Podcast #7, March 5th, 2006, features Latino Soul author Monica Garcia Saenz, author of A Hero's Story.

Monica Garcia Saenz is a proud Latina writer who resides in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Monica is a native of Kansas City, Missouri, but her roots grow deep in Chihuahua, Mexico, where she spent most of her childhood summers. She feels blessed to have the best of both worlds, having lived in Mexico City for five years and embracing its culture in her daily life while making a home in the good old USA. She is proud to be 100 percent bilingual and bicultural. She now lives in South Florida with her three kids, two dogs and a very lovely man. They each inspire her life and her writings on a daily basis! She loves going to the beach, reading, writing and cooking Authentic Mexican food (almost as much as she loves eating it). Monica enjoys writing poetry and inspirational pieces. She currently has a few books in the making. Expressions of the Self is her first poetry book and will go into production very soon. She produces the Garcia Family Newsletter on a regular basis for her very large family and intimate friends in an effort to unite them with love through her writings. She also produces the Latino Soul Newsletter (available at www.latinosoul.com) to promote Latino Soul and to share some insights into the contributing authors' writing as well as their lives. She can be reached at monica_garcia_saenz@hotmail.com.

Monica's awe-inspiring tale "A Hero's Story," recounts how an uncle she never met sacrificed his young life to save another, and in doing so, became the first local hero of Kansas City, Missouri. "A Hero's Story" recounts the life and death of Primitivo Garcia, and how his heroic act in 1967 was lost until the early 1990s, when a Kansas City reporter revived Primitivo's story, and brought local and national attention to his heroic legacy. In 1993, in honor of Primitivo García's extraordinary example of compassion and heroism, and in an effort to keep his memory and legacy alive, the KC school board was persuaded to name a new elementary school The Primitivo Garcia World Language School. An example of how Primitvo's legacy is kept alive is the song about Primitivo that opened this 7th podcast. The song was written by Bob Walkenhorst, the leadman for the popular and critically acclaimed rock group The Rainmakers. Bob's daughter attends the Primitivo Garcia School, and Bob performed the song along with his daughter's fourth grade class. In September of 2005, Monica revisited the Primitivo Garcia World Language School to read her story, and to autograph Latino Soul books for the 150 people who attended the event sponsored by Kansas City Hispanic News and MANA of Greater Kansas City. Monica recalls attending the dedication. "I remember the day they had the dedication ceremony", she says. "I thought to myself, `I need to do something someday.'" What she did was to write the powerful and gripping tale "A Hero's Story."

Monica wanted to thank someone else for keeping Tivo's memory and legacy alive. That person is Joe Arce, from the newspaper Kansas City Hispanic News. Joe is a long time family friend who not only helped Monica's family get the primitivo Garcia school named after her uncle, but who also assisted Monica as she did research for her story. In Monica's words, "Joe Arce is a role model for Latinos everywhere. When I was researching "A Hero's Story" I felt like Joe walked with me through the dreaming process and then celebrated with me as my dream came true."

Thanks for sharing that with us Monica, and for letting us take a moment to acknowledge another Latino hero, Joe Arce. It's nice to know you're out there in the world Joe, and Latino Soul salutes you. In addition to being our featured guest on the podcast, Monica Garcia Saenz is also our March Featured Author on the website www.latinosoul.com. Go to our site to get more information about Monica, and to read my interview with her, and to read "A Hero's Story." Another great way to read A Hero's Story is to go to your local bookstore, or to amazon.com, and buy the book. Latino Soul offers you 86 stories (and a few poems) written by Latinos and Latinas that will make you laugh, cry, and identify.

Dr. Susi's Book Club: March Recommendation
I would like to recommend for March reading the book of bilingual poetry Ofrenda/Offering, by award winning poet Marie Delgado Travis. This compelling book of poetry contains the Spanish version of her poem included in LS "Abolengo," and the English and Spanish versions of her award winning poem, "The Window." The Window, which recreates a compelling vision of Marie's childhood in the Bronx, placed Second in the international Tom Howard Poetry Contest (over 1,600 entries received). Ofrenda/Offering is a compelling collection of poems that will move you from one page to another with a desire for more. Marie Delgado Travis will keep you riveted throughout the 45 pages of this compelling book of poetry. Whether the theme of the poem is love, regret, childhood memories, or unfulfilled dreams, you will be pulled in each time by the expression of honest human desire that fills each page. Marie Delgado Travis is a bold, elegant and versatile new voice on the poetry scene, and you don't want to miss the opportunity to experience for yourself the wit, passion, and invitation to desire that you will find in Ofrenda/Offering. The book is available through major online booksellers, including Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

I want to give a little shout out to Joseph Puentes, the creator of the website NuestraFamiliaUnida.com which is a portal for Latino cultural resources. Joseph is a big supporter of the LS podcast, and I wanted to acknowledge publicly how much his support means to us. Please check out the NuestraFamiliaUnida podcast, which you can access at www.nuestrafamiliaunida.com.

Thanks to everyone, y HASTA LA PROXIMA!