Hispanic Authors Celebrate Literary Works in the Big Apple

By Carlos Rodríguez Martorell -- Críticas, 2/15/2007

Under the auspices of six “patron saints,” a notable group of literary “conspirators” gathered on a cold Greenwich Village night to read out loud their “Manifiesto Nuyorquino” (“New York Manifesto”) in New York University’s (NYU) King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, marking the inauguration of Café New York. The aim of Café New York is to highlight and celebrate the many Spanish-language writers who have lived in New York City throughout its history, which Café members feel has been obscured “partly [due] to an Anglo-centricity that has been simultaneously provincial and imperial.”

“This adventure started around a friend’s table and has been growing ever since within the same friendly logic," Mexican writer Carmen Boullosa told Críticas. “We hope our links will expand likewise in the future.” So far, the literary group includes Mexican writer Naief Yehya, Spanish novelist Eduardo Lago, Argentine writer and literary critic Sylvia Molloy, Bolivian poet Eduardo Mitre, and Boullosa, the mastermind. All were present at the inaugural event, except for Cuban novelist José Manuel Prieto, who is also the committee’s organizer. Lago, director of the Instituto Cervantes in New York, expressed his pride for being the only Spaniard in the group and advocated for the inclusion of writers on “both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.”

Cafe New York members Jose Manuel Prieto, Carmen Boullosa, Eduardo Lago

Café New York members José Manuel Prieto, Carmen Boullosa,
& Eduardo Lago.

One of the most ambitious future projects Café plans is to place plaques at the homes in New York City where prominent Hispanic writers once lived, including José Juan Tablada’s library, Los Latinos (118 East. 28th St.); Casa Méndez, where Rubén Darío last sojourned in the City (313 W. 14th St.); and José Martí’s studio in Coney Island. [Some celebrated Latin American writers even died in the Big Apple, such as Julia de Burgos (in 1953,) Gabriela Mistral (in 1957), and Reinaldo Arenas (1990).] “The list is endless,” said Boullosa.

Starting March 16, Café New York will host a series of readings and discussions at Librería Lectorum. Other prestigious writers such as Spain’s Antonio Muñoz Molina (El viento de la Luna; “The Wind on the Moon”) and Bolivian Edmundo Paz Soldán (Palacio Quemado; “Burnt Palace”) will participate in the ongoing events. The group also approached the New York Historical Society with a proposal for an exhibition about Hispanic culture in New York City and the development of numerous Hispanic communities since the foundation of the city. The event is expected to take place in 2009.

During their presentation at NYU on February 5, each member of Café Nueva York invoked the spirit of a literary “patron saint,” or predecessor, before reading excerpts of their own writings. Molloy chose her compatriot Manuel Puig, who started visiting the city in 1963, praising his “healthy sense of marginality and dissidence.” Spanish novelist Felipe Alfau, who spent most of his life in New York (from 1916 to 1999), was called upon by Lago, who made him a character in his Nadal Prize-winning Llámame Brooklyn (“Call Me Brooklyn”). Mitre invoked Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, who famously wrote his “Poeta en Nueva York” (“Poet in New York”; 1929-30) near Columbia University, and Boullosa recalled the presence and work in New York of poets Rubén Darío and Octavio Paz. Finally, Yehya read through Juan José Tablada’s New York before providing an exhilarating conclusion to the reunion. His hilarious account of an impossible movie shoot in Argentina worked the audience, and himself, into an uproar of laughter.

Café Nueva York will soon launch their website www.cafenuevayork.com, which will include blogs and information about their events.