The Reading Life

Book Release “The Last Puerto Rican Indian: A Collection of Dangerous Poetry”

Contact: Luis Cordero at LCordero@galeriacemi.com

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Scheduled for publication in June 2006, The Last Puerto Rican Indian: A Collection of Dangerous Poetry by Bobby González, is a book that challenges the reader to confront preconceived notions about the history and contemporary struggles of the Native Peoples of the Americas. The book is the first title issued by the recently formed publishing company www.CemiPress.com, which is a subsidiary of www.GaleriaCemi.com. Books can be ordered at www.cemipress.com.

Writing from the perspective of a modern Taino Indian, Mr. González takes on such varied themes as religious freedom (or lack thereof), cultural & physical genocide, violence against women, homophobia and the issue of racial/political identity.

“Dangerous memories.
Stolen histories.
Identity theft on a Cosmic scale.

Who/what determines
Who/what we are?

The Last Puerto Rican Indian,
with an abundance of love,
bites into a Cuban sandwich
on the corner of 145th Street and Brook Avenue.”

There are also verses that pay tribute to outstanding indigenous leaders such as Anacaona of Haiti, Guamá of Cuba, Cotubanamá from Quisqueya (the Dominican Republic), Sitting Bull of the Lakota and Osceola of the Seminole.

This unique volume contains many rare and intriguing graphic illustrations which document the lifeways, art and spirituality of Natives folk from the Amazon and the Caribbean. Most of these pictures are over one hundred years old and have not been viewed by most of the general public since the late 19th century.

An added bonus is a suggested Taino reading list which is a guide to both primary sources and current publications.

"The Last Puerto Rican Indian is beautifully written with a multiplicity of voices that capture both profound sadness and passionate defiance. Rich with spiritual meaning, Bobby Gonzalez brings us closer to the indigenous men, women and children of the Americas as he harmonizes between the past and the present, traveling great distances in time from before the conquest, through mass genocide and the resistance, to the contemporary and beyond. Affirming the enduring strength of our heritage, González declares, 'The Last Puerto Rican Indian has not yet been born.'"
- Iris Morales, community activist/former Minister of Information, the Young Lords Party

Visit Bobby González' website at www.BobbyGonzalez.com