Mentors on the Mend: raulrsalinas and Trinidad Sanchez, Jr.

Two veterano poets, both based in Texas, have been facing some serious health setbacks this month. At this point in time, their recovery is at a critical state and therefore, collective intentionality is needed to help them fight their illnesses. Pray, chant, kneel, plant a tree, burn incense--do what you do when you care enough about someone to wish better things for them.

I met Trinidad (Trino) in Austin, i believe, at the Austin International Poetry Festival in '94 or '95. These festivals can be lovefests for writers who experience mutual admiration for each other's work. I guess it was so with Trino and me, so we became friends. He and i crossed paths many times, over the years, sometimes in the most unlikely of places. We performed on the same bill at the Albuquerque Poetry Festival, back in '97. We ran into each other at the Mercury in Denver, when my friends Lourdes Perez and Annette D'Armato dropped me off there after a cool-ass road trip with them from Santa Fe to Crested Butte. Trino was sitting in a booth, holding forth with some other poets, at the Mercury. I had no idea that he even lived in Denver at that time. Ended up, I needed a place to crash and so Trino set me up with an overnight at his mother-in-law's place in the 5 Points barrio. Last summer (June 2005), I ran into Trinidad and his wonderful wife, Regina, in San Antonio, where they had moved after selling their house in Denver. We were at a bbq party hosted by Lisa Suarez of the Jump-Start Theater, and Trino was in fine form. He and Regina let me stay at their place and Trino delivered me to the Amtrak station early the next morning for my return to FW. Ellos son buena gente, good people, and it hurts to hear that these good people are suffering and struggling now.

raul r. salinas is the person who first set me on the Austin map of spoken word and poetry. Without even knowing my work, he invited me to perform at a grand re-opening show at his cultural haven of Chicano/a lit and actvism, RESISTENCIA BOOKSTORE. That was a momentous event, and I met people who took me on to the next gigs and level of literary production. raul formed a posse of poets who performed as an ensemble and eventually i was invited to become a member of the Red Salmon Poets. raul's activism experience with the AIM (American Indian Movement) and the prisoner rights movement was very inspiring. Hanging out at Resistencia for literary readings, platicas, or just plain ole casual conversation always took me to a righteous place in my own thinking. When a family member got caught up in the Texas prison system revolving door, I looked to raul and his own prison writings for solace and reassurance. We also worked together, one springtime in Austin, teaching poetry-writing to boys at the Juvenile Detention Center. After i left Austin, raul and i became subjects in Ray Santisteban's documentary film VOICES FROM TEXAS. In 2003, I applied for and received a grant to host a "Fort Worth Premiere" screening of VOICES FROM TEXAS and to bring raul (and another poet in the film) to Fort Worth. It excited me to have the opportunity and resources ($$) to introduce Fort Worth to the poet-elder who had done so much for the community on many levels, as raul certainly has done. I was able to provide hotel lodging, a performance honorarium, and other perks that made raul's visit pleasant and memorable. My mom, ever-the-generous soul that she is, insisted on hiring a limo for the poets (raul and Tonzi) to ride to the Rose Marine Theater, where the premiere screening took place. raul had never been in a limo ever before, and he seemed tickled by the whole experience. I was so happy to introduce him to a Fort Worth audience--which loved him and welcomed him heartily. It was the best gift to offer to a special mentor in my life.

raul and Trino are both going through a hard time now, and i hope you'll read the next two posts with positive wishes, for their quick recovery, in mind.

Thank you.