 As a child, Cesar Chavez lived with his family behind this house, in a storage building. La, Colonia, Oxnard, 2018. Photo by author. WARNING: Please do not do what I did. This was the most backwards way to go about writing a book! Also, this post is SUPER long!
I have been a professional writer living in my native San Diego for over a decade now. I've written for loads of online outlets, a few magazines and have even picked up a couple of awards along the way. I guess I imagined that I would one day write a book. I just never imagined it would be this book. So then, how did we get here? It was early 2018. After quite a long run, I had shuttered my beloved and very successful blog, Nacho Mama's Blog. I felt it had run it's course and I was ready for a fresh start. I had already begun my latest blogging venture, The Chingona Homesteader, in which I endeavored to try my hand at the so-called "urban homesteading" movement (despite a deep dislike for the reintroduction of that extremely problematic word, "homesteading," into the vernacular-which we can DEFINITELY discuss at a later time!). Among my many projects related to this new blog was an attempt to re-design my tiny front yard, with some professional help, into a "tiny farm," based on the gardens I remembered seeing throughout my childhood on visits to La Colonia, where both my parents were born and raised. THEN, in mid-March, I got an assignment from a cultural organization I have worked with, off and on, over the years. They are based on the east coast and had received word about a west coast event featuring Latina artists and they asked if I could possibly go and check it out. I didn't need to write anything, just give them my opinion on whether there was a real scene happening in this part of California. The assignment was right up my alley (I have a degree in Art History and a career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in my past), so I said, "Sure! Where in SoCal is it?"
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 Children of Ramona Elementary School celebrating 4th of July, La Colonia, Oxnard, early 1980s. Photo courtesy of Martha Muñoz Rodriguez Welcome to my blog for all things "Growing Up in La Colonia!"
This is where we can all catch up on what was involved in bringing the project to fruition, and what lies ahead as we share these remarkable stories with the public at large. I'll also be sharing my adventures on the road (often with my mom, Sandra Porras, who worked on the book with me) as we get to meet all of you in person and find out what questions and memories YOU have! Please check back here often, subscribe to the RSS feed or to my author page on Facebook for updates! Looking forward to "meeting" you! Margo |
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