FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Floricanto is pleased to announce the release of the following new titles:
This is a bilingual edition. On a Train Called Absence/Paletitas de Guayaba the story is narrated in the first person by the protagonist, Marina, who is traveling by train from New Mexico to Mexico City in search of her identity, her history, and answers to many questions that are tormenting her. As the train carries her through the Mexican landscape, she has flashbacks of her life in New Mexico, a failed romance, and a previous journey. The narration also flashes forward to her arrival, and to her discoveries and adventures in Mexico, where she confronts both her historical and mythical past as well as her complex, multicultural present.
Cuba Libre. Mentirita! By Carlos T. Mock, M.D. ISBN: 978-1-888205-16-9 $25.95
The Cuba Libre ("Free Cuba") is a cocktail made of Cola, lime, and rum. This cocktail is often referred to as a Rum and Coke in the United States and Canada, where the lime juice is optional. Bacardi claims ownership of the original, while some have also claimed it for Havana Club. It seems unlikely, however, that anyone could safely identify the first individual to combine rum and Coca-Cola-when seven or eight individuals lay claim to the creation of the Margarita, a far more complex drink-let alone identify the brand. Both the cocktail and its name remain politically loaded due to the history and current status of Cuba-United States relations. The situation is further complicated by Bacardi's political involvement in Cuba. Cuba Libre is sometimes called "Mentirita" ("little lie") by Cuban exiles opposed to the current Communist government run by Fidel Castro, as a comment that Cuba is currently not free. Cuba Libre "Mentirita" is a history book.
Suzanna. By Irene I. Blea. ISBN: 978-1-
888205-21-3 $23.95When young girls quickly grew up to be old women, young Suzanna was raised by her grandparents who received a letter from Don Felipe Montoya asking for the child's hand in marriage. Don Felipe is old enough to be her father. He agrees to the abuelito's condition that he delay obtaining Suzanna as a wife until she becomes a woman, or until her thirteenth birthday, which ever comes first. The wedding takes place in the northern New Mexico village church on a weekday with only the necessary parties in attendance. Thus, Suzanna becomes isolated on Don Felipe's failing prairie ranch with her home-made rag doll, Cleotilda as her only friend. In two years Suzanna gives birth to two sons. The remoteness of the ranch is made worse by drought, failing live stock, Don Felipe's silence, his sternness, and sexual appetite. Economic hardship forces Felipe to seek work elsewhere. He migrates north securing employment on a Wyoming sheep ranch. The experience strips Don Felipe of his title and he is now simply Felipe. During his two-year absence, Suzanna successfully tends the farm, bonds with the two boys and wishes her husband never return. He arrives to announce they are moving to Colorado where he will work in a steel mill. Suzanna and does not want to move. Felipe beats her badly into relocating. Her grandfather sooths her bruises and agrees she must go with her husband. The truck is loaded with household furnishings and before the family crosses the state line Felipe stops for gasoline. During the trip Suzanna agonizes about leaving her children behind, but at a gas station she grabs a flour sack containing Cleotilda, a santo and a few articles of clothing and runs. Suzanne was born in northeastern New Mexico before the territory became a state. The last child of a large Hispanic family she was raised by her grandparents because her parents feared they could not afford to rear her. She was much loved in her young life, and much used and abused. As she matured, she faced prospects she could not bear. Irene Blea, a native of Northern New Mexico, and a Ph. D. in Sociology, has the writing talent to tell Suzanne's story in a most engaging way, and she leaves the reader wanting more. Suzanne is a truly outstanding first novel. Don Bullis, Author-Historian "A well written coming of age story of a young Spanish girl tossed into marital domesticity by her grandparents. It is filled with vividly captivating details that just entices you to read on." --Sandra C. Lopez, Author of Esperanza: A Latina Story
Chalino: A Chronicle Play of Fulgor and Death. By
Julián Camacho Segura. ISBN: 978-1-888205-12-1 $22.95 Bilingual edition.This is a bilingual edition.
With "Chalino", Julian Camacho writes about a raw, unflinching Mexican icon with an unapologetic honesty only he can provide. He excels at bringing this story to larger than life tale because he possesses one of the most experienced voices among his contemporaries. Oscar Barajas, Author, "True Tales from the Wireless Clothesline"Rosalino "Chalino" Sanchez was a Mexican immigrant from the Mexican state of Sinaloa who came to the US in search of opportunity. In his pursuit of perseverance his gift and talent for writing corridos for the common working class man initiated a world wind phenomena that appealed to Mexican-American youth in Los Angeles, California. Chalino’s corridos provided a cultural medium in which Chicanos identified with their own roots. Chalino’s contribution to the musical genre of corridos bridged Mexican immigrant music of the Mexican corrido with Mexican-American youth. Chalino’s corridos and music have forever changed the social fabric of Chicanos in the music scene in Los Angeles. His music helped many Chicanos have a cultural reaffirmation of who they are allowing Mexican youth in Los Angeles to immerse more deeply into their own Mexican Norteño culture. Chalino’s unique singing style turned him into a legend that many have tried to imitate, but there will never be another man like him. Chalino defied the odds and became successful starting his own legacy as the king of corridos. Through his art form Chalino left behind his fame and a corrido legacy that was materialized and created in el rancho de Los Angeles, California. Marcos A. Ramos, University of California, Berkeley
In the vacuum of Mexican American leadership because of accommodation or negotiation, Chalino emerged as that cultural icon very much needed at a time that Mexicans suffered the single largest decline of income since the great depression of any group in the US from 1989-92. When hope was lost, and I lived through the LA Riots in front of my house in Lennox, Chalino was that inspiration so much needed at that time. Prayer, employment, and government assistance had all failed to make my heart happy, and even though Chalinos’ music did not my heart at a time it needed nourishment. Ricardo Camacho, A Chalino Fan!
Day of the Dead/ Día de los Muertos. By Manuel Luis Martínez. ISBN: 978-1-888205-19-0 $25.95
This is the most riveting and complex narrative of the Mexican Revolution. "I am Berto Morales. I am the false son of a nameless and blind man. I am War. I took his land through a pretense. I am Pestilence. When his heir returned to claim his birthright, I killed him. I am Murder. His comrades returned to find me, and failing to do so, took the life of my wife and child. I was Love. I determined to meet injustice with injustice. I am Hatred. I brought war to those who ended my life. I am Executioner. I am guilty of sins that have no name. I have come to the slaughter uninvited and have determined to give my life freely." And so begins the saga of Berto Morales set during the Mexican Revolution, the landscape of Day of the Dead is littered with the victims of a brutal war, one populated by a cast of villains, saints, heroes, and ordinary people whose roles are often impossible to reconcile. It is 1913 when Berto returns to his small Oaxacan ranch to find that his beloved wife, six months with child, has been brutally murdered. Devastated, he sets out to find the murderers and exact revenge, but what he will find on this journey is that justice is elusive, much more so than vengeance. Tracking the murderer, the elusive Barbon to Mexico City, Berto meets the idealistic Isabella, herself a victim of the brutality of war. She has decided to enter the fray to honor the memory of her dead husband and their shared vision of a just and democratic Mexico. In the midst of his vendetta, Berto must decide whether to follow in the path of avenging his cruel losses, or to offer himself to Isabella and her child Victoriana as a guide and protector. Plunging headlong into this maelstrom of violence and tragedy, Berto Morales will confront a fate that holds out the possibility of an unlikely redemption—and perhaps a new life—while threatening a judgment too terrible to withstand.
"Martínez continues his fine writing on Day of the Dead, and offers further proof of the wide range of Chicano literature. The reader will acknowledge that our ties to tradition serve as a most appropriate title on this tightly-written work ." Rolando Hinojosa
"In his novels Manuel Martinez writes the naked truth, and he does so twice: once when he relates the almost unknown American history of underprivileged Mexican immigrants, who never had the power or status to tell their unbelievably courageous and human stories themselves; and a second time when he makes us confront questions of identity, morality, justice and vengeance that are as relevant to anyone living in present day America and the world as they are to his protagonists. In Day of the Dead, Martinez executes this feat in clean, compassionate prose, poignantly direct and lacking in clichés." Assaf Gavron, has published four novels, a collection of short stories. His fiction has been translated into German, Russian, Italian, French, English and more, won prizes, was adapted for the stage, and optioned several times for movies.
Manuel Luis Martinez serves as an associate professor of twentieth century American literature, American studies, Chicano/Latino studies, and creative writing, and is the current Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Ohio State University. He earned a doctorate from Stanford University in 1997. His novels are Crossing,1998 which was chosen as one of ten outstanding books by PEN American Center in New York; Drift, 2003, which was chosen as one of the best books of 2004 by the American Library Association. www.manuelmartinez.info
Hasta la Vista, Baby! By Donna Del Oro. ISBN:
ISBN: 978-1-888205-17-6 $22.95"I thought it was great. I mean, I was hooked from the very first page because of all the wit and humor. I found myself laughing a few times ...and that was only the first three chapters!"
---Sandra Lopez, author of ESPERANZA and BEYOND THE GARDENS
"A fun romp to read! Hasta La Vista, Baby is a deft mix of humor and raw emotion with unforgettable characters. Donna Del Oro is an author to watch!" -- Loucinda McGary, award-winning author of The Wild Sight and The Treasures of Venice.
HASTA LA VISTA, BABY is a romantic comedy set in Silicon Valley.
Sonya, the artist, is blind to everything but beauty. She learns the hard way that it’s never too late to wake up, wise up and grow up!
Muralist Sonya Reyes Barton experiences an emotional meltdown when her handsome, cheating husband, Earl, announces at a family BBQ that he needs a divorce so he can marry his pregnant girlfriend. In front of all the Bartons, Sonya has a nervous breakdown, chases Earl with a barbecue fork, eventually winds down and collapses.
How does the worst day of Sonya’s life eventually become the best thing that ever happens to her? How does she gain insight into herself and her choice of men? More importantly, how does Sonya learn to forgive herself and move on? There’s still life after forty-two and she’s determined to find it.
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