"You need to meet Tony Diaz..." by Xavier Garza
by Tony Diaz on 07/22/14
"You need to meet Tony Diaz..." by Xavier Garza
Back on October 6, 1998 Rene Saldana Jr, Luis Valderas and myself had been booked to perform at the Inter-American Bookfair as part of a three man literary group known as the Three Wayward Vatos. Bryce Milligan who at the time was the director of the bookfair told me you really need to meet this guy… Tony Diaz. “He has something really special going on in Houston. It’s called Nuestra Palabra, and you should really look into it.”
Later that evening I met Tony Diaz and some of the original core members of Nuestra Palabra. Tony talked so passionately about Nuestra Palabra and the power of the spoken word that his vision for what the group would become was contagious.
He spoke of a movement that would change lives, build bridges and preserve our stories for generations to come.
I lived in the Rio Grande Valley at the time, but I so wanted to be part of this group in one manner or another. So when Tony Diaz extended me an invitation to present at one of their literary events I jumped at the chance.
After the date was set I gathered two of my friends from the Valley, and we set off on a road trip to Houston for what would be the first of several readings as part of Nuestra Palabra.
It was through them that I would meet such great writers as Radames Ortiz, Alvaro Saar Rios, Caorlina Monsivais to name but a few. I also met community leaders like Richard Reyes and Macario Ramirez.
As Nuestra Palabra grew so did its impact and influence on the Latino community as a whole, and like all things it began to evolve into something even bigger. It became the foundation for The Houston Latino Book and Family Festival, one of the largest and most successful festivals of its kind in Texas.
It is at this very festival that the foundation for the publishing of my very first book… Creepy Creatures and other Cucuys… would take place. But no matter how big it becomes, Nuestra Palabra always stays true to its core principal… to spread the power of the Latino spoken word.
When those words came under attack by right wing extremists in Arizona who sought to ban Latino authors like Sandra Cisneros and Rodolfo Anaya from their classrooms Nuestra Palabra morphed into Librotraficante… a literary force that smuggled the very books that John Huppenthal had sought to ban. Nuestra Palabra would go on to put those books into the hands of eager young readers.
Today Nuestra Palabra continues to grow in influence. It continues to be the driving force that is fighting to bring Ethnic Studies into the school curriculum. Nuestra Palabra will always give a voice to those whom might otherwise not be heard.
If you have yet to personally experience the power of Nuestra Palabra, then what are you waiting for? I leave you with the same message Bryce Milligan gave me back at the 1998 Inter-American Bookfair. “You need to meet Tony Diaz… he has something really special going on in Houston, it’s called Nuestra Palabra. You should really look into it.”
