Acclaimed poet and author Jimmy Santiago Baca will be at the UNM Student Union Building, Ballroom C on Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. to discuss and sign his new novel A Glass of Water, which deals with Mexican immigration. The event is in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 - Oct. 15). The author of numerous, award-winning books of poetry, A Glass of Water is Baca’s first novel.
Photo: Jimmy Santiago Baca
Born in New Mexico of Chicano and Apache descent, Baca was raised first by his grandmother and was later sent to an orphanage. A runaway at age 13, it was after Baca was sentenced to five years in a maximum security prison at the age of 21 that he began to turn his life around. While there he learned to read and write and found his passion for poetry. Like many Southwestern writers, Baca identifies with the land around him and the myths that are part of his culture.
He is the winner of the Pushcart Prize, the American Book Award, the National Poetry Award, the International Hispanic Heritage Award, and, for his memoir A Place to Stand, the prestigious International Award.
A Glass of Water is a gripping tale of family, loyalty, ambition, and revenge, offering us a glimpse into the tragedies unfurling at this very moment at and around our country's borders. The promise of a new beginning brings Casimiro and Nopal together when they are young immigrants, having made the nearly deadly journey across the border from Mexico.
They settle into a life of long days in the chile fields, and in a few years their happy union yields two sons, Lorenzo and Vito. But when Nopal is brutally murdered, the boys are left to navigate life in this brave but capricious new world without her. Lorenzo follows in his father's footsteps, devoting himself to the land, and falling in love with a beautiful, idealistic student who comes to the migrant camp to study and improve the lives of its workers. Vito, hot-blooded and restless, breaks away and soon finds fame as an itinerant boxer, gaining notoriety in the ring and out.
The brothers' journeys will eventually converge and bring them face to face with a common enemy.
A Glass of Water is a searing, heartfelt tribute to brotherhood, and an arresting portrait of the twisted paths people take to claim their piece of the ever-elusive American dream.
This event will be co-sponsored by the UNM Bookstore and De Colores Hispanic Culture Festival. Copies of all of Baca’s books will be available for purchase at this event, which is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow the discussion.
For more information call Lisa Walden at 505-277-7494 or e-mail lwalden@unm.edu.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu