Music has been the driving force in Diego Raya’s life for as long as the 35-year-old hip hop emcee can remember. After his family moved from Mexico to Moline when he was about 12, he started writing poetry. At Moline High School, he began making music — just as his favorite rapper, El Díablo, stopped. […]
Mexican-American
Posted inCommunity/News
This corn fungus, dreaded by most Iowa farmers, is a south-of-the-border delicacy
Father and daughter returned to their field to assess the tumors’ growth. The father stepped forward into the sea of shimmering florets, plucked an ear of corn from its stalk and squatted to face his daughter. Look, he said. It’s ready. The lumps had multiplied, infecting the kernels. Some had taken the shape of a […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘My Father Called Us Monkeys’ by Mario Duarte
When my friend Mario Duarte asked me to read his latest book, a series of connected short stories about a Mexican-American boy growing up in western Illinois called My Father Called Us Monkeys published by Ice Cube Press, I was both excited and a tad apprehensive.
