Escuchame, Voices From The Nicho – Review by Edgardo

The first reaction upon hearing the title would be: What could that be?
What’s a Nicho? And why should I listen to one? (To answer the first question, escuchame means “listen to me “in Spanish and Nicho refers to Narciso Martinez, a pioneer in Conjunto music, The one original music that was invented and created in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. A multi-ethnic mix of Mexican music blended with German and other European styles, driven by an accordion lead. This new music came to predominate at the dances or bailes, in the Mexican-American communities of Texas, and then it spread throughout northern Mexico as Norteno music.)

Just some background, The Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center came to be in existence some ten years ago, and poetic and literary performances have been held there monthly ever since. The beginnings involve a bar, a literary night in clapboard and two by four ancient cantina, where the jukebox was a quarter and beer a dollar and quarter. And this was some ten years ago. Elvis and Hank Williams and Freddy Fender and Los Relampagos Del Norte were on the jukebox. And it was a only quarter a play. Don Pedro and Don Paco and Messr. Cool Hand Luke sat at the bar, just glad to be out of the house for a while. Essentially, The Lopez Bar, as it was called, was a Deep South Texas Time Machine. I don’t know if the regulars knew it, but it had atmosphere. It wouldn’t have been allowed to exist in most places, the building inspectors would have shut it down. But then it wasn’t that much more dingy than the other cantinas in the bar district. I for one like dingy. There I said it! Y que? Which means “and so what”.

San Benito is the home of Freddy Fender, originally Baldemar Huerta, the first bi-lingual ranchero, rock n’roller, hillbilly singer of them all. He did some bi-lingual masterpieces that are classics still today. A feat in itself. But here in the valley the parallel universe of Anglo and Hispanic intertwine, interweave, cleave together and cleave apart, run close to each other and never touch, but are never really ever that far apart. And it’s different with different groups and even different individuals. Some remain fiercely mono-cultural all their lives; bound tightly to their ethnic heritage and identity, but the vast majority are bi-cultural to lesser and greater extents. Needless to say, all newcomers experience cultural shock to one degree or another. I believe that the Rio Grande Valley is home to one of the, by percentage, largest bilingual populations in the world. Some places in Europe might compete with that, but they cheat. Their education system promotes linguistic diversity.

All kidding aside, the Texas Border Regions as well as the rest of the Southwest are home to a very long running multi-ethnic historical drama. Well, not as long a drama as the French/English collision in Canada, and not as long as the Muslims, Orthodox, and Catholics have fought in the Balkans. Nor as long as Spain with her captive provinces of Iberia that have resisted the assault on their culture and language for many generations; And yes many of the Indians of Latin America are still resisting the Spanish Conquest of 500 years ago; But the American-Mexican cultural struggle has lasted since first contact in the 1800’s. Certainly a long time in anyone’s chronology. This drama informs and insinuates itself through out Escuchame: Voices from the Nicho”. It’s one of the things that helps make this anthology unique.

The ever constant linguistic and cultural identity crisis so prevalent in this multi-cultural milieu can be tiresome at times. But I’ve come to recognize that it also is one of the regions great strengths as well. Questioning of self, reality, identity, purpose, where a person fits into the whole of community, country and how to express all the above can lead to….Writing! And that can lead to more writing. And if one writes long enough and hard enough and then makes adjustments according to the success or failure of the work; then I believe that good writing will result. That is what has happened here in this anthology.

A confession would be appropriate. I know all the contributors to this anthology. In fact, I am a contributor myself, and a member. (Although I’m not sure what you do to be a member other than show up and read your work once in a while. Also, you can buy the book through this link from Amazon).

That being said, take what I say for what it is worth. Also other reviews are more than welcome. We will publish any opinion on this review that is chimp level or above. The diversity of the contributors is astounding. From Professors and MFA grads and undergraduates to Mechanics to those with little to no formal schooling whatsoever. And of course former migrants. I don’t believe there are any current migrants, just former.

The raw reality of life in South Texas informs “Cabrito En Sangre” by Joe Perez. The veracity and realness are overwhelming. A simple story of goats and grandfathers, and another time. Go south a few miles to Mexico and this story is being acted out in real life still.

When this first poem is performed, even across the border, where only some speak English, you can hear a pin drop.

“Two Lands Kissed Into One”
 by Brenda Nettles-Riojas
Hablando espanol con mi mama
English with my dad.
Aqui Estoy.
Two lands kissed into one
Dos mundos se unieron con un beso

“Matamoros Bus”
by Rosa Canales Perez
…Old interior, gutted of the seats to
Fit a crowd, standing room only,
All but empty this late Saturday night,
Creaks and rattles; rolling carcass…

“Since Your Departure”
 by Julieta Corpus
…Peering over the edge of madness and feeling nothing
Persistently refusing to surrender and
Painstakingly reconstructing a shattered heart.

“Courage, Love and Finking”
by edgardo
Think on this:
You that say speak of love and care
How you love poetry and how a song
May lift you away from the everyday
And all that…

From a land where a beautiful river cuts through two cultures, yet still flows like a scar through the one culture that persists over both sides of a man-made borderline. Where razor wire gleams, and automatic rifles are at the ready, and bougainvillea bloom all year long amidst the palms. If some of what I write doesn’t make perfect sense, well you may be catching on. This means that you’ll want to experience Escuchame, Voices From The Nicho.