Latino arts, history and culture
I never really appreciated the Fourth of July until I was 11 years old. That’s when my teacher, Mrs, Rosewell, invited me to her home in South Pasadena for a bar-b-que dinner, to meet her two kids, … [Read more...]
Being confronted by the head of the Oñate clan of zombies in the men’s room of the Ludlow Café set my mind reeling. That’s right Lazaro, it’s me and I’ve entered your mind. Instinctively my … [Read more...]
We had parked the beat up Honda civic at the parking lot of the Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark. The asphalt lot was empty. An adjacent structure housed several men/women porta … [Read more...]
“Mija, nothing to it, but to do it,” La Señora Falcón said as she put the Honda Civic in gear and pushed her foot on the accelerator. The car pulled out of the safe house at Daggett, California … [Read more...]
LAZARO - DEBRIEFING. “They’re kidnapping immigrants along the border and warehousing them in the depths of the Amboy Crater. Who knows how many they have? Those people are facing certain … [Read more...]
The car with Pearl and La Señora Falcón disappeared over a rise on Route 66 heading east toward Amboy. Gus Dominguez and Jimmy Yazzie sped behind them on their souped up Harleys. Filomeno and I were … [Read more...]
TOGETHER. In my dream I was running through an open desert, running for my life. Instead of my usual jeans and sweatshirt, I was wearing the dress my mother had sewn for me when I was sixteen. My … [Read more...]
MIND BLOCK 401. The next day I began working with Pearl and La Señora Falcón on developing their mind blocking skills. We met above ground at the quiet empty boathouse at Lincoln Park. Situated … [Read more...]
“Mija, no te voy a mentir,” La Señora Falcón said gravely. “It’s a dangerous assignment.” The matronly woman settled her plump body into the seat across from me in what once had been a lab supply … [Read more...]
MIND BLOCK 101. It was almost two months after Mr. Nez announced that it would take only a week or so for Filomino and I to train each Mano Poderosa zombie how to block the intrusion of a Zombie … [Read more...]
I was walking behind Lazaro when Mr Neza stopped reached out and grabbed him by the arm. As Lazaro turned to him I saw something that stopped me in my tracks. Lazaro’s face was completely white, like … [Read more...]
CRISIS! The caravan of zombie vans returning from the destroyed training camp in the Joshua Tree desert approached Los Angeles on the San Bernardino freeway; the setting sun silhouetted the … [Read more...]
I slowly became aware that I was conscious. That it was dark and that I was screaming. “Hold him down,” someone said. The babble of voices in my head was deafening. It was as if a hundred people … [Read more...]
AFTERMATH. The drone of the helicopters driven by the Oñate zombies was still ringing in my ears when I turned to Pearl. We embraced tightly. Vida, whining persistently, wanted to be part of the … [Read more...]
THE BATTLE OF JUMBO ROCKS. The drive back to the Joshua Tree zombie training compound was somber. Pearl and I didn’t look at one another, each lost in our own thoughts. Filomino was convinced … [Read more...]
MOTHER DAY REDUX. “All aboard!” The van was running and ready to leave for the Mother’s Day picnic. The other zombies quartered at the secret Joshua Tree military training camp who were going to … [Read more...]
My discussion with Pearl about eating human flesh made me more thoughtful about Vida, the mutated zombie dog, and her vegetarian diet. Vida shadowed me everywhere I went and I had gotten to thinking … [Read more...]
VIDA. “Just remember, you’re here to visit a sick relative. If anyone asks, it’s your uncle José on your mother’s side.” Having narrowly escaped the bombarding metal darts of the Oñate zombie … [Read more...]
AFTERMATH. The drone of the helicopters driven by the Oñate zombies was still ringing in my ears when I turned to Pearl. We embraced tightly. Vida, whining persistently, wanted to be part of the … [Read more...]
THE BATTLE OF JUMBO ROCKS. The drive back to the Joshua Tree zombie training compound was somber. Pearl and I didn’t look at one another, each lost in our own thoughts. Filomino was convinced … [Read more...]
BASIC TRAINING. The last moment of civilized rest any of us zombies got for a while was the Mother’s Day picnic in Joshua Tree. That’s the picnic I didn’t attend because the Oñate zombies had … [Read more...]
