Joel Climenhaga

Chicagoan Carlos Cortez is one of the U.S.A.'s leading Chicano artists and poets. In this new collection of poems and scratch board drawings, Cortez shares his love and concern for the land of his mestizo and Yaqui ancestors. Cortez's art and words help us see with "bicultural eyes" the history of California (Califas) with a landscape alive with condors, cougars, tall saquaros, and even giant cloud formations. Cortez's poems speak in the persona of Koyokuikatl (Coyote Song), who places his strong clear verse in defense of its threatened inhabitants, In addition, he embodies the nostalgic traveler who is capable of "Beat" haikus or the wisdom of the Chicano working-class.