue festival:

H E A R   Y E ! ! !     H E A R   Y E ! ! !

Beasts of East End.  Beasts of Montrose. Beasts of every land and clime:  Hoist your freak flags and unfurl your superlatives -- Counter Crawl the THIRD doth roll through town, this 28th day of January!

It’s a party on wheels, this funner-all procession, this kaleidoscopic journey through the underpants of the city featuring spontaneous, unpretentious entertainment that will have you scratching your head and asking WHOSE YOU’RE DADA?

Here’s what’s going down.  Most of us ride bikes from venue to venue, but that doesn’t mean you have to.  The whole day’s events are free! Meet up at noon at El Rincon Social.  Then...



El Rincon Social, 12-3 pm
3210 Preston, 77003
* Visual art + Sustainability Carnival
* Performances by Demonic Hen /
    Ancient Astronaut Theory /
    and SPECIAL GUESTS

The Mothership, 3-4 pm
3210 Commerce, 77003
* Swap Meet - BRING STUFF TO SWAP!
* Houston Free Thinkers skillshare

Mystery Spot, 4:20-5:20 pm
(It’s a mystery! Come to one of
the earlier stops to find out where.)
* Performances by: John Pluecker with Lucas
   Gorham & David Feil / Harbeer Sandhu with
   Josianne Modelo / Circuit 7 / Julie Rogers

Donkey Paw Studios, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
2010 Commerce, 77002
* Screen print show + food!
* Music by:  Alimanas / Lazer Cunts /
   Escatones

Jenner House, 7:45 - 10:00 pm
1619 Chapman, 77009
* Visual Art + BBQ + Smilebooth photos
* Performances by Components of the Modern
   Age (COMA) / Zoofelia / Rivers /

Warhaus, 10:00 pm - 12:30 am
4715 Main Street, 77004
* More Visual art
* FLCON FCKR presents NSFW
* Ms. Sandy and Ms. YET



Participating Visual artists: Alice Le, James Hickey, Thien Ho, Amos Garcia, Laura De Leon, Valerie Ramirez, Marcus Adams, Matthew Sullivan, Alex Tu, Jordan Johnson, Brittney Anele, Nana Sampong, Isaiah Lopez, Denis Cisneros, Montserrat Olmos, Maria Heg, Melissa Taylor, Weah, Angel Quesada, Jaja Gray, Elsa Briggs, Christina Todaro, Geneva Gordon, Mitch Johnson, Steven Baptiste, Sid Cespedes, Dianne Webb, Allison Whitley, Yasmin Cespedes, AND MORE!

Counter Crawl is a quarterly, roving, art festival which takes place at different underground, off-the-beaten-path type spaces where cool people are doing cool stuff.  The point is to showcase emerging talents as well as community- and sustainability-minded initiatives.  The first Counter Crawl took place on July 9th of last year, and the second was on October 8th.  They were both pretty awesome, with over 100 participants each time, and this one is going to be the best yet!  

Abigael


People in the know know Abigael Bohórquez. He has a kind of cult status in Northern Mexico and in sexually subversive communities across Mexico. His poetry is well known (among a select group) for its refusal to accept the status quo, its rebellion in content and form.

The poetry of Abigael Bohórquez (1936 - 1995) leaps across traditional boundaries in Latin American literature: both colloquial and neo-baroque, regional and informed by classical traditions, intimately personal and actively political, traditionally-informed and experimental. Despite this richness, his work has been marginalized even within Mexico because it challenges historical hierarchies: particularly, a centralist tendency within Mexican literature which privileges literature from the capital and an aesthetic hegemony which makes little room for the work of an openly gay man.

In the last ten years, there has been something of a renaissance in interest in the work of Bohórquez. A number of presses in Sonora have republished his works. In 2000 a consortium of Sonora publishing houses released an anthology of his work called Heredad (Inheritance); this anthology has since been re-released in two subsequent editions.

Check out a new translation of a poem, "Primera ceremonia"/"First Ceremony," by Bohórquez here in the most recent edition of Asymptote, an exciting new international journal focusing on translation.