Tony Diaz #npradio

The Nuestra Palabra Familia is honored to get to call Dr. Cintli a friend. His work has shaped a people. His writings are testament to our greatness. On behalf of Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say, Librotraficante, and The Latino Bookstore at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, we extend our condolences to his familia and all the lives, the generations that he touched and will continue to touch. We are honored that he joined us when NP still took place in the party hall of Chapultepec Restaurant, in Montrose, in Houston, Tejas. The Librotraficantes smuggled his works back into Arizona when the AZ right wing legislators banned Mexican American Studies, and the Latino Bookstore in San Antonio, Tejas is honored to have hosted the launch of his most recent book Writing 50 Years (más o menos) Amongst the Gringos. We will strive to honor him by continuing to demand, as he said, that our gente be heard. #Unidos Join us as we speak with folks who were touched, influenced, or impacted by the work Dr. C

As part of the NP LIT Summer Series, Cristina Rivera Garza showcases her latest book "Liliana's Invincible Summer" live and with a reading at the Ballroom at Bayou Place on August 14th, 2023 at 6:30 PM CDT. This event is free and open to the public; free drinks and light snacks will be provided. If you can't make it to Downtown Houston, we will be livestreaming the event live on Nuestra Palabra's media platforms! On the radio and podcast leading up to the show, Tony Diaz speaks with the award-winning author Cristina Rivera Garza in anticipation of her Houston appearance showcasing her latest book "Liliana's Invincible Summer". Cristina Rivera Garza is the award-winning author of The Taiga Syndrome and The Iliac Crest, among many other books. A recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship and the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize, Rivera Garza is the M. D. Anderson Distinguished Professor in Hispanic Studies, and director of the PhD program in creative writing in Spanish at the University of Houston.

Tony Diaz, Literary Curator for the Guadalupe Cultural Arts's Latino Bookstore, welcomes Jen Yáñez-Alaniz and Octavio Quintanilla who are the featured authors for the Texas Author Series' August reading on August 11th at 6:00PM. Jen and Octavio will read form their latest works and have a question and answer afterwards as well as sign copied of their books which will be on sale at the Latino Bookstore. Light snacks and drinks will provided for folks; as always, our event is free of charge and open to the public but donations are always welcomed! If you can't make it, check out the interview w/ Tony about their current projects and hear them read some of their poetry! Jen celebrates "Chicana Portraits," and her upcoming anthology, "Chicana Portraits". Octavio shares with us his current project "The Book of Wounded Sparrows". along with his work with VersoFrontera. Jen Yáñez-Alaniz is a Chicana Mestiza activist, educator and poet. She is a PhD Fellow in the Culture, Literacy, and Language Department at th

Nelson Delgado Jr. is the Founder & Creative Director of the The Eclectic Arts Movement (T.E.A.M.) which was created in 2010 along with the BEGIN MY MOVEMENT Project. T.E.A.M. is a group of artists uniting for a great and noble cause through projects Nelson envisions. The Event and Exhibition was ART. Keeping the World Moving! A fundraiser for children who needed prosthetics. In less than one year, T.E.A.M. united 200 Artists from all over the United States, to donate a single work of Art and raise funds for the No Boundaries Prosthetic Foundation at the Wynwood Walls Miami; this uniting of artists and volunteers successfully sold 187 paintings that night! The Multi-ZEN-sery Exhibition features 30 artists who together will create a multi-sensory and interactive experience The ALTA Arts, located at 5412 Ashbrook Dr, Houston TX 77081, from July 21 and on through August 05, 2023. July 22 is the Grand Opening and is free to the public. By presenting an exhibition made for every individual but especially being in

Nuestra Palabra spotlights acclaimed Nicaraguan-American comedian Cat Alvarado as she talks about her debut comedy album Off-White, available now on Spotify and Apple Music! Cat Alvarado is a Nicaraguan-American comedian who turned her journey as a Latina misfit into an award-winning one-woman show and a comedy special, Off-White. She’s performed at the Laughing Skull Lounge Festival and The Big Pine Comedy Festival. She premiered her hour at the 2022 Hollywood Fringe Festival to rave reviews, winning a Producer’s Encore Award. She was also a featured comedian at the 2022 Great American Comedy Festival. She made her TV stand-up debut on PBS’s First Nations Comedy Experience in 2018. She is also the creator and host of the Villains of History podcast, a cohost on the Unofficial Official Story podcast, and a frequent guest co-host on YouTube’s Reel Rejects. Her debut comedy album, Off-White, was released on May 26th on @BlondeMedicine and everywhere comedy albums are streamed or sold. Cat discussed the creat

El Martillo Press publishes writers whose pens strike the page with clear intent; words with purpose to pry apart assumed norms and to hammer away at injustice. El Martillo Press proactively publishes writers looking to pound the pavement to promote their work and the work of their fellow pressmates. There is strength in El Martillo. Founded in Los Angeles in 2023 by Matt Sedillo and David A. Romero, and launched with a diverse group of celebrated and hardworking writers who embody our working-class intellectual spirit, El Martillo Press maintains an editorial board that makes its selections for publishing. Matt Sedillo has been described as the "best political poet in America" as well as "the poet laureate of the struggle." His work has drawn comparisons in print to Bertolt Brecht, Roque Dalton, Amiri Baraka, Alan Ginsberg, Carl Sandburg and various other legends of the past. David A. Romero is a Mexican-American spoken word artist from Diamond Bar, CA. Romero is the author of My Name Is Romero (FlowerSong

On today's program, Nuestra Palabra features the One Houston One Book program from the Houston Public Library! Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante, will speak with Federico Salas-Isnardi, Director of the Mayor’s Office for Adult Literacy (MOAL) in Houston about the goals of the OHOB Program. Nuestra Palabra airs on 90.1 KPFT @KPFTHoustonTX Tuesdays at 7:00 PM CDT. Catch us on the radio dial or tune in anywhere via the web at KPFT.org and livestream us. One Houston, One Book, promotes literacy, diversity, and community conversations by encouraging Houstonians to come together, read, and discuss books with a common theme. The program features three book selections: one for children, one for teens and one for adults. Programs and events include Author Talks, Read-ins, Book Clubs, Story & Craft Times, Critical Conversations, Camps, Block Parties, Open Houses, and a special Grande Finale event! Federico is a linguist, educator, diversity trainer, and writer who has worked in adult education in Houston for over 30 ye

Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante, speaks w/ participants at the summit and the continued efforts to recognize efforts to further integrate ethnic studies into our schools. Tony discusses new approaches including recent initiatives such as developing new curriculums from new books from Latino authors. Dr. Christopher Carmona is an award-winning author and a member of the award-winning Refusing to Forget project. His novel, El Rinche: The Ghost Ranger of the Rio Grande, was a finalist for the 2019 Best Young Adult Novel for the Texas Institute of Letters. Currently, he is working on finishing this series of YA novels. Book Two is out now. His short story collection, The Road to Llorona Park, won the 2016 NACCS Tejas Best Fiction Award and was listed as one of the top 8 Latinx books in 2016 by NBCNews. He served as the Chair of the NACCS Tejas Foco Committee on Implementing MAS in PreK-12 Education in Texas. He was a leader in getting the TEKS based Mexican American Studies High School Course approved by the Texas

Juneteenth is coming up and we have two community superstars who want to make sure literacy is part of the celebration by making sure our people have a choice in both the books they read and where and who they purchase from. Guest host Rodrigo Bravo Jr. welcomes two book barons who are changing lives one page at a time. At a moment in time where our books are being marginalized, discouraged, even banned, it’s crucial we support these book traffickers to ensure we continue our self determination in our education, just as Tony Díaz @librotraficante says, “our terms on our terms”. CLASS Bookstore is a Black-owned and family operated online/ mobile/ brick-and-mortar retailer based in Houston, TX. Founded by co-owners and married couple, David & Dara Landry in November 2020, they began their business as an online bookstore, operating out of their apartment. January 2021- December 2022 were the years of participating in pop-up markets throughout the cities of Houston and Austin, TX. On December 3, 2022, they open

Nuestra Palabra Presents "Latina Leadership Lessons", the new book featuring many Latina Leaders as written by the Honorable Delia Garcia who is joined by two contributors, Dolores Huerta and Maria Gabriela Pacheco. Listen to this amazing platica in advance to Delia Garcia's speaking engagement at the Latino Bookstore at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center on June 9th, 2023 at 6:00 PM. Honorable Delia Garcia is an executive servant leader for over 25 years. She currently serves at the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau as Regional Administrator. Delia Garcia is a trailblazer where she was elected the first Latina & youngest female to the Kansas State Legislature in 2004 where she served six years in the House of Representatives; and in 2019, she was appointed as Cabinet Secretary of Labor for the State of Kansas. She has over 25 years of public service at the national and state level, including non-profit executive leadership service in advocating for economic security for all. She is an author on nation

The Sin Muros Festival at @stageshouston has been celebrating and lifting up Latinx artists for six years. Listen on 90.1 FM @kpfthoustontx Tuesday, May 23rd at 7:00 PM CST as we feature organizers and participants of the festival! More than 300 Latinx artists have benefited—both financially and creatively—from participating in the festival. This year, a committee of some of the most influential Latinx voices in Houston has selected four plays by Latinx playwrights and nominated three individuals who serve the Latinx art community to be celebrated in a weekend-long festival May 25-28. The 6th annual Sin Muros Festival, a weekend of play readings and workshops, is a celebration of Latinx voices and stories throughout Texas. Tony Diaz @librotraficante speaks with several of the artists who are a part of the festival as well the organizers. @JasminneMendez, co-founder of Tintero Projects, has been involved in the Sin Muros Festival for years. @thepoetmendez, co founder of Tintero Projects and Current Texas P

As book bans become fashionable and favorable vs just outright discrimination, one of our own Librotraficantes has been deemed too controversial for K-12. Lupe Mendez, 2022 Texas Poet laureate and award winning author, has had his book "Why I Am Like Tequila?" banned at a Texas Panhandle school along with other BIPOC and LGBTQi+ books. Tony Diaz speaks with our hermano about why this happened, what this means, and what the next move is in the Librotraficante movement. Originally from Galveston, TX, Lupe Mendez (Writer // Educator // Activist) is the author WHY I AM LIKE TEQUILA (Willow Books, 2019), winner of the 2019 John A. Robertson Award for Best First Book of Poetry from the Texas Institute of Letters. He is the founder of Tintero Projects which works with emerging Latinx writers and other writers of color within the Texas Gulf Coast Region, with Houston as its hub. Lupe earned his Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Texas @ El Paso. Mendez’s work can been seen in print and online formats inc

Tony Diaz spotlights the upcoming event “Encuentro: The Native American Roots of Texas Mexican Food.” Several food scholars explore the culinary scene with chefs and writers, and sometimes, both! Victoria Elizondo is chef owner of Cochinita Co. in Houston where she insists that fresh and preferably local ingredients are key to her vibrant and flavorful Mexican food. At her restaurant in the Greater East End, Cochinita co., she usually has sever al dishes featuring the ancient food that is native to Texas for thousands of years: nopalitos. When she was 12, Elizondo left her native Nuevo Leon, south of the Texas Mexican border, with her mother to move to the United States, where she became a DACA recipient. Following in her mother’s footsteps, she got her first job at 16 as a restaurant hostess. During her career she has worked at top Houston restaurants like State of Grace, Pax Americana and Xochi. In 2016 she started her own business venture, Cochinita Co., initially a food truck concept that pivoted to a p

2023 ALMAAHH Visual Artist: Viri Ramos - Te Bajé La Luna Y Las Estrellas On today's bonus episode, Tony Diaz speaks with Viri Ramos in support for the ALMAAHH Silent Auction going on now. Viri Ramos was introduced to painting at an early age by her mother who was a classically trained oil painter. Growing up they would often work along side each other. Upon graduating college, she made the move from Monterrey, México to Houston, Texas. It was during her time living on her own that she discovered acrylics, which were better suited for her not so well ventilated studio apartment. She found in acrylics the best match for her laid back relaxed aesthetic and personality. Her paintings are filled with life and fun. They are happy and playful.. at times serious, but mostly not at all. She favors rough strokes and bold colors. Instagram: @viriviriramos Website: www.viriramos.com Tony Diaz Writer and activist Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante, is a Cultural Accelerator. He was the first Chicano to earn a Master of Fi

Tony Diaz will feature some special talent for the upcoming event: The 34th Annual Accordion King & Queens (AKG) Join Texas Folklife for a night as big as the Lone Star State, showcasing the amazing musical diversity of Texas accordion styles. It will be on June 3rd, 2023, from 7PM - 10PM at the Miller Outdoor Theatre. Texas Folklife’s Accordion Kings & Queens (AKQ) draws thousands annually to Houston’s Miller Outdoor Theatre. The event celebrates the cultural diversity of Texas by bringing communities together for an evening of roots music, featuring a variety of Texas accordion music genres. Get your tickets here! https://texasfolklife.org/index.php/AKQ Charlie Lockwood has a decade of experience as a nonprofit arts administrator and public folklorist. A Native Texan, he holds an MA in Ethnomusicology from UC Santa Barbara, where he played the oud with the UCSB Middle East Ensemble and did research with the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans. As the Executive Director of Texas Folklife, Lockwood has ov

Today we highlight various authors, poets and educators what have been spotlighted from Huizache Magazine! Maceo Montoya is an author, visual artist, and educator who has published books in a variety of genres, including four works of fiction: The Scoundrel and the Optimist, The Deportation of Wopper Barraza, You Must Fight Them: A Novella and Stories, and Preparatory Notes for Future Masterpieces. Montoya has also published two works of nonfiction: Letters to the Poet from His Brother, a hybrid book combining images, prose poems, and essays, and Chicano Movement for Beginners, which he both wrote and illustrated. Montoya is a professor of Chicana/o Studies and English at the University of California, Davis where he teaches courses on Chicanx culture, literature, and creative writing. He is editor of the literary magazine Huizache and lives in Woodland, CA. Dagoberto Gilb was born in the city of Los Angeles, his mother a Mexican who crossed the border illegally, and his father a Spanish-speaking Anglo rai

Nuestra Palabra: 2023 ALMAAHH & MFA Studio Artists Spotlight! Tony Diaz will be interviewing a few artists and spotlight them on their artistic work as part of the 2023 ALMAAHH & MFAH community! Viri Ramos was introduced to painting at an early age by her mother who was a classically trained oil painter. Growing up they would often work along side each other. Upon graduating college, she made the move from Monterrey, México to Houston, Texas. It was during her time living on her own that she discovered acrylics, which were better suited for her not so well ventilated studio apartment. She found in acrylics the best match for her laid back relaxed aesthetic and personality. Her paintings are filled with life and fun. They are happy and playful.. at times serious, but mostly not at all. She favors rough strokes and bold colors. Instagram: @viriviriramos Website: www.viriramos.com Gerardo Rosales born in Venezuela is a multidisciplinary artist and educator who has been living and working in Houston, Texas,

Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say has guest host Rodrigo Bravo filling in for Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante, author of the book "The Tip of the Pyramid: Cultivating Community Cultural Capital." Even though Tony may not be here, ya sabes que le damos esquina al Librotraficante and continue talking about cultivating cultural community capital. Nuestra Palabra welcomes Jose Ralat and Gustavo Arellano to the show to discuss their work covering cultura y nuestra gente through food. On our show, we will specifically talk about Tex Mex food, it's evolution, and how that reflects on our Latinidad. Both of our guests will be appearing at the Irma & Emilio Nicolas Media Center in collaboration with the City of San Antonio World Heritage Office to talk in the "Great SA: Tex Mex Debate" to discuss Tex Mex food, how it happened, and why it’s so controversial. This exciting panel will take place Thursday, April 20, 2023, doors at 6p, program at 7p, and discussion afterwards at 8p. Supported by: Arts & Cul

Frida Festival Showcase! Tony Diaz, El Librotraficante, interviews artist Lizbeth Ortiz, artist and founder of Houston's Frida Festival! Also joining us are two big contributors to the event! Our show airs Tueday's on 90.1 FM KPFT Houston on Houston's Community Radio 90.1 FM at 7:00 PM CST. We will share a podcast link as well after the show! Alan Gonzalez / Alantude is an Emmy award winning fashion and costume designer based out New York. Project Runway contestant and host of Project Runway Redemption, Alan runs his namesake brand Alantude, as well as working on private commission for TV, Film & Theatre and private events. Constance Vazzino is a mixed media artist and full time educator living in Houston TX. She graduated with a BFA with a focus in Studio Painting. Her art is all about the process that includes different mediums, colors, imagery, and materials within her pieces. Her inspiration comes from oceanic and biology related images. As for Lisbeth Ortiz, she was born in Mexico City, raised in H

Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say's Tony Diaz the Librotraficante welcomes Award Winning Author and one of the OG Librotraficante Caravan members Diana Lopez to the show to discuss her latest book, the first in a series, "Felice and the Wailing Woman". Diana speaks with Tony about her inspiration behind the book and her literary journey and her current partnerhsip with the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Latino Book Store's Texas Author Series to create curriculum and lesson plans from authors, all through a grant spearheaded by Joaquin Castro. To highlight this partnership, Tony also has on the show San Antonio ISD Teacher Celi Manriquez; the Bonham Middle School STEM Academy instructor is developing the lesson plans for Ms. Lopez's book so that students can read stories about them, that they can relate to, and can inspire them. We have a live event on April 14th at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center as well as at Bonham Academy; check our next post for more details! Diana López is the author