About The Magic of Mariachi

The Magic is here! We swoon, dance and enter the true and authentic universe of the mariachi in this prismatic poetry and painting volume. I am moved beyond description — how women determine their lives with song, guitarrón and violin. And the landscapes of the mariachis told in their voice. The paintings are luminous, passion-fired, and bring us into a majestic example of beauty, art, love and life-struggle. This is a book of a living and expanding cultural movement. Poetry, painting and people play together — in life, for all of our lives. Bravissimo! I am in awe — bilingual mariachi magic indeed.

About Borderlines: Drawing Border Lives

These border portraits caught my eye when I first saw them at the University of Texas-Pan American, and they draw me in even now. Ordinary folks rendered with love, compassion, and intimacy at a time in history when love, compassion, and intimacy are in short supply on borders, especially when it comes to the Tex/Mex border. Hurray for Steve and Reefka and the magical work they are doing crossing fronteras. Hurray for Wings Press for publishing this celebratory book when we need it the most. ¡Que vivan!

The Magic is here! We swoon, dance and enter the true and authentic universe of the mariachi in this prismatic poetry and painting volume. With the Schneiders, we travel the roads of the mariachera. Behind us, the “conquest,” the caste system of Indio, Criollo and Mestizo that still influence the music and culture of the Mexicana and Latino today. In front of us, the performance and the stage, the stories of the women and men as they ignite their instruments into a spell-binding romance of jarabe, son, huapango and bolero. There are villages from Jalisco to Texas and New Mexico. We sense their churches, cantinas and La Virgen de Guadalupe that accompanies all along the trail North — across border wires and Revolution. I am moved beyond description — how women determine their lives with song, guitarrón and violin. And the landscapes of the mariachis told in their voice. The paintings are luminous, passion-fired, and bring us into a majestic example of beauty, art, love and life-struggle. This is a book of a living and expanding cultural movement. Poetry, painting and people play together — in life, for all of our lives. Bravissimo! I am in awe — bilingual mariachi magic indeed.

Borderlines/Fronteras reflects an accuracy of eye and voice that goes beyond mere physical reality and probes the uncompromised elegance of street vendors, beggars, and the Angel who likes tacos. The poetry carries a grace and a toughness that are equally eloquent in the Spanish translation, and the drawings leave the reader entranced by the exquisite beauty of truth.

These border portraits caught my eye when I first saw them at the University of Texas-Pan American, and they draw me in even now. Ordinary folks rendered with love, compassion, and intimacy at a time in history when love, compassion, and intimacy are in short supply on borders, especially when it comes to the Tex/Mex border. Hurray for Steve and Reefka and the magical work they are doing crossing fronteras. Hurray for Wings Press for publishing this celebratory book when we need it the most. ¡Que vivan!

The Magic of the Mariachi, La Magia del Mariachi, builds cultural, linguistic and artistic bridges. It celebrates the romantic past of this art form, holds up a mirror to the present day border issues, and looks optimistically towards the future. This important addition to American letters illustrates the beauty and the complexity of mariachi music and its contribution to our national identity. With such stunning portraits and beautiful poetry, it’s impossible not to fall in love with both the light and the shadow of the music and the people expertly captured in this collection.