I met him Sunday at the Tucson Book Festival.
And if I had known what a humongous crowd of people would be jostling elbow to elbow all over the U of A campus, I might have considered not going.
I am not a fan of big crowds.
However, I am a huge fan of Luis Alberto Urrea, so I probably would have not allowed any such consideration to spend much time in my brain.
I have lived in towns that are probably smaller in both size and population than the University of Arizona campus. I had to park miles and miles away from the event....uphill both ways! OK, I'm exaggerating....but by the end of the day, my feet felt as though I had to walk miles and miles to get back to my car. And then, I went to the wrong parking lot and could NOT find my car! It took much longer than I'd like to admit before it finally occurred to me that I still hadn't walked far enough to get to the right lot.
It was a little up in the air, to begin with, whether I was going to be able to locate the exact spot where Luis was going to be having a Q and A session 'cause this is a big, BIG event. Look!
Here's what's sad. Nearly all those booths...and that picture doesn't show the half of them, are filled with
BOOKS!
How many books can tempt you to spend $$ you do NOT have to spend on books? Gazillions! That's how many!
These pictures were taken pretty early in the day when the hordes had not yet descended. Believe me, when I tell you, that by mid-day, it was elbow room only, all over the place!
I got distracted for a few minutes by this very talented young group of circus performers.
And these guys..........
Check out that huge book-mobile!
But soon, I got down to the business at hand which was to be an absolutely star-struck attendee at Mr. Urrea's appearance.
After asking several volunteers for help, I found this wonderful man named Mike. He got on his walkie-talkie, talked to the powers that be and then took me in his chariot straight to where I needed and wanted to be!
Bye Sir Mike! And thank you, so much, for rescuing this damsel...errr....old lady....in distress!
Oh look!
C-Span is here! Well why not. Everybody else in Tucson is too, by the looks of it.
Having arrived at my destination with ample time to spare, I sat myself down and got into conversations with other Urrea lovers. I think the only thing I love talking about as much as painting is books and authors. So that was a real treat!
Right on time, Luis arrived and so began a most entertaining, enlightening and enjoyable hour. He is a great story-teller in person, as well as in his books. I don't think great writers are always really good oral story tellers, but he sure is.
I 'discovered' him about 6 months ago. I picked up his novel, INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH and loved it so much that I promptly got on-line and reserved every one of his books at my local library. I read them all...one right after the other.
This man can rip your guts out in anquish and make you belly laugh...all in the same paragraph! He poetry is sublime. His passion about 'border' issues runs deep and regardless of your opinion about that topic, he has the capacity to give you a different way, perhaps, of looking at that issue.
But, most importantly, he is a gifted story teller. Without that, his passion wouldn't have the same impact, I don't think.
I don't know which of his books is my favorite. All of them...... for different reasons....... is probably the only right answer.
I waited around until the line for his book signing was almost gone. The one young man left in line also has the surname Urrea. Most likely, they are related...somewhere back in time. The young man is a writer. I offered to take his picture with Luis. I wanted to show you the picture, because it turned out so cute, but I never heard back from the young man with permission to use his photo on here. He had on sunglasses and I suggested he take them off. Luis prompty said, "Oh no! I'll put mine on, too and we'll be The Blues Brothers!" So he did. Maybe sometime I can show you that picture. Meanwhile, here's Luis Alberto Urreas AKA a 'Blues Brother.'
I hope I've made you a bit curious about him. If I have, why don't you have a look at his blog. I have the link to it right at the bottom of each and every one of my posts.
But to make it really easy for you, here it is. Go there. Read.
Dig into his archives. Enjoy!
Well, fiddlesticks! Right now, his website is being completely changed and you will not be able to access his archives for another couple of weeks. Tell you what, I'll give you a heads up, when you can, and you can read more wonderful writing than you've got time to digest, I promise!
http://www.luisurrea.com/home.php
I remain so grateful for writers who have the 'gift' to rock my universe!
Luis Alberto Urrea has that gift...in abundance!
