Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Maya-Kaqchiquel Poet and Indigenous Right Advocate

please let pass information of this great event to
others!


A Celebration: Envisioning the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (part I)

Maya-Kaqchiquel
Poet and Indigenous Right Advocate

Calixta Gabriel Xiquin

Location:

Whitsett Room,
Sierra Hall, Room 451

Date:
Wednesday,
October 31

Time: Noon-2:00pm

Calixta Gabriel Xiquín was born in the state of
Chimaltenango and speaks Maya Kaqchikel. She fled to
the United States after three of her brothers were
kidnapped and murdered, and she stayed in the United
States from 1981 to 1988. She has an undergraduate
degree in Social Work from the University of Rafael
Landívar and has published her poetry in many
anthologies in Guatemala. Her first book of poems was
entitled Hueso de la tierra and was published in 1996.

The poetry included here is from her collection
Tejiendo los sucesos en el tiempo/Weaving Events in
Time, with English translation by Susan G. Rascón and
Suzanne M. Strugalla. It was published in 2002 by Yax
te' Foundation and its first printing sold out in
Guatemala.

Sponsored by: College of Humanities Academic
Programming, Central American Studies Program,
Chicana/o Studies Department, CASAS, CAUSA, Associated
Students, and Colectivo Contacto Ancestral.


Alicia Ivonne Estrada, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Central American Studies Program
California State University, Northridge

18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8246

Phone: (818) 677-2736
Fax: (818) 677-7578

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Writing Central American Poets into History


Celebrando los antepasados y el futuro!


Desde el EPICENTRO
Spoken Word Poetry with EPICENTRO POETS
Thursday NOV 1, 2007
11am-1pm
Multicultural Center (near bookstore across from Psychology building)
@ CSU Long Beach


featuring:
Hugo Nelson Chavez, Maya Chinchilla, Mario Escobar, Jessica Grande,
GusTavo Guerra Vásquez, Karina Oliva-Alvarado
and special guests

* donations accepted for upcoming anthology*

For more information:
Karina (626) 340-6970 or
Jayne Howell (562) 985-5192 jhowell AT csulb DOT edu

*Park in Lot 17 in meters or buy a parking permit at the visitor parking booth*

Sponsored by the program in Latin American Studies,
Department of Chicano/Latino Studies and Department of Sociology

Monday, October 15, 2007

Quique Aviles

heard about this poet when I was in DC where salvadorans are the dominant Latino group...yup you heard what I said...



El Salvador at-a-glance

By Quique Aviles

El Salvador at-a-glance

Area: the size of Massachusetts

Population: Not much left

Language: War, blood, broken English, Spanish

Customs: Survival, dance, birthday parties, funerals

Major exports: Coffee, sugar, city builders, busboys, waiters, poets


El Salvador
little question mark
midget with a gun in his hand
belly button of the world

The only country in the world
know for eating its national flower

Little question mark that begins to itch

You were supposed to clean carpets
not ask for time out and dialogue

You were supposed to follow instructions
given in the English language
not go to the garden and write a song

It has been said that pain has the ability to travel

El Salvador’s major cities:
San Salvador
San Miguel
Santa Ana
Los Angeles
San Wachinton, DC

It has been said that pain does not know how to
pose for a green card picture

It has been said that truth has the ability to happen
in the strangest moments
in the strangest cities
under the strangest circumstances

El Salvador in Wachinton
little question mark
little east of the border
migrant earthquake
wet back volcano
banana eating
tortilla making
mustache holder
funny dressing

forever happy
forever sad
forever Wachintonian Salvadorean.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Cyber Chapina Travels

New blogs posted
http://chapinaone.blogspot.com/