The second season of the series named LITERARY WEDNESDAYS continues with the support of the Delegation of Florida of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language (ANLE), Baquiana Literary Magazine, Baquiana Editions, and the Spanish Cultural Center of Miami (CCEMiami). In this opportunity, we will have as guest the Mexican journalist and narrator Alberto Roblest, in order to present his most recent book of narrative CONTRA LA MURALLA: CUENTOS [AGAINST THE WALL: STORIES] (Houston: Arte Público Press, 2022), with diverse short stories that are associated to the most current hot topics.

The series LITERARY WEDNESDAYS invites different authors, in order to continue with the contribution to the cultural development of the community and the promotion of the language and literature in Spanish in the United States of America. The programs are coordinated and conducted by Maricel Mayor Marsán, president of the Florida Delegation of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language (ANLE) and director of Baquiana Literary Magazine.

The event will take place through the digital platform ZOOM of the CCEMiami.

Date: Wednesday, February 15 of 2023.
Hour: 7:00 PM
The event is FREE and it will be conducted in SPANISH.
In order to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85327651233
www.ccemiami.org | [email protected]

Information about the book:

Intriguing collection of magic realism features stories in which characters attempt to surmount unsettling barriers. In the prologue to this inventive collection, the exhausted protagonist finally reaches the doors to paradise after an arduous journey, but the longed-for entrance doesn’t have a handle or keyhole and there’s no bell or intercom. He considers climbing over it, but the wall reaches to the sky. He thinks of magic words that might open it and even kicks it, to no avail. The long, difficult trip has brought him to nothing except a concrete wall surrounded by desert. The characters in these seventeen stories find themselves with their backs against the wall, whether literally or figuratively. They run the gamut from undocumented immigrants to faded rock and soap-opera stars and even the Washington Monument. Exploring topics such as immigration, corruption and police abuse, Roblest expertly depicts the loneliness and uncertainty of people struggling to survive, but who yearn for something more elusive. These moving portraits reflect the lives of those who must breach the walls—physical, social, political or cultural—blocking their paths.

“Against the Wall: Stories” by Alberto Roblest. English translation by Nicolás Kanellos. Publisher: ‎Arte Público Press, 2021. ISBN:  978-1-55885-925-7. Pages: 134.

Information about the author:

ALBERTO ROBLEST

He was born in Mexico and has resided in the United States for more than twenty-five years, where he works as a multimedia artist, writer, professor, and co-founder of the “Hola Cultura” organization in Washington DC, that documents and highlights the Latino Art and Culture in that city. As a digital artist, he has the video compilations: The Death of the Analogue and The Art of Existing, which bring together about 30 art videos. His videos, installations and digital pieces have been widely exhibited at the national and international level in different festivals, museums, galleries, and art spaces in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela. As a writer, he is the author of the books of short stories: Contra el muro: Cuentos [Against the Wall: Stories] (2021), and Instantáneas Norteamericanas (2013). He has published the novel Collar de Orejas (2015) and the books of poetry: De la Ciudad y otras pequeñeces (1989), Chicaneando (1990), El futuro y Los Anillos (1992), Del Silencio en las Ciudades (1998), Las Andanzas del Huy Huy y el Chichicaxtle con su Ñero (2000), Ortografía para piromaníacos (2002) and Entre los Signos el Diminutivo (2012). His short stories, reviews, and essays have been published in literary magazines and anthologies. As a university professor he has taught at the universities: George Washington University, Catholic University of America, Emerson College, Massachusetts Bay Community College and Fisher College, among other universities in the United States, as well as at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Information about the presenter:

MARICEL MAYOR MARSÁN

She was born in Santiago of Cuba. She is a poet, narrator, playwright, essayist, editor, literary critic, translator, director of the Editorial Board of Baquiana Literary Magazine, numerary member of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language (ANLE), and correspondent member of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE). She has published more than twenty books in different literary genres. Her most recent books of poetry are: Rumores de Suburbios (2009) and Miami / poemas de la ciudad – poems of the city (2015). In theater: Trilogía de Teatro Breve (2012) and Las Tocayas (2013). In essays, notes and literary reviews: Crónicas Hispanounidenses (2014). In children’s literature: Nunuk: el insecto amistoso / the friendly bug (2022). Her work has been partially translated into several languages, as well as published in magazines and anthologies in Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, and the USA. She has received some awards and acknowledgements in Chile and the United States. She participated in the writing of the first “Encyclopedia of Spanish in the United States” (Yearbook of the Cervantes Institute) in Madrid, Spain (Santillana, 2008). The publishing house Holt, Rinehart & Winston included her poetry in the text books: Exprésate (2006- 2010) and Cultura y Lenguaje (2007-2010), used in the study of Spanish in middle and high schools throughout the United States. In the year 2010, she was selected among the most outstanding 100 Latinos of Miami for her work and contribution to the culture of the city.