Yours for a Better World, raul r. salinas

from Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Chicana profesora and author

2008-02-15T11:21:00.000-08:00

[this was previously sent to the Macondo Writers listserv]

"I am so saddened by the loss of Raul Salinas and his indefatigable voice for human rights and social justice. I feel entirely grateful that I knew him, heard him speak and recite his poetry, and I am honored that he called me "hermana." I am also overwhelmed by all of the losses and health-related emergencies that our Macondistas have suffered this year. All I can hope is that, since 2008 is a 1-year and marks the beginning of a new 9-year cycle, that these losses all signal a time of rebirth for our individual and collective creative spirits.

Con ustedes en tristeza,
Alicia

filmmaker/blogger Jim Mendiola on raul

2008-02-15T02:47:00.000-08:00

Originally from San Antonio, Jim is now living/working/analyzing somewhere out of Califas.

Read his tribute blogpost here.

from "Ombligo Sereno de la Luna" - bloga of Abel Salas

2008-02-15T01:58:00.000-08:00

[Abel Salas was one of the first, in a series of young, wide-eyed men, who I noticed hanging around raul--his onda, his bookstore and literary events. Abel was not only good at helping raul manage his shop, but he was a promising poet as well. Abel's long-gone from Austin; he's been based in southern California for many years now. But, to me, he will always be part of the memory I have of those first few years that Resistencia bookstore--as a literary, sociopolitical sharpening stone-- became indelibly stamped on my soul like the favorite places of childhood, of young adult experimentation.]

Here's an excerpt from a fine tribute essay Abel posted to his blog on Wednesday, Feb. 13th:

"He wrote and he taught and he blessed us with his wisdom, a sage body of knowledge acquired through a lifetime of experience filtered through one of the keenest intellects I've ever encountered. His work on behalf of Native American rights and at-risk youth in detention facilities across the nation, his struggles against oppression and political censorship around the globe, and his gentle demeanor as a humble bookminder shall be heralded through the end of time. Adios, uncle. I'm a better human being for having known you and need you to know that your work will go on. It will continue far beyond those admiring liner notes for your first spoken word CD from Calaca Press, te lo prometo... La lucha continua."

online comment from "orpheusoul"

2008-02-15T01:55:00.000-08:00

"I had the pleasure, and HONOR to share the mic with this wonderful and brilliant man...

He was a master of the Pachuco-Jazz-Beat style, and not many poets remain that can measure up to him...

I am saddened by his loss, but I know that in a little private corner of heaven, Raul, Lalo, Richard, and Cesar are all gathered together whoopin it up and writing pieces that will shape eternity and infulence earthbound poets to pursue a perfection of their craft and to create as he created!"

Author/activist Luis J. Rodriguez posts statement to his blog

2008-02-15T01:39:00.000-08:00

[reposted from Luis' blog ]

Another Friend Passes Over -- RIP raulrsalinas

Raul R. Salinas--also written as raulrsalinas--was an immense inspiration and mentor in my life and writing. Not only was he one of the veterans of Chicano poetry, he was known among the Beats, Jazz poets, and as a leading poet of the prison life after spending 11 years in state and federal prisons in California, Texas, Illinois, and Kentucky. He died today at age 73.

I knew Raul for many years. We took part in Native sweat ceremonies with Barrios Unidos in California; we read poetry together in various events, including in San Anto, Tejaztlan. He also founded La Resistencia Bookstore in Austin, serving as an example to me when I later helped create Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural & Bookstore in the San Fernando Valley section of LA.

One time we found ourselves in hotel rooms next to each other. I walked out into the balcony and saw Raul on his balcony looking into the Texas sky as I was doing. We shared moments about heroin addictions, jails, poetry, but also the Native spirituality we both shared. A couple of times he told me that his favorite poem of mine was "Tombstone Poets," about two heroin-addict poets in East LA.

My favorite of his was his most famous: "Un Trip Through the Mind Jail," a classic of Chicano poetry (actually of any poetry, anywhere). This text appeared in the 1960s and opened up the imaginations and language adventures of vatos like me.

Please go to his website at www.raulrsalinas.com to find out more about his work, his importance in US and world letters, and about La Resistencia.

A true revolutionary, poet of the people, human rights advocate, Native spiritual leader, and a great friend, I will miss Raul very much. I will also honor his life and work by continuing his struggles for the dignity and rights of all people, but in particular the Native peoples of this land, this country, this continent -- this world.

Tlazhokamati y tiahui.

c/s

Steve Hopson's flickr photo-share site...

2008-02-15T01:27:00.000-08:00

...features a nice photo tribute to raul.

POETRY AS ACTIVISM - 1997 Austin Chronicle article by Phil West

2008-02-15T01:17:00.000-08:00

This article was written by slam poet Phil West, who was on staff at the Austin Chronicle at the time.

Go to this link for the article.

Thursday, Feb. 14th article - Austin American-Statesman

2008-02-15T01:06:00.000-08:00

Raúl Salinas, poet, teacher and activist, dies
Austin resident and bookstore owner gave voice to Chicano struggle.

By Miguel Liscano
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, February 14, 2008

Raúl Salinas was an ex-con whose tattoos in faded green ink reminded people he'd seen rough times, a mentor who kept his students grounded and a poet whose bilingual politically charged writing attracted fans from around the world.

On Wednesday morning, the man who found his voice in prison and tried to give that voice to his readers died in Austin from complications of liver cancer, a family friend said. He was 73.

Read the article in its entirety, here.

Literary arts org Gemini Ink issues statement of sympathy

2008-02-14T23:35:00.000-08:00

[Gemini Ink is a San Antonio-based literary arts organization which has supported the work of many Chicano/Tejanos producing work currently.]

IN MEMORIAM: RAUL SALINAS

Gemini Ink expresses its sorrow to the family and friends of internationally respected writer Raul R. Salinas, who died in Austin, Feb. 13, after a long illness. A prolific poet, community activist and mentor to young writers, Raul last read at Gemini Ink on Jan. 4 as a recipient of the Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Award.

Austin group MANEJA BETO perform tribute song to raul

2008-02-14T23:30:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Maneja Beto playing a song they made inspired by raulsalinas:

Maneja Beto is a popular Latino sabor group from Austin.

another message from Andrea Melendez in Austin

2008-02-14T23:28:00.000-08:00

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:22:10 -0800 (PST)
From: "Andrea Melendez"

dear friends, family,

his death has caused a shockwave across the universe... as intense and beautiful as his spirit..our only response to such an enormous jolt of love and revolution is to work as hard and tirelessly as possible to share even the smallest amount of love and
committment to the world as this great spirit*

~andrea

Ceremonial services for raul

2008-02-14T23:19:00.000-08:00

Services for raúlrsalinas:

Visitation

Friday Feb. 15, 2008
6pm – 8pm
Wilke Clay Fish Funeral Home
2620 South Congress Ave.
Austin, Tex. 78704
512-442-1446

Memorial Service

Saturday Feb. 16, 2008
2pm
Wilke Clay Fish Funeral Home
2620 South Congress Ave.
512-442-1446

*followed by*

Gravesite Service

Assumption Cemetery
3650 South I – 35 (@ Woodward St.)
Austin, Tex. 78704
512-442-4252

Please send flowers to Wilke Clay Fish Funeral Home.

And send cards to:

Resistencia Bookstore
1801-A South First St.
Austin, Tex. 78704

If you need any more information,
please call 512-416-8885 &/or e-mail revolu@swbell.net.

Gorgeous and touching tribute in photo form - a slideshow

2008-02-14T22:37:00.000-08:00

These wonderful photos are new to me; I have never seen these before. Check 'em out here!

The NEW Omar Gallaga article for the Austin American-Statesman

2008-02-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

Austin poet, activist Salinas dies
Long-time teacher impacted Austin.
By Omar L. Gallaga
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Read the article in its entirety here.

blogger "reckon" posts a new comment

2008-02-14T22:30:00.000-08:00

reckon said...

"Love to you and Raul. Years ago he went out of his way to help me, my friends, the community. Took time out of his schedule to speak and meet-greet in the Texas sun. As per the usual he was a rock and a feather. He will be sorely missed forever."

Thank you, Raul.

-Chris

more of my own thoughts - 8:12pm wed., february 13th

2008-02-14T22:23:00.000-08:00

i've cried a thousand tears since the message i first sent on email.

i've received a dozen or more messages and forwarded bulletins from many who are mourning and already memorializing our beloved raul.

my voice has been added to the fray, via a bulletin and myspace blogpost.

already the austin chronicle is launching a tribute sub-site and a giant altar is being constructed out in front of raul's bookstore---i really wish that i was in austin right this second.

i left my mother a phone message and she appeared at my door less than 2 hours later, with her friend Hope/Esperanza and a fistful of carnations. they took me into their comforting embraces, and i showed them his books and cds. the carnations are now the
centerpiece for what promises to be a growing & evolving altar to raul in my home.

my friend Donna has already suggested a name for the bookstore i dream of creating in raul's name.

so much work left to do. to honor those who have passed before us.
Gloria Anzaldua, Trinidad Sanchez Jr.., Sekou Sundiata, Lorenzo Thomas.

i have a splitting headache, and i'm at the library working.
not really working, mostly mourning.

from Eliberto Gonzalez, co-founder, Cara Mia Theatre in Dallas

2008-02-14T22:20:00.000-08:00

[raul was] One of the few people I knew that gave so much
time to all who wanted his time. And gave so much to
community, and many active events, causes, and much
more. Will miss him dearly. He will be missed
but his legacy will be carried by so many that he moved
and touched. He will live on people like him never die.

Had the wisdom of many walks of life.
Que Viva Raul Salinas!

Eli

Omar L. Gallaga story reprinted in Austin American-Statesman on Wed., Feb. 13, 2008

2008-02-14T21:56:00.000-08:00

[The following story was originally published in ¡ahora sí! on August 25, 2005]

Austin's pachuco poet
Raúl Salinas of South Austin's La Resistencia bookstore transformed himself in prison to an artist. He's been helping others in danger ever since.

By Omar L. Gallaga

When you walk in, the first thing that hits you is the smell.
Heavy and pungent, it could be incense, or revolution, or maybe both.

More often than not, when you visit La Resistencia bookstore on the corner of S. First and Annie streets in south Austin, you will be greeted by an old man with silver hair in ponytails. He is wiry thin and wears wire-frame glasses. His dark skin may make you fail to notice the tattoos that run up his arms. He will speak to you and his strong, steady voice, the voice of a performer.

And you may leave the store knowing that this man is known as a poet and an activist. You may have even known his name: Raúl Salinas.

Like many people in Austin, however, you probably won't know the many lives this 71-year-old has lived. He is most recognizably a poet, but he has also been a teacher, a criminal, a father, an activist, a husband, a pachuco from East Austin and an artist reborn in a prison.

Transformation

It's lunchtime at the restaurant El Sol y La Luna on South Congress Avenue. Raúl Salinas has a lot to be concerned about. Though he was born in San Antonio in 1934, Austin is his real home, and there is always something happening here to deserve his attention and action.

In addition to running La Resistencia bookstore, Salinas founded Red Salmon Arts Group, a community organization that fosters art and protest. Recently, it has organized boycotts of the Gallo wine company for its opposition to farmworker unions and helped protest in front of City Hall over the Austin Police Department's handling of the June shooting of an Austin teenager, Daniel Rocha.

"We have to keep it in the public eye," he says of the Rocha case. "We have to get church groups, civil liberties groups, political and neighborhood groups involved. If you don't, certain things don't get dealt with."

Today, Salinas also talks about the Austin city council, gentrification, the fight to keep the technology company AMD from building a new plant over Edward's Acquifer and school financing. He cares about it all, but he also recognizes that there are more problems than one man alone can solve.

In the next few weeks, Salinas will be finishing up a book of his poems being published in San Antonio and will travel to San Antonio for a national Latino arts and culture convention where he will be a guest speaker. He will also begin teaching a class at St. Edward's University called, "Social Control and Agitation" and travel to Los Angeles to teach writing clinics to a group of teenagers at a juvenile detention center.

Salinas is both an intellectual and an artist. He's an agitator as well as an educator. To him, there are no separations between the artistic, academic and political worlds. "This is my world," Salinas says, "It's not a separation. I have to navigate it. I've always combined my art, my politics, my spirituality, as part of my total being."

The journey to that complex life began in 1957 when Salinas was sent to a state prison in California on drug-related charges. He served three terms over the next 15 years, and it was here that his political and artistic births happened.

He had developed a love of reading in Spanish and English as a child, with literature introduced to him by his mother and grandmother. He read and studied with a group of other prisoners at a time when English-language "Beat poets" like Jack Kerouak and Allan Ginsburg were becoming popular for their unconventional linguistics.

"That got me going," Salinas says, "I read all there was to read and I abosorbed all of the beat generation happenings of the time."

He became influenced by the rumblings of change in the United States - race relations, war, farmworkers issues and the Chicano and Native American movements all became the fabric of poetry he began to publish in prison publications.

He and his fellow prisoners became politicized. "Maybe we hoped to be revolutionaries. We wanted to change. That involved cleaning up your act and learning discipline and respect, things that are not necessarily common in prison."

He says he learned about who he was in isolation. He got in touch with his "Native spirituality and indigenous self."

But the process was slow and painful and riddled with guilt. He had left a family behind. The family suffered as well as he did.

An hour into the interview at El Sol y La Luna, Raúl Salinas stops. His strong voice goes soft as he chokes with emotion. His eyes fill with tears as he talks about being an absent father and how those memories continue to haunt him. "You're guilt-ridden. All of that I carry. The fact that my children grew up wthout me. All I can do now is try to... alleviate that pain from others. There's nothing more I can do to undo what I did. But there's a lot I can do to prevent young people or help parents that failed miserably."

The tattooed teacher

The summer communications class at St. Edward's University that Raúl Salinas teaches is an open discussion with reading material far outside of mainstream textbooks or news. Students are invited to debate political issues like the war in Iraq or prisoner treatment by the U.S. government in Guantano Bay, Cuba.

The classroom includes six people on this hot summer afternoon, and they are engaged in a fierce debate. Salinas, wearing a T-shirt that says, "Free Speech: Take it Back," stays on his feet, encouraging the college students to debate with each other.

Salinas's reading assignments include liberation literature and information from Web sites that dispute common assumptions about the media. Like his work to teach literature to prisoners or poetry to teens in detention center, his ultimate goal is to open minds.

One student, Adell Cruz, a senior at St. Edward's, says the class has taught her to pay more attention to the world around her. She enjoys expressing her opinion and the class gives her an opportunity to explore other students' points of view.

She remembers her first day of class. She didn't know who Raúl Salinas was, but when she saw the ponytailed, tattoo'd teacher walk in, she says, "I thought, 'this is gonna be a cool class.'"

"I'm damn good with the kids," Salinas says. He gives them "Tough love," he says, especially the children most in danger of falling into the traps of addiction and incarceration that he fell victim to. He's taught thousands of them all over the country, mostly Latinos.

He starts his classes by telling the students three truths he has come to believe:
Poetry is empowering.
Poetry is liberating.
Poetry is healing.

He asks them to read their work in front of their peers. "Chave, get up here and speak, man," he tells them. They might be embarrassed about their writing skills, but Salinas helps them to get over it.

He is tough, but kind. He never forgets that some of these children went to bed the night before without eating. Their mother and father might have argued the night before. They are turned off or dropping out.

But, he says, the transformation that art brings to the soul is miraculous. "That's why my transformation was so painful and ultimately came out ultimately so beautifully."

La Resistencia

The bookstore, with its volumes about liberation and revolution, its artifacts of Native and latino cultures and its posters and T-shirts celebrating slogans of anti-authoritarian struggle fits Salinas nicely.

It is small, but intense, a gathering place for poets and activists. It the place where many poetry readings, performances and meetings organized by Red Salmon Arts are held.

In the time between Salinas' 15 years in prison and his emergence as a writer of bilingual poetry, he became heavily involved in Native American politics and causes. He worked against gang violence and taught at different universities while his poetry became part of the canon of latino literature taught at many universities.

Much of his poetry deals with life in the barrio including his book of poems "East of the Freeway." He writes about the struggles of indigenous people as well as his friends and loves, his work filled with wordplay and rhythmic phrasing.

Salinas came back to his home in Austin and opened La Resistencia bookstore in 1981.
Since then, he has become an imposing figure in the community, a man who can be counted on to support radical causes or community movements. He has also continued to write while expanding his artistic work to include acting with local latino playwrights and collaborating with musicians on several CDs of his poetry.

One of those CDs, "Beyond the Beaten Path," was produced by Jonathan Rosen, a man who has worked with many musicians and poets. They make an odd pair. On a recent visit to the store, Rosen, a tall anglo, shares a plate of nachos with his old friend.

He says his manager call Rosen and Salinas, "The Cowboy and the Indian." Their long friendship came out of mutual respect and admiration. "We're very much kin even though we're completely different," Rosen says. "I stand in awe of his poetry."

For "Beyond the Beaten Path," Rosen gather a group of musicians who worked on the recording for 20 breakfast tacos and all showed up early in the morning. "Everyone was happy to do it," he says.

Salinas' poetry fits well with music. His work is similar to the hip-hop movement and his spoken-word performances are usually performed with musical accompaniment. He's influenced by jazz-influenced poets, and Salinas says that finds its way into his work. "I do be-bop and sounds. I hear rhythms of all kinds."

The recordings for "Beyond" were important enough to Rosen that he spent several years finding time to put it together. "I felt that his poetry was too important not to be documented," he says.

As he leaves the bookstore, he tells Salinas, "Raúl: it's time to do another album!"

Time for art

Salinas would love to make another CD, but he's busy putting together the final touches on a new book of poetry. He's also got a bookstore to run, Red Salmon Arts events to work on and many speaking engagements and classes to attend to.

With all these projects and commitments, Salinas says, it's hard to find time to simply write and work as a poet.

"As I become more involved, yeah, my writing suffers. The more advanced in age I get, the lazier I begin to get as well," he laughs.

At the bookstore and with Red Salmon, Salinas is helped by a young and dedicated group of volunteers who admire his work and find themselves growing through their association with him. One of them, Rene Valdez, met Salinas about six years ago and has been working as La Resistencia ever since. He grew up in El Paso.

"I struggled with culture shock when I came to Austin," Valdez says, "coming here I felt at home. I developed a consciousness that made me feel more proud of who I am and where I came from."

Valdez says he's awakened politically and has developed a love of working to keep the Spanish language alive and to keep the stories of latino artists in the public eye. "We have a lot of passion and a lot of love," he says of the bookstore, "We want to maintain our space in the community and share what we have. It's a way to show people our role models and artists."

Salinas, he says, has inspired him to be brave enough to create change in his own life as well as in the community. "It's hard to pin (Salinas) down," Valdez says, "What he's done and what he still does to benefit humanity and his pueblo and his people."

"He has sacrificed his personal life, his family, his artistic career to help bring about a better world. He's someone who managed to change his life."

Salinas says that although his writing takes a back seat to all of his other work, he still gets a spurt of creativity once in a while. It's tough to find time when he spends so much time greeting people at the store or traveling, he says, but can't resist the pull of new artists, cultures and new struggles to engage in. He writes personally, but thinks globally, fighting where he can to create a better community to play a part in creating a better world.

After all, Raúl Salinas says, "The world is my natural habitat."

Calaca Press founders, Brent & Chelo Beltran, to host an Homenaje in Califas on Saturday

2008-02-14T21:50:00.000-08:00

Homenaje al Xicanindio
Un Poetic Viaje con las Palabras de raúlrsalinas

RIP/DEP Raul R. Salinas
March 17, 1934 - February 13, 2008

Join the Calacas as we pay tribute, in his own words, to poet Raul R. Salinas.

This Saturday, February 16
7pm
FREE
Donations will be accepted on behalf of his wife, Lila Salinas, for funeral and other arrangements.

Calacalandia
Home of Chelo y Brent de Calaca Press
[email for directions - see email address below]
National City, Califas

Help us memorialize and pay homage to a person who committed his life to making a better world possible.

A recording of Raul’s classic Chicano poem, Un Trip Through the Mind Jail, will be played.

And the following individuals will read from his work:
Miguel-Angel Soria
Manuel J. Vélez
Victor Ochoa
Mariajulia Urias
Consuelo Manríquez de Beltrán
Brent E. Beltrán
and others

If interested in reading one of Raul’s poems please contact Brent at calacapress@cox.net or 619.920.1713.

HECHO EN TEJAS event to memorialize raul

2008-02-14T21:41:00.000-08:00

A literary program, to present and promote the anthology HECHO EN TEJAS, is being planned for early May 2008. Several of us who are participating as contributing writers--and who are also coordinating this event--agree that we should also pay homage to raul then. (raul is included in the book, btw.) The event, which will happen at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas, will probably include an ofrenda for raul. Something to plan for--in case you live in the North Texas region and want to help commemorate raul by bringing something for the ofrenda.

Some of our comments:

Tammy:

We have to, have to make a moment to honor our elder--now antepasado--raulrsalinas at the Dallas event. please, let's figure out a way to do this. the Dallas audiences need to learn of raul, his legacy, and impact on us and
our work.

Diana Lopez--author and English teacher, based in San Antonio:

This is the first I've heard about Raul. He did a reading in SA last month and I had the honor of introducing him. His spirit and energy uplifted us all. I'm with you, Tammy. I'll miss his voice, too.

from poet, online publisher Bronmin Shumway in Chicago

2008-02-14T21:27:00.001-08:00

"Bronmin Shumway"
Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:26:59 -0600

There was only one Raul R. Salinas. Austin was lucky to have him as a member of the community.

I'm so glad that I got a chance to see him read...

Bronmin

from Donna Hoffman, activist and community organizer in Austin

2008-02-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

[excerpted from message of Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:47:55 -0600 (CST)]

Tammy, I'm feeling the loss of nuestro senor Raul.

What a victory he has. To have done poetry all his life.

What a rare achievement.

first words from Rene Valdez at Resistencia Books/Red Salmon Press

2008-02-14T16:31:00.000-08:00

Feb 13, 2008 2:34 PM
Subject: "A Tender Warrior Fell Today..."
Body: Saludos desde Resistencia Bookstore, Casa de Red Salmon Arts,

It is with great sadness we inform all of our community supporters, comrades, familia and colegas about the passing of our elder, teacher, father, chicanindio, and poeta revolutionario raúlrsalinas.

As you may know, for the past couple of years, raúl has been struggling with his health. We understand that it's difficult for us to let him go, but since the beginning of the year his health continued to be a major challenge. Unfortunately, his body just could not take the strain and was deteriorating at a rapid pace. Even though he has left this realm and it's a great loss para nuestro pueblo, his spirit is strong and lives on in all of us.

As his family provides more information, we will share it with everyone. For now this is just a notification of the passing of our brother. We will notify you about where you can send condolences, flowers, and cards as we get more information. An altar has been created in front of the bookstore on South First St. in Austin, Texas for now. We thank everyone for their good energy and support and prayers in this time of loss and mourning.

CON RESPECTO Y EN LUCHA,

Rene Valdez

from Emanuel Xavier, Nuyorican poet and activist

2008-02-14T16:29:00.000-08:00

[reposted from myspace bulletin]

Feb 13, 2008 1:58 PM
Subject: RAUL SALINAS 1934-2008
Body: I've been resisting this posting until something more official was released but the tributes and outpourings have already started popping up all over cyberspace.

I share this simply because I want all of my friends and fans to be aware of this wonderful and incredible talent that paved the path for all of us Latino/a poets and activists. He was an inspiration for me and so many others. I am truly blessed to have had the opportunity to meet this remarkable individual on several occasions and share in his struggle to give voice to our experiences. He was like a father to many of us. I would like to share more about how he touched my life but, for now, I leave you with a brief bio from his own website.

There will be more to come.

Bless you, my spiritual brother . . . you were truly an original.

RAUL SALINAS

1934-2008

Raúl Salinas was a literary luminary who shared podiums and microphones with giants such as Miguel Piñero, Pedro Pietri, Oscar Zeta Acosta, John Trudell, Jose Montoya, Ernesto Cardenal and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, among many others. Salinas was also a tireless crusader for human rights and social justice, as reflected in his work with the American Indian Movement and the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee and his writing clinics for at-risk youth in countless juvenile detention facilities and community centers nationwide.

Author of several poetry collections, "Viaje/Trip" (chapbook), "East of the Freeway," and "Un Trip Through The Mind Jail," "Indio Trails: A Xicano Odyssey through Indian Country" (Wings Press) as well as two spoken word CD's, "Los Many Mundos of Raúl Salinas: Un Poetic Jazz Viaje con Friends" (Calaca Press/Red Salmon Press) and "Beyond the BEATen Path" (Red Salmon Press). His literary work has appeared in numerous anthologies and journals. He was also an adjunct professor at St. Edwards University, Austin, Texas.

In 2002, Raúl Salinas was the recipient of the Louis Reyes Rivera Lifetime Achievement Award presented on behalf of La Causa student group at Amherst College, Mass. and The Dark Souls Collective. In March 2003, he was honored with the Martin Luther, Jr., César Chavez, Rosa Parks Visiting Professorship Award given by the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

Born in Texas on March 17th, 1934, Raul Salinas was one of the few remaining poetic voices from a special circle of writers that includes Jose Antonio Burciaga, Ricardo Sanchez, Piñero and the recently passed Pietri. A people's poet who dubbed himself, effacingly, the "cockroach poet," Salinas traveled the globe as a representative of indigenous philosophies and revolutionary-humanist ideologies. Through it all, he remained faithful to the word as a curative, a restorative magic to be used for healing and redemption.

For the last several decades he mentored aspiring writers, both in and out of his humble shop in Austin, Texas, Resistencia Bookstore.

(Edited from an article by Alejo Sierra)

from "Sonic Visions" via myspace bulletin

2008-02-14T16:27:00.001-08:00

feb 13, 2008 1:31 PM

if u never got the chance to feel his spirit...find his work and get acquainted.

ashe, bro. salinas!

a letter to comfort my grieving compas in Austin

2008-02-14T16:24:00.001-08:00

Feb 13, 2008 1:19 PM
Subject: raulrsalinas--passes on, becomes legend, leaves legacy!!
Body: To comfort those who mourn at the desk, reading of raul, today:

i need a hug. i miss my austin peeps, so awful bad
right now. those vibrant fertile 1990s moments.
of our early wisdoms and onset of commitments.

i'm listening to a raul cd right now, and am thinking
of calling in sick today. i have to honor my elder,
my mentor. i am sick of sucking it in. there is so
much to celebrate and mourn and remember.

read his poems out loud to someone today, this week.
play his cds out loud. let his voice ring to infinity.....

i am feeling so much the increase of burden and
responsibility, as i started to feel back when GLORIA
ANZALDUA died, and i wept at my computer, feeling
so much the pressure to continue in her steps but with
my feet, the bad-ass chingona with challenging exhalations
of righteous word and interrogating thought. the art
that dashes the darkness, the performance that pokes
holes in unholy dominions.

and since i've lost la GLORIA, we've lost so many others in
recent times (Trinidad Sanchez, Jr., Sekou Sundiata), and
this has created a great accumulation of a sense of
carrying on, but doing it BIGGER and friggin BOLDER
and without question. i am here, in north texas,
treading some of the hardest ground there is to tread,
and i miss my compas, the equally-revved and righteous
open-minded envelope-pushers. i often step alone,
but at the same time i am accompanied by the memories
and messages, example and legacy, of so so many great
people i have had the ultimate-est privilege of walking
and working alongside.

i bless your steps, comadres y compadres,
and i hope you bless mine.
we have so much walking to do, and may we do it
with the deepest conviction of knowledge and aspiration
to change what must be changed
overturn what must be overturned
recognize what must be recognized
redeem what must be redeemed
reclaim what must be reclaimed
rejoice in what must be, what must be.

love & the deepest prayer for your
continued health
& happiness,

Tammy

poem by Marcos Andres Flores, Austin poeta

2008-02-14T16:21:00.000-08:00

[Marcos also previously served as a volunteer for raul @ Resistencia and hosted the Cafe Libro series there.]

Feb 13, 2008 12:25 PM
Subject: Homenaje a el Profe: Xicano Elder's Passing
Body: March 17, 1934- February 13, 2008- raul salinas

I know i can do better, but this is all i could come up with for now. Words seem inadequate at times like this.
---------------------------------

Something tells me you were there
at Oglala
on that fateful day

at least in spirit

and I don’t know what to say
blood
bout
how it all went down

how all
tha pieces of the puzzle
fit together
jaggedly

but not quite right

hard surfaces
long hearts
calloused hands
equal tattood tear-stained bloodlines

if you look at them right

con los dedos dangling
askina
writing and fighting
to survive

to translate
or better yet
to transgress
the story

only to be heard
coded in a language
some will never be able to decipher

spirit

outstretched
towards Eagle
towards a Freedom
only dreamt about

Como Peltier
And all those years

27 of them

that he has spent
in captivity cave

not to mention
the ones you lost/gained in your youth

Captivating
yet another barrio
another nation’s

remembrance of self/defense

Endurance
in the face
of out right injustice.

Today... Today...

Today… I sing the blues for you
Pine Ridge Xicano Jazz man

Remembering the year we spent
At bookstore
con Rene tambien
as I smile
at the thought

of all those hard-ass lessons
taught out of love

in the name of survival
you left behind
more than a legacy
more than a history
more than a story

it was a gift of self
your return to home
humble
nothing more/nothing less

as you ride on down the road
bien firme
in your pickUP truck

blazing a red trail

A Pachuco Poet

cruising low and slow

towards the height and light of a new dawn and day

One that our generation will have carry on
even in the shadows of waiting time
pero always moving
always fluid
always improvising
on the go

With all the love and all the respect one could muster on a day like this…

nos vemos
on the other side

"Somewhere East of the Freeway."

Marcos Andres Flores
Osten, Tejas
February 13, 2008

AUSTIN CHRONICLE is receiving our remembrances for possible publication next week

2008-02-14T16:10:00.000-08:00

[From Belinda Acosta of the Austin Chronicle, who is also a part of the Macondo Writers' Community and a Michener Fellow, as well as a long-time Austinite]

Call for your remembrances of Raúl Salinas

Hello Friends,

Please post this to your listserves.

Many of you have heard the sad news about the passing of our beloved elder,
poet, community and human rights activist, raúlsalinas. I have posted a Blog
at the AUSTIN CHRONICLE Website with information regarding activities leading
up to and around his funeral. It should be fully functional this afternoon.
You can also update, correct, and add information, as needed.

Since the CHRONICLE goes to press TODAY, we are only able to run a short
mention of this news in the issue that comes out tomorrow. In the meantime, I
invite you to send your thoughts, remembrances and other words you would like
to share about raúl to me for publication in next week's AUSTIN CHRONICLE.

Send your thoughts to me at the Austin Chronicle via this email address:
tveye@austinchronicle.com.

While you can post at the blog space, sending your thoughts to the above address allows time to gather thoughts and hone them to your liking. I cannot promise that all will be printed. If not, they will be posted online.

Best,

Belinda Acosta

from Sandra "La Pocha" Pena, cultural worker and media educator/activist

2008-02-14T14:00:00.000-08:00

[reposted from La Pocha's myspace bulletin]

"Poet y Activist * raulrsalinas * Passed Away Last Nite..
Compañer@s,

I'm sad to announce that poet and activist Raul R. Salinas died last night in Austin. As many of you know, Raul had been ill and undergoing some painful treatments. He passed in a hospital surrounded by his loved ones."

A memorial service will be planned.

raulrsalinas -- PRESENTE!

-- La Pocha

from documentary filmmaker, capoeirista, activista Andrea "Gaia" Melendez

2008-02-14T13:51:00.000-08:00

[reposted from Andrea's bulletin on myspace]

raulsalinas/ poet/activist/teacher has passed

"raul salinas was one of the first teachers... fighters activists that i was blessed to know and learn from as a youth activist from east austin. his example and love for the world have been a guiding light for me and so many others.

raul, may your spirit be finally free and blessed. your tireless work and love for our world will continue to live on in all of us."

~andrea~

from Lorna Dee Cervantes

2008-02-13T23:42:00.000-08:00

[this was previously posted on myspace]
Sad Day: Poet, raulsalinas Begins His Longest Walk

"I just received this bulletin that my friend and one of my earliest influences has passed. More soon. This is very sad news for me." ~ Lorna Dee

and excerpted from Lorna Dee's bloga:

"Raúl, your Spirit is strong. And it is present. Tiahui, Maestro. I will miss your smile."

from Lady Binx of Almas Intocables

2008-02-13T23:35:00.000-08:00

Raul Salinas, Chicano Poet/activist of TejAztlan has passed

Raul is such a beautiful down ass revolutionary brother that was very dear and inspiring to so many of us. He was a major part of the development of my artistic energy and was very bold in telling me of my gift and encouraged me to move forward as a progressive Chicana poet of our generation.

My prayers go out to him, his family and all that are saddened by this....
TIAHUI RAUL SALINAS....may you find peace hermano.......

From: Mexican Stepgrandfather
Date: Feb 13, 2008 11:48 AM

Raul Salinas.

Activist, Master Poet, Chicano-Indio Legend... Your influence and wisdom will live on through generations.

For those who knew of him, please feel free to repost and send love and prayers his way...

from Houston poetry publisher/activista Kim Pickens

2008-02-13T23:26:00.000-08:00

We mourn the passing of our comrade!

Peace & Blessings,

kim pickens

tongue_magazine@yahoo.com

my own first words about our loss

2008-02-13T23:24:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 2:45:26 PM

hello, my cherished friends y tribespeople:

raul was one of my mentors. he was the first person to invite me to publicly perform when i moved to austin in the early 1990s. he embraced me and made me one of his Red Salmon Poets, which traveled as a group to shows around town, to San Antonio. i got to chill with him at pachangas, see him light up hearts and minds at rallies and other public activist events, and got to teach alongside him at juvenile detention centers in Austin and San Anto.

i wish so much to carry on his yoke, his torch, his voice, and the power of these combined.

que viva raul r salinas !!! que viva!

from Califas poeta/profe Juan Felipe Herrera

2008-02-13T23:19:00.000-08:00

[reposted from youtube comments section - ]

raulr you were the boss -- gracias por todos estos años que nos diste tus palabras, tu corazón, tu vida total. You were on fire and you were a man of peace. Gracias for being a poeta total Del Terre. I am gonna miss you querido hermano. Blessings all the way, to light your way...Om Mani Padme Hum

tu carnal, Juanfelipe

raulrsalinas in performance at Ruta Maya in San Antonio, 2006

2008-02-13T23:15:00.000-08:00

That's Manuel Castillo (of San Anto Cultural Arts) on the drums. I was there that night, checking out the history being made.

from Manny Castillo, exec.director, SanAnto Cultural Arts in San Antonio

2008-02-13T23:11:00.000-08:00

Subject: Raul Salinas passed away last night...

From: mcastillo@sananto.org
To: sacaemaillist@sananto.org

"Words, sounds, speech, men, memory, thought, fears and emotions, - time - all related...all made from one..all made in one" - John Coltrane

Elder statesmen, Xicanindio leader, poet of the people, giver of hope to the
oppressed and incarcerated, Raul Salinas passed away last night in Austin, Tejaztlan.

Raul will be greatly missed. His work, poetry, and philosophy will live on in the good works of poets, artists, musicians and cultural centros throughout America. His spirit we lead us all and help us to survive and thrive in difficult times.

His words/poems should serve as maps for us all in our quest to keep culture, heritage and tradition alive in our barrios, cul de sacs, suburbs, ranchos...wherever you/we live.

Thank you, Raul. You have blessed us all.

Manuel Diosdado Castillo, Jr.
San Anto Cultural Arts
San Antonio, Texas

mensaje from Center for Mexican-American Studies, UT-Austin

2008-02-13T23:02:00.000-08:00

[The following message was forwarded to me by UNT-Denton profesor Roberto Calderon, who maintains an active list-serv related to Chicano/Chicana history, lit, politics, and cultural production.]

Passing of our friend and colleague, raúl salinas

We are saddened by the passing of our friend and colleague, raúl salinas, premiere poet, community activist, and, as the poet Jose Montoya might say, "un bato de atolle." raúl and CMAS had a long history of collaboration in a variety of
significant activities including his participation in CMAS-sponsored writing workshops at Americo Paredes Middle School, and, most recently the publication of his last book, raúl salinas and the Jail Machine: Selected Writings of raúl salinas in our series, History, Culture and Society with the University of Texas Press (2006). More personally, I shall never forget his kindness to me and my late wife during her own illness. Pasó por aquí.

CMAS will be hosting an event in his memory in the next two weeks, details TBA.

José E. Limón
Mody C. Boatright Regents Professor of
American and English Literature
Director, Center for Mexican American Studies
--
Center for Mexican American Studies
The University of Texas at Austin
West Mall Building 5.102
1 University Station F9200
Austin, TX 78712

(512)471-4557
(512)471-9639 fax
cmas@uts.cc.utexas.edu
www.utexas.edu/depts/cmas

from Calaca Press in San Diego, Califas

2008-02-13T22:55:00.000-08:00

¡Raúl R. Salinas, Presente!
March 17, 1934- February 13, 2008

Jazz Hipster | Pinto | Cockroach Poet | Human Rights Activist | Xicanindio | Elder | Comrade

It is with profound sadness and heartache that we inform you of the passing of Calaca Press Field Commander, Raúl R. Salinas.

Raul, the author of the seminal Chicano experience poem, "Un Trip Through the Mind Jail," was not only an accomplished poet but a dedicated community activist who gained a political consciousness while serving approximately 13 years inside some of America’s most notorious prisons (Huntsville, Soledad, and Leavenworth among others). While in prison at Marion he was befriended by Puerto Rican Nationalist Rafael Cancel Miranda (famed for an armed assault on congress on March 1, 1954 with fellow Nationalists including Lolita Lebron). Sr. Miranda was a major influence on Raul’s lifework. Imprisoned during the early Chicano Movement years he was active in the prison rights struggles of that time. His book, raúlrsalinas and the Jail Machine: My Weapon is My Pen: Selected Writings by Raúl Salinas (edited by protégé Louis G. Mendoza) highlights his struggles and victories inside America’s prison system. Including winning a landmark prison rights case.

After his release from prison in 1973 he dedicated his life to Chicano and Native American causes. He was a member of the Centro de la Raza in Seattle, the American Indian Movement, a cofounder of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee and various other progressive organizations dedicated to defending the rights and interests of all working class and colonized people. A true internationalist he was committed to supporting Puerto Rican independence (as well as ending the bombing on Vieques), the Cuban Revolution, The Nicaraguan Sandinistas, the Zapatistas in Chiapas and the Bolivarian Process of Presidente Hugo Chavez Frias of Venezuela among many other internationalist struggles.

After serving many years of forced exile in Washington state (where he helped defend Native American fishing rights), he eventually returned to his home in Austin, TX. Shortly thereafter he opened Resistencia Bookstore and Red Salmon Arts which became a cultural and political hub for East Austin’s Chicano community.

In 1999, after hearing about this “cool vato de aquellas,” Calaca Press took a chance by calling Resistencia Bookstore out of the blue to introduce ourselves and seek a meeting. After a somewhat cold conversation we later flew to San Antonio for the Inter-American Book Fair where we were to gather. Instantly we hit it off and plans were made to bring Raul to San Diego to record a couple poems for volume 2 of our Raza Spoken Here audio series. After an amazing recording session featuring Raúl and Taco Shop Poets rhythm section Mikey Figgins on bass and Kevin P. Green on drums it was decided to go forward with a full CD of Raul’s work. A few months later Raul came back to San Diego (sleeping many a night on the infamous striped couch in our tiny apartment in Barrio Lomas) to finish recording what would become Los Many Mundos of raúlrsalinas: Un Poetic Jazz Viaje con Friends. During this session we recorded, but never released, "Un Trip Through the Mind Jail." Perhaps the only quality recording of this major work of Chicano literature.

It was during 2000 that Raúl affectionately and facetiously dubbed Calaca owners Brent E. Beltrán and Consuelo Manríquez de Beltrán the Chairman and Comandante CHElo, while calling himself the Field Commander of Calaca Press. Raul helped create and foment the current mystique that surrounds our Calacaverse and the work that we do. Between 2000 and 2004 Raul made numerous trips to San Diego to visit Calacalandia and became a regular amongst the Calacas and SD’s Chicano art/activist scene. Without the example of our Field Commander, Calaca Press and our organization the Red CalacArts Collective (whom we borrowed the Red and Arts from Red Salmon Arts as an homage), would not be what it is today.

Our Field Commander and comrade will be missed and remembered. He will always hold a special place in our collective memory.

Adelante, compañero, siempre adelante.

Desde Calacalandia,

El Chairman y La Comandante CHElo

gray grease
for raúlrsalinas

salinas slides
gray grease
against the groove
the hard
roots rock
he walks
a moment
crystal city clear
still bringing
jazz and jams again

sonrisas
tumbling
lingua franca
in a dice shoot
dipping days
salinas cool
viejito haze
’mano may raise
in riffs

he started breathing in san anto
brought it blessed in san anto
in the bop unbroken
guadalupe sunday
growing largo
salinas
dealing su descarga
and the smoke is in the air
disappearing
like a mingus moon
balloon

salinas
when they sing the sad corridos
do they also sing for you?
above the freeways passing over
and the sometimes quiet corners
we demeaned
by quarantine
the en masse
gente de masa

tired because
restlessness
is next to joblessness
and talking
the fruition of dead president cutbacks

tired because
double barrels
aim down broadway
emblematic of
i-say-so
blue clad predators

tired because
life does not
flash before the eyes
of hard rock vatos
dancing
green back mambos
celebrating every day
as día de los muertos

now die, just die
no requiems
no peace in campo santo lies
no real magic mantra may revive
conscience
not common
sense of the shaman
distant drum songs keeping time
we’re running blind
holding bandanas
and bullets
and borderlines

we seek
we climb
we only find
the gristle and gray smoke sage
trencitas in the ancient way
burning down a desert stage
the migrant phrases
each by each
the whole of soul
frozen on an empty afternoon

by Tomás Riley
From the book mahcic: selected poems (Calaca Press, 2005)

========================================

¡Raúl R. Salinas, Presente!

========================================

Calaca Press, P.O. Box 2309, National City, Califas 91951

(619) 434-9036 phone/fax

http://calacapress.com calacapress@cox.net

http://myspace.com/calacalandia

http://redcalacartscollective.org

http://calacavision.com

first message: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:31:27 -0600

2008-02-13T22:53:00.000-08:00

hi Tammy

just wanted to make sure you heard the news that raul passed away this morning. that's all i know.

love you

Ginger Webb, herbalist
Texas Medicinals
www.texasmedicinals.com