New Year, New Day y El Destino Ante Amor

How does one begin? Fiestas navideñas on and across the supple backs of four weeks that literally flew by, perhaps? And so it was back from Tejaztlan and the bright lights and big music of mi querido Austin. Flying in to LAX after dark for a Christmas rendezvous with myself and the shades of destiny. It was a return to temporary work at NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers), but more importantly, a fundraiser a few days after for a few of us who've been invited to the Decimo Tercero Festival de Poesia Internacional en La Habana. Held at Miss T's Barcade, the retro-cool arcade-cum-cantina co-owned by Ricardo Gómez, accordion player with Very Be Careful, a band that turns in Colombian vallenato and cumbia standards with celebratory joy and musical madness over trago 'tras trago. Compa' was kind enough to let us keep the nominal cover. So here we are en el año del dinero or so I'm told by a lovely dominicana in Boston. Finished it all with a New Year's Eve party of one, alone in El Sereno. Followed it a few days later at the birthday pachanga for KPFK's Pocho Hour of Power co-host and reformed bad boy Esteban Zul in Silverlake. Tamales and tequila with a bang. Esteban is an official ambassador of Aztlan as recognized by the Cuban embassy attaches in Mexico City.

The holy-days would not, finally, have been complete with out the traditional Rosca de Reyes on January 6th in celebration of the Reyes Magos. I was honored to have LA's premiere Chicana Poetas Chingonas (CPC)--Gloria Alvarez, Reina Prado and María Elena Fernández as well as cultural arts maven and camarada Fabiola Torres over to the humble cantón for tamales and champurrado. Friend and brother for life Jesse Katz read from his upcoming memoir soon to be published by Crown Books. Last year we celebrated the Three Kings Day at Rudolpho's in Silverlake. Much cozier at home and can't wait for the candelaria, the party those who find the tiny niño santo figurine in their slice of rosca (King Cake). Of course, Francisco Hernández would wind up with one as did pintor y artista del grabador extraordinario José Lozano. Props to Reina who baked her own! This is the season... and stay tuned for a poem titled as such written on January 12th, a day imbued with uncontainable personal meaning and magic and memory and melancolía nostalgica. Promised myself I wouldn't use this blogspt for poetry, but I'll renege. Recommended: the exhibition of Graciela Iturbide photographs at the Getty. There are no words to conjure the mastery yet. The title suffices in a way these humble excursions can't. See her photo from Tijuana at the top. See, it isn't just Chicanos that make a fetish of Guadalupe-Cuatlicue...