A Wonderful Testament to 'Of Aztecs and Conquistadors'

[Brian L Porter]

I received a wonderful message from a lady called Darlene Campbell on Outsider Writers yesterday. Darlene is from Kentucky but has roots in the Aztec Culture and her words moved and touched me deeply. I'm so grateful that my book could engender such feelings. She has given me her permission to reproduce her words here, and this is what she had to say.

First of all, I honestly DO think this cover is awesome, and secondly, I just discovered your work and can hardly wait to read it! My great-great-grandfather was Aztec [Mexica]. He came here a little over a hundred years ago and my family has been in the southeast U.S. ever since. For a time, my grandfather and my father tried to hide their heritage because they didn't want to be different. All my life, knowing of my Mexican heritage, I felt drawn to the meso-American nations but it wasn't until I became an adult that I discovered just which area of Mexico and which people my great-great-grandfather had come from. I love my Appalachian heritage and it is very strong, but I also have come to embrace that certain aspects of my family's lifestyle and traditions came with my g.g. grandpa who passed them to his children and a few still survive to this day, although their origins have become obscured by time. Thank you for doing work that honors the beautiful poetry of my ancestors. I have saved your site to my favorites and plan to visit often.

Darlene

http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/e

Please vote for 'Of Aztecs a... http://thenewcoveycoverawards.blogspot.com

[Tom Cooke]

That is a feather in your cap that you need to keep. So many of us in los estados unidas didn't cross the border, but the border crossed us, and many, like Darlene's ancestors, quietly drifted into the mainstream culture with little or no motivation to share their heritage. I suspect being of Mexican/Indian descent at the turn of the 20th Century was probably not a subject that was tossed around at social events. The memories of the Indian Wars and the constant battles on la frontera were still too close. Villa made raids into the US during my Dad's lifetime and my Mom's father was eight years old when Geronimo was captured. Not exactly ancient history.