Interview with 'The Irish Soldiers of Mexico' author, Michael Hogan

Dr. Michael Hogan, Author/Poet

By Nilki Benitez, Contributing Writer

Michael Hogan was born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1943, but lives in Colonia Providencia, Guadalajara, Mexico, with his wife Lucinda Mayo.  He is the author of sixteen books, including a collection of short stories, six books of poetry, collected essays on teaching in Latin America, a novel, and a history of the Irish battalion in Mexico which formed the basis for "One Man's Hero," an MGM movie starring Tom Berenger.  His book, entitled "The Irish Soldiers of Mexico," has drawn critical acclaim among historians who point out this is the best and most accurate account of history during the Mexican war.  One reviewer stated: "...it is not only well-researched and well-documented but his is the only work which draws heavily on Mexican journals, manuscripts and archives."

Hogan's work has appeared in many journals such as the Paris Review, the Harvard Review, Z-Magazine, Political Affairs and the Monthly Review. He is a consultant to the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Overseas Schools in Latin America. As an author he has received wide recognition for his work, including a PEN Award, two Pushcart Prizes, an NEA fellowship, the Benjamin Franklin Award, the gold medal of the Mexican Geographical Society.

Recently, freelance journalist Nilki Benitez caught up to Hogan and conducted a powerful interview captured via podcast about his book "The Irish Soldiers of Mexico."  Here is that interview:

Documentary about Latino soldier takes Imagen Award

Winners of 26th Annual Imagen Awards announced at gala honoring Latinos in entertainment 

John J. Valadez

August 12, 2011 – Beverly Hills, Calif.  Winners of the 26th Annual Imagen (Spanish for “image”) Awards, honoring positive portrayals of Latinos and Latino culture in entertainment, were announced tonight at a star-studded dinner ceremony held in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel.  The awards, hosted by actress Maria Canals-Barrera, star of Disney Channel’s Emmy-winning “Wizards of Waverly Place,” were handed out in front of an audience of approximately five hundred attendees representing the entertainment industry and Latino community.  Among celebrities in attendance were Edward James Olmos, Kenny Ortega, Esai Morales, Mark Ballas, Cote de Pablo, Eva La Rue, Lupe Ontiveros, Victoria Justice, Alexa Vega, among others.  Also in attendance were U.S. Secretary of Labor and former local congresswoman, Hilda L. Solis, and PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger.

Helen Hernandez, president of The Imagen Foundation, said: “We are proud of all the accomplishments that Latinos have achieved thus far throughout all facets of the entertainment industry; however, we must strive for continued progress of inclusion, particularly in decision-making and creative roles throughout the industry.  I would like to personally thank all our corporate sponsors as well as Latino community leaders for their continued support of The Imagen Foundation and our mission.”

Winners were selected in 19 different categories from film, television and the internet, and judged by an independent panel of entertainment industry executives and Latino community leaders.  Special recognition went to Latino Public Broadcasting, who received the Norman Lear Award, named for the veteran television producer who conceived the Imagen Awards program, and Walt Disney “Imagineer” Alfredo M. Ayala, who was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Following are the winners for this year’s Imagen Awards in their respective categories. Please note that there were no nominees for Best Feature Film Director but a new category, Best Young Actress/Television, was added:

• Best Primetime Television Program or Movie-of-the-Week:  Law & Order: Los Angeles (NBC)
• Best Actor/Television:  Freddy Rodriguez, CHAOS (CBS)
• Best Actress/Television:  Martha Higareda, Lies in Plain Sight (Lifetime Television)
• Best Supporting Actor/Television:  Carlos Gómez, The Glades (A&E)
• Best Supporting Actress/Television:  Eva La Rue, CSI: Miami (CBS)
• Best Young Actress/Television:  Selena Gomez, Wizards of Waverly Place (Disney Channel)
• Best Children’s Programming:  Dora The Explorer (Nickelodeon)
• Best Documentary/Television:  The Longoria Affair (Latino Public Broadcasting)
• Best National Informational Program:  Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One (WGBH)
• Best Local Informational Program:  Eye on Our Community (KCBS-TV)
• Best On-Air Advertising:  Dora 10th Anniversary Campaign (Nickelodeon)
• Best Variety or Reality Show: Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)
• Best Feature Film:  Gun Hill Road (Motion Film Group/SimonSays Entertainment)
• Best Actor/Feature Film: Esai Morales, Gun Hill Road (Motion Film Group/SimonSays Entertainment)
• Best Actress/Feature Film:  Michelle Rodriguez, Tropico de Sangre (Maya Entertainment)
• Best Supporting Actor/Feature Film:  Miguel Sandoval, Spoken Word (New Mexico Media Partner/Luminaria Films)
• Best Supporting Actress/Feature Film: Adriana Barraza, From Prada to Nada (Pantelion Films/Lionsgate)
• Best Theatrical Short or Student Film:  The  Big Deal (Lucy Rodriguez)

Major sponsors of this year’s event included Nielsen, Fox Deportes, PBS SoCal, The Walt Disney Company, Disney/ABC Television Group, NBCUniversal, CBS, The Gas Company, Lear Family Foundation, ABC7, Paramount, Latino Public Broadcasting, Warner Bros. and LATV Networks.

-- Advertisement --

Top Ten reasons Lopez Tonight was cancelled

TOP Ten reasons Lopez Tonight has been cancelled

By Al Carlos

www.LatinoLA.com

10. Conan had a back door deal for his company to produce the 12 midnight show should Lopez fail.

9. Eric Estrada is now the head of TBS.

8. Lopez was too Hispanically hip for the room.

7. Unlike Conan or Fallon, George’s audience had to get up early for Work the next morning.

6. “Run, Jump or Shuffle, it’s all the same when you do it for the man” -Tommy Smith 1968

5. George knew the minute they bumped him back to 12 it was a set up.

4. Too much Cochicnadas…

3. TBS realized that Conan indeed has a bigger head than George.

2. They are thinking about a late night caveman show to takes his place- Gacho…

1. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

Hispanic cowboys to be featured at 49er, Raider football game

Eliseo Garcia, Jr.

The half-time extravaganza will feature four Charro ropers including whip-master James Barrera.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Cowboy showman, James Barrera, will bring his flashy showmanship, lassos and whips to San Francisco's Candlestick Park where the last true "vaquero" in California will show off his roping, lasso and whip use skills.  Scheduled to perform before the 49er-Raider exhibition game on August 20, 2011, Barrera will be joined by three other skilled vaqueros to perform during the half-time show.
 
Nothing could make Barrera happier, as he has been a feature performer at some of California’s most eclectic venues including the Monterey Cowboy Music & Poetry Festival; the Vida de Oro Folk Art Festival; the Crocker Art Museum’s 125th Anniversary celebration; and the San Francisco Fine Arts Institute Graduation Celebration. 

James Barrera

The half-time extravaganza will include Barrera, Eliseo Garcia, Jr. and Eliseo Garcia, Sr. from Woodlake, California; Octavio Perez from Woodland, California; and, will all perform with a mariachi and 60 folklorico dancers.

"I look forward to performing solo at the pre-game entertainment segment," says Barrera.  "I will be showcasing some spectacular whip cracking routines before I'm joined by three of the state's greatest trick ropers."

Barrera's trick roping, whip cracking and storytelling skills have won him the respect and friendship of other working performers. Here’s what his peers say:

· Fiddling champion David Rainwater has dubbed him, “The Wildest cowboy in the West!”

“Jimmy is the best whip man in the business,” proclaimes Ernie Sites, nationally touring cowboy folksinger.

· “Intense, hot and very sexy!” raves Alberta Rivera, manager of San Francisco folk dance sensation, Cheyenne Danner. “When James starts cracking those whips, you can’t take your eyes off him. It’s pure macho fun!”

A Central Valley boy, born and raised, Barrera utilizes his unique abilities to tell long forgotten tales about the deep influences vaqueros carved into the California culture. With his quick wit and stage presence, he charms his audiences. While using his lasso to spin butterflies, he explores how the California vaqueros have shaped the image of the American cowboy, and the world-wide image of the American Wild West. While cracking his whips, he brings to life California folk legends such as Joaquin Murrieta and Tirburcio Vasquez. A third-generation Mexican-American, Barrera does not identify himself as a Mexican charro. Rather, he considers himself a California vaquero.

“Naturally, the vaquero, the romantic Mexican cowboy, is hyper ‘macho’ as tradition demands. But with James show, for the audience, the allure is the showcase of masculinity from a bygone era," says Alberta Rivera, a Bay Area Folkdance icon.  "His lassoing and fancy trick roping skills are a living history show that appeal to cowboy aficionados and senoritas everywhere. He has refined his skills into a high quality family entertainment. Sure to conjure up iconic images and sounds of the Alamo; the movie Western – ‘Rio Bravo; and for those hopeless romantics out there -- Zorro! I call him -- ‘Sexy Zorro!”

Barrera’s skills can even be a seen over the internet on various MySpace and YouTube sites via Sacramento punk band Red Tape and promising young movie director Todd Wilber. Barrera is featured as a cowboy hero character in Red Tape’s 2007 "El Salvador" music video. Proving to be the baddest vaquero in the Central Valley, El Salvador uses his lasso and bullwhips to dispatch a gang of banditos. The two-and-a-half minute video is tribute to movie director Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi / Desperado movies.


Barrera is also scheduled to perform Saturday, August 13, 2011, at the annual Woodland Tomato Festival held at Freeman Park in Woodland, California.

For more information on cowboy trick roper and whip master, James Barrera, visit his web site at www.trickroperjm.com.   For more information about the football event, visit www.49ers.com.  For more information, go to: www.woodlandtomatofestival.com

 

 

Film about Latino soldier nominated for Imagen, Emmy Awards

The documentary takes viewers through a widowed wife’s struggle to get a dignified ceremony for the remains of her highly decorated military husband.

LOS ANGELES, CA -- While fighting the Japanese in the Philippines during World War II, Pvt. Felix Z. Longoria, a highly decorated member of the U.S. military, was killed.  Longoria’s remains were sent to his hometown of Three Rivers, Texas, where his wife, Beatrice, and family lived.  When Beatrice was told she could not use the Chapel by the only funeral parlor in town because “the Whites wouldn’t like it,” she sought the help of the American GI Forum, which initiated a campaign that created a national uproar that changed American history.

The series of historical events and political ramifications of this period are delicately told by award-winning director John J. Valadez through his documentary film “The Longoria Affair.”  The documentary has been nominated for an Imagen Award as “Best Documentary for Film or Television,” and for an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Historical Program.”

Pvt. Felix Z. Longoria

Valadez is no stranger to making documentaries about Latinos living in the U.S.  Some of his credits include:  Passin’ It On, Making Peace, Visiones: Latino Arts and Culture, and wrote/directed/produced The Chicano Wave segment of Latin Music USA.

“The Longoria Affair is one of only five documentary films in the entire country to have garnered this coveted nomination,” says Valadez about his Emmy nomination.  “There are very few visual documents that record the Mexican American experience in this country.”

Narrated by well-known actor Tony Plana, the documentary takes viewers through a widowed wife’s struggle to get a dignified ceremony for the remains of her highly decorated military husband.  Working with Dr. Hector Garcia, founder of the American GI Forum, they brought national attention to the issue.  The incident also forged a bond between Texas Senator Lyndon Johnson and Garcia, that later ensured the election of Senator John F. Kennedy as President and the signing of the Civil Rights Act.  

John J. Valadez

“The Longoria Affair makes sure we recognize and appreciate the prominent role and contribution Pvt. Longoria made, even in death, to the cause of civil rights for Chicanos in Veterans benefits, education, and many more areas,” says Arnulfo Hernandez, Jr., an attorney and active member of the American GI Forum.   “Our hearts pound with pride; our souls joined in solidarity with Dr. Hector P. Garcia and the American GI Forum, which he founded.”

Winners of the Imagen Awards will be announced on August 12, 2011 from Los Angeles, California and the Emmy Awards will be announced September 26, 2011 from New York, New York.

For more information about the film, and the issues involved, visit www.thelongoriaaffair.com.  

The Longoria Affair is a co-production of John J. Valadez, WGBH/Boston, and the Independent Television Service (ITVS) in association with Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB), with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS, and the Houston Endowment. - Vida