Welcome to the Latino Soul podcast, the podcast for the book Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul. My name is Susan Sanchez-Casal and this is podcast #1, September 18, 2005. Click here for the audio version of this podcast, please go to The Book section of www.latinosoul.com, where you can find sample stories, links to media coverage and promotional events, and much more. Check it out!

I am the co-author of Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul, a wonderful and groundbreaking collection of stories and poems written by and for Latinos. The book, which was released on August 9th, features and celebrates the love of family, the power of our communities, and the strength and wisdom that we gain from facing life's challenges. Everybody knows about Chicken Soup books: they offer readers inspirational stories that touch our hearts and encourage us to live life with awareness and compassion. Latino Soul adds something special to this best-selling series by weaving into the Chicken Soup recipe a celebration of Latino life in the United States.

The contributors to Latino Soul come from all walks of life, and tell stories that range from surviving the Great Depression to forgiving an alcoholic parent, from the elaborate preparation of delicious traditional foods, to the sometimes comical consequences of living in Spanglish. Latino Soul will give Latino readers a chance to look in the mirror, to laugh, cry and identify with the people and places captured in the book, and to see the power and beauty of our communities. And while I am especially pleased to offer Latino Soul to Latino readers, I know that it is also a wonderful contribution to non-Latinos who are interested in Latino cultures and storytelling. Latino Soul has something for everyone.

Latino Soul was released last month, and we've had an amazing response from readers as well as from media across the country. There have been dozens of TV, radio, magazine and newspaper interviews since the book's release, and the more than 70 contributing authors are hitting the streets to publicize and promote the book. Authors are doing readings and book signings at bookstores from coast to coast, so check latinsoul.com to see if there's a promotion scheduled in your area.

The weekly Latino Soul podcast will give listeners a chance to go behind the scenes with Latino Soul, to hear the authors read their stories and comment on them, and to listen to their experiences as writers and contributors to Latino Soul.

Today, in honor of the kick-off of Hispanic Heritage Month, which started on Thursday, I have the pleasure of reading "University Avenue" by award winning Chicana author Pat Mora. Pat Mora is a native of El Paso, Texas, who now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico; she is one of the most celebrated Latina authors in the United States and has published more than 25 poetry, non-fiction and children's books. Pat is a literacy activist and a strong supporter of bilingualism, and has been quoted as saying that she feels "very fortunate" to have grown up in El Paso, Texas, in a bilingual home. Mora very often uses Spanish words in her stories and poems in English, because, in her words, "I want readers to remember that people speak many languages the world over. Quien habla dos lenguas, vale por dos," she says. ("If you speak two languages, your value is doubled.")

Her latest books, published this fall, are The Song of Frances and the Animals and Doña Flor : A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart. Pat Mora's previous book, Tomás and the Library Lady, received numerous awards, including the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award, and an Americas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature. Pat is one of the founders of "El día de los niños/El día de los libros," (Children's Day/Book Day) a grassroots family literacy initiative that will celebrate its 10th anniversary in April, 2006. For more information on "El día de los niños," please see her website www.patmora.com.

The poem that I am reading today, "University Avenue," has special meaning for me, as I'm sure it will for all Latinos and Latinas who have been the first in their families to get a college education. The poem recognizes the struggle of the "first of our people" to walk through the gates of higher education, and the importance of remembering those who came before us when we take those first steps into unknown, and sometimes difficult territory. "University Avenue" also suggests that we don't have to leave behind our cultural identities when we walk through the door to higher education; in fact, it's saying that we shouldn't, that we should strengthen our sense of where we come from and keep it with us as we grow and change. Pat Mora seems to be telling us that when in doubt, when we face obstacles, when we feel insecure and maybe like we don't quite belong on college campuses, we need to reach deep inside ourselves in order to reconnect with the people and the traditions of our cultural lineage. By doing that, we'll know what step we need to take next. It's a powerful message, and an important one, especially considering the challenges that exist for Latinos in the educational system today.

I decided to open Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul with Pat Mora's poem because I think that it evokes our realities as bicultural people, as immigrant and native people, as people whose American journey is still very much in the making. But even more than that, I was inspired by the strength of her words, and by the reminder that we so often need on this journey, that "we are not alone," that we can always draw on the people whose values and hard work have paved the way for us to University Avenue. Listen to the poem and see what you think. If Pat Mora's poem inspires you the way it does me, we welcome your comments on the Latino Soul blog.


University Avenue
by Pat Mora

We are the first

of our people to walk this path.

We move cautiously,

unfamiliar with the sounds,

guides for those who follow.

Our people prepared us

with gifts from the land,

fire, herbs and song.

Yerbabuena soothes us into morning,

rhythms hum in our blood,

abrazos linger round our bodies,

cuentos whisper lessons en español.

We do not travel alone.

Our people burn deep within us.

Well that's it for podcast #1.
I look forward to next week's podcast, when we'll be featuring LS author and poet Marie Delgado Travis, who will read her poem "Abolengo." If you want a preview, you can read "Abolengo" in the sample story section of latinosoul.com. Thanks for listening and hasta la próxima!