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Read Past Newsletters
TIGERS, CAMELS AND BUFFALOS IN EL CENTRO...
The other day was in the Centro by el Jardin, main plaza, shopping in a store, suddenly the sound of horns blasting, loud dance music from cars...and then the surreal sight of camels in an open top truck cruising by the plate glass window. Then enclosed trucks with tigers, one lone buffalo (where did they get the buffalo?)...hola Fellini, all on their way to a circus at the edge of town by the Gigante supermarket, and where the truly gigante Tuesday Market is held...everything under the Mexican sun for sale in the crowded stalls. The smell of so much food cooking, someone offering you a spoonful of yummy, dark, chocolate mole with a huge, joyful smile. So today when I went to Gigante, there was the circus tent, some of the tigers in their cages...kids, families staring in awe. The tigers looked cared for, clean in the cages, but it still makes me sad to see these beautiful wild beings caged. No animal rights groups to free them, the camels, the buffalo...lots of skinny dogs roaming the streets...yet their presence here in San Miguel is strangely magical, forbidden. I meant to add this in 'newsletter style', now realize I'm in the wrong area, so will stop here, add a longer newsletter later. Whoever reads this, please know that San Miguel remains a Mexican town- the 'expats, gringo/as' etc are in the minority, and now there's tigers in San Miguel...next about a bull fight where the bulls kept taking the capes from los matadors...QUE VIVA EL TORO...
Dia de Los Muertos, Noviembre 2006
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June 13, 2006 Today as I waited for the garbage truck to arrive, always announced by some great ranchera music, I heard the music, grabbed my garbage bag and opened the door to a huge crowd of kids, parents, all in Loco/Loca costume, dancing up the street. The kids threw candy at us, the onlookers, and some little guys ran up to give me a handful personally. As I live in the San Antonio Colonia where Los Loco/as originate, I've been invited to join in, but will be crossing the ancient trade route (MEXICO/USA human made border)to teach in el cuidad de Los Angeles, but I will try in earnest to be a Loca anyway. Those smiles, laughter, dancing, very loud salsa music will make the crossing even easier- even when they 'welcome me back to my country'...In my next book of poetry, SOFT CHAOS, it opens with a quote by Virginia Woolf: 'As a woman I have no country. As a woman I want no country. As a woman the whole world is my country.' And so, on June 17th, Dia de Los Loco/as, try dancing down the street in costume with your friends/family, throwing candy as you go... CHISPAS y TONGLEN (Chispas- sparks, fire, joy) Almaluz
(From the Dear World poetry series, in its 12th year)-
Dear World, March 24, 1996
18,400 years ago, this comet
we call (in 1996) Hyakutake
came close to the Earth (ten million
miles away, ten million); and we
can see it with the naked
eye, floating in the sky like
a tail of light. The last
time it came within ten million
miles, humans were just crossing
the terrible, icy glaciers,
the Bering Strait, into this
land mass, North America, one
of the floating, enduring Turtles.
The Turtles whispered, "Leap of
faith, dream, leap of faith, dream,"
as the comet edged its way
ten million miles, so close. 18,400
years later, the Turtles whisper,
"Leap of faith, one planet, leap
of faith, one people." This planet
floating through the stars, comets
coming home to sing to the Turtles:
"Cross the terrible, icy glaciers,
the human heart, leap."
(In DESIRE- and in the wonderful anthology 'PRAYERS FOR A THOUSAND YEARS...Inspiration From Leaders & Visionaries Around The World'- given to world leaders at the United Nations in early 2000.)
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Anthology
COMING OF AGE IN THE 21st CENTURY- Mary Frosch, ed.
Includes Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich, Junot Diaz, ZZ Packer, myself, and others.
Poetry
SOFT CHAOS
SOFT CHAOS is now available on www.amazon.com and feel free to post a review, gracias y chispas...
VIDA
The poetry of Alma Luz Villanueva, like her prose, is drawn from the gut, her womb, and a vital point in an intelligent woman's mind. She always speaks from the heart. She delivers to the reader the offerings of a whole human being. She sings, she rages, she lets us know that above all, the poet is a mirror to our own inner triumphs and failures.
Ana Castillo, author of SO FAR FROM GOD
DESIRE
"This riveting volume full of lingering images and provocative, personal and political moments opens my heart and aligns me with the powerful feminine forces that continue to surge through Ms. Villanueva's writing. Her transformational journey becomes my journey. She speaks from the heart and reaches the heart."
Burleigh Muten, author of RETURN OF THE GREAT GODDESS
POETRY
PLANET with MOTHER, MAY I?
"What I still most enjoy about Villanueva's poetry, aside from the strength of her images and the way they convey her inner life, is her voice. That voice is confident, direct, unflinching, intimate."
Marie-Elise Wheatwind, from The Women's Review of Books, May 1994.
Fiction, short story collection
WEEPING WOMAN, LA LLORONA AND OTHER STORIES
"LA LLORONA, the weeping woman, walks through the pages of this book as a spirit guide, someone unto whom other's sorrows flow...Villanueva shows the power of the human spirit in this disturbing and beautiful book." Library Journal, March 1, 1994.
Novels
THE ULTRAVIOLET SKY
"Villanueva's ultraviolet sky is overhead for all of us." --Kathryn Trueblood, The Before Columbus Foundation Fiction Anthology.
NAKED LADIES
"One of the most inspiring elements of this novel is the wonderful portrayal of strong women." --Veronica Chambers, Los Angeles Times, 1994.
LUNA'S CALIFORNIA POPPIES
"Holden Caulfied meets Anne Frank in this compelling coming-of-age novel." --Library Journal, May 2002
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'How To Transform Yourself'- Sadhuguru JaggiSadhuguru speaks with wisdom, humor- thorns and roses.
La Bloga- review, SOFT CHAOSA site full of author/publishing information-
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