THIS WEEK ON LATINOPIA: REMEMBERING LATINOPIA HERO DR. ARMANDO NAVARRO, POET CÉSAR DE LEÓN READS SPEAKING WITH GRACKLES BY SOAPBERRY TREES, EL ZOCOTROCO ON RECENT SUPREME COURT RULING, ONCE AGAIN, AGAINST THE PUERTORICAN PEOPLE AND XOCHITL JULISA BERMEJO TIMES TWO.
We are saddened to hear of yet another loss for our Latino community. Last week we lost stellar author Rolando Hinojosa and now we learn that Dr. Armando Navarro, acclaimed political scientist, community activist and mentor passed away on April 19, 2022. A longtime friend and mentee Russell Jaurequi honors Dr. Navarro with this Latinopia Hero remembrance.
Also this week, South Texas poet César Leonardo De León reads from his collection Speaking With Grackles by Soapberry Trees. The book won the John A. Robertson Award for Best First Book of Poetry awarded by the Texas Institute of Letters.
From Puerto Rico, José M. Umpierre returns with his regular Burundanga Boricua column, this week he looks at the recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court which denies Puerto Ricans living on the island of the Supplemental Social Security coverage enjoyed by Puerto Ricans living in the mainland. What sense does that make? Go figure it out.
Lastly, we visit with poet Xochitl Julisa Bermejo as she reads poems from her debut collection Posada.
Last week Latinopia attended the 2022 Annual meeting of the Texas Institute of Letters, an honorary society made up of Texas writers in all fields. In the coming weeks we will be featuring poetry and narrative readings from the annual meeting and banquet.
Enjoy your week on Latinopia.
Tia Tenopia