by Laura E. Alvarez
Oye! I got to meet with my favorite Chicana poet, Gloria Enedina Alvarez this week. We collaborated on a California Artist Residency TWENTY YEARS AGO. I know. What? Was I 12 or something? No, but I was kinda fresh outta college, and I had to learn to drive just to do the residency. Yes, I learned to drive going from Santa Monica to East L.A. in the most stolen car of that year - a 1983 Oldsmobile Delta 88, leather top. People liked to turn them into low riders. It was in mint condition, and random old guys were always trying to buy it off me. But I digress...
Gloria! She is as youthful, funny, and life-enjoying as the last time I saw her so many years ago. Here, we pose in front of a French revolution mural in Atwater. So funny, us being revolutionary Chicana artists and trying to be as French as possible as we get older. (Yes, that is a marc by Marc Jacobs lace blouse I am wearing.)
God, cars and clothes. I digress again.
Here is a sprinkling of Gloria Enedina Alvarez mind blowing granules of gold from yesterday:
1) Her identity is poet.
That, alone is enough. I mean, come on. In my next life my identity will be poet just because it's so... solid, yet mysterious. I will reside in a Scottish castle and write poetry. I will wear electric blue hand knit ponchos, sip Earl Grey, and write about the mist and mi corazòn.
2) She WANTS to reside in a Scottish castle and write poetry.
That's where I got the idea. Duh.
3) The Repatriation Thingy
In 1932 her dad was just a three year old in Cheyenne, Wyoming (where he was BORN) and his whole family was rounded up and sent "back" to Mexico. Gloria's grandfather walked his cattle from Wyoming all the way back to where his family lived in Mexico. (Can you see my tear stains blotting out these words? Where's the app for that?) When Gloria's dad came back to the U.S. as an adult the government gave him a hard time for being a "draft dodger". Seriously. This story came out of a collaboration with artist, Christina Fernandez. Read more about Repatriation here.
4) Writing Circles About Food
Lately, she gets together with other women and they write poetry about food. She wants to make an anthology about it. This sounds so cool. I want to go to one, and I can't wait to read it. I'm already hungry. For now you can check out her work in books such as this.
5) Ceremonia heals.
Sweat lodges. Herbs. It's all true. I thought you had to go all the way to Taos to do that stuff, but apparently they have sweat lodges here, too. I'm not going to get into it, but that story blew my mind.
6) She made some mention of a play or opera she wrote... Paris?
Oh my goodness. It just gets better. Peter Sellars directed a couple. Esa Pekka conducted one. Los Angeles Philharmonic. Etc., etc. Read the full deal here. Impressive.
7) Nopales growing guerilla gardening poets like Ari Robles are the kind of magical people that populate her life.
Enough said. I am hooked on all things Gloria.
8) Eyes are on her last conquest in her goal towards total optimum health domination... SLEEP.
Gotan Project, and Nova Lima... It's kind of their fault she doesn't get enough sleep, really. They "call" her from afar and beg her to come dance to their South American rythms. That and something about just loving the night. Artists don't own cows. I've never heard of one, at least.
9) Spanglish is king.
We didn't talk about this, but since our get-together I appreciate how much she appreciates this. The beautiful mix of words that can't be really translated in one language or the other is splendarious (a word made up by one of my favorite poets who inspired the Rey part of Simone Rey). Really. This is just natch for her writing and mine and even more so for the way Gloria talks. I LOVE IT.
10) Here's what I'm talking about...
Ofrenda
An offering
of starbursts
releases us
to receive each other
for ourselves
to know
it is the spirit
which draws us near
the Embrace of the infinite
that pulls and pulses
in each of us
The Flame
an endless flight
Una ofrenda
de nebula
nos libera
a recibirnos
para nosotros
saber
el espiritu
acercandonos
el Abrazo del infinito
tira y pulsa
en cada quien
La Llama
un vuelo sin fin
by Gloria Enedina Alvarez
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