www.ambiente.us SEPTEMBER | SEPTIEMBRE 2009
Spic Chic, by Luis Chaluisan
(Fly by Night Press, 2009)
Review by Charlie Vázquez
The rules of poetry are created by its author, much as a criminal operates both
within and away from society, as he or she sees fit. Thus, it’s no wonder that so
many poets past and present have dabbled in crime and write about these
adventures of subculture, as with Luis Chaluisan, who surfaced in the earliest
days of the Nuyorican poetry scene. Chaluisan’s poems are odes—both
celebratory and regretful—to his experiences as a New York-born Puerto Rican
surviving on the streets of New York. And I’m not talking about the well-heeled
New York of today, but of the smoldering 1970s and 1980s. I remember living in
the East Tremont neighborhood of the Bronx during the mid- to late-1970s, and
anyone involved in crime who survived to write about it gets instant applause
for that alone.
Luis “El Extreme” Chaluisan—a musician, writer, and former news reporter—is in
no denial of his controversy, as spelled out in the book’s opening disclaimer
statement. Although I thought I knew what I was walking into when I read this
book by the Section 13 jetty of the “Bronx Riviera” recently (Orchard Beach),
Spic Chic, by Luis Chaluisan
(Fly by Night Press, 2009)
Review by Charlie Vázquez
The rules of poetry are created by its author, much as a criminal operates both
within and away from society, as he or she sees fit. Thus, it’s no wonder that so
many poets past and present have dabbled in crime and write about these
adventures of subculture, as with Luis Chaluisan, who surfaced in the earliest
days of the Nuyorican poetry scene. Chaluisan’s poems are odes—both
celebratory and regretful—to his experiences as a New York-born Puerto Rican
surviving on the streets of New York. And I’m not talking about the well-heeled
New York of today, but of the smoldering 1970s and 1980s. I remember living in
the East Tremont neighborhood of the Bronx during the mid- to late-1970s, and
anyone involved in crime who survived to write about it gets instant applause
for that alone.
Luis “El Extreme” Chaluisan—a musician, writer, and former news reporter—is in
no denial of his controversy, as spelled out in the book’s opening disclaimer
statement. Although I thought I knew what I was walking into when I read this
book by the Section 13 jetty of the “Bronx Riviera” recently (Orchard Beach),
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I was thrown for some surprises. These twenty-plus pieces range from serious
(“Johnny Boy”) to whimsical (“Surfing in the South Bronx”), and Chaluisan’s
greatest effectiveness is achieved when he releases his honest emotions for
public viewing—which you almost don’t expect him to do (“I slide precariously
alongside her path, at once tender, then off-center,” from “Carmen Baby”).
In “Wilfredo the Anointed Apostle”, about a gay santero barber, Chaluisan
explains, “So before we crucify him with whispered nails…homo, queer, fazzy
hole…stop and think…perhaps a person’s lifestyle is really a blessing, for who are
we to know God’s ways and plans…when we’re walking together, people just
stop and stare…but if you could see him through my eyes, he wouldn’t be a
faggot but a man.” Spic Chic is an exciting tour of jazz and salsa clubs, women of
pleasure, of the island, of desperate people struggling to survive—of joy and
pain—but it’s also about transformation. It’s really about becoming greater and
wiser than what doom had planned for your soul.
Spic Chic can be purchased here:
http://www.amazon.com/Spic-Chic-Adventures-Last-
Nuyorican/dp/1930083173/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252603880&sr=8-1
CLICK HERE for more Charlie Vázquez
Copyright 2009| Ambiente. Do not reproduce without prior authorization.
(“Johnny Boy”) to whimsical (“Surfing in the South Bronx”), and Chaluisan’s
greatest effectiveness is achieved when he releases his honest emotions for
public viewing—which you almost don’t expect him to do (“I slide precariously
alongside her path, at once tender, then off-center,” from “Carmen Baby”).
In “Wilfredo the Anointed Apostle”, about a gay santero barber, Chaluisan
explains, “So before we crucify him with whispered nails…homo, queer, fazzy
hole…stop and think…perhaps a person’s lifestyle is really a blessing, for who are
we to know God’s ways and plans…when we’re walking together, people just
stop and stare…but if you could see him through my eyes, he wouldn’t be a
faggot but a man.” Spic Chic is an exciting tour of jazz and salsa clubs, women of
pleasure, of the island, of desperate people struggling to survive—of joy and
pain—but it’s also about transformation. It’s really about becoming greater and
wiser than what doom had planned for your soul.
Spic Chic can be purchased here:
http://www.amazon.com/Spic-Chic-Adventures-Last-
Nuyorican/dp/1930083173/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252603880&sr=8-1
CLICK HERE for more Charlie Vázquez
Copyright 2009| Ambiente. Do not reproduce without prior authorization.
