Literanista

Birthday Colorstrology

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 08:18:21 PST

I recently came across a book that pairs your birthday with a color and gave it a go for fun. Here's my color and what it says about me:

Colorstrology creates a personal color for every day of the year that embodies certain characteristics and qualities that help you to understand yourself and navigate the world that surrounds you.

According to Michele Bernhardt, "Your birthday color may or may not be your favorite color, but it is a color designed to nurture the real you to recognize, celebrate and honor your own TRUE COLORS. While your color preferences may change as you evolve, your birthday color remains constant."

To learn more about Colorstrology you can read "What Your Birthday Color Says About You" by Michele Bernhardt or visit www.colorstrology.com.

New Book: My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 03:00:15 PST

Sonia Sotomayor, U.S. Supreme Court justice (Photo: Wikipedia)

My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor is out this month, put this biography on the to-read list.

The first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor has become an instant American icon. Now, with a candor and intimacy never undertaken by a sitting Justice, she recounts her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench, a journey that offers an inspiring testament to her own extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself.

Here is the story of a precarious childhood, with an alcoholic father (who would die when she was nine) and a devoted but overburdened mother, and of the refuge a little girl took from the turmoil at home with her passionately spirited paternal grandmother. But it was when she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes that the precocious Sonia recognized she must ultimately depend on herself. She would learn to give herself the insulin shots she needed to survive and soon imagined a path to a different life.

With only television characters for her professional role models, and little understanding of what was involved, she determined to become a lawyer, a dream that would sustain her on an unlikely course, from valedictorian of her high school class to the highest honors at Princeton, Yale Law School, the New York County District Attorney’s office, private practice, and appointment to the Federal District Court before the age of forty.

Along the way we see how she was shaped by her invaluable mentors, a failed marriage, and the modern version of extended family she has created from cherished friends and their children. Through her still-astonished eyes, America’s infinite possibilities are envisioned anew in this warm and honest book, destined to become a classic of self-invention and self-discovery.

New Book: Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir by Eddie Huang

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 04:00:13 PST

(Photo: Silicon Prairie News)

Another one for your to-read list: Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir by Eddie Huang

Eddie Huang is the thirty-year-old proprietor of Baohaus—the hot East Village hangout where foodies, stoners, and students come to stuff their faces with delicious Taiwanese street food late into the night—and one of the food world’s brightest and most controversial young stars. But before he created the perfect home for himself in a small patch of downtown New York, Eddie wandered the American wilderness looking for a place to call his own.

Eddie grew up in theme-park America, on a could-be-anywhere cul-de-sac in suburban Orlando, raised by a wild family of FOB (“fresh off the boat”) hustlers and hysterics from Taiwan. While his father improbably launched a series of successful seafood and steak restaurants, Eddie burned his way through American culture, defying every “model minority” stereotype along the way. He obsessed over football, fought the all-American boys who called him a chink, partied like a gremlin, sold drugs with his crew, and idolized Tupac.

His anchor through it all was food—from making Southern ribs with the Haitian cooks in his dad’s restaurant to preparing traditional meals in his mother’s kitchen to haunting the midnight markets of Taipei when he was shipped off to the homeland. After misadventures as an unlikely lawyer, street fashion renegade, and stand-up comic, Eddie finally threw everything he loved—past and present, family and food—into his own restaurant, bringing together a legacy stretching back to China and the shards of global culture he’d melded into his own identity.

Funny, raw, and moving, and told in an irrepressibly alive and original voice, Fresh Off the Boat recasts the immigrant’s story for the twenty-first century. It’s a story of food, family, and the forging of a new notion of what it means to be American.

New Book: Juan in a Hundred: The Representation of Latinos on Network News

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 03:00:16 PST

A timely new read: Juan in a Hundred: The Representation of Latinos on Network News by Otto Santa Ana

Latinos constitute the fastest-growing and largest ethnic minority in the United States, yet less than one percent of network news coverage deals with Latinos as the focus of a story. Out of that one percent, even fewer stories are positive in either content or tone.

Author of the acclaimed Brown Tide Rising: Metaphors of Latinos in Contemporary American Public Discourse, Otto Santa Ana has completed a comprehensive analysis of this situation, blending quantitative research with semiotic readings and ultimately applying cognitive science and humanist theory to explain the repercussions of this marginal, negative coverage.

Santa Ana's choice of network evening news as the foundation for Juan in a Hundred is significant because that medium is currently the single most authoritative and influential source of opinion-generating content. In his 2004 research, Santa Ana calculated that among approximately 12,000 stories airing across four networks (ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC), only 118 dealt with Latinos, a ratio that has remained stagnant over the past fifteen years.

Examining the content of the stories, from briefs to features, reveals that Latino-tagged events are apparently only broadcast when national politics or human calamity are involved, and even then, the Latino issue is often tangential to a news story as a whole. On global events involving Latin America, U.S. networks often remain silent while BBC correspondents prepare fully developed, humanizing coverage.

The book concludes by demonstrating how this obscurity and misinformation perpetuate maligned perceptions about Latinos. Santa Ana's inspiring calls for reform are poised to change the face of network news in America.

New Book: Alejandro Zambra’s Ways of Going Home

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 03:30:06 PST

Mapa de la comuna de Santiago, en Santiago de Chile (Photo : Wikipedia)

Out this month,"Alejandro Zambra’s Ways of Going Home begins with an earthquake, seen through the eyes of an unnamed nine-year-old boy who lives in an undistinguished middleclass housing development in a suburb of Santiago, Chile.

When the neighbors camp out overnight, the protagonist gets his first glimpse of Claudia, an older girl who asks him to spy on her uncle Raúl.

In the second section, the protagonist is the writer of the story begun in the first section. His father is a man of few words who claims to be apolitical but who quietly sympathized—to what degree, the author isn’t sure—with the Pinochet regime.

His reflections on the progress of the novel and on his own life—which is strikingly similar to the life of his novel’s protagonist—expose the raw suture of fiction and reality.

Ways of Going Home switches between author and character, past and present, reflecting with melancholy and rage on the history of a nation and on a generation born too late—the generation which, as the author-narrator puts it, learned to read and write while their parents became accomplices or victims. It is the most personal novel to date from Zambra, the most important Chilean author since Roberto Bolaño."

New Book: Sugar in the Blood: A Family's Story of Slavery and Empire

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:00:17 PST

I love this clever new title: Sugar in the Blood: A Family's Story of Slavery and Empire by Andrea Stuart

In the late 1630s, lured by the promise of the New World, Andrea Stuart’s earliest known maternal ancestor, George Ashby, set sail from England to settle in Barbados. He fell into the life of a sugar plantation owner by mere chance, but by the time he harvested his first crop, a revolution was fully under way: the farming of sugar cane, and the swiftly increasing demands for sugar worldwide, would not only lift George Ashby from abject poverty and shape the lives of his descendants, but it would also bind together ambitious white entrepreneurs and enslaved black workers in a strangling embrace.

Stuart uses her own family story—from the seventeenth century through the present—as the pivot for this epic tale of migration, settlement, survival, slavery and the making of the Americas.

As it grew, the sugar trade enriched Europe as never before, financing the Industrial Revolution and fuelling the Enlightenment. And, as well, it became the basis of many economies in South America, played an important part in the evolution of the United States as a world power and transformed the Caribbean into an archipelago of riches.

But this sweet and hugely profitable trade—“white gold,” as it was known—had profoundly less palatable consequences in its precipitation of the enslavement of Africans to work the fields on the islands and, ultimately, throughout the American continents. Interspersing the tectonic shifts of colonial history with her family’s experience, Stuart explores the interconnected themes of settlement, sugar and slavery with extraordinary subtlety and sensitivity.

In examining how these forces shaped her own family—its genealogy, intimate relationships, circumstances of birth, varying hues of skin—she illuminates how her family, among millions of others like it, in turn transformed the society in which they lived, and how that interchange continues to this day. Shifting between personal and global history, Stuart gives us a deepened understanding of the connections between continents, between black and white, between men and women, between the free and the enslaved.

It is a story brought to life with riveting and unparalleled immediacy, a story of fundamental importance to the making of our world.

Andrea Stuart was born and raised in the Caribbean. She studied English at the University of East Anglia and French at the Sorbonne. Her book The Rose of Martinique: A Life of Napoleon’s Josephine was published in the United States in 2004, has been translated into three languages and won the Enid McLeod Literary Prize. Stuart’s work has been published in numerous anthologies, newspapers and magazines, and she regularly reviews books for The Independent. She has also worked as a TV producer.

On Broken Hearts, Hopelessness & Letting Go

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:58:34 PST

For three days now, I've pondered sharing something so deeply personal here but I'm writing it anyway for catharsis, to set my thoughts free and in hopes that someone, somewhere may benefit from my experience as well.

Three months ago, my mother suffered a heart attack, at close to 70 years old and struggling with Diabetes, she had been apparently dealing with chronic heart disease silently as happens to many diabetics for a long time now.

At first, they sent us home with pain medications and told us that surgery was not even an option, the blockage was so severe, her heart under such duress that there was nothing to stop the ongoing death of her heart cells until the moment when her weakened heart stopped. Forever.

Numbness and denial set in. My mother, both stubborn and courageous, grasped at the idea she had very little time left. A few weeks later, it turned out that open heart surgery, bypass, was an option for my mother after all. However, my mother, after having survived a hit and run by a drunk driver in the early 1970s, major reconstructive surgery and skin grafts on her leg, decided enough with the surgeries. She was going to leave her destiny in god's hands.

You can imagine how heartbreakingly agonizing and frustrating this was for me. On one hand, I felt obligated to respect her wishes and on the other, the shrill scream of "PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME, MAMI!" selfishly resounded through my entire being.

My brothers and my sister all had different thoughts, fears and ways to deal, which also included getting into arguments amongst ourselves about the best course of action. We finally decided on tackling it together and our plan is already underway. I know, I believe, as my mother's youngest daughter, her baby, I have the power to sway her to reconsider surgery. Perhaps that is just ego but after all, I am my mother's daughter, and just as stubborn and strong as her. But this post is only partially about my mother's broken heart.

Letting Go

This past weekend I rigorously sought escape, I watched the finale of American Horror Story, followed by This is 40, and Life of Pi. These may all seem very analogous in terms of content but one of my talents, lays in being able to connect threads from disparate categories that lead to breakthrough ideas and new insight.

American Horror Story made me contemplate the horrible plight of having to give up a child. While This is 40 resonated with me, I related to it on so many levels, the absentee dad, the loving moocher, the identity crisis caused by getting older and having kids. Then Life of Pi, it was beautiful, visually, and full of deep, meaningful, epic discovery.

In many ways, the common denominator, was the idea of Letting Go, of surrendering, of not fighting the things you cannot change, the things you have no control over, but instead embracing them for what they're worth.

Daddy Issues

A year or two ago, while watching a reality show on the Logo channel, where a gay man dealt with his biological father's refusal to accept him as his son for being homosexual, I had a moment of clarity when the man's mother comforted him and told him that his father had served only one purpose, really his life's purpose, bringing the young man into being, and after that point, he wasn't necessary to rest of the journey.

I have been plagued with the repercussions of my biological father's abandonment my entire life. I've dealt with all the classic issues from overcompensating and being a perfectionist in hopes of winning approval to dooming my personal relationships by latching on to people who are emotionally unavailable.

As I folded laundry this weekend, my thoughts circled back to my mother, by no means a saint or perfect, but a good mother, who has always loved me unconditionally and protected me as best as she could and this gay man's father's purpose. My mother took this job on, of nurturing me willingly when no one else wanted to or did.

I thought about having to give up a child, if you had no choice, and how if I were in those shoes, I would leave my child in the hands of the person who could love them the most. All those years, I had sought to understand WHY my father left, how he could just simply walk away.

In that second, it became clear, he had left me with the one person he could trust to always love me and to care for me. The one person who would love me the most, who would give her life for me. In that moment, I understood this act of love, this act of kindness and saw it came from this stranger in my life. And although, make no mistake, that his actions are horrid, irresponsible and monstrous, I felt blessed instead of the usual anger or self-pity. This chasm, this void, that had haunted me for so long with its barrenness, in an instant ceased to be.

While this may all be speculation, of course, and who knows ultimately, what my father's plight was really like or his true motivations, what was obvious to me, was that his "WHY" was irrelevant, of no consequence to this narrative or my mother's. His purpose was accomplished, my mother and he brought me into this world and when he left, my mother shaped me into who I am today. That we know to be true.

Empowered by Crisis

As we approach Valentine's Day and become entrenched in the hyper commercialization of the holiday with hearts and candy everywhere, it's hard for me to reconcile the irony of my mother's diabetic heart-striken predicament against the backdrop of season.

There is also irony in that the pain brought on by the fear of losing my mother granted me the pathway to release my father and honor my mother for stepping up to the plate. In a couple of years I, too, will reach the age of 40 that milestone of mid-life, and perhaps, even have a child of my own in tow.

A former coworker used to stop by my desk, every once in a while and kindly tease me with this encouragement, "You is kind, you is good, you is important" to remind me that I was not alone and that I was appreciated. My mother always imparted her belief of self-efficacy - that I could, if I chose to and wanted to, could and would impact and change the world, and as a global citizen it was an imperative to leave this place better than I found it.

As I struggle with the plight of urging her to not go gently, to not succumb to the ease of giving up, I embrace the lessons of accepting what I actually have control over and what I don't. As painful as this may be, I exchange it, for the beauty and the wisdom of the future ahead of us.

Release has never been sweeter.

Lit Links & Scoops: Gender, YouTube, Books+

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:30:01 PST

The Brandsphere (Photo: Wikipedia)

Where I file and list all the good stuff for you:

- Latina's Magazine top 9 must-reads of 2012 here

- Cheryl Sandberg on Gender Stereotypes in the Workplace:

“We hold ourselves back in ways both big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising our hands, and by pulling back when we should be leaning in,” Sandberg writes in the book, called “Lean In.” - via NYTimes

"As a woman becomes more successful, she is less liked, and as a man becomes more successful, he is more liked, and that starts with those T-shirts." She blasted managers who unconsciously reflect stereotypes when they judge women's performance, saying: "She's great at her job but she's just not as well liked by her peers," or: "She's a bit aggressive." via the Guardian

- I found this so interesting when I studied it for my Anthropology major - Drug Doses and the Gender Gap - via NYTimes

- Simply brilliant: "If you haven’t brought in someone with an understanding of basic marketing principles who simultaneously studies how new technologies are changing human behavior, then you are likely flying blind and will get caught up in the wrong metrics." Brian Solis, Without a social media strategy you are wasting your time

- ROI on Video? "Gangnam Style, the most-watched YouTube video ever, with more than one billion views, by K-pop sensation Psy, has generated $8 million revenue from YouTube" Via qz.comn

- Also on "What are the 10 Most Subscribed YouTube Channels - 2013?"-- Via YouTube

- You know that concept "birds of a feather, the company you keep..." Well, it seems to be true: "Harvard Professor Finds That Innovative Ideas Spread Like The Flu" - via FastCompany

Sonia Sotomayor's memoir "My Beloved World" hits #1

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 07:19:00 PST

"Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's memoir "My Beloved World" hit number one on the New York Times bestsellers list for hardcover nonfiction."

I am so pleased about this memoir's reach but there's a little irony here, 4-5 years ago I suggested to an undisclosed editor that they reach out to Sonia and offer her a book deal for her remarkable story. I was gently dismissed - "it wouldn't sell, she was "too young"... It's amazing to me now, how well her book is doing and demonstrates to me that I should always trust my instincts in spite of of naysayers because I am usually spot on. Bravo, Sonia!

Grow your own: Avocado

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 07:30:01 PST

Did you know?

An avocado tree as a houseplant (Wikipedia)

The original Aztec name for the avocado is ahuacatl, meaning "testicle," an obvious reference to the shape of the fruit and was considered to possess aphrodisiac qualities.

The early explorers had a hard time with the Aztec name and it was soon adapted by the Spaniards to ahuacate and aguacate, since it sounded like the early Spanish word avocado (now abogado), meaning lawyer.

Now Go Grow a Pear

Now if your mom or grandmother was anything like mine, any time she used an aguacate, she saved the pit. Mostly, I recall that she planted them and grew her own little avocado trees. I had to smile when I came across Inhabitat's handy-dandy guide, complete with photos, on how to grow an avocado tree from seed. Who knew that mami and abuelita were eco DIY trendsetters?

And, if by any chance you're a guacamole fanatic like me, who knows you may even be making or enjoying some this weekend, here are 20 other surprising uses for that avocado seed/pit besides actually ingesting it.

New Book: The Routledge Concise History of Latino/a Literature

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 03:00:06 PST

Okay, I tell you the truth, this is a textbook but honestly, it's something I surely wouldn't mind having on my bookshelf.

The Routledge Concise History of Latino/a Literature presents the first comprehensive overview of these popular, experimental and diverse literary cultures.

Frederick Luis Aldama traces a historical path through Latino/a literature, examining both the historical and political contexts of the works, as well as their authors and the readership. He also provides an enlightening analysis of:

the differing sub-groups of Latino/a literature, including Mexican American, Cuban American, Puerto Rican American, Dominican American, and Central and South American émigré authors
established and emerging literary trends such as the postmodern, historical, chica-lit storytelling formats and the graphic novel key literary themes, including gender and sexuality, feminist and queer voices, and migration and borderlands.

The author’s methodology and interpretation of a wealth of information will put this rich and diverse area of literary culture into a new light for scholars. The book’s student-friendly features such as a glossary, guide to further reading, explanatory text boxes and chapter summaries, make this the ideal text for anyone approaching the area for the first time.

Bless Me, Ultima Movie Trailer Out

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 04:00:14 PST

Fans of this classic Mexican-American novel, will be delighted to note that the trailer for the film adaption is now out.

“Always have the strength to live. Love life, and if despair enters your heart, look for me in the evenings when the wind is gentle and the owls sing in the hills, I shall be with you” ― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me Ultima

Visit Blessmeultima.com

Book Giveaway: Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:01:25 PDT

Here's your chance to win 1 of 3 signed copies of Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina by Raquel Cepeda. Raquel and her publisher were gracious enough to offer a few copies and will be personally filling us in on the back story of the book in a week or two.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In 2009, when Raquel Cepeda almost lost her estranged father to heart disease, she was terrified she’d never know the truth about her ancestry. Every time she looked in the mirror, Cepeda saw a mystery—a tapestry of races and ethnicities that came together in an ambiguous mix.

With time running out, she decided to embark on an archaeological dig of sorts by using the science of ancestral DNA testing to excavate everything she could about her genetic history. Digging through memories long buried, she embarks upon a journey not only into her ancestry but also into her own history.

Born in Harlem to Dominican parents, she was sent to live with her maternal grandparents in the Paraíso (Paradise) district in Santo Domingo while still a baby. It proved to be an idyllic reprieve in her otherwise fraught childhood. Paraíso came to mean family, home, belonging. When Cepeda returned to the US, she discovered her family constellation had changed. Her mother had a new, abusive boyfriend, who relocated the family to San Francisco.

When that relationship fell apart, Cepeda found herself back in New York City with her father and European stepmother: attending tennis lessons and Catholic schools; fighting vicious battles wih her father, who discouraged her from expressing the Dominican part of her hyphenated identity; and immersed in the ’80s hip-hop culture of uptown Manhattan. It was in these streets, through the prism of hip-hop and the sometimes loving embrace of her community, that Cepeda constructed her own identity.

Years later, when Cepeda had become a successful journalist and documentary filmmaker, the strands of her DNA would take her further, across the globe and into history. Who were her ancestors? How did they—and she—become Latina? Her journey, as the most unforgettable ones often do, would lead her to places she hadn’t expected to go. With a vibrant lyrical prose and fierce honesty, Cepeda parses concepts of race, identity, and ancestral DNA among Latinos by using her own Dominican-American story as one example, and in the process arrives at some sort of peace with her father.

Raquel Cepeda is an award-winning journalist, cultural activist, and documentary filmmaker. A former magazine editor, her byline has appeared in The Village Voice, CNN.com, the Associated Press, and many others. Cepeda directed and produced Bling: A Planet Rock, the critically acclaimed documentary about American hip-hop culture’s obsession with diamonds. She lives with her husband, a writer and TV producer, daughter, and son in her beloved New York City.

Charming Copenhagen

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 03:00:08 PDT

Last week, I traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark, for a conference and while I didn't have much time to enjoy the city fully, I have to say the city left an indelible impression on me. Of all the countries that I have been to, I found Denmark, to be most charming and and welcoming.

It wasn't as cold as I thought it would've have been. In fact, I came home to snow and frost, where I left Denmark, sunny and ready for spring. Most of the tourist spots like the Tivoli Gardens, where Walt Disney took inspiration from, were closed for the season but I barely had time to do any sightseeing so I missed the Little Mermain statue but did see the statue of Hans Christian Anderson at a private reception in the Copenhagen City Hall.

The Öresund Bridge

One of the most amazing things was the sight of large bodies of water, even ocean completely frozen over. The other was the Øresund Bridge, which connects Sweden and Denmark, via a tunnel and an bridge. The bridge rises up mid-straight from an underwater tunnel connecting to Denmark and from the air is just a remarkably breathtaking thing to see - it looks like it is rising out of nothingness.

I managed to get to the Strøget, the car-free shopping area in the heart of the city but not till late evening and almost all the shops were closing. Although I missed going to the stores I really wanted to go to like the Ilum Bolighus, Notre Dame, and others, I did have a chance to go to the Ilum and Magasin where I bought chocolates, pastries, and a few pieces of Royal Copenhagen porcelain for my mom and boyfriend's mom. Luckily, there were tons of shops in the airport and I managed to pick up souvenirs there as well.

If you're not a fan of fishy foods, you might not enjoy the food, but I found the herring, fish, and hearty stews and cheeses to be really comforting. Another thing that was really cool was the graffiti hall of fame, near the H.C. Ørsted power plant, which could possibly be the longest continues street art piece in the world. I wrote more about that experience here, with photos.

Chandelier at the Scandic Copenhagen Hotel

Stocked up on Danish candy

Shopping on Stroget

This chocolate creme-filled sweet was amazing

Easter Tree

The Tycho Brahe Planetarium

Frozen Jergens So

Amazing huge strawberries

Hake and veggies

Hall of Fame

Download the 2013 Buzz Books Sampler: 28 New Titles

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 03:00:05 PDT

It's that wonderful time of the year, when the Book Expo America BEA, is almost upon us. In accordance this little sampler offers readers a teaser of this year's hottest releases.

Start reading exclusive pre-publication excerpts right now from 28 top spring and summer titles, including many featured at the American Booksellers Association's Winter Institute. Enjoy new work from Michael Pollan, Chip and Dan Heath, Meg Wolitzer, Kate Atkinson, Joe Hill, Sarah Dessen and more in this free ebook. Sample hot debuts, nonfiction from bestselling authors, breakout books from seasoned novelists, and some great young adult literature.

Also available in the iBooks store, or get the epub here.

New Book: Rita Moreno: A Memoir by Rita Moreno

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 04:30:01 PDT

Courtesy of Penguin imprint, Celebra, Hollywood icon, Rita Moreno tells her story in this new memoir out just in time for Women's History Month:

In this luminous memoir, Rita Moreno shares her remarkable journey from a young girl with simple beginnings in Puerto Rico to Hollywood legend—and one of the few performers, and the only Hispanic, to win an Oscar, Grammy, Tony and two Emmys.

Born Rosita Dolores Alverio in the idyll of Puerto Rico, Moreno, at age five, embarked on a harrowing sea voyage with her mother and wound up in the harsh barrios of the Bronx, where she discovered dancing, singing, and acting as ways to escape a tumultuous childhood. Making her Broadway debut by age thirteen—and moving on to Hollywood in its Golden Age just a few years later—she worked alongside such stars as Gary Cooper, Yul Brynner, and Ann Miller.

When discovered by Louis B. Mayer of MGM, the wizard himself declared: “She looks like a Spanish Elizabeth Taylor.” Cast by Gene Kelly as Zelda Zanders in Singin’ in the Rain and then on to her Oscar-winning performance in West Side Story, she catapulted to fame—yet found herself repeatedly typecast as the “utility ethnic,” a role she found almost impossible to elude.

Here, for the first time, Rita reflects on her struggles to break through Hollywood’s racial and sexual barriers. She explores the wounded little girl behind the glamorous façade—and what it took to find her place in the world. She talks candidly about her relationship with Elvis Presley, her encounters with Howard Hughes, and the passionate romance with Marlon Brando that drove her to attempt suicide. And she shares the illusiveness of a “perfect” marriage and the incomparable joys of motherhood.

Infused with Rita Moreno’s quick wit and deep insight, this memoir is the dazzling portrait of a stage and screen star who longed to become who she really is—and triumphed.

Rita Moreno is one of the few artists to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. She has also received a Golden Globe Award and a National Medal of Honor. She recently concluded a sold-out run of her one-woman show, Life Without Makeup, at the Berkeley Repertory Theater in Berkeley, California, and regularly appears in the television show, Happily Divorced.

Book Giveaway: The Death of Fidel Perez

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 03:00:08 PDT

Here's your exclusive chance to win a copy of The Death of Fidel Perez by Elizabeth Huergo, courtesy of Unbridled Books. Enter below! May the odds be ever in your favor.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Publication Date: April 2, 2013

On July 26, 2003, the 50th anniversary of the Moncada Army Barracks raid that sparked the Cuban revolution, something unexpected happens. When Fidel Pérez and his brother accidentally tumble to their deaths from their Havana balcony, the neighbors' outcry, "Fidel has fallen!" is misinterpreted by those who hear it. That wishful mistake quickly ripples outward on the running cries of the people, and it gloriously reawakens a suppressed city.

Three Habaneros in particular are affected by the news: an elderly street visionary named Saturnina, the remorseful Professor Pedro Valle, and his impressionable firebrand of a student, Camilo. All three are haunted by the past and now, once again, are made to confront a new future, perhaps another revolution.

Their stories--so real, distressing and insuppressible--are beautifully braided into new hope as they converge in the frantic crowd that gathers in La Plaza de la Revolución.

Elizabeth Huergo was born in Havana and immigrated to the United States at an early age as a political refugee. A published poet and story writer, she lives in Virginia. The Death of Fidel Perez is her first novel.

New Book: Chasing the Sun by Juanes

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 04:00:01 PDT

Another memoir to savor this month offers us Juanes' story:

“I’m doing what I believe I was brought to this world to do: to create music that raises awareness, renews hearts, and generates change. I’ll continue looking to the stars and traveling the globe as God permits me. And I hope I have many years left to connect through art, to play my guitar, and to continue chasing the sun.”—Juanes

In Chasing the Sun, the international music icon and humanitarian shares the incredible story of his life and how music and faith guided his path. In his own un-adulterated words, and with visually arresting images throughout—some of them never before seen—Juanes imparts his defining moments from childhood to present day, reflecting on his spiritual and musical journey and the personal and professional experiences that shaped the man he is today.

Born and raised in Colombia, Juanes developed his deep love of music from his family and learned to play guitar at an early age. By age sixteen, he became a founding member, lead guitarist, vocalist, and song-writer for Ekhymosis, which went on to become Colombia’s leading hard-rock band. However, it was his career as a solo artist that propelled him toward international superstardom. With great honesty, Juanes reveals how his times of glory were often intersected by times of doubt and soul-searching and how remaining true to his beliefs and passionate about his art gave him the strength and foresight to reinvent himself and his career. While his role as a recording artist is well documented, the very private Juanes has never opened up in his own words—until now.

Juanes is a Colombian musician who has sold more than fifteen million albums worldwide. He has won multiple Latin Grammy Awards and one Grammy Award. Juanes received the BMI President’s Award at the 2010 BMI Latin Awards. He is also known for his humanitarian work, especially with aid for Colombian victims of antipersonnel mines.

Mother Atabey & the Web of Life: The Green Latina

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 03:30:00 PDT

We travel in so many circles.
Renewed, reborn, reconnected,
over and over again.

Earlier this year in an attempt to eat healthier and greener, I joined Urban Organics, a service that delivers a box of fresh, organic produce from local farms every week to your home, after reading about it on Treehugger. In honor of Earth Day, I wanted to share a little bit of the experience here.

My first box endowed me with beautiful greens and fruits so pretty I was forced to Instagram.

I was mystified by all the lovely greens but luckily some were labeled and I quickly learned to distinguish Chard from Kale and so on. Using Pinterest and the web, I learned the best way to get grit and sand off the greens is by soaking them in a bowl, letting the soil and fine sand float to the top and then changing the water until it is all clear. Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way and can tell you that nothing sucks as much as chewing on gritty leaves.

Inspired by fellow bloggers like Chris Brogan, I bought a juicer and now about once a week, I make fresh carrot juice and a separate batch of orange or fruit juice. It's great to consume but it's quite a lot of work to rinse, chop, and then clean up the mess.

Part of the fun too was the "mystery box" angle to the delivery each week, sometimes I was at a complete loss with what to do, with say an eggplant, for example, which I don't like and have never cooked. I ended up using a recipe I found online for Baba Ganoush and found it to be quite yummy. Part of the difficulty too was in the abundance of produce for only two people and not having the time to prep it and/or eat it.

I tried pickling beets, and freezing broccoli, green beans, and a random eggplant but soon my freezer was full. Twice, my produce drawer hit its limit and was overflowing with spuds and I then took a stab at making potato kugel for Passover and Shepherd's Pie, Verdict: Delicious, very high in carbs and doesn't keep very well. I even prepared filling nutritious breakfast treats in advance.

Every once in a while I was forced to chuck greens that wilted or completely yellowed and fruit that just went bad, all the while feeling guilty and wasteful. Even throwing out the pulp from my juicer, I wished I could donate it to someone's compost pile if not longing for my own where chubby little worms could get their fill and give me rich soil for pretty flowers. Yet this is a start. I will lead a better more enriched life. I will eat less processed food. I will eat more food that was tenderly grown and made with love and compassion. I will not burden my descendants with the ills of obesity, diabetes or malnutrition. I will treat my body as the temple it has always been. Barriga llena, corazon contento.

All in all, it's been a low cost, fun experience toward a healthier future. I think I will continue the service through the summer just to feast on summer's sweet harvest.

* Atabey (Taino, Puerto Rico) - Primary Supreme being representing the four cardinal points. Unique Turtle women of fertility, beauty, rituals, music, and ceremonies; mother of twins Yúcahu (God of Yuca/ the sea and the mountains) and Juracán ( God of Hurricanes). She who gave birth to herself from all the elements , celestial Earth Mother Goddess of five names.

Taino Prayer to the Mother Goddess by tainoray

Bibi Atabey - Mother Atabey

Atte itabo era - Mother of Waters

Coaiba Mamona - Heavenly Mother of the Moon

Aturo aya wakia Itiba Cahubaba - Sister of our Ancient Bleeding Mother

Acona wakia Arawaka - Hear our Sacred People

Yemao waka waili - Protect our Children

Wakia Yari - Our Precious Jewels

Busica Waka Ketauri - Give us Life

Inaru-Matum - Generous Woman

Busica wakia Ahia Hu De - Give us your Blessing

Tai Ku Buya Han Han - Good Spirit Yes

Nabori Daca - I am your servant

Han Han Katu - So Be It

* Atabey the Band

Lit Links & Scoops

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 06:30:00 PDT

- Isabel Allende: By the Book: The author of the forthcoming novel “Maya’s Notebook” says reading Gabriel García Márquez made her want to become a writer: “I thought, ‘If this guy can do it, so can I.’ ”

- Emilio Gil on Modern Spanish Book Design

- Lulu Delacre, Bilingual Children’s Book Author & Illustrator Says, “The Power is in Numbers”

- Top 20 Spanish-Language Novels Written Since 1982, (written in 2007)

- What librarians consider when putting together a Spanish-language children’s book collection

- If you have not see the documentary, The Central Park Five, you must watch it. It's online and in Spanish.

Possible Future? The End of the Bookshop

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 05:30:01 PDT

“Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that.

It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound.

You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words.

That is your role, your gift. Your sister may be able to see the future, but you yourself can shape it, boy. Do not forget that... there are many kinds of magic, after all.” ― Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus

The Last Bookshop imagines a future where physical books have died out. thelastbookshop.co.uk

New Book: Mama's Child

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:30:04 PDT

I read Mama's Child by Joan Steinau Lester in one day. It was that gripping and enticing, a tale about identity, race, denial and fealty. I almost stopped reading the book immediately at the begin when I realized their dog was named "Che" but honestly this book blurb does not do this book justice. It definitely resonated with me.

A stunning tale about the deeply entrenched conflicts between a white mother and her biracial daughter.

Mama’s Child is story of an idealistic young white woman who traveled to the American South as a civil rights worker, fell in love with an African American man, and started a family in San Francisco, where the more liberal city embraced them—except when it didn’t. They raise a son and daughter, but the tensions surrounding them have a negative impact on their marriage, and they divorce when their children are still young. For their biracial daughter, this split further destabilizes her already challenged sense of self—“Am I black or white?” she must ask herself, “Where do I belong?” Is she her father’s daughter alone?

As the years pass, the chasm between them widens, even as the mother attempts to hold on to the emotional chord that binds them. It isn’t until the daughter, Ruby, herself becomes a wife and mother that she begins to develop compassion and understanding for the many ways that her own mother’s love transcended race and questions of identity.''

Joan Steinau Lester, Ed.D., is an award-winning journalist and author of four critically acclaimed books. Her writing has appeared in many newspapers and magazines, including Essence, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Cosmopolitan. She lives in Northern California.

Have you tried Nueva Cocina Foods?

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Wed, 01 May 2013 04:00:03 PDT

The other day while browsing the meat aisle of my local A&P Supermarket, after stocking up on healthy snacks at Trader's Joes, I spotted a package of taco seasoning labeled "Nueva Cocina® Latin" that claimed to be MSG- free, gluten free, and all-natural; all products contain no artificial ingredients or preservatives.

I am not sure if you've spotted this brand before, I certainly hadn't but I was really pleased to discover it. Keep an eye for their rice, seasonings and soup products. I hope they extend their line too and make some low sodium versions soon.

New Book: Jenni Rivera: The Incredible Story of a Warrior Butterfly

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Mon, 06 May 2013 03:30:05 PDT

Jenni Rivera was the top-selling artist within the Regional Mexican music genre. With a weekly radio show, her own reality show, a makeup and clothing line, and her own foundation, she was at the height of her career and life. Everything she had conquered, with blood, sweat, tears, and smiles, hap¬pened, as she said, with God leading her by the hand. However her life, her dreams, and the joy she shared with so many came to a tragic end just before dawn on December 9, 2012.

In Jenni Rivera: The Incredible Story of a Warrior Butterfly, Leila Cobo—pianist, TV host, and Executive Director for Latino content and programming at Billboard—brings us Jenni Rivera’s intimate and moving biography, reflecting on the party girl, the elegant woman, the great diva, the friend, the mother, and the grandmother.

A Fulbright scholar from Cali, Colombia, Leila Cobo is a novelist, pianist, TV host and executive Editor for Latin Content and Programming for Billboard. Under her tenure, Billboard has expanded its coverage of Latin Music and for the first time in its more than 100-year history, the magazine has a complete weekly section dedicated solely to Latin music.

As an author Ms. Cobo’s first novel, Tell Me Something True, was published Oct. 1 to critical acclaim by Grand Central Publishing/Hatchette and is now in its third printing. Her second novel, The Second Time We Met, was published in 2012.

Prior to Billboard, Leila wrote for the Los Angeles Times and was later the pop music critic at the Miami Herald. She’s written liner notes for Ricky Martin, Shakira, Julio Iglesias and Selena among others, and collaborates closely with Grammy in the Schools and Teach for America, among other projects.

Ms. Cobo is also one of the authors of the Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music and a guest writer on the anthology Quinceañera.

Upcoming East Harlem Augmented Reality Art Exhibit: Mi Querido Barrio

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie M. Russo) — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:32:38 PDT

(Photo: Wikipedia)

“Mi Querido Barrio” is an exhibition with both physical and virtual components, mapping an historic and cultural tour of El Barrio to foster greater awareness of the cultural history of the area’s long-standing residents. The works of intergenerational artists in both traditional media and augmented reality will explore the concept of home/community in a global reality.

The physical exhibition will document the lives of 5 families with a generational history of living in El Barrio. The virtual exhibition will place virtual computer graphic artworks and environments throughout my neighborhood to reflect on El Barrio’s past, present and future in cultural memory, history, fantasy, and reality.

Via website

Last week, Dr. Marta Moreno-Vega, president and founder of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI), announced the planned art and historic exhibition “Mi Querido Barrio” (My Dear Neighborhood), celebrating the rich history in East Harlem’s El Barrio.

Mi Querido Barrio, a two-year project, is an augmented reality exhibition. Simply put, it is a view of a real-world environment (which is/was physically somewhere else) transformed digitally, appearing on your smart phone.

Triggers at on-site posters throughout East Harlem (La Marqueta, Tito Puente’s birth location, the Young Lord’s garbage offense, or Willie Mays stickball locations, to name a few) call forth on your phone the digital artwork. Sound, graphics, and video are also part of the digital-transformed creation.

If this all seems very conceptual, a demonstration using a smart phone makes it straightforward.

Nine artists from diverse artistic backgrounds have been brought together to produce an exhibition using this latest technology paying homage to the vast contributions of East Harlem’s community.

The newly launched art project will map historic and cultural areas of New York’s El Barrio neighborhood. Each artist will create a site-specific virtual artwork. At the end of the training period for artists, there will be a limited public exhibition as an example of what the final project will be.

The artists have been trained by Tamiko Thiel, a German-based visual artist, who has developed artistic capabilities of various forms of this technology for exploring social and cultural issues. Bruce Lincoln is directing the project along with a technology advisor, historian, and workshop coordinator.

This is a homecoming for cultural activist Dr. Moreno-Vega, who was born and grew up in El Barrio.

Having devoted her life to preserving, nurturing and showcasing Hispanic arts, she is clearly on the wave of a “now” art form, situating CCCADI stanchly into the 21st century. With this recognition, Dr. Moreno-Vega says, “It is an exciting time for us here at the Center as we have the opportunity to train and open a new field to a diverse group of artists.”

Via Caribbeanlifenews

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