From the Editor

Abstract

From the Editor John Nieto-Phillips (bio) This issue of Chiricú Journal is unique from its predecessors; it is the first that is not limited to a particular theme. Our first six issues centered, sequentially, on cinema, language, folklore, literature, spatiality, and race. For this number, however, we announced an open call for material covering any aspect of Latinx lived experience, and the response (in terms of submissions) was overwhelming. We received scores of scholarly and creative works that spoke to the exquisite complexity of Latinx lives. From these, we reviewed and selected pieces that, while not directed toward a predetermined theme, do provide a lens into Latinx conditions and identities, as expressed through music, literature, testimonio, and the visual arts. The result is a collection of scholarship and creative production that illuminates the vast and varied topography of our Latinx América. Contained in this issue are scholarly contributions by Daniel Arbino, Laura Elena Belmonte, and Shane D. Hall that, collectively, speak to the power of literature to reveal strategies of survival, resistance, and self-acceptance in the face of colonial, physical and rhetorical violence, and environmental degradation. Articles by Ande Davis and Steven Osuna suggest ways that film and music can help us imagine a future beyond the confines of neoliberal ideologies and state-sanctioned violence. Laís Lara Vanin's moving essay and Mauricio Ramírez's interview of the muralist Juana Alicia render powerful stories of migration and adaptation and political agency. In the Creative Works section, guest editor Alfredo Franco has assembled a magnificent collection of contributions by both established and emerging artists, poets, and prose writers. The stunning artwork of Maria Lau and poignant essay by Eileen Sosin Martínez provide snapshots of a contemporary Cuban landscape imbued with vibrancy and nostalgia. We also are treated to: an inventive set of five poems by Randy John Koch inspired by historical personages and epochs; the abstract digital creations of Argentine artist Rosana Fernández; a fascinating interplay (by way of a blog) between the Puerto Rican poet and scholar Margarita Pintado and the late Cuban poet and novelist Lorenzo García Vega; the spare and potent verses of Brazilian poet and editor Francisco dos Santos; an ingenious reflection, "15 Ways of Looking at a Latina," by Cuban American poet Michelle Lizet Flores; and, not least, a heartbreaking short story, "Katy Kola," by the Peruvian American writer Sara Márquez Durst. The many voices in this creative [End Page 1] section offer readers new frames for comprehending the diversity and complexity of Latinx lived experiences spanning time, distance, languages, and cultures. [End Page 2] John Nieto-Phillips John Nieto-Phillips is Associate Professor of History and Latino Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, where he also is Vice Provost for Diversity & Inclusion. The author of The Language of Blood: The Making of Spanish-American Identity, 1880s-1930s (UNM Press, 2004), he is the founding editor of Chiricú Journal: Latina/o Literatures, Arts, and Cultures (Indiana University Press). Copyright © 2019 Trustees of Indiana University