Back Home from Tokyo

My visit to Japan ended too soon. On the last night, I had a wonderful dinner with many of my new friends at the Bird Cafe, hosted by Nobuyuki Kamara, the cafe's owner and a great cook. I also met Ray Sandoval, a Chicano/Japanese guitarist orginally from Tucson, Arizona, who has been in Japan studying. He came with his girlfriend, Atika Shubert, a reporter for CNN. Ray's music has been sold in Japan, by Barrio Gold/Music Camp Entertainment, bringing a Chicano smoothness and Mexican soul close to his Japanese roots. I also want to thank Ray for taking the time to have coffee with me, and for the great conversation, the next morning.

There is, of course, so much more to see and enjoy in Tokyo. I barely scratched the surface. On the way to the Tokyo/Narita airport with Shin Miyata, I began to take in the vastness of this city as we crossed a massive bridge. I truly hope this is not my last visit here -- something I will have to work on in the near future.

My family came for me at LAX after a close to 10-hour flight. It was great to be back in LA, where I am at home, and to see my wife Trini, my daughter Andrea, my son Luis, and my granddaughter Catalina (my son Ruben was working that morning -- but we hung out later in the day).

Again, I came home to tons of work -- writing deadlines, hundreds of emails, a box of regular mail, and preparation for more trips. And the funding and outreach work I do for Tia Chucha's Cafe & Centro Cultural.

Still it's a good life -- for which I am truly grateful. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Ari Gato -- Thank You, Japan

I am getting close to ending my amazing trip to Japan -- two more days and I'm gone. And, as you can imagine, part of me is already feeling the sadness of departing.

I'm staying in an intense and lively neighborhood called Shinjuku. I've walked around this area and enjoyed some amazing Japanese restaurants. Besides my investigations into the Chicano-Japan connection (including Chicano music shows, LA-style car shows, and Cholo-style stores), I've met truly wonderful and lovely people.

Oki Kiyota, the editor of Subaru magazine, and Yoshi Koshikawa, head of the English Department at Meiji University, invited me to lunch and for an interview. Subaru is one of Japan's leading literary publications. Last year, they published a translation of my short story "Las Chicas Chuecas" from my short story collection, The Republic of East LA.

I was also interviewed by Kenichi Eguchi, a writer for Barfout! magazine (he also translated my story for Subaru). In addition, I was interviewed for Lowrider Magazine in Japan, including by Teruyuki Matsushima, Vice Editor in Chief -- my work, especially Always Running, is known among some literary as well as Chicano/Lowrider circles in this vastly interesting country.

Yesterday, I toured different sections of Tokyo with my Chicana friend (originally from Peru, she grew up Chicana in Oakland and spent a short time in Mexico City), Favianna Rodriguez. We traveled by subway during a Japanese holiday honoring labor (the trains weren't as crowded as normal). We also got a chance to visit a massive and ancient Buddhist Temple in Asakusa.

Shuzo Saito, an English Literature professor who specializes in Chicano writers, joined us later in the day. We visited Omote-sando where throngs of people filled the sidewalks for shopping and enjoying their day off. We also visited a crowded park and stadium. And we had a wonderful lunch at a fantastic restaurant specializing in fruit dishes.

I want to thank in particular Shin Miyata, proprietor of Barrio Gold/Music Camp Entertainment, and the main focus of my magazine piece. His work is vital and so valued -- connecting Chicano music to Japanese audiences. Through him, I was able to take part in the Quetzal/dGomez promotional tour, and to visit lowrider groups and a Chicano/Hip Hop retail shop called Nicety (run by Rikiya Kando) in Machida-shi in Tokyo and Wannabe's (owned by Masayuki Tachibana, managed by Kousake Sakata) in Chiba-shi in Chiba-ken. He also arranged a great radio interview on Power 046-FM in Yamato-shi in Kanawaga-ken that addressed issues of Chicano culture and consciousness, hosted by Masahiro "Cholo" Wada.

I also want to thank Shin's staff, including Emilio Sayrock Nishino, Miho Nagaya, and Miho Okamoto, for being so helpful and welcoming. All of them took me to a funky Mexican restaurant called, appropriately, Junkadelic. The food was great, however, and this coming from an expert on these matters. The guacamole and salsa were fresh and tasty.

Later, I merenqued and rhumbaed at the Cafe Latino for a short time in the mostly foreigner club hangout district known as Roppongi. The next day, we had more talks and I conducted more interviews for my piece. That evening we ate at a leading Japanese restaurant in Omote-sando.

I'm sorry if I missed thanking others whose names I can't remember and who also went out of their way to make my trip here as comfortable and as productive as possible. I thank you all, including "Masa," Masayuki of Wannabe's, who picked me up from the airport, and the rest of the Wannabe's crew -- ari gato.

Also Sound Base in Ichihara-shi in Chiba-ken, Tower Records/Shibuya, and the Bird Cafe in Shimokitazawa, Setagaya-ku in Tokyo for hosting Quetzal, Martha, David, Laura, and myself for a couple of nights of music and poetry readings (and the amazing contribution of Tex Nakamura to our sets).

The next couple of days I'll be spending finishing interviews and doing more research. I also hope to see more sights.

Tokyo -- A Vast City of Lights and Dreams

Tokyo is the world's largest city. It's intense. I got a chance to visit Shibuya, the "Times Square" of Tokyo. At night the place blazes with lights. There are people everywhere. Amazing traditional Japanese restaurants can be found anywhere (of course, Wendy's and Starbucks abound as well).

The people are orderly, polite, and respectful. They are also ultra-modern and quite aware of themselves and the world. I feel privileged to be here. Besides my Japanese contacts here, a Chicana friend from the San Francisco Bay Area, Favianna Rodriguez, is also here. A well-known artist, Favianna has visited Japan many times.

I hope to get to know more of this fascinating city and other parts of Japan until I return home on November 26.

Unfortunately, my friends Quetzal Flores and Martha Gonzales, as well as David Gomez, have already left. I had a great couple of days with them, having joined them at the end of their promotional jaunt here for Barrio Gold Records.

While I had to deal with a cold and jet lag, I'm doing much better now (there's a 15 hour time difference between Tokyo and Los Angeles). I'm eager to get around and know more about this great culture and country.

The Chicano-Japanese Connection

I landed in Tokyo on Saturday, November 18, after a 13-hour flight from Chicago. I'm here to investigate an amazing Japanese connection to LA Chicano culture (including music, particularly from East LA, lowrider cars, cholo style clothing, and more).

This will be part of a reporting piece I'm doing for a major west coast publication. I'm visiting various communities in and around Tokyo that have enjoyed the LA-bred Chicano style. I've also been able to join with a promotional tour with the founding members of the East LA band, Quetzal. They are Quetzal Flores and his wife, Martha Gonzalez. With them is DJ D-Gomez of Monte Carlo '76. They've done concerts at various venues and at a Tower Records store (no longer owned by Tower Records). There has also been some media interviews. At two of the gigs, a member of the legendary LA band, War, also played with Quetzal, Martha, and D-Gomez -- Tex Nakamura, one of the best harmonica players in the world.

Since we all know each other, and have much respect for what we do, they also asked that I read a few poems and say a few words during their sets. They played beneath my words with traditional instruments such as the cajon and the jarana (based on the Son Jarocho musical tradition of Veracruz, Mexico).

It's been an honor to be here and to witness this great collaboration of Mexican/Chicano soul and the wonderful welcome by many Japanese. The next few days, I'll be interviewing several important people linked to this Chicano-Japan connection.

The Stories That Save Us

Reston, Virginia is like many Washington DC-area communities. It has many immigrants from around the world who’ve come here for a better life, to work, to provide for their families, many of whom are still in their countries of origin. I’m in Reston at the invitation of my friend Leila Gordon of the Reston Community Center – an Egyptian-American, Leila has brought me here many times to work with kids at the Langston Hughes Middle School and the South Lakes High School.

This time I’m doing a four-day residency working with ESOL students (English-language learners) in both schools, as well as ESOL adult students from another community center in the area. We are using stories, language, and poetry to get them to express their own histories, traumas, triumphs, dreams, difficulties, and hopes.

I’ve worked so far with astounding young people from countries such as Somalia, El Salvador, Pakistan, Lebanon, Colombia, Honduras, China, Mexico, and more. Although they are all learning English, some very well, they have different levels of language proficiency. I start by telling my own story of being an immigrant kid, of going to schools in LA in the 1960s that used to beat us for speaking Spanish, of being in the streets, in gangs, on drugs, but also how I overcame these to persevere, become an acclaimed writer, and a respected father, husband, and community leader. From the 1970s to today, I helped organize efforts and battles for bilingual education, quality schools, decent housing, resources and jobs for youth, and much more. This story resonates with the most recent arrivals who are undergoing struggles of their own to be heard, to survive, to learn, and to be healthy.

With the adults, I’ve been brought to tears as they painstakingly write and talk in a language they are not familiar with (English) to begin to master this language so they too can express their sentiments, thoughts, and stories. In the adult class we have people from Camaroon, Pakistan, Turkey, El Salvador, Peru, and Belize. There are single mothers who came here with their children, starving with little skills – now they are working, learning English, and planning to further their education.

One woman left her husband in the US, after 21 years of an arranged marriage from her country, when she refused to continue being beaten and to watch her children beaten by this man. Another woman almost drowned along with her children as they braved the deepest parts of the Rio Grande on tires.

One 40-year-old man came across the border, stuffed into a rail car with other Mexicans, Salvadorans, Hondurans, and Guatemalans hanging on the sides or roofs. He saw one woman fall and get her legs chopped up by the train (she then put her head onto the path of the train’s wheels to die). He saw fellow travelers have their money taken by polleros (the people who help bring workers across the border, sometimes known as coyotes) and not deliver. He saw bandits beat and rob the defenseless migrants.

He eventually found his way to Virginia. He got a job as a carpenter, received his work permit, and is presently working on his residency; he hopes to become a citizen someday (he has five children in his country of origin that he misses, and plans to visit once all his papers are squared away).

I met people here who want to work, to positively give back, follow the law, and do what they can to be strong, contributing members of this society. Yes, a few came over to this country without papers – what people don’t understand is that the process of getting permission to work or live in the US is one that only allows for a small amount of people compared to the millions who need to do so (the issue of decent, meaningful work in poor countries has to be addressed if we are to have a truly humane immigration policy). One woman has a son who fought in Iraq; many immigrants are willing to give their life for this country (I may not agree with this, but that's a fact). These are people who are assets and will continue to be assets for the betterment and future of the United States.

I hope to get some of the ESOL youth and adults to read with me tonight as part of a performance that ends this residency at the Reston Community Center Theater. I know if this happens, it will be a unforgettable, moving, and enlightening event.

Words and Music: New Orleans and Cultural Revival

There is much in New Orleans that needs to be fixed – much in the lack of trust in this government, in official help, in the forgetfulness that tends to mar most tragedies. But here people can’t and won’t forget last year’s Katrina hurricane (much of the devastated areas are still in need of repair). They are mostly united around this event – the worst natural disaster in the US in more than 100 years. And there are also many instances of heroism, generosity, and sacrifice. However, as economics and politics will have it, this city like most of the Gulf Coast region, is also divided along class lines (rich and poor), racial lines (a long morbid history in this part of the world), and lines of disconnection.

Fortunately, besides the much-touted revival in the tourist trade, which is important for New Orleans’ economic growth, there is also a revival in the arts: Music, song, dance, poetry, theater, and writing.

I am honored to be part of this year’s Words and Music Festival, sponsored by Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society. Cofounder Rosemary James is a wonderful host. Most interesting is this year’s theme, “The Contributions of Spain and Latin America to US Life & Literature.”

Most people don’t know that Louisiana, and New Orleans in particular, was once a Spanish colony. The French Quarter, as my new friend Margarita Bergen (and well-known New Orleans community leader) said during a small tour she gave me and my daughter Andrea (who came here to visit with me for a few days), "should properly be called the `Spanish Quarter'.”

On almost every street corner, the former Spanish names of the streets are laid out below the now French ones. In fact, Margarita says most of the French names came from the Anglo settlers after the US bought the Louisiana Purchase for $12 million in 1803. Although the French (the founders were originally from Canada) founded the port city on the Mississippi and held it for quite some time, the Spanish influence is palpable and strong.

There is even a strong connection to Mexico, land of my forebears (they were not from Spain, but indigenous Mexico). A Mexican brass band visited New Orleans in the 1800s, leading to an important, but often forgotten, influence on the local Creole/African culture. Brass instruments, which came from Europe, were taken up by indigenous musicians in Mexico similar to what happened with former African slaves and free Blacks. New Orleans is known as the birthplace of Jazz – and the Mexican brass band connection to this original cultural expression is one we shouldn’t overlook any longer.

[ Day of the Dead Altar at the Words and Music Festival in New Orleans ]

The Words and Music writing conference ends tomorrow; I’ll be gone, but I’ve met many great people here. Key personalities in Latino letters such as Ana Castillo, Manuel Ramos, Oscar Hijuelos, Jose Torres Tama, Jose Torres Tama, Mary Helen Lagasse, Jose Cuellar, Gabriela Hernandez, H.G. Carillo, Marie Arana, Loida Maritza Perez, Liliana Valenzuela, Mayra Montero, Chantel Acevedo, Humberto Fontova, and Sergio Troncoso also took part – with master classes, panels, and readings.

Like most US history, New Orleans has a most complicated and trans-cultural history. This conference helped remind us about how important each aspect of this history is to making New Orleans the city we’ve all learned to respect and love throughout the world.