LatinosUSA

A short story – Poetry – Bookshelf – Essays – Hotel of the Broken Hearts – Interviews – Contact- English Edition

LatinosUSA Editors: Barbara Leonhard, J. Ré Crivello, Nolcha Fox, Michelle Ayón Navajas, Francisco Bravo, Robbie Cheadle
Masticadores -en español / LatinosUsa —Click to read in Spanish
A Short Story

«Absorption of Absurdity» by Friscia Magbanua

I need to see depression and despair,
It only spills what it has to be spilled.
The freedom i have now is the same
freedom I had to lose,
Farther than the farthest.
It may be crazy to you,
but that’s only because reality is absurd.

Em Em Magbanua is a poet and writer known for her evocative, emotionally charged verses. With a deep passion for storytelling, she crafts poetry that resonates with the heart and soul. Her debut collection of poignant, heartache-filled poetry is set to be released in 2026.

Hotel by Masticadores

“When I freed the character, I felt that I was also freeing myself as a writer”: A Conversation with Emma Sepúlveda

by Adriana Pacheco

Emma Sepúlveda—a Chilean writer, educator, politician, and activist based in the United States—is a pioneering figure for Latina women in the United States and in Spanish-language literature. She was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the Fulbright scholarship selection committee, becoming the first Latina woman selected for this position. She ran for the Senate in Nevada and founded the Latino Research Center. As a researcher, she has explored significant and heartbreaking moments in Chilean history, such as the tragedy of the thirty-three miners trapped in a mine in northern Chile, as well as the establishment and consolidation of the clandestine detention center Colonia Dignidad. We had the opportunity to interview her and talk about her book Cuando mi cuerpo dejó de ser tu casa (Editorial Catalonia, 2022), which Argentine translator Denise Kripper has translated into English under the title When My Body Ceased to Be Your Home, published by Literal Publishing and Hablemos, escritoras.

This is an adapted excerpt from the conversation on the Hablemos, escritoras podcast, hosted by Adriana Pacheco.

Adriana Pacheco: Welcome, Emma. Thank you so much for joining Hablemos, escritoras.

Emma Sepúlveda: Thank you very much for the invitation, Adriana, and it will be a pleasure to speak with you from Spain this afternoon.

A.P.: From Spain, from Valencia. But you lived in the United States for a long time, right?

E.S.: In Nevada, exactly. Forty-seven years in Nevada, where I was a professor at the University of Nevada in Reno, a political activist to the core, and, well, I wrote; I spent almost most of my life writing.

A.P.: How wonderful. I know you’ve had an active life in politics. How did that come about, Emma?

E.S.: Look, I was always very involved in politics from the time I was very young at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago. I left Chile after the military coup of 1973. And when I arrived in the United States, although I still didn’t speak much English, I became very interested in getting involved in everything that had to do with empowerment, specifically of Latinos, because I realized that they were a minority-majority group, especially in Nevada. I started at the most basic level: registering people to vote and participating in political campaigns for other candidates. 

Later, I remember a phrase that kind of changed my life: “Democracy is not a spectator sport.” So there came a moment when I said: no, I can’t stay on the sidelines; I have to get more involved and try to be a voice for the people who don’t have a voice in our community. I was fortunate enough to win the primaries, but I lost the general election. It was very difficult, as you can imagine, because of course I have an accent when I speak English and as soon as they looked at me they knew I wasn’t from the United States. Also, it was the year 1994, when an anti-immigration movement was already beginning in California with Governor Pete Wilson. It was a very difficult campaign. I even wrote a book about it that is included among biographies of Latinas in the United States. There I was able to talk about what had truly been a brutal campaign, with death threats; we had to have police protection. It was a tough campaign, but I learned so much.

Read more LALT

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Reviews / Books recommended by Masticadores

Masticadores —To day —in spanish

Epicentre South Africa

Editor: Robbie Cheadle

Poetry

Editors: Michelle Ayón Navajas, Francisco Bravo Cabrera, J. Re Crivello

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    «The Sad Man» by Lynn White I take my hat off to him the sad man of the leafy suburbs always smartly dressed dapper old…

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  • «The Shameplant’s Confession» by Alexis Araneta

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Bookshelf (Poetry, Book News, Articles)

Editors: Nolcha Fox & Barbara Leonhard

Little Chews
Editor: Nolcha Fox

MasticadoresAfrica —Today’s publications

Essay
Hotel: «Hotel of the Broken Hearts»

Editor: Michelle Ayón Navajas

Lies by Joni Caggiano

gaze upon the bloodless moon, but do not profess to know her passion

touch my minikin self, yet know, it’s buds hold no words from my ink

alone, no one cares to cherish my heart, which hovers loosely upon

a thread woven by the larval stage of a moth, which treasures me

dare not contemplate to stroke my flesh without a note or invitation

for I am the pearl keys played backward, crickets, egrets, and hawks

share their chorus, devoid of permission from a forest long ago forsaken

tears stuck in the wax of the downcast magnolia leaf that has survived

millions of years, as the last beetle moves predictably with cold limbs

red ants burrow, for winter’s frost-bitten hand has spread its warning

dormant, sleeping trees rest while their fungal network provides safety

playful squirrels dart about, memory fails as they search for buried nuts

sun moves low but keeps one eye open, the wren is silent as it falls asleep

do you dare ponder what you stole from me with winter’s bitter cold

my safe place, silence slices pieces of my heart, now an icicle, truth be told

summer brought a safe cove, a haven kissed by sunlit rays and long days

beatings, touches in private places, and drunken parents were held at bay

my eyes seek a door with a lock, but one does not seem to co-exist within

our red-brick house, only fear spreads its roots to create a place of silence

where I wait each night, afraid of my mother’s much-anticipated violence

Author’s Bio

Joni Karen Caggiano is an internationally published author, poet, and photographer. Her
debut poetry book, “One Petal at A Time,” (Prolific Pulse Press, LLC) was an Amazon
bestseller. She is a three-time Pushcart Nominee and 2024 Best of The Net Nominee. Joni is a
regular contributor to Hotel Masticadores and has collectively contributed to four additional
Masticadores Magazines. On Spillwords, she won Socialite of the Year 2023, 2024, and
Publication of the Month for November 2022 and June 2024, and has been a regular contributor
for five years. Joni’s work appears in a dozen anthologies. Her website is https://the-inner-
child.com.

Reed More: HotelMasticadores (Read blog)

Daily Update from Chewers & MasticadoresUSA
Gobblers / Interviews
MasticadoresCanada Editor: Ray Whitaker (Daily Update)

LatinosUSA

Overview

Masticadores.com and masticadoresdeLetras belong to the NGO Masticadores. We promote culture and communication. We publish in eight languages ​​(Spanish, English, Portuguese, Tagalog, Romanian, Italian, French and Catalan). And we publish in twelve countries (France, Italy, Brazil, USA, Mexico, Argentina, India, Taiwan, France, Turkey, Uruguay, Philippines. On 22 blogs. With 24 editors, and 450 writers.

The idea and founder of Masticadores and MasticadoresdeLetras is: Juan Re Crivello.

Raison d’être

We work to promote culture and communication in an environment of freedom and respect for the ideas of all citizens.

Income

The operating costs of the site are funded by members. The editors involved in selecting works for the cover donate their time for the enjoyment that is generated by promoting the work of other artists, photographers and writers.

How we select collaborative work

The site editors review submissions, primarily from email submissions. See the conditions for submissions on each particular blog.

Advertising

Masticadores does not display advertising. Occasionally, artists, photographers or writers may provide links to their work elsewhere. Masticadores does not receive compensation for such links, nor does it endorse or validate them.

If you would like to help cover the cost of running Masticadores and donate you can go to fleminglabworkmail.com.

Cover Illustrations

The images, art or illustrations we use to accompany some of the features on the site are either original works provided by the author to Masticadores for the purpose of illustrating a feature or are pulled from Unsplash or Flickr, or Pinterest, using the «commercial use allowed» filter. Unless the cover author created the illustration, we also provide attribution. Please contact us if you have any concerns about any of the illustrations.

LatinosUsa (EnglishEdition)

Founder and editor: J. Re Crivello

Contacto:

Email: fleminglabwork@gmail.com

The Hotel by Masticadores

Editor: Michelle Ayón Navajas

LatinosUSA (en español)

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