Your daily dose of Chicano poetry
"I write poems on walls that crumble and fall
I talk to shadows that sleep and go away crying.”
Luis Omar Salinas (1937–2008)
# 79 – Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez “Who declared war on the word Xicano” | The Reality Dysfunction – Unscripted/Unsilenced
Revisiting the conversation The Reality Dysfunction (comprising Dr. Ernesto, Alex Lozada, and Juan Carlos Vega) had with Dr. Roberto Cintli Rodriguez in March of 2021. Dr. Cintli is the author of the influential Xicano essays “Who Declared War on the Word Xicano,” “Our Sacred Maiz is Our Mother,” and “Yolqui: Testimonios of Violence.”
Here, he talks about his experiences writing his last books, what drove him to write, and what brown folk can do to come together for a better world.
Rest in Peace, Dr. Cintli, Chicano activist, writer, and professor, who passed away on July 31, 2023, at the age of 69.
Rasquachismo At McNay Art Museum In San Antonio
Rasquachismo doesn’t directly translate to any single English word. Scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto coined the term in his 1989 essay, “Rasquachismo: A Chicano Sensibility.”
“Rasquachismo is neither an idea nor a style but more of an attitude or a taste,” he wrote, further explaining it as an “irrepressible spirit manifested in the art and life of the Chicano community.”
“Rasquachismo: 35 Years of a Chicano Sensibility” is on display at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio through March 30, 2025. It features the work of artists that engage with a range of rasquache themes and ideas, including Santa Barraza, Cruz Ortiz, César Martínez, Carmen Lomas Garza, and more.
THURSDAY 3/6/25: Mex Step, Amalia Ortiz, Urayoán Noel, and Excy Guardado–Presented by Central Library and Gemini Ink.
Call for Submissions: 43rd Annual Tejano Conjunto Festival Program Book
From: guadalupeculturalarts.org
Attention writers, poets, historians, and photographers! Do you have a passion for Conjunto music and culture? Here’s your opportunity to showcase your work in Tonantzin, the program book for the 43rd Annual Tejano Conjunto Festival in San Antonio.
The submission deadline is March 17, 2025.
To submit your work:
- Please email conjunto@guadalupeculturalarts.org
- Include: Attention: Mariaelena Villarreal
- Send your submission in Microsoft Word format
- Include your contact information
We can’t wait to see your incredible contributions! 
Vincent Valdez Exhibit in Houston, TX
About
“Vincent Valdez: Just a Dream… is the artist’s first major museum survey and spans over two decades of his work, from early career drawings to current allegorical portraits. This exhibition cements Valdez as one of the most important American painters working today—imaging his country and its people, politics, pride, and foibles.”
-Read more about the exhibit at Contemporary Arts Museum–Houston
