tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45076598664331885882024-02-18T21:16:09.873-08:00Chican-izmosGrowing up Chicano, a product of both Mexican and American cultures, has given me a unique vantage on life and I love to express that through my writings, poetry, photography and art. I discovered the power of writing in High School and haven't stopped since. I have published a book, "Songs From the Barrio: A Coming of Age in Modesto, Ca.", a collection of poems and stories about my growing up in a small, Mexican Barrio in Modesto during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, available at amazon.com.Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.comBlogger207125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-1923585724535708362018-01-12T10:11:00.001-08:002018-01-12T10:19:34.528-08:00Chicanos at War<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-38280650205523807332017-02-20T15:43:00.000-08:002017-02-20T15:47:02.794-08:00May the Egg Be With You, Always<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-18290305104007565282016-03-24T10:12:00.000-07:002016-03-24T10:28:17.485-07:00Nopal En La Frente: Revisited
NOPAL EN LA FRENTE REVISITED
On visiting my blog today I find it interesting that of all my posts over the years only one has generated any measurable amount of interest (comments) from readers and that it a short post on the use of the phrase "Nopal en la Frente." The image in that post is of a clay mask I made some time ago of a face with a nopal or cactus pasted on its forehead. I was sure Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-60689661372883827842015-11-27T11:11:00.000-08:002015-11-27T11:14:07.383-08:00
QUE VIVA PUENTE!
October 20, 2015
Had a great time once again with Cathy Gillis' PUENTE English students
at Napa Valley Community College! They had just finished reading my book
and they were enthused to meet the author and gave my wife and I a
warm welcome. I answered some well thought out questions the instructor
had gathered from them beforehand. Asked by the teacher that if they
Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-64015132859571766342015-10-07T10:31:00.000-07:002015-11-27T11:18:25.591-08:00<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-26417417518878160462015-07-04T14:39:00.001-07:002015-07-04T14:39:07.716-07:00
I've been working on the CD for a few months now. A satisfying project with the help of Mike Torres, Jr. Recording in Stockton. Had original selections of episodes we recorded for radio back in the early 80's on a bunch of old cassette tapes. All of them have been transferred to digital and a selection of some of the best will appear on the CD. It should be ready by the first of August 2015, Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-49931549029014950012015-05-21T11:11:00.000-07:002015-05-21T11:11:48.933-07:00
"AS THE BARRIO TURNS AND THE MENUDO BURNS...."
During the 1980's one of my students brought me a cartoon drawing he had made of two barrio vatos,"Cho & Lo" (Cholo) asking what I thought of turning them into live characters. At the time, I was teaching Chicano Studies at Delta College in Stockton and working with the Chicano Community Program at the University of Pacific's radio Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-68206828852185647192014-12-27T15:33:00.001-08:002014-12-27T15:33:44.508-08:00
THE BLIND ACCORDIONIST
His plastic cup between his legs
he plays music in the dark
plucking an imagined keyboard.
Notes line up in his mind
each awaiting its turn,
and his fingers release
them from bondage
into the Michoacan air
and the ears of
passersby who now and then
toss a coin in his cup.
On the wooden chair
he perches like
potted plant on a stand.
Stone Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-16174532489026637782014-12-02T11:31:00.000-08:002014-12-02T11:31:15.630-08:00<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-7028992587729561152014-12-02T11:16:00.000-08:002014-12-02T11:16:14.931-08:00<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-17602526653670255142014-08-04T10:10:00.000-07:002014-08-04T10:15:29.923-07:00A MUST SEE NEW SERIES "BORDERLAND" ON AL-JAZEERA AMERICA NETWORKFor all of you who claim you care about the current border crisis and illegal immigration, this new series is a MUST SEE. Click on link below to read my blog about how to access the channel through your local providers. Regardless of what side of the fence, (no pun intended), you are on this show will OPEN your eyes. Once you open the link to my blog click on Al-Jazeera link at bottom of that Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-7270836493295663722014-07-30T10:08:00.000-07:002014-07-30T10:08:11.306-07:00"Suffer The Little Children"In any discussion or debate over the complex issues of illegal
immigration there is little talk about one segment of victims that may
well be hardest hit by its consequences: children. While it is obvious
that adults suffer the perils of treacherous geography, criminal
assaults, unscrupulous Coyotes, and even
death, there is a surge in unaccompanied children from Mexico and
Central Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-87216300268576909352014-05-08T12:13:00.000-07:002014-05-08T12:13:19.064-07:00Mexican? Hispanic? Latino? Mexican-American? Chicano?My latest Blog explores the on-going struggle many of us still go through in identifying ourselves.
http://blogs.esanjoaquin.com/tulevato/2014/05/08/mexican-hispanic-latino-mexican-american-chicano/Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-45392898308234729432014-04-07T10:36:00.000-07:002014-07-30T10:09:41.974-07:00On the Mexican Tradition of Playing Music for the DeadFor years, my compadres, and other musicians and I have played dozens of masses, rosaries and funerals for deceased relatives, friends, and total strangers. This beautifully made video brought back those memories and made me wonder why Mexicans take their music all the way to the grave?
http://blogs.esanjoaquin.com/tulevato/2014/04/07/music-to-the-grave/Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-1350945408851122292014-03-25T11:10:00.000-07:002014-03-25T11:10:26.195-07:00Honors Long Past Due to Men of Color I was moved to read and hear in the news that 24 men of color had belatedly been awarded Medals of Honor, men served in several of this country's wars, who had probably been passed over because of their color or ethnicity, by President Obama. Of the 24 men, 17 of them were Hispanic or Latino.
http://blogs.esanjoaquin.com/tulevato/2014/03/25/getting-the-short-end-of-the-stick/Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-56318066970409620332014-03-17T16:58:00.000-07:002014-03-17T16:58:43.448-07:00Update on My Book: "Songs From the Barrio: A Coming of Age in Modesto, Ca." Y Mas
Amigos, it's been a while since I've posted. Been busy writing for "Joaquin" magazine http://joaquinmag.com/ published out of Stockton and doing what I can to peddle my book. In the past year, I've visited many schools, grade levels from 2nd grade to College, and enjoy sharing my story and book especially with students. It's quite amazing how the stories and poems connect with so many people,Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-34544409712110815782014-02-14T10:53:00.001-08:002014-02-14T10:53:44.747-08:00Mexican-Americans: Above and Beyond the Call of DutyMexican-Americans: Above and Beyond the Call of DutyRick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-71462432110534519702014-02-06T11:08:00.001-08:002014-02-06T11:08:56.038-08:00“Dad, What’s a Cherry Tree?”“Dad, What’s a Cherry Tree?”Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-90501937397828688522014-02-06T11:07:00.001-08:002014-02-06T11:07:50.967-08:00Californians, It’s Time for TinacosCalifornians, It’s Time for TinacosRick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-17156511835266059302013-12-06T10:57:00.000-08:002013-12-06T12:27:26.783-08:00Escape to Paradise
View of Caribbean from the 8th Floor of our Hotel
The Wife Warily Feeding the Fish
Ah, Pura Vida
In late October of this year my wife and I decided on taking a two week vacation to Cozumel, Mexico. We had been here before on a couple of occasions and quickly fell in love with the place. It is a small island of the southern tip of Yucatan in the heart of the Caribbean, or Paradise. Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-17381836756381499602013-09-30T13:22:00.000-07:002013-10-02T09:49:32.699-07:00
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Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-43425016272965682432013-09-23T11:09:00.001-07:002013-09-23T11:09:28.758-07:00The Magic of the Written Word
It's close to a year now since I've written and published my book "Songs From the Barrio: A Coming of Age in Modesto, Ca." and it's been a blast getting out to share it with all kinds of audiences, children, young people and adults, old-timers like myself.
The Literary Experience, whether reading to oneself, or hearing someone read a story or a poem is absolutely magnetic, a captivating Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-90129360566061650092013-05-07T09:59:00.000-07:002013-05-07T09:59:52.615-07:00Let Me Get This Straight: You Wanna Build a Wall From Texas to California?<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-12223909107822076182013-03-01T11:46:00.000-08:002013-03-01T16:34:11.317-08:00It's a Take: Life in the Studio
I'm no stranger to the recording studio. During the 1980's, my friend Richard Zapata and I, recorded numerous episodes of "Cho & Lo", at the University of the Pacific's KUOP-FM, an NPR affiliate, a street-savvy duo from the barrios who through satire and humor addressed issues of culture, language, education, and gangs. (A CD of actual recordings from this period is in the works).
So the Rick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4507659866433188588.post-36071794561412672512013-02-01T09:58:00.001-08:002013-02-01T09:58:53.692-08:00La Bloga: Barrio Songs: An Interview with Richard Ríoswww.chican-izmo.blogspot.comLa Bloga: Barrio Songs: An Interview with Richard RíosRick Rivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09660636921053646567noreply@blogger.com0