Aquí Estamos-- --ya Nos Vamos

Francisco Bustos eloquently writes of Colonia Ruiz Cortinez and Barrio San Ysidro, waiting in la linea to be scrutinized by U.S. Customs officials, and of the bi-national journey of living both in the United States and Mxico. His melodic tone defies the fast-paced world of schedules, while being actively engaged in the moment, and then fleeting down another street to encounter another tale. As es la vida qu no?, Bustos says, As es. Michael Cheno Wickert focuses mainly on living in the barrios of Southeast San Diego where life often turns toward violence and suspicion is commonplace. It is a place where identities are shattered and reconfigured from the broken pieces into a kaleidoscope. It is a land of churches, liquor stores, and taco shops. It is where paint, blood, sweat, and salsa drip from the body and splat on weather-worn sidewalks to tell the stories of an America often ignored.