By Roberto Rivera

It is important work that Oscar Mireles, poet laureate, renaissance man, and faithful editor of, “I Didn’t Know There Were Latinos in Wisconsin,” presents to the reading public (unfortunately, a dwindling number in a dumbed down 21st century USA). Now, as he prepares the fourth volume in this series, it remains a worthwhile and enlightening endeavor that should be required reading for anyone interested in Wisconsin and its amazing people.

It is fitting that that the fourth generation of this book is released at a time when anti-immigrant sentiment rears its ugly head once again. Much as it did in Wisconsin’s past, targeting successive waves of immigrants from, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Poland, and other mostly Eastern European peoples. Likewise, current and historical political influences can and have created divisiveness largely driven by nativist sentiment of which Latinos are the primary target.

The writings in the first three editions give voice to the Latin@o diasporas that now live in Wisconsin. Whether recently arrived or like my family, sixth generation, the authors explore topics that are timeless and timely. With humor and sometimes brutal honesty, the poems and stories articulate tales of love lost and found. The loss of innocence and regaining strength through the power of words. The forgetting that is part of a loved one’s lapse into Alzheimer’s.

Words and strings, like Ariadnes thread, the authors weave their magic through memories, shadows, and hope from deep in their Afro, Indigenous, European, Asian, and now Wisconsin souls. Root echoes that tell stories of resilience, survival, political consciousness, and in-your-face cultural pride resonate through each page of these wonderful books. The depth and breadth of the feelings/experiences from the profound to the mundane shared by these gifted writers is a revelation. The questions raised — some answered, others not and a few pending are thought provoking. The journeys of self-discovery and finding their authentic voice/self, even as they deal with their first Wisconsin winter. Looking back as they live in the present and creating a better future is inspiring.

Most importantly, you will learn what it means to be human through moving words describing the fleeting opportunities offered in this time we call, life. The fourth volume will continue this great literary tradition of poetry as life. Including poetry in the time of COVID. A memoir from Mexicans in Milwaukee since 1916, and much more. As the great poet, Jose Montoya stated,

“Latina ghosts in their voices giving us a bit of our story, his story, her story in their storic fashion. History that can’t be denied, and when you make that kind of history — you resent being de-historified. Thank you, Mr. Mireles for presenting the writers whose poems and stories we can’t get enough of. Yes, there are great Latino writers in Wisconsin — and also curanderas. Heal yes!

Roberto Rivera is a Milwaukee native and retired undergraduate admissions officer at the University of California-Berkeley. He is the founder of “Los de Abajo,” a San Francisco Bay Area music, literature, and wine society. He currently resides in Waukesha.