Tunaluna: Selections from a new book by Alurista

Tunaluna: Selections from a new book by Alurista

Aztlán Libre Press, an independent casa editorial in San Antonio, Texas, unveils as its debut publication, Tunaluna, the 10th book of poems by Alurista, Chicano poet and activist. Here is how he describes the periodic table of Chicano and Chicana literary elements; a few snippets from the book have been kindly permitted Somos en escrito by co-publishers, Juan Tejeda and Anisa Onofre, as follows:

Prólogo al Decálogo

This, my tenth collection of poetry, will be published in 2010: “la quinta ola”...the previous waves being 1965-1974 when RACE was the principal contradiction in Xicano writing and U.S.A. consciousness. 1975-84 when CULTURAL contradictions became central to Xicano ideology realizing that Mexican by definition includes Amerindian, African, European and Asian cultures ‘n’ races though clearly dominated by Judaeo-Christian, Anglo-Saxon, machista transnational cultural imperialism. The third wave, 1985-94, then focused on GENDER, when most Xicana writers bloomed most assertively and right on target ‘n’ time. During 1995-2004, the CLASS contradiction predictably became the focus of our literary production either by including class discourse or by omitting it, it was there and most important. We now come to the fifth ola which encompasses ALL contradictions, 2005-2014. Clearly, the end of the Piscean Era and the beginning of the Aquarian Age: leaving faith and devotion for reason and wisdom; the return of Quetzalcoatl, December 21, 2012...according to Mayan chronology and prophecy. 2 b certain today.

As once said before:

“what it is

be what it does

could never b

what it was

nor could it b

what it will b

what it’ll come

2 pass shall b

when what does

b what it is”

...arroz!!!

do enjoy y compartan la colección Tunaluna

Los Trece Aliens live forth

in this here mi décima 

Selections from the book:

            Luna

 By Alurista

 

lunatuna

fluttering

below belly

pasiones swooping

down deep

gathering storms

treasuring

rainergías pacíficas

marítimas, montañescas

abotona tu vientre, maja

easles b ready

to capture flight

entre tus aguas claras

allow flow

...reflect...

clama la milpa

eye your center

cherish thigh

hug torso

b one

with duende within

discover

sun risa raza roja

               Pa’ César y Corky

By Alurista

what for the rush and bloody pain

what for the blooming and the rain

what for the quest and odyssey

what for the swimming and the sea, see

there b no shore or beach that anyone can reach

and breathe, inhale, exhale, and love

all seems to ooze the stress that greed has carved in us

surely our species should be meek

before our motherearth’s volcanoes

storms and huracanes

tornadoes, floods and tremors

and there we b secreting poisons for all leggeds, wingeds,

fish and even trees

what for the rush and bloody pain

we’ll surely die, but then

we dig deeper in our heartmindspiritbody

and nurture glow and warmth

and light and peace and patience

and gladness and gardens

and gather all in oneness

and end the pain and bloody rush

desiring naught

expecting naught

missing naught

simply being being

we truly have no choice...though

we imagine, dream, hope, want

being all that we are we are all that is

and that is all there b

césar and corky

this b my writ to chávez y gonzález

carnales de las sonrisas grandes

de las carcajadas llenas

de murales

de cuadros, ensayos

matadors de pendejadas

terminators of guandajos and juanabees

hermanos, jefes

your “death” is but our “birth”

porque amasteis

entregasteis

y hoy, como siempre,

sois imprescindibles

Alurista, also known as Alberto Baltazar Urista Heredia, was born August 8, 1947, in Mexico City. Well known for his support of the Chicano Movement through his poetry and literature, his contributions include El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán , first read in 1969 at the First National Chicano Youth Liberation Conference in Denver, Colorado, and recognized as the manifesto of the Chicano Movement. Some of his early works are Floricanto en Aztlán, 1971; Nationchild plumaroja, 1969-1972; Toltecas en Aztlán, Centro Cultural de la Raza, 1972, and more recently, Z Eros, Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe, 1995; Et Tu... Raza? Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe, 1996, and As our barrio turns: who the yoke b on? Calaca Press, 2000. 

To purchase a copy or more, contact Aztlan Libre Press at  www.aztlanlibrepress.com.