Saturday, May 26, 2007

La Prensa de San Diego Sends Tex[t]-Mex Some Love


Just a quick bow, tip of the sombrero, an abrazo, and, if I could, a six-pack of Negra Modelo to the editors and writers at La Prensa, San Diego, California's Latina/o periodico of choice, for their feature story on Tex[t]-Mex. Gracias as well, for running the ridiculous picture of me kissing Rita Hayworth via my Mac-monitor as well (talk about an Obscene Machine moment!).

A Spanish language version of the story with a different salacious of me kissing Rita Cansino by proxy and written by Pablo Jaime Sainz appears here.

Kindred Surveyors of Mexicans in American Mass Culture


Those delightful search-robot-spiders at google.com just tipped me to a blog doing fine work on issues of semiotics and representation--not too shabby either when it comes to the curiosities of Mexicans in the imagination of Americans.

Monday, May 21, 2007

XicanOSMOSIS, Cinema, and the Bottom Line


I just got a dispatch from SDSU Chicano Studies graduate student Ana Bodoy to check out this new film--the trailer is amazing and displays all the visual dynamics of what I call XicanOSMOSIS in chapter five of Tex[t]-Mex. Check out the site with trailer now!

Director Ollalo Rubio's myspace site is bookmark-worthy as well!

Washing the Taste Out of My Mouth of that Last Posting

Sometimes you just need a shot--a shot of something feverishly brilliant to wash that foul taste out of your mouth, cleanse the palate of the latest, fetid cyberblast of rage that sticks in your stereotype-weary craw.

The next time some sleeping Mexican or Taco-dude costume gets you down, do yourself a favor and buy and read a copy of Tomás Riley's Mahcic--here's a my riff on it from the book's intro (and yes Derrida's coinage Différance is misspelled, and yes, it is my fault!):



Mahcic is available from the fine folks at Calaca Press in San Diego/National City, CA. Check them out!

Next Halloween, I Swear, I am Going to be a Taco


The first gallery of two "Seductive Hallucination" chapters contained within the image-laced pages of Tex[t]-Mex, harbors the sad-but-true tale of my Taco Wagon days at the University of Connecticut. Then a winsome 26-year old Phd-lad from Laredo with a Candide-like innocence, I was enjoying my first professorship in the bucolic, land-grant miasma that was Storrs, Connecticut, when a budget-crisis inspired parodic memo landed in my in-box informing all of the English professors of their new jobs.

Long story short? I was to be manning the Taco-wagon outside Arjona hall. I can't remember if it was J.D. O'Hara or Richard "Dick" Reynolds who penned that ribald missive--if I had to bet, I would say it was Dick, who is still at it apparently in Connecticut.

Never let it be said that this Chicano does not have a "sense of humor." Next Halloween, I vow to be-robe myself in the humble togs above. Like-minded, demented souls can peruse a plethora of "Mexican" trappings courtesy the fine folks at costume-craze.com. I do not, however, as has been rumored by friends and dastardly enemies, promise to wear this getup if Tex[t]-Mex goes to a 2nd edition!

Not all of UConn was bad, of course. Rufus Blanshard, my mentor, my friend, recently passed--he was the best of the best, a lovely, caring, mentoring old leftie. RIP. Bill Rosen, my first Chair, was a mensch-and-a-half as well!

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Trynamic Trio of Mexico Wunderkinds...


News just breaking regarding the deal that closed yesterday between Universal Studios and Mexico's amazing trio of cinematic wizards. More here.

Get your hands on one of my books ...