As tectonic shifts continue to shake the publishing world, there’s yet another sign that things aren’t the way they used to be. At 79 years of age, Carmen Balcells, the queen bee agent to Spanish-language literature’s biggest lions, just completely over passed book publishers to make a deal with a digital book publisher. The Spanish company Leer-e currently has rights to approximately 12 classic titles from Balcell’s agency’s list  for downloading onto your Kindle or ebook. The number will eventually grow to 120 titles, from authors such as Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Rosa Montero, Julio Cortázar, Juan Marsé and Juan Goytisolo. Relato de un náufrago, by García Márquez; Viaje a la Alcarria, by Camilo José...Read More

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Over these eight wonderful years the magazine has had incredible people on board adding their brilliant two cents to the pot. A wealth of tireless librarians, distributors, publishers, and academics that were always on call and ready to lend a hand. People like David Unger, Teresa Mlawer, Linda Goodman and Rueben Martinez, who could hear out an idea we had, and come back with a way to make it work for our Spanish-language publishing community. And we were fortunate to be able to tap the greatest of talents from its sister magazines in-house as well. Because of these writers, editors, art directors, coordinators, sales and marketing people, Crítcas became the little magazine that could. Here are only some of the faces behind the names you’ve seen and heard of throughout the years. Other contributors who we are also thankful to are listed below, though I&rsq...Read More

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For those who haven’t heard yet, Reed Business is suspending the publication of Críticas.

These are tough times all around, I know. But I believe that if enough of us write and respond to this decision, there will be reconsideration.  Or if not, at least assurance that Spanish-language books and media will still receive a sufficient amount of coverage in Library Journal, School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. Write your comments on why Críticas is important to you to Francine Fialkoff at fialkoff@reedbusiness.com and Ron Shank at rshank@reedbusiness.com.

In response to the Críticas closing and Publishers Weekly layoffs, the group's publisher Ron Shank said in a Publishers Marketplace interview:

"The most response I have received ...Read More

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I'm reporting to you *live* from my living room, regarding the winners of this year’s Sundance Film Festival. My last blog included a list of all the other Latino interest films competing in each category and their description. I must say it was a good year, with six awards going to new talents from all over Latin America and the U.S. And there was even a Latino on one of the juries for The Alfred P. Sloan Prize: the filmmaker, Alex Rivera. Rivera’s Sundance award-winning film from last year, Sleep Dealer, opens in theaters nationwide this February. Check out my blog from last year ...Read More

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The only quasi Latino thing to celebrate at the Oscar Awards this year is Penelope Cruz’s nomination for best supporting actress. Personally, I think she deserved it more for Almodovar’s Volver than the shticky Woody Allen dramedy, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. While we’ll have to wait a few weeks to see if Cruz takes it, we can check out new talent in Latino filmmaking at this year's Sundance Film Festival finishing up this weekend. Here’s this year’s Latino related competitors under the categories they appeared in. Go the Los Angeles Times for the complete list and I'll check back in to let you know if any of these titles win big. See you at the movies.

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION:
 
The General" ("El Ge...Read More

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If you have ideas on how to celebrate Latino literature in your insitution, this is a great way to get involved.
Here's information regarding the 2nd Annual Latino Children's Literature Conference's Call for Proposals:
 
The Universities of Alabama and South Carolina are pleased to announce the Second Annual Celebration of Latino Children’s Literature Conference to be held at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC. This national conference, sponsored by the College of Education and the School of Library and Information Sciences at USC and the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama, is designed for individuals interested in celebrating Latino children’s literature in their schools, libraries, literacy organizations, homes, and community-based sites of learning.  Featuring nationally-acclaimed L...Read More

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The Latino children´s literature consultant and advocate, Oralia Garza de Cortes, sent out an email recently pointing to quite a frightening break down for The Newbery Award for children’s literature. The article in Bloomberg.com by Melita Marie Garza focused on a Brigham Young study that analyzed the race, gender and family background of human characters in 82 Newbery-winning books from 1922 through 2007.  The punch line: The last book with a Hispanic protagonist to win a Newbery Medal was Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska in 1965. 43 years ago! The book dealt with a young Spanish boy’s struggle to follow in the footsteps of his slain bullfighter father. As for a book with an African American protagonist, well you can go back eight years for Bud, Not Buddy  by Christopher Paul Curtiswhich tells the story of a Depression-era black boy in...Read More

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Though Mister Roarke on Fantasy Island became Ricardo Montalban's signature role, he had quite a long impressive acting career in Hollywood and Mexico. Montalban was the Latin Lover of the 20th Century. With an air of nobility, he purred and roared with a deliciously thick Spanish accent. And he embodied all Hispanic stereotypes in his roles as the dark and handsome leading man. But he also fought against them, and rose above these stereotypes with time.

Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalban y Merino was born in Mexico City on Nov. 25, 1920, and moved to Los Angeles as a teenager. Already having made many Spanish-language films in his native Mexico to make him feel like a star, Montalban made his Hollywood debut in 1947 in Fiesta.  He was cast as an aspiring torero in this musical that co-starred E...Read More

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