Aqui estamos...Ya nos vamos, published by Calaca Press imprint
Red CalacArts
Publications, is a collection of bilingual poetry and short
fiction by Francisco J. Bustos and Michael Cheno Wickert, with
cover art and illustrations by Ricardo Islas, which focuses on
the border between Mexico and the United States.
The work of Francisco Bustos centers around the often extraordinary
treasures of life in Tijuana. His work has a thoughtful, relaxed
rhythm that slows the reader down and offers a mellow journey,
from bartering his American tennis shoes in Mexico City's Valley
of Teotihuacán for cosmic passage and a rain stick, to
questioning whether diamonds are really more valuable than stones,
showing readers that the bread of life can sometimes be a simple
kilo of tortillas or the appreciation of history and culture around
us.
Cheno's work speaks of hope and tragedy in San Diego. He
writes of the immigrant trudging up Market Street to the sound
of church bells from Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles, the
clang and hiss of shipyard steel, and the whisper of ghosts.
His work ranges from a hang-over slow pace to a staccato hammering
of images that leaves the lingering idea that although the American
Dream is sometimes deferred, it is still worthwhile.
In the end Aqui estamos...Ya nos vamos is the un/common
journey we each make physically, emotionally, and spiritually
as we define ourselves and our role in a society where traditional
borders are constantly being blurred.
Pancho lives in Playas de
Tijuana, Baja California, and in Chula Vista, California where
he teaches English Composition at Southwestern College.
He mostly writes about border culture, music, foods and people.
On his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife Nirvana
and daughter Quetzalli, playing guitar with his suegro, and visiting
his parents, brother, and sisters. He grew up on both sides
of the Tijuana/San Ysidro Border, moving every couple of years
depending on family budget and situations.
Cheno earned both his B.A. in English in 1999 and his M.F.A. in
Creative Writing in 2004 from San Diego State University.
Out of high school he worked as a painter, carpenter, and pipefitter
throughout the shipyards of Southern California. He currently
teaches elementary school in Chula Vista, where he lives with
his wife Denise and his son Julian. Creatively he explores
how the personal and political collide in everyday life.
Ricardo is from the Calexico/Mexicali border area and currently lives in San Diego, CA. He works as a mechanic repairing cars for the rich and wannabe rich during the day and paints long into the night, many times after being perched for hours on a bar stool at Landlord Jim's in San Diego's East Village. His work has appeared at Voz Alta, Chicano Perk, Expressions of Mexico Gallery, Landlord Jim's and many other places in the SD/Tijuana border region.