Thursday, April 9, 2009

Live from Oregon!!!

I just arrived in Medford Oregon and then made my way to Ashland and am staying at this hotel.

It's one of those old boutique hotels, where the furniture is like from a Jean Paul Satre play about hell (2nd Empire Furniture) and the rooms are very small but not at all hellish.

It's nice.

I'm on the top floor looking out on the city where they have the great Shakespeare festival.

This morning I'm going to be on the radio for an hour talking about my novel, and the shadows took him, which is set here in Southern Oregon.

The Latino students at Southern Oregon State University invited me, and they are treating me very well. Check out the SOU Latino Student Union myspace profile and the poster they made for tonight's the event. Looks like a poster for a baile, no?





Last night they took me to dinner, about twenty students, at a restaurant that stayed open late just for us.

Even though my novel is set here, I haven't been here since before I wrote it. Check out this recent article about books set in this valley, including shadows.

It's so much bigger now, and there are a lot more raza then there used to be. Back when I used to come to Medford, there were few Mexicanos, mostly those who worked in the orchards, and mostly men, who came and went with the seasons. But now, there are everywhere. We are everywhere, even in the university, even giving a reading tonight.

These young people of the Latino Student Organization, are puro Latino, puro Mexicano, but they're also Oregonians, many of them having lived here most of their lives.

Oregon Chicanos, man!

You gotta love them.

¡Aztlán, Oregon!

¡Con Safos y que!

1 comment:

Smorg said...

Nice Hotel! I've never been up to Medford, but was in Klamath Falls, OR, for a few weeks in the mid 90's. Oregon is a beautiful state! Hope you'll have a good time there. :o)