Latin@ Rising
Page 25
“Nothing tells you I am Mexican, but I still am. Being Mexican means many things. Many of which we can’t see.” La Máquina says confidently, knocking her metallic hands near the writing on her chest. “If anything, I am Thai.”
Mictan laughs, taking off her holospectacles, looking at Máquina lovingly. La Máquina forces her jammed facial joints into a smile. The sirens outside wane, float away. The lights penetrating the sky disappear. The majestic darkness of New York City, a glowing haze, blankets the tired skyscrapers, returning the groggy motion of night to El Barrio.
“Mictan darling,” Josie yodels from the kitchen. “Come show us your new game! I’ve always been interested in Japan, especially this Sei Shōnagon you’re including in this one.”
Mictan smiles at La Máquina. Josie’s sundried brown face materializes at the door, like a patchwork quilt, intersecting lines crossing and moving, each furrow a story, all of them trenches of memory that Josie can recount vividly.
“Sabes algo, muchachas? Over a hundred years ago a flock of Mexicans moved to Japan and started a little village in the mountains. You know how the story goes. Well, let’s hope you didn’t forget that we even had some cousins who were in that group. None of them knew where their Japanese started, and where their Mexican ended. And when they moved to Egypt, olvidate! Make a game on that identity crisis! Now come and let’s finish this cake.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This anthology certainly would not have happened without the work of the many people who are recovering and supporting multi-ethnic science fiction and fantasy. The results of past anthologies such as So Long Been Dreaming and Dark Matter in particular have been enormously positive in opening up the possibilities for writers of color and to these I am indebted. This book was originally supported by a wonderfully generous grant from the Speculative Literature Foundation. In turn, that grant allowed us to organize a successful Kickstarter campaign. I can only bow in gratitude to the 321 people who believed in the vision and took the risk to make this anthology happen. Special thanks in particular to Alexis Madrigal, Sabrina Vourvoulias, and the Otaño-Gracia family for stepping up to support the campaign in a big way. Finally, I am deeply grateful to the authors who were enormously patient throughout the process.
PERMISSIONS, PUBLICATION HISTORIES & TRANSLATION CREDITS
In order of appearance.
Frontispiece illustration, “El Muerto: Los Cosmos Azteca,” by Javier Hernandez is previously unpublished.
“Foreword” by Matthew David Goodwin is previously unpublished.
“Introduction: Confessions from a Latin@ Sojourner in SciFilandia” by Frederick Luis Aldama is previously unpublished.
“The Road to Nyer” by Kathleen Alcalá is previously unpublished.
“Code 51” by Pablo Brescia first appeared in Spanish as “Código 51” in Gente ordinaria (Mexico: Librosampleados, 2014), 31-41, and in Sdl #revista de horror, 1.1, (2014): 12-14. It was translated by the author with contributions by Matthew David Goodwin. Brescia expresses his heartfelt thanks to the editors for allowing him to translate this story.
“Uninformed” by Pedro Zagitt was originally published as “Desinformada.”
“Circular Photography” by Pedro Zagitt was originally published as
“Fotografía Circular.” Both stories wer translated by Nahir Otaño-Gracia. Both stories first appeared in Historias de Las Historias, ed. Alberto Chimal (México: Solar, 2011).
“Sin Embargo” by Sabrina Vourvoulias is previously unpublished.
“Accursed Lineage” by Daína Chaviano was originally published as “Estirpe Maldita.” It was translated by Matthew David Goodwin.
“Coconauts in Space” by ADÁL was first presented in 2004 at the Taller Puertorriqueño in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Previously unpublished.
“Cowboy Medium” by Ana Castillo is previously unpublished.
“Flying Under the Texas Radar with Paco and Los Freetails” by Ernest Hogan is previously unpublished.
“Monstro” by Junot Díaz first appeared in The New Yorker, June 4, 2012.
“Room for Rent” by Richie Narvaez is previously unpublished.
“Artificial” by Edmundo Paz Soldán was translated by Heather Cleary. It is previously unpublished.
“Through the right ventricle “ and “Two unique souls” by Steve Castro are previously unpublished.
“Caridad” by Alex Hernandez is previously unpublished.
“Difficult at Parties” by Carmen Maria Machado was first published in Unstuck: 2, ed. Matt Williamson (Austin: Unstuck Books, 2012).
“Death of the Businessman” and “Burial of the Sardine” are excerpts from United States of Banana (AmazonCrossing, 2011) by Giannina Braschi, reprinted under a license arrangement originating with Amazon Publishing, www.apub.com.
“Entanglements” by Carlos Hernandez first appeared in The Assimilated Cuban’s Guide to Quantum Santeria (Rosarium, 2016).
“The Drain” by Alejandra Sanchez is previously unpublished.
“Red Feather & Bone,” first appeared in appeared in Salsa Nocturna (Crossed Genres Publications, 2012) by Daniel José Older. By permission of the author.
“A Science Fiction” and “SciFi-Ku” by Carl Marcum are previously unpublished.
“Traditions” by Marcos S. Gonsalez is previously unpublished.
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Matthew David Goodwin is an Assistant Professor in English at the University of Puerto Rico in Cayey. His work is centered on the topic of migration in Latino/a literature. In particular, he looks at the ways that science fiction, fantasy, and digital culture have been used to express the experience of migration. He completed his PhD in Comparative Literature at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst in 2013. He has published a number of essays on Latino/a speculative fiction for journals such as MELUS and for a number of essay collections including Black and Brown Planets, Alien Imaginations, and Putting the Pop in Latino Culture. He has co-authored an article for Oxford Bibliographies on “Latino/a Science Fiction” with Ilan Stavans. Goodwin has travelled and worked throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and has long been involved in the Latino/a community. From 1997 to 2006 he worked in the Latino/a community of Northwest Arkansas, serving as the director of two non-profit organizations, one focused on legal aid for immigrants and the other focused on worker rights. He now lives in Cayey, Puerto Rico where he teaches courses on Latino/a literature, science fiction, and digital literature.
AUTHOR OF INTRODUCTION
Frederick Luis Aldama is University Distinguished Scholar as well as Arts & Humanities Distinguished Professor of English, Spanish and Portuguese, at Ohio State University where he is also founder and director of the White House Bright Spot Awarded LASER (Latino & Latin American Space for Enrichment & Research) that creates a pipeline for Latinos from 9th grade through graduate and professional school education. He specializes in Latino and Latin American literature, comic books, and film—and pop culture generally. He is the author, co-author, and editor of over twenty-four books, including recently The Cinema of Robert Rodriguez and Latino Literature in the Classroom. He is the editor of two book series, Latino Pop Culture (Palgrave) and Latino and Latin American Profiles (University of Pittsburgh Press), and co-editor of three other series: Global Latino/a Americas (University of Nebraska Press), Cognitive Approaches to Literature and Culture (University of Nebraska Press), and World Comics and Graphic Nonfiction (University of Texas Press). He is a member of the standing board for the Oxford Bibliographies in Latino Studies.
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