by Antonio Mejías-Rentas
Sandra Cisneros
SILVER FOR MANGO STREET: Author Sandra Cisneros is on a national tour commemorating the 25th anniversary of her breakthrough novel.
In The House on Mango Street, Cisneros painted a loving portrait of her Chicago immigrant neighborhood through the eyes of a small girl. The novel sold more than 4 million copies and is considered a classic of Chicano literature. Last month, Vintage released a 25th anniversary edition in separate English- and Spanish- language tomes.
Cisneros, recipient of grants from the National Endowment of the Arts and MacArthur Foundation, lives in San Antonio and runs the non-profit Macondo Foundation, an association of writers united to provide assistance to underserved communities.
As part of the tour, Cisneros went back to her hometown this month, where the book was chosen for the One Book, One Chicago reading program sponsored by the city.
The tour includes three New York dates, including an April 24 appearance at the Instituto Cervantes withher Mango Street translator, Mexican novelist Elena Poniatowska.
Upcoming dates on the tour include cities in Georgia, Florida and Washington. Details at www.sandracisneros.com.
THE SOUTH LOOKS… TO THE SOUTH: The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has announced a two-week festival next month devoted to music from Latin America.
The three-program ¡Música Ardiente! festival, May 27-June 6, has been put together by guest conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, a native of Lima, Peru, currently girain his eighth season as music director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
The first program, Caminos del Inka, includes the musical traditions of the Inca Trail.
The second, The Soul of Argentina and Brazil, include Osvaldo Golijov’s Azul performed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
The final program, Tangos, Fados and Dance, will celebrate dances and songs of Latin America.
Several free events, including lectures and other performances, will coincide with the program at Atlanta Symphony Hall.
The festival is sponsored by CNN en español. Details at www.atlantasymphony.org.
ONE LlNERS: At the Helen Hayes Awards this month in Washington D.C., the lead actress award was shared by two Latinas: veteran Chita Rivera for The Vísit and newcomer Natascia Diaz for Rooms: A Rock Romance… the recently discovered archives of salsa powerhouse Fania Records has yielded some 1800 audio and video tapes of the legendary Fania AII Stars, including an unknown recording of a 1973 concert in Puerto Rico recently released by Emúsica as Fania All Stars San Juan 73… Prince has included a song named Valentina in his three-CD collection titled Lotus Flower. It is dedicated to Valentina Paloma, the one-year-old daughter of actress Salma Hayek, who once directed a Prince music video… and Elvis Crespo will not face federal charges from an incident in which several witnesses claimed they saw the Puerto Rican singer masturbating on a flight from Houston to Miami last month… Hispanic Link.
