City of Voices / La Ciudad De Las Voces

City of Voices is a collection of poems written as a type of memoir. Poetry is the axle that continually rotates in search of meaningful imagery to fulfill the yearnings of my soul. (La ciudad de las voces es una recopilación de poemas escritos en forma autobiográfica. La poesía es el eje que gira continuamente en busca de imágenes significativas que satisfagan los anhelos de mi alma.) Some of the pieces, such as “Ya mero,” “Hasta la bye, bye,” “El pachuco,” and “El Álamo,” depict the Tex-Mex vernacular of South Texas. I aspire to weave Spanish and English together on multiple levels, interconnecting the Chicano voice with the Anglo influence. Other compositions display an array of lyrical expression of everyday life in San Antonio and perceptions from trips to Ireland and Guatemala with my wife. The echoes we heard in the main courtyard of Tikal, standing between the two primary stone structures or castillos (castles), were the result of clapping our hands together. The Mayans referred to this area as “the place of voices,” and this is the image I borrowed to describe these poems, created from my inner voice and perspective. My other books include The Arch’s Prism (2014), a selection of poems, and Solitary Impressions (2016), an autobiography.