Review of Joe Olvera's book Chicano - Sin Fin by Ray Rojas in the El Paso Times

El Paso Times

May 25, 2008

Guest Review by Ray Rojas

Olvera recounts journalism days with wit, irritation

Being stuck in the trunk of a car in Tijuana is not good news - unless you are reporter Joe Olvera doing undercover work.
In "Chicano Sin Fin!: Memoirs of a Chicano Journalist" (Zapata 1910 Press, $17.95), Olvera recalls life as a veteran border journalist.
These days, it is not unusual to see a brown face on television or a Spanish surname attached to a newspaper story. In Olvera's day, there were few. In fact, he claims he became El Paso's first Chicano television journalist in the early 1970s.
Olvera's book opens with a topic outside of his journalism experience - the diabetes he has had for many years. As in many of his columns on Chicanos and diabetes, he chastises himself for ignoring the symptoms until it was too late. When he eventually went to the hospital, doctors had to amputate some of his toes right away.
The gems in Olvera's book are of his journalistic experiences.
I was expecting a collection of Olvera's editorials and was hesitant at first when the book read like a memoir. But his streetwise antics offer a humorous glimpse at a modern journalist.
Olvera was recruited to be part of an intense journalism-training program at Columbia University in New York City. He describes chasing stories and learning to do investigative journalism in the Big Apple.
Because the training focused more on television, Olvera tried broadcast journalism for a while at what was then the CBS affiliate Channel 4-KROD. Broadcast journalism did not agree with him, and he later became a reporter with the El Paso Herald-Post and El Paso Times.
Though it's a memoir, "Sin Fin!" feels as if Olvera is talking about modern-day issues: killings in Mexico, illegal border crossings, notary publics practicing immigration law, U.S. citizens in Mexican prisons, and abuse of low-income workers.
Posing as an illiterate undocumented immigrant, Olvera exposed an El Paso notary public fraudulently practicing immigration law and ripping off the poor.
He traveled from central Mexico posing as a Mexican immigrant, and was smuggled into the United States in a car trunk. He continued his journey to Chicago.
When "Americans" were killed on a road in Mexico, the El Paso Herald-Post editor asked Olvera to ride the same road to see whether it was that dangerous.

Olvera gave a prison guard a few bucks during the course of reporting a story. Hilariously, he jotted down "bribe" on his expense report.
Another time, he used his street savvy to access El Paso's most notorious gangs.
Olvera also posed as a farmworker, witnessed the abuses of farmers, and experienced a chile picker's backbreaking labor.
Over the years, Olvera called out racism when he saw it. He even ran for mayor at one time. He fought with editors and fellow reporters who, he thought, mistreated Chicano reporters. He also battled against "taco beat" assignments (covering sappy Hispanic events) just because he was among the few "Mexicans" in the newsroom. He resented being used as a translator for his Anglo colleagues.
He talks about how corporate journalism influenced local newspapers and how advertising dollars, rather than the public interest, often influenced how news was covered.
"Chicano Sin Fin!" is a wonderful exploration of a Chicano in journalism, the kind of book that should influence others in Olvera's footsteps to re-examine whether they are still doing the "taco beat" or real investigative journalism that lands you in tight spaces.
Raymundo Elí Rojas is the editor of Pluma Fronteriza, a publication dedicated to Latino and Chicano writers in the El Paso-Juárez-Las Cruces region.

Meet the author

El Paso author and journalist Joe Olvera will discuss his memoir "Chicano - Sin Fin!" at the Tumblewords writing workshop at 11:45 a.m. June 14 at Memorial Park Library, 3200 Copper.
The book is available at amazon.com and other online outlets.
To learn more about Olvera, e-mail joeolverwrites@gmail.com or go online to www.joeolverawrites.blogspot.com.
Information: 539-6365; e-mail

lorena.garza11@gmail.com

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To order the book contact Zapata 1910 Press, Attn: Lorena Garza(lorena.garza11@gmail.com)

Look for it in other venues in the near future

Read Joe Olvera's hot new book Chicano - Sin Fin!

May 2008

Zapata 1910 Press is proud to present Joe Olvera's new book Chicano - Sin Fin! Memoirs of a Chicano Journalist (ISBN 978-0-9777992-9-9; May 2008; $17.95).

Buy the book at www.amazon.com and other online retailers. We will keep you informed of bookstores and other outlets that also will carry the book.

Educational institutions may order bulk copies through the publisher's wholesalers.

Read the book review by Ray Rojas in the El Paso Times, May 25, 2008.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/living/ci_9371372

Write the author at joeolverawrites@gmail.com

A schedule of Joe's future book signings and presentations will be posted here:

- June 14 (Saturday): Joe Olvera will lead a workshop for the Tumblewords Project and discuss his new book; 11:45 a.m. at Memorial Park Library, 3200 Copper Ave., in Central El Paso.

- June 28 (Saturday): Joe Olvera will present his book at the La Fe Cultural and Technology Center; 2 p.m. at 721 South Ochoa (rear) in South El Paso.

Do we create our own illnesses?

Dr. Michael Crichton, author of many best-sellers and creator of the Jurassic Park trilogy, remarks in his book, Travels, that sometimes we tend to create or invent our own illnesses. I agree with him, because that's what happened to me in 1998.

I had suspected all along that I was a diabetic. I had the classic symptoms - I was always thirsty, I had to frequent the bathroom to urinate, I was always hungry, and I was dehydrating - fast. I was in denial, of course. Sick in bed because gangrene had attacked an infection on my small toe on the right foot, I refused to even see the doctor.

That is, until my wife, Julieta, threatened to call an ambulance to take me to emergency. I realized that the ambulance would charge me $500 for the trip, I forced myself to get out of bed and allow myself to be dragged, kicking and screaming to emergency. Once there, the surgeon told me that my little toe might have to be amputated. I was aghast, scared, frightened, and every other emotion you can imagine.

Did I bring this on myself? In a way, I did. Why? Because I didn't take care of my problem immediately. Instead, I allowed it to fester. My toes grew blackened, only it was no longer just my little toe. All my toes became black and useless. The doctor amputated all five toes on my right foot, after removing only the smallest one. The amputation of the little toe didn't stop the spread of gangrene to the other toes, so there you have it. I was an amputee. But, it didn't stop there. Six years later, my whole foot became blackened and rough - once again, with gangrene. This time was easier for me because it was my decision to have the entire right leg, below the knee, amputated. However, it was my decision. I superseded the doctor, who told me he was only going to clean it. But, I decided against that.

So, did I cause my own illness? I believe I did because I ignored the disease until it was too late. Amputating my leg had been my own decision, so I was able to deal with that horrible scenerio. Today, I am active, still write and still give public lectures and motivational speeches. I can't walk very far on my prosthesis because it starts to hurt. But, I can walk. I can't walk very fast, but I can walk. If I caused my own disease, then it behooves me to deal with it and to come to terms with what life has handed me. Life didn't do this to me. I did it to myself. Perhaps if other ill people come to grips with their own illness, they'll have a much better chance for recovery. Sure, my leg can't be replaced. But, I can walk with my prosthesis. I've always been an optimist. Despite my health problems, I'm still an optimist.