October review: Sor Juana, Open Studios & Proyecto Latina

top: Amanda and Maritza. bottom: Felicia, Irasema, Silvia, Diana.


We know its a little overdue, but we did want to report on some memorable October events. After all October is the month that marked our 2nd anniversary. And we have gotten this far through a lot of hard work but also support from family and--new and old--friends.

The second weekend in October was a busy one for us. We got started with Entre Letras, Palabras y Cantos, an event that Proyecto Latina was invited to collaborate on, it was part of the Sor Juana Festival at the National Museum of Mexican Art. A very exciting night, we had several local Latinas that came out to strut their literary and musical talent including Stephanie Gentry-Fernandez, Maritza Cervantes, and Belinda Cervantes. (You can currently see all three in Teatro Luna's Macho's production.

The feature that night was Felicia Luna Lemus who read from her second novel, Like Son. Which was also one of our recent bookclub picks. I was pleasantly surprised when Felicia dropped by to check out the store before walking over to the museum for the reading. How often do you get a one-on-one with a writer that allows you the opportunity to share thoughts and ask questions about their book?

The weekend was also filled with Pilsen Open Studio activities, and we were delighted to host an eclectic mix of art by Naomi Martinez and Jose Arceo. On Monday we capped things off with our monthly open mic Proyecto Latina and our first Macho feature, Paul Martinez Pompa--the chisme box was hot as ever.

A heartfelt thanks to everyone that joined us, we value and appreciate the support very much. Get your calendars ready because we have some year-end and new year activities scheduled.

Tianguis Bookclub news and more

The fall brings exciting developments and it starts with our bookclub selection, Like Son by Felicia Luna Lemus. We invite you to read along with us and join us for the bookclub discussion on Wed, Oct. 3rd @ 7 p.m.

If you're sad that summer is ending, I think this is just the page turner to distract you. And if you can't get enough of Nahui Olin, after seeing the Frida Contemporaries exhibit, you will be as delighted as me to see how Felicia brings Nahui Olin to life on the pages of this captivating novel.

We are also reading this book in anticipation of the October 12th event, that will be part of the Sor Juana Festival: Entre Letras, Palabras y Cantos. Which will feature Chicago's local Mexicana poets open for acclaimed author Felicia Luna Lemus. These local poets include: Stephanie Gentry-Fernandez, Magda Banda, Yolanda Cardenas, and The Luna Blues Machine. This event is a collaborative between the National Museum of Mexican Art and Proyecto Latina*.

Like Son is available @ Tianguis and your local library.

About the book: Set amidst present-day New York, 1990s Los Angeles, and 1940s Mexico City, Like Son is the not-so-simple story of a father, a son, and the love-blindness shared between them. Frank Cruz is a post-punk, sardonic, thirty-year-old who unwittingly inherits his father's legacy. Born a bouncing baby girl named Francisca to parents tangled in a doomed love affair, Frank grows up in both the poorest barrios and poshest hills of Southern California. A defiant loner, Frank leaves home at the age of eighteen, but is later sucked back into helping his estranged and blind father navigate an untimely death. On his deathbed, Frank's father gives him a mysterious crumbling photograph of a woman with a stunning gaze: Nahui Olin, a fierce member of the early-20th-century Mexican avant-garde who once brought tragedy upon the Cruz family. Punctured to his core by Nahui, Frank takes her portrait and flees to New York City to start anew--this time for real. In September 2001 the New York skyline tumbles, and Frank finds himself smack in the middle of his predestined fate.

* Proyecto Latina is a seperate collaborative between the women of Tianguis, Teatro Luna and Mariposa Atomica Ink.