Letras Latinas Roundtable with Lauro Vasquez and Lucas de Lima

I met Lauro Vasquez toward the end of the fall 2011 semester and then spent most of my time at AWP Chicago hanging out with him. Me encariñe tanto con el! This guy is genuine, intelligent and a very good writer. We mentioned collaborating on some round table discussions with the goal to explore our craft and hone a community among Latin@s in MFA programs.

Check out a round table discussion I was a part of with him and Lucas de Lima here. Another roundtable is in the works and you should look forward to it ;)

Muchos thank yous go out to Lauro for moderating this conversation and getting it internet ready.

From the Letras Latinas blogsite: 

Letras Latinas, the literary program of the Institute forLatino Studies, seeks to enhance the visibility, appreciation and study of Latino literature both on and off the campus of the University of Notre Dame. We are particularly interested in projects that identify and support emerging Latino/a writers. Letras Latinas actively seeks collaboration with individuals and organizations in order to more effectively carry out its mission. Letras Latinas is under the direction of Francisco Aragón, with assistance from Notre Dame M.F.A. candidate Lauro Vazquez.

abrazos,
Nayelly 

It's been how long since I last posted?!

I have spent the last two weeks watching Gossip Girl, editing poems, and making too many Spotify playlists. I started submitting work to journals last night. I usually send out to no more than twelve or so journals and only once a year. I know some poets do far more than that...but I am slow at it (and I'm ok with that). I may do a bit more than that, but I am not sure. It takes me a long time to select which poem/s I will send to which journal. Sometimes I just know, other times it's a struggle.

On that note, I sent Beloit Poetry Journal some poems in June (on a whim, I didn't actually think they'd accept something) and they picked up one of my poems...say what?! Look for "Recurring Dream as Tire" in their Winter 2012/2013 issue.

Puerto Del Sol also took one of my poems (?!). Look for "From Magdalen's Port; 1950s" in their issue due out this month.

We'll see how this round of submissions goes. I'm excited about it, I am.

:)
Nayelly

Ostrich Review

Some writer friends and I have started a literary journal, Ostrich Review. We are looking for great poetry, fiction, and art. Send us something!

Check us out here.

Our inaugural issue will feature GC Waldrep, Carolyn Hembree and more phenomenal talent.

un breakesito

This is what study/grading breaks look like at the Frazarrios...

...beignets with french press coffee.

Bruno Mars

A million times sigh...

Opus Orange

yep, this song makes me happy...

Back to Reality

Back to la casa tomorrow. This was fun, but papers and grading await me in Lago Carlos to wrap up Semester One.

Rapas, tamales, and family

oh my!

It must be Thanksgiving vacation. Yay!

In Your Arms by Kina Grannis

Can you believe this took 2 years to shoot? Wow!

Must watch:

Marcel

This brings me joy.

A Memory

I just realized I never shared this.

The Art of Memory

Photo by Beatriz Guzman

Art work by Beatriz Guzman.

Book High

Few things are better than walking around a used books store. Half Price Books was overwhelming. Here's what I bought:

• After Aztlan: Latino Poets of the Nineties edited by Ray Gonzalez
• In Mad Love and War by Joy Harjo
• Dark Field of the Republic by Adrienne Rich
• The Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath
• The Aeneid
• Borders by Pat Mora
• Signing; Signed English: A Basic Guide by Harry Bornstein & Karen L. Saulnier
• Learn American Sign Language flashcards

...and now to find bookshelf space.

I'm in love with a poet. Son mi vicio.

Recently, I have spent numerous hours stalking and reading this guy.

Check out his work here.

:)

Un Altar para "El Chino"

It was so much fun to make this. It was for my father, Guadalupe Barrios. Or "El Chino" (The Curly-haired One) to those close to him, after his curly hair.

Dia De Los Muertos: November 2

Dia De Los Muertos is a day to remember and celebrate the life of loved ones who have died. Last week, I randomly starting thinking about Day of the Dead and researching it and calling relatives to ask about it since I have never partaken in this particular festivity.

I chose to celebrate my father and should be finished building his altar this weekend. Will post pics, of course. It is not very big, since it will sit on a small bookshelf in my living room. I am making a bunch of tissue paper flowers since I can't get a hold of any Aztec Marigolds. I was unable to find papel picado in the valley when I went home last weekend so my aunt sent me some from San Diego. While I was home this past weekend, I raided my moms albums and brought home pictures of my dad. Today, I am going to see what I can do about setting out his favorite foods. Making real sugar skulls is very tedious, so I made some out of clay and they actually turned out very nice. Another year when I am not so busy, I will make the real thing.

In Mexico, Day of the Dead is a national holiday and people build and decorate alters and have parties to remember their deceased loved ones. Like I said, I have never celebrated it before, so my knowledge of this Mexican holiday is limited, but here are some things I do know:

• You celebrate the memory and life of a loved who has died.
• It is not like Halloween. Day of the Dead is not supposed to be scary, but celebratory and whimsical.
• You are supposed to create an altar for your deceased loved one and decorate it with sugar skulls (which signifies the sweetness of the person), candles, favorite foods, objects, symbols, etc. that the person liked, colorful flowers--specifically Aztec Marigolds (which can be real or fake--it is popular to make tissue paper flowers), papel picado (which is tissue or metallic paper with intricate designs cut out).
• A central symbol when celebrating Dia De Los Muertos is the calavera which represents the acceptance of death as part of life and how even though dead, our loved ones are very much alive through our remembrance of them (I just added that last part, but it makes sense and that's what to means to me :).
• A poem is written for the loved one you are remembering (did someone say poem? I'm in!). You can also write a riddle.
• It is considered disrespectful to cry for the loved one by the altar. You are supposed to rejoice about thhe life they had.
• Dia De Los Muertos has inspired many artists.
• There are other things, but I don't feel like going on and on, so...get more info here.

Well, I must get back to work now. My apologies if this post seems rushed; I have a bunch of tissue paper flowers to make and need to stop by the dollar store to buy more paper.

besitos y abrazotes,

Nayelly

eek

I suck because I haven't updated my blog.

That is all.

Will update soon. Promise, promise.

n

I'm the boss, applesauce

Just a little over a month ago, I told Joe from Joe's Service Center I needed a U-Haul big enough to fit a queen size mattress.

"That would be the largest thing in the U-Haul, actually," I told him looking around at the walls dark with all the dust shoved into the small office with each door slam.

"Where you taking it to?"

"Lake Charles, Louisiana," and the room expanded around me as he punched heavy fingers into the keyboard.

So odd, I feel like this happened yesterday. Now, I am settled in, teaching, and studying at McNeese. The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of new faces, schedules and a roller coaster of emotions for me.

I started teaching on Thursday and was a tad nervous. Especially when a tall 50-year-old man walked into the classroom. He sat in the back and glared toward the front of class. I feared he may be the type to think a girl half his age could have absolutely no authority in his presence.

"Remain confident," he said as he handed in the diagnostic test I administered. "You're the boss. Remember that. You're the boss."

Did I seem nervous? I promise I wasn't nervous. At least, not a whole lot, but it was reassuring, nonetheless.

My apologies for not maintaining this blog like I said I would. I will try. Soon I will post a blog (and picture) of the art work I commissioned Rio Grande Valley artist Beatriz Guzman to make for me. Also, a blog of my phenomenal cohort at McNeese.

booo

I move to Lake Charles in 15 days.

I'm so not ready.

-sigh-

Extreme Cabinet Makeover: Barrios Sisters Edition

"I'm dedicating this whole morning to you," Sergio grumbled as I looked through the little papers where I wrote numerous addresses. Much to his discontent, we were going to spend Saturday morning sifting through another man's trash in hopes to find me some treasures. Namely, furniture for me to take to Lake Charles.

I only found two small tables. Both wood. One was an interesting little cabinet a lady had sanded down with plans to turn into something nice, but said those plans fell when she decided to move houses and realized she had to sell a bunch of stuff, including the cabinet. The sticker on it, gooey from sitting under the sun far too long, read $3. I immediately thought of the things I could do with it. Sergio and the lady's son loaded it onto Sergio's truck, I bought one more small table for my mom (or me) and off we went.

I decided to wait until Sunday to do anything with it other than buy some paint. In the morning, I asked my sister to help me make over the little cabinet. Mayra, being the artist that she is, started throwing ideas at me about what we could do with it. She wanted to make some stencils. Bird shapes, since I love birds. Then she would pass them onto the cabinet under lace to create a nice texture. I will not lie, I thought her ideas might not work. "I've done this before," she said when I questioned her about applying the stencil under lace. Bueno, I thought skeptically.

After my mom painted the cabinet a Robin's Egg Blue we bought at The Home Depot, Mayra begin working on the large stencils and cutting them out. We began work on it around 1 p.m. and wrapped up around 9 p.m. We took many breaks, and ended up loving our results! This is the first time I took on a project like this. I anticipate more.

Check out the before and after pics.

Arte

I commissioned an incredibly talented artist named Beatriz Guzman to paint a little something for me to take to Lake Charles and hang on the walls of what will be my home. I have always admired her work. Don't know what will be on the canvas. I just know that there will be a swallow on it. And I think my dad will be there, as well, but I'm not sure. So excited to see the final product! You simply must go check out her work here.

Well, I will be in Lake Charles this weekend to house hunt, say hello to some current MFA kids and to pass 4th of July there. There's going to be a festival in LC that I am going to check out.