Apuntes breves sobre Señales que precederán el fin del mundo El territorio mítico de Aztlán es de donde vendrían los Aztecas; Moctezuma I lo buscó y lo han buscado muchos más; está al norte de Tenochtitlan pero no sabemos cuánto. Aztlán también es el territorio patria de los Xicanos; en esta novela se junta el … More Reading for pleasure: Yuri Herrera
This is from the Codex Boturini and I found it on Wikipedia. Moctezuma I tried to find out where Aztlán was and so did the 16th century Fray Diego Durán. People have been working on this ever since; Aztlán could have been near Florida, or at a Mississippian site in Wisconsin, or somewhere north of … More Viaje a Aztlán
In Eastertide, as we are. On the progress toward death as a process of healing. My new favorite film, Biutiful. Sanjinés, referring to Borda and Saenz and then back to Benjamin, on the corpse. “Everything corpse-like falls away from the body piece by piece.” Sanjinés’ book is the most truly erudite thing I have read … More Muerte. a. muerte.
Václav Havel is one of the people about whom I do not know enough. The Nation had a piece on Havel and Occupy, quoting interesting texts by him from the sixties and seventies that shed shocking light on the present moment. I would like to point to it and read it again. Eventually it will … More Václav Havel
I am reading on Alcides Arguedas, about whom I knew relatively little. I learned the most amazing thing I have learned all semester: he thought that through education, the Indians of Bolivia could be transformed into Swedes! This is something like Macunaíma, bathing in the magic pool and turning into a beautiful, white prince. * … More Alcides Arguedas
The character in this novel my class is reading is a composer of narcocorridos, which is one reason why I have so many corridos on this blog lately — I find them as I am looking for examples for the students. Now I have found this, on the Battle of Zacatecas, Zacatecas being one of … More Zacatecas
Axé.
Here is an excerpt from the English translation of Roberto Bolaño’s novel. NOVEMBER 2 I’ve been cordially invited to join the visceral realists. I accepted, of course. There was no initiation ceremony. It was better that way. NOVEMBER 3 I’m not really sure what visceral realism is. I’m seventeen years old, my name is Juan … More The Savage Detectives
Ghost of a GirlT I have become addicted to this song, Ghost of a Girl, because it seems summery and relaxed and we are having summerlike days. Summery days in January are my favorites. I have nothing to say and so I keep posting songs. I am running Ubuntu Linux 11.10 now, on a really … More Bluerunners
Beattie’s stories are a master class in narrative technique. First person or third; present tense or past; one story line or several; intercutting time frames or A-to-Z chronology; single scenes, impressionistic fragments, long unfoldings. The effects are precise, understated. Have you read Ann Beattie? I have not and I am interested in her early – … More Ann Beattie
coldhearted scientist وداد 