I once complained to Eduardo Galeano that I felt homeless. His reply: “You have many homes at once.” Well, this was true, I realized, after giving it some thought. Many doors have opened in the past and taken me in when I had nowhere else to go or didn’t know my next address. Sometimes it was a room of my own that was offered, and sometimes it was the whole house. I thank all who have generously sheltered me.
Borrowed Houses: Cavanaugh O’Leary and Blanca Uzeta O’Leary; Sara Stevenson and Richard Queen; J. Frank Dobie Paisano House; Foundation Michael Karolyi; the Mabel Dodge Lujan House; Arturo Madrid and Antonia Castañeda; Juan Ríos and Estévan Rael Galvez; Rosemary Catacalos; Norma Cantú and Elvia Niebla; Alfred and Julie Cisneros; Tey Diana Rebolledo and Michael Passi; Denise Chávez and Daniel C. Zolinsky; Ruth Béhar; Dennis Mathis; Tracy and Teresa Boyer; Phyllis López-Kirby.
Home-Sweet-Home Publishing Houses: Gary Soto and Lorna Dee Cervantes’s Mango Press, Norma Alarcón’s Third Woman Press, Joni Evans and Julie Grau of Turtle Bay, and my current home, Vintage and Alfred A. Knopf. Mil y un gracias. Belated gratitude: Back in the day, when Woman Hollering Creek first appeared, Ann Beattie gave me one of my first blurbs. I want to thank her here finally in print since I was too shy to write and thank her back then.
Construction workers: Macarena Hernández, Yvette DeChávez, Erasmo Guerra, Ruth Béhar, Norma Alarcón, Dennis Mathis,
Liliana Valenzuela.
Good Cents: Nely Galán, Tracy Boyer, Marie Silverman. Good Sense: Ida Roldán.
Feng Shui Expert: Gayle Elliott.
Literary Curanderas: Dr. Sonia Saldívar Hull and Dr. María Herrera Sobek. Art Duendes: Tey Mariana Nunn and Cesereo Moreno.
Contractors: Dr. Tey Diana Rebolledo and Dr. Carla Trujillo.
Home Team San Antonio: It takes a village to move a writer. My thanks as always to Bill Sánchez, Alejandro Sánchez, Roger Solís, Josephine (Josie) F. Garza, Macarena Hernández, Ray Santisteban, Natalia Treviño, Miguel García, Jessica Fuentes, Irma Carolina Rubio, Juanita Chávez, Daniel Gamboa, Dave the Cowboy Chávez, Nancy Barohn, Roger Vásquez, Ann Van Pelt.
Equipo México: Ernesto Espinoza López, Eunice Chávez Muñoz, Francisco Ramírez Arzolar, Benjamin Huerta García, Rodolfo Ybarra, Cyndy Severson, and especially madrina Mary Katherine Wainwright, who nominated me for the San Miguel Writers’ Conference 2011. Brujas: Diana Phillips and Gaby Vidrio. House midwife: Susan Rensberger. Divina Providencia House Seller: Karen Reyes.
Home Inspection: Josie F. Garza, Macarena Hernández, Ito Romo, Liliana Valenzuela, Gayle Elliott, Norma Alarcón, Susan Bergholz, Ruth Béhar, Charlie Hall.
Foundation Work: David Kepes, Susan Bergholz, Bill Sánchez, Roland Mazuca, Orlando Bolaños, Olivia Doerge Mena, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, Eve Porter, K. T. Whitehead, David Rodríguez, John Phillip Santos, Richard Blanco, Ruth Béhar, Josie Garza, I’rene Lara Silva, Moises Silva, Kristin Naca, Francisco Aragón, Kathy Sosa, Miryam Bujanda, Cynthia Pérez, Dr. Ellen Riojas Clark, and Ramiro Salazar.
Animal Wranglers: Yvette Benavides, David Martin Davies, Christianna Davies, Betty Padilla Beck, Debra Múñoz-Bratina, Rebecca Martínez, Monica Riojas Wozniak, Macarena Hernández.
Documentation: Visual—Thanks to all the photographers who gave permission for us to use their images. See the illustration credits for the long list of people I am indebted to. A special thanks to Diana Solís, Lourdes Portillo, Ester Hernández, Josie F. Garza. Audio—My thanks to Scott Cresswell and Daniel Garcia for guiding me through the audio recording of this book. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun.
Archivists: Josie F. Garza, Roxanne Rose Peña, Bibi Lobo, and especially Ray Santisteban.
Landscapers: Cassandra Pappas and Stephanie Ross, who designed this book exquisitely.
Architect: Robin Desser, who gave me a wonderful blueprint and inspiration as the house went up. Thank you, corazón de melón, for your ojitos. Gracias is due as well to Robin’s assistant, the diligent, ever efficient Jennifer Kurdyla, for custom, quality craftsmanship.
All-Around Handypersons: Amor, gratitud, y más amor a las hermanas de mi corazón, Josie F. Garza and Macarena Hernández, who worked weekends, evenings, and holidays on this book as lovingly and tenaciously as if it were their very own. ¡Qué suerte la mía!
Madrina de las Letras: la Santa Susan Bergholz, a candle with a flame like a conflagration. Eres mi protectora. Bendita sea.
To all, those here with me now and those who are spirit, my friends, teachers, and ancestors, who opened the path that I might be here this moment, gracias.
Virgen de Guadalupe, estoy aquí para cumplir.