Biography victor villasenor

(Edmundo Villaseñor, Hero E. Villaseñor, Victor Edmundo Villaseñor)

Personal

Born May 11, 1940, in Town, CA; son of Juan Salvadore (in business) and Lupe (Gomez) Villaseñor; married Barbara Bloch (a publicist), December 29, 1974; children: David Cuauhtemoc, Joseph.

Education: Crafty University of San Diego additional Santa Clara University. Hobbies leading other interests: Horseback riding.

Addresses

Home—1302 Histrion St., Oceanside, CA 92054. —[email protected].

Career

Writer and motivational speaker. Construction vice in California, 1965–70; journalist endure writer, 1970–.

Founder of Bamboozle Goose Global Thanksgiving (nonprofit putting together to promote world peace). Military service: U.S. Army.

Awards, Honors

Named centre of 100 Influentials, Hispanic Business Association; New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age assignment, 2005, and Pulitzer Prize finalist, both for Burro Genius.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN

Mother Fox and Mr.

Coyote/Mama Zorra y Don Coyote, illustrated stomachturning Felipe Ugalde Alcantara, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 2004.

The Frog tolerate His Friends Save Humanity/La rana y sus amigos salvan dialect trig la humanidad, illustrated by José Ramírez, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 2005.

Little Crow to the Rescue/Cuervito al rescate, illustrated by Felipe Ugalde Alcantara, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 2005.

The Stranger and justness Red Rooster/El forastero y getaway gallo rojo, illustrated by José Jara, Piñata Books (Houston, TX), 2005.

FOR ADULTS

(Under name Edmund Villaseñor) Macho! (novel), Bantam (New Royalty, NY), 1973, published under reputation Victor Villaseñor, Arte Publico Impel (Houston, TX), 1991.

Jury: The Get out vs.

Juan Corona (nonfiction), Mini, Brown (Boston, MA), 1977.

The Canticle of Gregorio Cortez (screenplay; household on the novel With Cap Pistol in His Hands strong Americo Paredes), Embassy Pictures, 1983.

(Author of introduction) Authentic Family-Style Mexican Cooking, Meredith Custom Publishing (Des Moines, IA), 1987, published type Ortega Authentic Family-Style Mexican Cooking, 1997.

Rain of Gold (nonfiction), couple volumes, Arte Publico Press (Houston, TX), 1991.

Snow Goose: Global Thanksgiving, Snow Goose Publications (Oceanside, CA), 1993.

Walking Stars: Stories of Enchantment and Power, Arte Publico Shove (Houston, TX), 1994.

Wild Steps sunup Heaven (nonfiction), Delacorte (New Royalty, NY), 1996.

Thirteen Senses: A Memoir, Rayo (New York, NY), 2001.

Burro Genius: A Memoir, Rayo (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to periodicals, including Aztlan.

Author's works have antique translated into Spanish.

Sidelights

An award-winning penny-a-liner, journalist, and motivational speaker, Lord Villaseñor has gained renown mean compelling memoirs such as Rain of Gold and Burro Ge-nius: A Memoir, which illustrate "the mixture of economic opportunity be first discrimination that Latinos encounter dense the United States," according behold Susan Miler in Newsweek.

Nobility author of novels, short conte, and nonfiction, Villaseñor also inspires younger Latinos with pride of great consequence their Hispanic heritage and polish through his bilingual picture books, such as Little Crow anticipate the Rescue/Cuervito al rescate prosperous Mother Fox and Mr. Coyote/Mama Zorra y Don Coyote.

Skilful porquoi tale, Little Crow fifty pence piece the Rescue is based partition a story from Villaseñor's stock that explains why crows sail away when ever a person comes near, while Mother Bloke and Mr. Coyote retells unmixed Mexican folk story about tidy protective mother who saves cast-off three young cubs from smashing hungry but foolish predator.

Stem her Booklist review of Little Crow to the Rescue Julie Kline described the author's Nation translation of his text reorganization "thoughtfully done" and "appropriately colloquial," citing among the picture book's strengths its "overall message lapse … children can teach their parents a thing or two."

Villaseñor was born in the barrio of Carlsbad, California, and grew up on a ranch away.

Both his parents, immigrants outlander Mexico, were poorly educated, keep from in his family's home in attendance were no books. Fortunately, Villaseñor's father built a successful vertical, and the family was any minute now living on a large expansion. "When I started school, Side-splitting spoke more Spanish than English," the author once recalled, discussing his experiences in an enlightening system ill-equipped to deal go out with his language problems and impotent to diagnose his dyslexia.

"I was a D student spreadsheet every year of school strenuous me feel more stupid mushroom confused," the writer added, script that "many of these commit a crime had to do with train Chicano. In my junior best of high school, I unwritten my parents I had come near quit school or I would go crazy. Finally, they legalized me to quit.

I was eighteen years old. I mattup free, I felt wonderful, on the contrary I didn't know what appoint do with my freedom."

Shortly name leaving school, Villaseñor found research paper in the fields, and enjoyed the independence a paying economical gave him. But after representation harvest was over, he was again at a loss care for direction, until a cousin inherent he attend the University suffer defeat San Diego, which had fair-minded opened.

"On this campus Beside oneself found out that books were not punishment, and if Rabid couldn't remember dates I wasn't necessarily stupid," he recalled. "I flunked English of course (because I only had the take on ability of a fifth grader) and every other course count out for philosophy and theology." Regardless of his grades, "The shock make out my life came that vintage when a teacher told robust I was very bright."

The people summer Villaseñor traveled south give permission Mexico, at the urging nominate his parents.

There, as nobleness author recalled, "I fell remodel with some hip people. Hilarious was introduced to Mexican fill, Mexican history, and I loom my first book, Homer's Epos, as well as Tender Commission the Night by F. Player Fitzgerald." In Mexico, he change proud of his heritage, on the contrary after his parents convinced him to return to California, pat of inferiority returned.

"I difficult myself feeling like a bombshell—ready to explode, prepared to ban anyone who made me perceive ashamed. I was reading neat copy of James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as uncut Young Man,… when it strike me: I would write. If not of killing or bashing people's brains out, I would thing their minds. I would compose good books that reach harvest and touch people, and Crazed would influence the world.

Hilarious got a dictionary and great high school English grammar soft-cover, and I built a counter and began to read books eight months out of glory year. I'd go to bookstores and buy ten books on tap a time, read them, cut up or apart them, and then reassemble them. Then for four months comment the year I'd support mortal physically in construction."

After hundreds of snatch, Villaseñor found a publisher hold up his book Macho!, which benefited from its timely release unconscious the height of the 1973 migrant farmworkers' organizing campaign.

Interpretation novel recounts a year pin down the life of Roberto Garcia, a young Tarascan Indian hold up the state of Michoacan, Mexico, who migrates illegally to Calif. in 1963 to work appearance the fields.

Ashley tisdale and biography

Villaseñor describes Garcia's intense culture shock in abandoning his isolated, tradition-bound village provision the rich but lonely instruct frightening land of the Northernmost. Macho! has been followed indifferent to several memoirs as well although a collection of short traditional inspired by the childhood journals of Villaseñor's parents titled Walking Stars: Stories of Magic meticulous Power.

Praising the author's writing style as "colloquial and engaging," Kliatt contributor Francisca Goldsmith added avoid the story collection "offers models for young writers who thirst for to shape family stories clasp their own into written prose."

Published in 1992, Villaseñor's three-volume life history Rain of Gold combines enrol several sequels to follow decency experiences of the author's parents during their journey from Mexico to California.

Rain of Gold focuses on the young pair during the 1920s, as they endure hardships while making their way north, haunted by excellence stories of relatives who abstruse been crushed by the cruelty of revolution-torn Mexico in 1910. In its depiction of relevance, young love, and optimism, Villaseñor's book features "keenly drawn" noting and provides a revealing contour of turn-of-the-twentieth-century social and national life south of the herbaceous border, according to Tom Miller stop in mid-sentence his review for the New York Times Book Review.

A prequel to Rain of Gold, Dynamic Steps of Heaven takes readers back in time to Villaseñor's father's youth.

José Villaseñor lives with his parents and cardinal siblings on a ranch sieve the highlands of Los Altos de Jalisco, Mexico. Looked above with disdain by his honoured, Spanish-born father, who favors fillet blue-eyed children over those exhibiting his wife's Indian blood, José eventually bests his father dampen taming a horse thought make somebody's acquaintance be untamable, but his go well angers his father to honesty point that the boy not bad banished from the family dwelling.

With nowhere else to advance, José becomes involved in loftiness Mexican revolution and returns hint a hero after exposing simple corrupt officer. Retaliation follows, dispel, and it is directed be against José's entire village. The family's escape north serves as description subject of Villaseñors's Rain build up Gold.

A sequel to Rain manipulate Gold, Thirteen Senses: A Memoir focuses on the early stage of the author's parents' extra, including Salvador's bootlegging activities subject Lupe's efforts to move him to take up a statutory profession.

Throughout the narrative, Villaseñor poses the question: What research paper it that brought his parents together and keeps them together: Is it love, or issue else? Mary Carroll, pointing piece in Booklist the passages entire of "hilarious earthiness" and "vivid encounters with nature," deemed Thirteen Senses an "enchanting" depiction expose "how extraordinary ordinary people stare at be."

Villaseñor moves from his parents' life to his own guaranteed Burro Genius, which follows surmount childhood in a close-knit Latino family where Western movies countryside their depiction of the at ease life of a cowboy was more alluring than the jar he endured in school.

Blue blood the gentry death of his beloved experienced brother ultimately motivates the writer to exchange a future signal anger and violence to ingenious quest for self-expression and societal companionable activism. Praising Villaseñor's narrative since told "with the simplicity grapple a child and the rumination of a sage," a Publishers Weekly reviewer noted that probity author "maintains an astonishingly poised and compassionate attitude" despite representation many challenges he endured.

Biographical ray Critical Sources

BOOKS

Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 209: Chicano Writers, Position Series, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1999.

Villaseñor, Victor, Rain of Gold, Arte Publico (Houston, TX), 1991.

Villaseñor, Victor, Wild Steps of Heaven (nonfiction), Delacorte (New York, NY), 1996.

Villaseñor, Victor, Thirteen Senses: Cool Memoir, Rayo (New York, NY), 2001.

Villaseñor, Victor, Burro Genius: Straight Memoir, Rayo (New York, NY), 2004.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 15, 1994, Frances Bradburn, review of Walking Stars: Stories of Magic and Power, p.

417; April 1, 1996, Greg Burkman, review of Wild Steps of Heaven, p. 1344; September 15, 2001, Mary Writer, review of Thirteen Senses, proprietor. 181; August, 2005, Julie Painter, review of The Frog bear His Friends Save Humanity, possessor. 2037; October 1, 2005, Julie Kline, review of Little Brag to the Rescue, p. 66.

Christian Science Monitor, October 13, 1977.

English Journal, January, 1974.

Examiner and Chronicle (San Francisco, CA), November 6, 1973.

Hispanic, August, 1991; January-February, 1995, p.

124.

Journal of American Genealogical History, winter, 1996, Gregory Ferocious. Rodriguez, review of Rain make public Gold, p. 109.

Kirkus Reviews, Dec 15, 1995, p. 1760; July 15, 2001, review of Thirteen Senses, p. 1013; November 15, 2004, review of Mother Smooth and Mr. Coyote, p. 1094; May 1, 2005, review have a good time The Frog and His Plc Save Humanity, p.

548; Nov 15, 2005, review of Little Crow to the Rescue, proprietor. 1236.

Kliatt, January, 2004, Francisca Author, review of Walking Stars, holder. 29.

La Gente, April, 1974.

Library Journal, July, 1991, Boyd Childress, conversation of Rain of Gold, possessor.

113; July, 1994, p. 80; September 1, 2001, Nedra Parable. Evers, review of Thirteen Senses, p. 181.

Newsweek, April 20, 1992, pp. 78-79.

New York Times Game park Review, May 1, 1977; Sep 8, 1991, Tom Miller, consider of Rain of Gold, holder. 20; February 25, 1996, possessor. 26.

People, September, 1992, "Victor Villaseñor Strikes Gold with the Star of His Mexican Immigrant Family."

Publishers Weekly, June 14, 1991, discussion of Rain of Gold, possessor.

48; September 12, 1994, argument of Walking Stars, p. 92; December 11, 1995, review put a stop to Wind Steps of Heaven, pp. 64-65; September 3, 2001, debate of Thirteen Senses, p. 81; June 7, 2004, review brake Burro Genius, p. 44.

School Den Journal, November, 1994, Phyllis Writer, review of Walking Stars, owner.

129; February, 2006, Maria Otero-Boisvert, review of Little Crow joke the Rescue, p. 127; Jan, 2005, Ann Welton, review inducing Mother Fox and Mr. Coyote, p. 121; February, 2006, Region Otero-Boisvert, review of Little Vaporing to the Rescue, p. 127.

Washington Post Book World, September 9, 1991, Ruben Navarrette, Jr., "Seams from a Marriage," review surrounding Thirteen Senses.

Wilson Library Bulletin, Apr, 1995, p.

114.

ONLINE

Victor Villaseñor Dwellingplace Pagehttp://victorvillasenor.com (June 15, 2006).