Machaca (Shredded Beef) When it’s on the menu in a restaurant, I order it. There are different ways to prepare it. I’ve had it in a sauce and mixed with scrambled eggs. My favorite is how my Aunt Lily fixed it: dry, with the shredded beef a bit crispy from a fast fry on the…
There are many ways to make Mexican rice, but this is how I learned to make it. It’s savory and delicious. I usually make a double batch so I have leftovers for quick and easy burritos. Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 30ish minutes Serving size: 4 Ingredients: (If you want to make a bigger…
(originally published May 2021) May 8, 1959 is a day that Rachel Cantu will never forget. It’s the day Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies forcibly evicted her family from their grandparents’ home in the Palo Verde neighborhood of Chavez Ravine. The media had turned out in force, so there are lots of photos from that day….
(originally published May 2021) My mother always wore her hair short. Really short. It looked fantastic on her with her high cheekbones and high-bridged nose. Then I was scrolling online and saw one of those clickbait galleries that show you what a famous person would look like today. Love those! My big takeaway is how…
The Monsters of Chavez Ravine will always be my favorite “book child,” so I was thrilled when it won the International Latino Book Awards Gold Award for Best Novel Fantasy/Sci-Fi English. Here’s why it’s such a big deal to me: I’m an independently published author who began writing full-time later in life, after a career…
(originally published April 2021) The monsters in my urban fantasy novella, The Monsters of Chavez Ravine, are many and come in different shapes and sizes, but the one that first popped into my head was Dog Face Bride. I’ve been thinking about it since I was a kid. Thank you, Grandma Chata. Whenever I asked…
(originally published April 2021) One day, I was scrolling on Twitter and came across a tweet I found fascinating. A young traditionally published author announced in very bold terms she does not italicize Korean words in her novels. In fact, she said she REFUSED. Another author chimed in. This woman is Latina, like me. She…
(originally published March 2021) There is a character in my urban fantasy novella, The Monsters of Chavez Ravine, nicknamed Ripper. The residents of the old neighborhoods of Palo Verde, Bishop, and La Loma were big on nicknames. In photographer Don Normark’s stunning book, Chavez Ravine 1949: A Los Angeles Story, he includes two pages of…
