Art by Roberto Sifuentes

Bless Me, Ultima

Curandera, con mi fe
y la magia de tu sabiduria
mira cómo voy domando
la sirena del Lago Escondido.
Dicen que cela al carpa dorado
. . pero tú y yo sabemos
que él es mi amigo . .

Tortuga

A mis pies cayó
un colibríhermano
con sus alitas quebradas
no duró la noche
. . . pero murió soñando
acurrucadito en tu mano...

Heart Of Aztlan

Mi pueblo prohibido
mudo creció
con su ronco quejido
preso en la garganta
luego aprendió de tí
tu grito ¡viva Aztlan liberado!
y camina hoy contigo
hecho un toro de resistencia
que brama por todo lo que ha a callado.
ya no hay fuerza que lo detenga

8888—Angela de Hoyos© 1987

Poemanaya: 3 voces, was first published in Confluencia: Revista Hispanica de Cultura y Literatura, Spring 1986, Vol. l, Now. 2; University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO. © Editor: Alfonso Rodriguez

POST-A-POEM SERIES. Oct. 1987©
Manda Publications, San Antonio, Texas

ELGY ON THE DEATH OF CESAR CHAVEZ

by Rudolfo Anaya

with illustrations by Gaspar Enriquez

The heroic life of labor and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez
greatly influenced the political and creative
thinking of Rudolfo Anaya, author of Bless Me, Ultima.
After the death of Chavez in 1992, Anaya wrote this
poem eulogizing the man and his life's work. Echoing

Percy Bysshe Shelley's elegy "Adonais" on the death of John Keats, the poem expresses the sorrow
of la gente at the loss of their leader, but closes by calling all peoples together to continue the non-
violent struggle for freedom and justice that Chavez personified.

An Elegy on the Death of Cesar Chavez includes an essay by Anaya detailing the effect that Cesar
Chavez had on his own vision and a chronology highlighting important struggles and triumphs in
Chavez' life. Powerful realistic illustrations by Gaspar Enriquez add to the poem's impact. This
remarkable work has been sanctioned by the United Farm Workers.

One of the most influential authors in Chicano literature, Rudolfo Anaya has earned international
acclaim for his skillful mingling of realism, fantasy and myth in novels exploring the experiences of
Hispanics in the American Southwest. Novelist, poet, short story author, essayist, playwright and
children's book writer—Anaya has beerl called "The godfather of Chicano literature in English,"
"one of the best writers in this country," "un hijo del pueblo," and "a son of New Mexico."

Artist Gaspar Enriquez is nationally known for his super-realistic, airbrush paintings of young men
and women from the barrios. Using the same technique, he collaged images of Cesar Chavez, farm
workers, police, newspaper articles, fields of grapes and icons of La Raza and Aztlan to create the
ambiance of the life and times of this hero.

"This elegy invites all to march in Cesar's path, to attain the hope and promise of his legacy—
a legacy made simple by Cesar so everyone can participate in the quest for justice. "
—Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers

"Cesar Chavez' accomplishments in fighting for the rights of farm workers, civil rights' environmental
justice, and non- lence stand next to two of the 20th century's greatest leaders—Mahatma Gandhi
and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."—Carlos Santana

ISBN0-938317-51-2 / Cloth / Middle Reader & Adult / Biography & Autobiography / Hispanic Studies /
$16.95
Available October 2000
All Rights Available

 

(Note: Text is from flyer and was reformatted for web layout. Illustration was not available)