Category: Events

Events

LAS COMADRES CELEBRATES ITS MEMBERS’ ACCOMPLISHMENTS & BOOK NEWS

Join Las Comadres Para Las Americas in celebrating its Members’ Accomplishments and Book News for August. 

Vector illustration of a woman winning a race. One of a series

ACCOMPLISHMENTS (in English and/or Spanish) 

Sally Acevedo (Austin, TX) – Su nuevo blog; “Creer Sin Dogmas” es un espacio para explorar la espiritualidad sin ataduras, a través de reflexiones profundas, mitos e historia. Descúbrelo aquí: https://open.substack.com/pub/sallyear Sally tiene certificación en Inteligencia Artificial. Plataformas ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok y otras Plataformas de generación de contenido y lenguaje. 

Sandra Dominguez (El Paso, TX) – Congratulate Sandra on her New Job as Clinical Education Coordinator at The Hospitals of Providence. 

Mirta Rinaldi (Queens, NY) – On April 2025, Mirta got a Diplomatura Universitaria en Sommelier de Yerba Mate from Escuela Argentina de Té. Yerba mate is the national drink of Argentina, and she’s very proud of this achievement. Now, a “matear” con Mirta!!! 

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 COMADRE AUTHORS 

 Congratulations to our COMADRE AUTHORS on their latest publications. 

Maritere Bellas (Los Angeles, CA) – Her bilingual children’s picture book, TIO RICKY DOESN”T SPEAK ENGLISH/ TIO RICKY NO HABLA INGLES, will be released in October by Lil’Libros.

Karen Gonzales (Denver, CO) – RAMAS Y RAICES: THE BEST OF CALMA was honored as an Anthology Finalist at the 2025 Colorado Book Awards on July 26, 2025, celebrating Colorado’s best literature published in 2024. It will be the Conversations With Book selection of the Las Comadres & Friends Book Club in September, 2025. Karen is co-founder of CALMA and one of her stories appears in the anthology. 

Mireya Perez-Bustillo (Brooklyn, NY) – Three of Mireya’s poems were accepted for publication in Voices-online journal of Li2program at G-Center CUNY. 

Nimia Ramos Beauchamp (San Juan, PR) – She self-published a AYurPermaVerse Coloring Book series for middle grade children, which has proven very popular. 

Gabriela Rives (San Antonio, TX) – Her book, I CHOSE YOU, was just released by Editorial Portable. This is a Self-Help/ Motivational book, and also available in Spanish – YO TE ELEGI. 

 Lourdes Ruan (Lewisville, TX) – Her book, PAIN, MASTER OF LIFE, is full of autobiographic anecdotes. It is available in Spanish as well, DOLOR, MAESTRO DE VIDA. Dr. Lisette Sanchez (Long Beach, CA) – Her article, “Why Being ‘The Strong One’ Is a Form of Self-Sabotage,” was published in Oprah Daily! On July 21st. Here is the link: https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/health/a65417974/real-strength-rest-healing/

Congratulations to all ! 

Disclaimer: This list is for promotional purposes only and not intended as an endorsement of any kind.

MEET THE RGV-HARLINGEN / MIDVALLEY COMADRES

Gloria Chavez Casas is the Facilitator for MidValley Comadres and has been since 2000 when the original facilitator Cristina Balli moved to San Antonio and asked her to take over. 

The MidValley Comadres have met every month since 2000— that’s 25 years!  They meet on the third Thursday of each month. Usually one of the Comadres hosts, if not Gloria’s house is always open to her Comadres.  They meet every September 16 in celebration of Mexican Independence Day at South Padre Island and invite other Comadres from the Valley.  They eat at a restaurant (Dutch), take lots of pictures and dress in their Mexican attire.  Everyone looks forward to this day.

Also, in the summer they meet in a popular restaurant in Weslaco.  They invite Comadres and friends for supper (Dutch) and listen or dance to Mariachi’s present. This gives them a chance to meet new Comadres and other Comadres from the Valley. 

This past year, they added going to movies as a group and visiting cultural places and/or places of interest.   They attend Harlingen Mayor’s monthly meeting and Coffee held in the community. They always wear their Comadres shirts and always get recognized.  (Gloria orders the t-shirts with her money and then sells them to members.  Not as a fundraiser or money maker.)

Gloria has kept a sign-on-book for years with names and phone numbers. Therefore, she can always keep in touch.  She encourages other city networks and friends to form a Comadres network group.  She places pictures and meeting announcements on Facebook every month to inform the community of their activities and actions.  *

LAS COMADRES & FRIENDS NATIONAL LATINO BOOK CLUB ANNOUNCES BOOKS OF THE MONTH FOR AUGUST

The Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club is pleased to announce its Books of the Month for August:

ONE SUMMER NIGHT by Caridad Pineiro – family feuds have kept these childhood sweethearts apart for far too long. Now they are breaking free.

ART ABOVE EVERYTHING by Stephanie Elizondo Griest – author travels to 10 nations where she interviews legendary artists, painters, poets, dancers, et al and asks them is art enough?

For complete book summaries and author bios visit:  www.latinolit.com.

SAVE THE DATE!  Mark your calendars for Monday, August 25, 8pm ET for the monthly zoom Teleconference where we will get a chance to talk to the authors and ask them about their books.   

Register today for the teleconference and you may win a FREE BOOKhttps://latinolit.com/join-teleconference/

Subscribe to the Las Comadres YouTube Channel for more author interviews.  Here’s the link to last month’s teleconference:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9oFSBen7sg

AND!  Check out our Summer Reading List.  20 hot reads here:  https://latinolit.com/2025-summer-reading-list/

Happy Reading and Always Read Latino Lit!