Sandra Cisneros Talks Dia de Los Muertos

Sandra Cisneros, the author of the classic The House on Mango Street who now lives in Mexico, believes she has an ideal slogan for her new land."Mexico - it's a good place to die," Cisneros says with a laugh.

"There, the dead co-exist with the living every day. The past and the present come together and mix," she explained.

Cisneros signs books for admirers 

Raised in Chicago as a Mexican-American celebrating the language and the ways of her native land to the south, Cisneros says that she has come to believe that death is "letting go".  However, much is left for those who survive, she quickly adds.

"When a parent dies, suddenly you have a spirit ally that is with you always," she said. "I know that sounds new age-y, but it is our miseducation that has caused us to rename it superstition."

Cisneros was present in the room when her mother died. "There was a moving, a shimmering around the room. I had a feeling that was tender and sweet, not like my mother at all," she said, eliciting laughter from the audience.

"I became a writer because my mother was an unhappy mother," Cisneros said. Her mother was "an artistic soul" who was constantly going to cultural centers and events, she explained. "I used to think it was for our sake, but I realize now it was for her," the author, who was one of 7 children, said.

One of those cultural centers was the library. "To me the library was a wonderful house ... a house of ideas ... a house of silence," Cisneros said.

As a writer, Cisneros said she writes "whatever comes. I write this, I write that. The only reason I finish anything is because somebody in New York gives me a deadline. I began writing when I was most lonely in middle school. I wasn't the pretty girl ... I wasn't the smart girl ... I was the new girl with the bad haircut because my mother was always cutting my bangs crooked."

Cisneros indicated that she has no intention to stop writing. "Each book gets me closer to the path I am supposed to be walking," she said.

Sandra Cisneros' Ofrenda for Her Mother
 @The Museum of American History

This Day of the Dead altar departs from the traditional public Mexican altar by featuring my mother’s personal space – her garden and bedroom – and personal objects as part of an homage remembering her as a dynamic creative being in her own right. Gathering the items here, some from my grandmother and great-grandmother, helped me look deeply and see my mother as a woman with her own life apart from her family and children. In the end, it served, as art often does, to transform grief to celebration. Thanks to my mother’s deep hunger to become an artist, she opened the path for me. This altar is my gracias to her. - Sandra Cisneros

Museum of the American Indian Using New Exhibit to Spread Its New Message

DC's Smithsonian museums (there are 17 of them here in the city) are among America's most visited and treasured places. But the Smithsonian also publishes a series of some of the most interesting, fact-filled blogs appearing anywhere on the internet. Each Sunday, The Prices Do DC re-posts an entry either about the Smithsonian or that 1st appeared in 1 of the institution's blogs. Hope you enjoy and maybe we'll see you soon at the Smithsonian.

The confusion begins with the entrance to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, a soaring, curving stone building at the southeastern corner of the Mall.

The entrance faces east — a symbolic nod to the many Native Americans who orient their homes to the east and the rising sun — but that makes it difficult for visitors coming from the Mall or Metro to find their way in, and entering through the back door diminishes the dramatic effect of the Potomac Atrium .

The two major exhibitions on the upper floors are similarly confounding. “Our Lives” celebrates the survival of the dispossessed without chronicling the policies and battles that brought them close to extinction, while “Our Universes” spotlights the creation myths of seven nations without drawing any connections or contrasts between them.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in The Washington Post, click here.

Marty Stuart: Channeling Crazy Horse, Custer, and Johnny Cash

Stuart shows off his mandolin mastery

As a native of Philadelphia, Mississippi county star Marty Stuart grew up well versed in Choctaw Indian culture and lore. In fact, the 5-time Grammy award winner is part Choctaw himself.

During his 6 years as a member of Johnny Cash's touring band in the 1980s, Stuart was introduced by Cash to the Lakota Sioux people of South Dakota and their plight. The Lakota are among some of the poorest Native Americans in the country.

Indeed, Stuart was so taken by that area of the west that in 2005 he recorded his album Badlands, a concept album about the horrifying treatment of Native Americans, especially the Lakota Sioux.

All of this combined to make Stuart a perfect choice for an intimate concert at the National Museum of the American Indian this weekend.

The multi-instrumentalist Stuart, who received his start in country music as a teenager playing with bluegrass legend Lester Flatt, was joined by the 3 members of his band The Fabulous Superlatives - guitarist "Cousin" Kenny Vaughan, drummer "Handsome" Harry Stinson, and bassist "Apostle" Paul Martin.

The 90-minute, 22-song set featured selections across the gamut of American roots music: honky-tonking country, flashy bluegrass, and harmonious gospel. Obviously, Stuart's hits such as "The Whiskey Ain't Working" and "Tempted" were crowd pleasers. In a tribute to Cash, Stuart dedicated his version of "Ring of Fire" to his deceased friend and mentor.

Connie Smith

Stuart was joined on stage for a few numbers by his wife, country Hall of Fame member Connie Smith. Among Smith's tunes were a well-received rendition of her classic "Once a Day" and the gospel staple "Amazing Grace." Prior to calling Smith to the stage, Stuart, who said he actually told his mother when he was 12 that he would end up marrying the country legend, played "Choctaw Fair," which recounts his first meeting and subsequent marriage and life with Smith.

Stuart closed his show with a call for the audience to get close to the stage for an ethereal medley of 2 spiritually powerful tracks from the Badlands CD - "Hotchkiss" and "Ancient Wild"

Extra! Extra! Read All About It

Here is Marty Stuart's Setlist signed by both Stuart and his wife

A History Lesson in Song

She was the inspiration for the Leon Russell classic "Delta Lady". She was a singer in some of the biggest touring bands of the 60's including Joe Cocker and the Mad Dogs and Englishmen and Delaney, Bonnie, and Friends. With her then-husband Kris Kristofferson, she formed one of the greatest husband/wife teams in rock n' roll. And this past weekend, Rita Coolidge, now 68, appeared in concert at the National Museum of the American Indian.

Her appearance at the museum as part of its Indian Summer Showcase Series was especially appropriate since Coolidge is a member of the Cherokee Nation. A few years ago, joined by her sister and niece, she released a CD of Native American music titled Walela, which is Coolidge's Cherokee name. Translated Walela means hummingbird.

In a 90-minute set, Coolidge, backed by a tight, talented quartet, delivered history lessons in both rock and Indian culture. The set featured cover versions of songs from some of the greatest songwriters in rock including Leonard Cohen, Allen Toussaint, Smokey Robinson, and Kristofferson. Before many numbers, Coolidge would offer background stories of how the songs came to be included in her live repertoire. For example, she talked about the impact of touring with Eric Clapton as part of Delaney and Bonnie and dedicated the Carpenters' hit "Superstar" to the famed British guitarist.

She and the band slipped effortlessly from the soul sounds of her big 70's hits "Higher and Higher" and "The Way You Do The Things You Do" to a sultry jazz take on the Peggy Lee classic "Fever" to the Memphis guitar-driven blues of Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign."

Some of the most interesting moments of the concert came during Coolidge's inclusion of a trio of Native American songs, two of which she had written.  The 1st was "Muddy Water,"  a tune about the travails of the Native Americans who were forced to relocate to the west during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. The 2nd, "I Have No Indian Name," came from a discussion Coolidge had with a young Native American woman who had been raised in a white family and never given an Indian name. (To listen to this song performed by Walela, click here)

The emotional high point of the night was a stirring version of "Amazing Grace," which Coolidge sang in her native Cherokee language. The favored religious hymn was the most sung song as Coolidge's Cherokee people marched on the Trail of Tears from the East Coast to Oklahoma.

Tales, Tidbits,and Tips
The final concert in the Indian Summer series will feature C. J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band on Sept. 21. Chenier is the Creole son of the Grammy-award winning “King of Zydeco” Louisiana pioneer Clifton Chenier. Following in his father’s footsteps he now leads his father’s band as an accordion performer and singer of Zydeco, a blend of Cajun and Creole music. Zydeco is the music of Southwest Louisiana's Black Creoles, a group of people of mixed African, Afro-Caribbean, Native American and European descent.