NP Blog
NP History Some Highlights
by Tony Diaz on 01/17/18
* Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say founded April 1998 in the party hall of Chapultepec Restaurant in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston, Texas.
* The Nuestra Palabra Radio Show begins broadcasting on 90.1 FM KPFT in March of 2001.
* NP organized the Latino Book and Family Festival 2002-2007 -the largest book fair in Houston and one of the largest in Texas, drawing up to 30,000 people to the GRB Convention Center.
* NP has cultivated 14 Latinos who have earned Master's degrees or Master of Fine Arts in Writing.
* 5 NP alums were the founders of the 2012 Librotraficante Caravan, which joined a national movement to defy Arizona's ban of Mexican American Studies.
* Several NP alums have gone on to great careers in writing:
Bilingual Poetry Renaissance in Houston 20 Groups Unite to Celebrate Poesia in Spanish & English
by Tony Diaz on 10/10/17
Hosts, Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante and Lupe Mendez.
Featured writers:
From Dallas:
Sylvana Avila Alonzo
From Houston:
Vanessa Torres
Miriam Damaris Maldonado
Marlon Lizama
Jasminne Mendez
Majo Delgadillo
Natalia Trigo
Maria Palacios, THE FEMALE KING
Leslie Contreras Schwartz, FUEGO, and to be released NIGHTBLOOM & CENOTE
Mikaela Selley, Hispanic Collections and Oral
History Archivist
Dr. Lorena Gauthereau, CLIR/DLF-Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow
Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage and US Latina/o Digital Humanities
Partners:
Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say
Librotraficante
Tintero Projects
Houston Poetry Fest
Arte Público Press
Iconoclast
KPFT
Literal
Cronopios
Casa de las Americas
First Fridays
PhD Creative Writing Spanish. University of
Houston
Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston
Public Library
Conversing Through Poetry
El Circulo Literario Cervantes-Shakespeare
Flamenco Poetry Society
Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage
and US Latina/o Digital Humanities
Casa Ramirez Folklife Gallery
16 Year Old Hopes to Inspire Latino Youth to Enjoy Math Through Origami
by Tony Diaz on 12/12/16
What: Free origami workshop, focusing on Latino youth, but open to all 10 to 16 year olds. Space is limited to 15 spaces.
When: Saturday December 16, 2016, 2p-3p.
Where: Nuestra Palabra Arts and Books, Home of Pancho Clause. 333. S. Jensen, Houston, TX 77003, inside Talento Bilingue de Houston.
Why: This is a great chance for students to learn how to make unique Christmas gifts and also begin fostering an appreciation for Math.
All participants must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Houston, TX. Monday, December 12, 2016. Last year, 16 year old Antonio
Diaz was a Sophomore taking a Calculus class, tutoring Seniors.
Of
course, his school is known for Science and Math; however, it is rare
for Sophomores to be helping older students, and it also turns out, it
might be rare for Latino students to be focused on pure Math.
When
Antonio attended one of his first Math Competitions, he was once asked
if he was really Latino. He answered, "Yes, "I'm Chicano and Chileno,
why?" The other student responded, "There just aren't that many Latinos
who come to this."
"I realized early in school that other
students didn't love Math the way I do," Antonio added. "I get a lot out of figuring out
complex Math. It's an intellectual adrenaline rush for me to figure
out a complicated problem."
Antonio's father, writer and activist, Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante, said, "It was a bit
of a heart-break finding out he loves numbers more than he loves
words. But it's great to see him find his passion, to excel
academically, and to want to inspire others."
Antonio traces
his love of Math to when he was 6 years old and taught himself origami
from a book his father bought for him. His father intended for them to
learn the ancient Japanese art of folding paper together, but his father
gave up.
"One day, I came home and found a swan made out of
paper on the kitchen table," the elder Diaz added. "I asked Antonio if he had made it at school.
He answered that, he had learned to make it from the book I gave him.
It was amazing to watch him concentrate and follow the steps. He has a gift for it. I am proud that he wants to share it."
Antonio is set to graduate in May of 2018, and he hopes
to attend MIT, Stanford, or Cal Tech to study Bio-Engineering. He plans to pursue
an advanced degree after that.
"When I found out my father was
starting Nuestra Palabra Arts and Books, I thought this would be a great way to do
complete community service hours for my school and also maybe inspire more Latinos to
think of Math differently. Origami taught me how patterns and
proportions function, which is a part of Math, but at the very least
it's a great exercise in concentration, and you can also make some gifts
that family members will love."
The class is focused on Latinos
because the instructor is Chicano/Chileno, the book store carries
Latino books and art, and it's held at the Hispanic Community
Center-Talento Bilinge de Houston.
However, this is open to
everyone. This is a class on diversity because a Chicano/Chileno youth
has a passion for a Japanese art form, and he also speaks English,
Spanish, and Turkish.
Space is limited to 15 spots for youth from 10 to 16 years of age.
Parents
and guardians are encouraged to rsvp to secure a participant's space.
Send the child's name and age, and the parent or guardian's name and cell
phone number to Tony@NuestraPalabra.org or call (713) 867-8943.
All participants must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Click here for NP Arts And Books Christmas Schedule.
This is a shortened link to this post: http://bit.ly/OrigamiAztec
You Defeated a Bad Textbook. Now Unite to Create a Great One: The Mexican American Studies Tool Kit
by Tony Diaz on 11/21/16
Thanks to your support Democrats & Republicans on the Texas State
Board of Education voted unanimously to reject the racist textbook
submitted for possible inclusion in Texas schools. They also voted to
re-open Proclamation 2018, which calls for culturally relevant
textbooks. Now, we unite once again to oversee the creation of a great
book that will make our community proud and help school districts
inspire our youth with their culture & build bridges to those who
want to know more about us.
You Defeated a Bad Textbook. Here Comes a Great One.
When we first fought for Proclamation 2018, by which the Texas State Board of Education invited the submission of textbooks for Mexican American Studies, we counted on large, mainstream publishers to dive in as they do for other subjects. However, they were not interested. Instead, a former Texas State Board of Education member used her experience and knowledge of the system to submit what turned out to be the terrible textbook all of America has heard about and you helped us defeat.
We've learned from her mistakes. And this time, we are taking matters into own hands.
I'm happy to announce the launching of Nuestra Palabra Books (NP Books). This Indiegogo campaign is to raise the $30,000 necessary to write, edit, submit for Proclamation 2018, and publish the textbook: The Mexican American Studies Tool Kit (The MAS Took Kit) to ensure that at least one great MAS textbook is considered for Texas class rooms.
NP Books will also be a resource to help independent publishers, university publishers, and yes, even large mainstream publishers to submit texts. Ideally, there might be up to 5 textbooks for review this time around.
Leading Scholars & Writers Unite for the MAS TOOL KIT.
Our textbook will include the work and insights of the leading scholars in Mexican American Studies as well as voices from our community. The MAS TOOL Kit will be created by:
- Leading scholars in Mexican American Studies, Ethnic Studies, History & Literature
- Nationally published authors, essayists, and new voices
- Voices from deep in our community
- Activists
- Workshops for teachers and administrators
- Oral histories
Start to Finish
Your donation will help us write and edit a great Mexican American Studies textbook for use in high schools. This fund will also help us go through the complicated steps to submit a textbook for consideration, to revise the text based on feedback from the Texas State Board of Education, and also public hearing and testimony.
The intent to submit a textbook begins in January 2017. The final book will be voted on in July. Full funding of this Indiegogo Campaign will ensure that we not only submit at least one great book for consideration, but that at least 1,000 copies are printed.
Other Ways You Can Help
Please donate, and spread the word far and wide. Share our campaign via social media, mainstream media, and word of mouth.
- For updates tune in to the NP Radio Show Tuesdays 6p-7p on 90.1 FM KPFT Houston, Texas, with live stream & iTunes at www.KPFT.org.
- Visit www.NuestraPalabra.org & www.Librotraficante.com
About Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante, Director Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say
- Founder of Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say, which has promoted Latino Literature and literacy since 1998.
- Organized the 2002 - 2007 Houston Latino Book and Family Festivals, largest book fairs in Texas.
- Leader of the Librotraficante Movement, which, when Arizona banned Mexican American Studies in 2012, organized the Librotraficante Carvan to smuggle the banned books back into Tucson. Since then the group has fought for ethnic studies and intellectual freedom, especially in Texas.
- The first Chicano to earn a Master of Fine Arst in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, Diaz is also award-winning novelist, essayist, and editor.
- Diaz is a professor of Mexican American Studies
- Diaz hosts the NP Radio Show and is a panelist on "What's Your Point?" live 5:30 pm Thursdays on Fox 26 Houston.
