Latino Heretics

Dedicated to the memory of the late Omar Castaneda, this collection of radical writings crosses the boundary of that which cannot be said.

The work of Omar Castaneda epitomized the new era of Latino writing that combined heart and art: hyper-arte and hyper-corazon. This anthology fulfills his vision of a collection of fiction and cross-genre prose by contemporary Latino/a writers on "unspeakable" topics.

These works upset and disturb the gentlemans agreement upon which some of the current politics of Latino identity are precariously based. These works also attain a new level of craft, a high style of writing to topple the current politics of aesthetics that threaten to oppress all writers.

New pieces by Judith Ortiz Cofer, Lionel G. Garcia, Stephen Gutierrez, MacArthur Fellow Luis Alfaro, as well as scriptwriter Rick Najera, join the voices of newcomers and never-before-released work of the late Castaneda.

Every entry catches the High Style of new thoughts, new forms, and killer prose that simultaneously sabotages the politics of the English and Spanglish languages. This writing brings together art and politics, and unites the best of several possible worlds under the Latino canopy of multi-multi-culturalism, an exponential-culturalism.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573660779
• ISBN13: 9781573660778
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: FC2
• Length: 215 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

More mind expanding fiction

Tony Diaz is really making a name for himself as a pioneer in the new way of thinking about Latino Literature. The stories in this anthology come at you from angles and styles I suspect most readers did not expect. Nothing is sacred in this book, which is the point. Even his own style is different. I enjoyed his hilarious novel THE AZTEC LOVE GOD, so I expected his work in the anthology to be in the same humorous style as the novel. Wow, I was blown away by his story "TAKE ME" From Sombrero Hysteria. This is a very intense piece. Also, the excerpt from the late Omar Castaneda's novel ISLAS COLORADAS was equally intense. Once again, these styles are not what is typically thought of when you think of Latino Literature, so this anthology forces you to broaden your imagination about what writers can and should write about and how. But the styles also go back to the what Chicano Writing was about during the Chicano movement. Stephen D. Gutierrez's story "La Gloria Meets La Helen en la Marqueta and What is Best Left Unsaid is for You" is about two ex-cholas who meet up after many years. Even when these writers choose "typical topics" their styles update the tradition. The heresy is that nothing is sacred so that everything can be enjoyed. My other personal favorite piece was "a latina lesbian activst's survial guide: o, mejor dicho, activism de-mystified, de-glorified & de-graded" by Tatiana de la Tierra. Even the introduction is not typical of anthologies. This one does not pound into your head a definition of Latino or Latino Literature. It lets the writing do the talking, and it challenges you to free your mind. If you enjoy strong prose, new styles, new ways of thinking, you need to check out this anthology.