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When we put out the call for Las Musas to come together for Black Lives Matter statement, madrina Lisa Alvarado (Poet. Chicana. Italian. Jew. Finding God in nature. Aleyo. ) sent us the the poem below to share with you all! In her words, she offers this because Black brothers and sisters are our family.  ANTHEM by Lisa Alvarado The poem is a blessing. The poem is contraband. The poem is Molotov cocktail. The poem is balm. The poem is napalm. The poem is a slap. The poem is a kiss. The poem is a curse. The poem is revelation. The poem is revolution. The poem is Sunday church supper. The poem is the lash. The poem is a firebrand. The poem is The Underground Railroad. The poem is a night stick. The poem is someone who will not break. The poem is the tree never bearing strange fruit. The poem is a rope that spells freedom. The poem is wet feet and the Rio Grande. The poem is the back of a truck. The poem’s other name is coyote. The poem is La Migra handcuffed to a chair. The poem is papeles. The poem is a wall that keeps crumbling. The poem es una poema. The poem is a broken swastika. The poem is a shredded brown shirt. The poem is a white hood with no eyes. The poem is yelling Basta ya! The poem spits out bullets.
The poem is a panhandler. The poem is a Walmart cashier. The poem is a hotel maid. The poem is a factory worker. The poem is a time clock. The poem is a paycheck. The poem is child labor. The poem is a striker. The poem is an eight-hour day.
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Las Musas is thrilled to announce the cover reveal of Yamile Mendez's Shaking Up the House! But first, a little about Shaking Up the House... Ingrid and Winnie Lopez have lived there for eight years, but a new family is moving in, and the Lopez girls are determined to combine Ingrid’s comedic timing and Winnie’s quick thinking to give the new First Kids a proper White House welcome. Skylar and Zora know a lot of things about the White House—Zora loves history, and Skylar’s thrilled to begin her new A-list lifestyle. What the sisters don’t know is that incoming presidents’ families are often pranked by the folks they’re replacing, and Ingrid and Winnie take that tradition very seriously. When what is meant to be a friendly goof sets off an epic prank war, though, it’s only a matter of time before things spiral out of control. Can the four girls call a truce before an innocent trick sparks an international incident? Or will their battle go down in American history?  Book cover illustrator: Kat Fajardo Designer: Christopher Kwon From acclaimed author Yamile Saied Mendez comes a laugh-a-minute friendship story full of hijinks, misunderstandings, and loads of glitter. Coming January 5, 2021! Pre-order now! And now, read an excerpt...
Las Musas celebrates the book birthday of Alex Aster’s Emblem Island: Curse of the Night Witch! ABOUT EMBLEM ISLAND: CURSE OF THE NIGHT WITCH... 
"Worthy of every magical ounce"―Kirkus Reviews, starred review A fast-paced series starter, perfect for fans of Aru Shah and the End of Time and Percy Jackson, filled with adventure, mythology, and an unforgettable trio of friends. On Emblem Island all are born knowing their fate. Their lifelines show the course of their life and an emblem dictates how they will spend it. Twelve-year-old Tor Luna was born with a leadership emblem, just like his mother. But he hates his mark and is determined to choose a different path for himself. So, on the annual New Year's Eve celebration, where Emblemites throw their wishes into a bonfire in the hopes of having them granted, Tor wishes for a different power. The next morning Tor wakes up to discover a new marking on his skin...the symbol of a curse that has shortened his lifeline, giving him only a week before an untimely death. There is only one way to break the curse, and it requires a trip to the notorious Night Witch. With only his village's terrifying, ancient stories as a guide, and his two friends Engle and Melda by his side, Tor must travel across unpredictable Emblem Island, filled with wicked creatures he only knows through myths, in a race against his dwindling lifeline. "Debut author Aster takes inspiration from Colombian folklore to craft a rousing series opener that's both fast-paced and thrilling. As her protagonists face off against a host of horrors, they learn the value of friendship and explore the possibility of changing one's fate in a world where destiny is predetermined."―Publishers Weekly, starred review Las Musas is united in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement. We mourn and are outraged over the loss of every precious Black life. This fight is our fight.
We demand the arrests and prosecution of the police officers who are responsible for the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and countless others. We demand the prosecution of ex-police officer Travis McMichael and his son Gregory McMichael for their murder of Ahmaud Arbery. We support the Black freedom fighters who daily rise up against white supremacy to dismantle systemic racism and risk their lives in the protests for their human right to breathe in peace; for their human right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness; for their human right to fight against the brutality they have continued to suffer for centuries in America. We acknowledge anti-Blackness in our Latinx community and seek to root out and extinguish it. We have all been drinking from the poisoned well of systemic racism and, therefore, each one of us has internalized racism. We vow to examine our own hearts and call in dialogue those in our families and communities who perpetuate the cycle of systemic oppression against the Black community. We vow to intervene when we see Black people being harassed, gaslit, and antagonized online. We call for the decolonization of our education systems that are at the root of raising white supremacists and domestic terrorists. We call for an end to school-prison pipelines. We call for the divestment and demilitarization of police and investment in Black and Brown communities and education systems not corporate bailouts. We call on the publishing industry to be accountable and hire Black agents and Black editors that represent the Black demographic in our society. We call on publishers to make the industry accessible by creating virtual internships and job positions. We call on library systems and librarians to purchase, promote, and circulate diverse works by Black creators. We know the power of words and demand news outlets to be held accountable. We will not accept false narratives that seek to reframe and criminalize the Black Lives Matter Movement. We demand that Telemundo and Univision stop endangering the lives of the Black community by demonizing the BLM freedom fighters and instead use the power of these platforms to fight for justice. We will not be silent. We will speak up with our voices, our art, and the power of our platforms for a rightful redistribution of the wealth the Brown and Black community have afforded this country. We promise to support and uplift Black creators. As Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network said, we will “reimagine a world with an economy of care versus an economy of punishment” and fight for it with our allyship, our money, and our activism. The Black community’s fight for justice is our fight. In moments of protest and moments of celebration, we are united. Black liberation and Black joy is our joy. Black lives matter. Black voices matter. Black futures matter. Black dreams matter. If you wish to join us in this fight, below is a jumping off point of suggested activism, places to donate, and ways to educate yourself in how to be anti-racist. This list is by no means comprehensive and will continue to grow, but we hope it serves as a place to start on your journey. - Las Musas RESOURCES...(below) |
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