Robert Blosser, Political Science + English, Class of ’21

Brief Summary: Although they comprise nearly half of Houston’s population, Latinx folk remain underrepresented and marginalized in the city’s literary/arts scene. The experiences of Tony Diaz, a successful Latino writer and the founder of Nuestra Palabra, reveal the racialized barriers to engagement and representation faced by Latinx artists. This paper demonstrates the difficulties of attaining an equitable literary infrastructure in a capitalist system and suggests potential solutions to this problem.

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The Latinx population of artists in Houston has been creating top work for years, and it is finally being recognized thanks to people like Tony Diaz and Rich Levy. There are a plethora of talented Latinx artists in the Houston area that have their work studied in classrooms and shown at large book fairs in Texas. The continued recognition of talented US Latinx artists will put Houston on the map as one of the prime cities for the arts in the US. It is crucial that the wide array of Latinx art is noticed and passed down to future generations. There must be more recognition of Latinx artists and their work now and in the future.

Unfortunately, many of the academics and artists of Houston’s Latinx community are reluctant to attend particular events due to racialized barriers to engagement with the city’s literary infrastructures. This difficulty is explored and explained through Tony Diaz’s essay “A Night at The Opera” (2009), a very reflective personal piece in which Diaz talks about the outsider experience of attending a Houston literary reading as a US Latinx writer and what it teaches him about the importance of drawing on more talent from the US Latinx population. He discusses the fact that the audience is filled with “older white folks” rather than with people like himself, younger US Latinx artists and academics.

This is problematic to the development of Houston’s literary and arts culture and reflects larger barriers in capitalist society and how it organizes the arts. Barriers to attendance of literary readings, racial divides in the city, and the absence of literary infrastructures serving minority groups in Houston do not help create an environment where literature and the arts of all communities are able to prosper equally. Diaz also exposes the inability of the Houston arts infrastructures to utilize talent since they overlook US Latinx creative writers and academics. He understands that he must do more as a recognized author to push for inclusion in the arts.

Long-standing marginalization of Houston’s Latinx population has made it difficult for US Latinx artists to get the recognition they deserve compared to their white peers. Diligent work that spreads knowledge and brings awareness to the work of Latinx artists and writers can help to address this deficit in representation and broaden our understanding of the Latinx (arts) community. In other words, the absence of Latinx writers from school reading lists is not proof that their work is less literary; the absence of Latinx audience members at the Wortham Theatre reading is not proof that Latinx people are uninterested in engaging with literature. As non-Latinx allies, we must work to unlearn these assumptions, which themselves originate from a racist system.

On a more city-wide level, Houston must invest in and support the work of cultural programs and centers that promote Latinx art and artists in Houston. Tony Diaz argues that an important step to change the narrative of Latinx absence is to create more programs that accelerate Latinx representation, so Latinxs will become what Diaz calls “cultural accelerators” capable of increasing Latinx “cultural capital” in the eyes of the state (“The Era of Cultural Accelerators”). Diaz himself has helped further the growth of the Latinx writing community through his creation of Nuestra Palabra, a group of Latinx writers that are experienced as writer activists and open to people in the community that could benefit from help and training. His program offers workshops for Latinx community members and gives them a chance to fulfill their dreams (Deschamps).

Although they comprise nearly half of the Houston population, Latinx groups continue to face heavy discrimination in the city’s literary community. The structure of modern cities has been considered by geographer David Harvey in his “The Right to the City,” which discusses the global phenomenon of class division and the rich having advantages over others. With 26.75% of Latinx Houstonians experiencing poverty, compared with 8.8% of white residents, this directly correlates to the issue of Latinx artists not getting the recognition they deserve (“Poverty in Houston, Texas”).

Throughout Harvey’s “The Right to the City,” he mentions the power of capitalism and the destruction it has caused to society. It causes us to be constantly living on the edge and one wrong move away from a crisis. This prevents the arts from gaining needed popularity as many people are primarily worried about paying rent, paying the bills, and putting food on the table. “The results are indelibly etched into the spatial forms of our cities, which increasingly become cities of fortified fragments” (Harvey 9). A city has been developed whose structure of “fortified fragments” is not ideal for the goals of people like Tony Diaz and his program at Nuestra Palabra. It is more convenient for citizens with class advantages to retain their security and wealth while marginalized communities of artists continue to struggle. Unfortunately, being wealthy provides an unfair advantage. For a change to be made, people at the top must look within themselves to use their privilege for good, by supporting organizations like Nuestra Palabra that highlight the gifts that Latinx art has to offer.

Further, a central focus on capitalist goals and ventures can cause cities to overlook the importance of the art community and especially the accessibility of literature. This reality is being challenged by Inprint, a non-profit in Houston directed by Rich Levy. Inprint hosts readings with people from diverse backgrounds. The program also offers creative writing classes and workshops, which are great for artists that are trying to develop their skills. With programming ranging from creative writing and book clubs to senior memoir workshops and even a cafe for those that would like to develop their work in a literary-focused environment, Inprint is truly focused on helping everyone in the local community get access to reading and writing (“About Us”). This is especially important for young Latinx kids who can develop into amazing authors and artists, but who often have lower access to literary arts programming. It is clear that Levy has worked hard to create a program that not only brings top authors from around the world to speak, but that also does so in a way that promotes diversity and inclusion. As Harvey shows, the obstacles to literary/arts engagement that capitalism can create in society are significant and can only be countered with the help of people like Tony Diaz and Rich Levy.

It is important for Houston to work with leaders like Diaz to establish a Latinx art ecosystem in Houston that empowers the community to express and show their talents. Diaz’s Nuestra Palabra is truly unique and allows Latinxs from across the city to interact with one another and share their interest in literature. Since Nuestra Palabra’s inception in 1998, it has been committed to promoting the development and expression of Latinx artists. As Diaz has pointed out, the talent and interest was already in abundance, and Latinx Houstonians simply needed a platform to share their work. This has led to the inclusion of more Latinx authors in schools across Houston. It has also been the main force in creating The Houston Latino Book and Family Festivals (Deschamps). These are the largest book fairs in both Houston and the state of Texas. Clearly, the Latinx population has a lot of talent and interest in the arts that is finally being recognized thanks to people like Tony Diaz.

Houston is the largest and most diverse city in Texas, but it still lacks the proper infrastructure to cater to a growing Latinx demographic. Changing this begins with efforts like Nuestra Palabra and Diaz’s plan to reshape the reality he sees all too often: “as with the Opera, the audience [of literature] will simply get older and whiter. I say this as I see how the publishing and academic world have made an art out of missing the Latinx demographic” (Diaz 254). This is not a personal attack on white audiences, but instead a simple grievance against the systemic lack of regard when it comes to Latinx work. The Latinx artists and writers in Houston have so much to offer, but the city has consistently counted them out. It is vital to work towards breaking this cycle of marginalization and support the Latinx community’s efforts to voice their opinions through writing and art.

Moreover, Diaz isn’t afraid to state the fact that to become a respected writer, he has had to deal with large obstacles including racism and the low recognition of cultural capital for Latinxs. Limitations on physical capital have restricted Latinx art/cultural centers in Houston, and no one has taken the initiative to donate more money. This is where Diaz’s notion of “cultural capital” comes in, highlighting the power of the Latinx community to spring into action and not be hammered down by a corrupt system. In “A Night at the Opera,” Diaz expresses his power as a Latinx, stating that “on the night of plenty, those very same people who need my people the most are missing us, are not even coming close to attracting us” (Diaz 256). There is a clear notion that the Latinx population has influence and power of its own. A lack of Latinxs in the audience is harmful too for those hosting the event, especially in a diverse city like Houston. Diaz is showing that the Latinx community’s attendance of the opera is important and even necessary, but that it is inhibited by prejudiced social conventions. This is damaging to the development of Houston because it only increases harmful divisions and continues to disregard the wide array of talent in the Latinx population.

Moving forward, it will be difficult for Diaz alone to change the infrastructures in Houston that cater to Latinxs in a minimal way. There needs to be an increase in funding to improve the buildings where Latinx workshops take place. A step to improving the literary infrastructure of Houston means giving Latinxs equal opportunities to explore and engage with literature. An example of this change in society is seen through the events at Nuestra Palabra, which Diaz says “have more people, less money, more color” (Diaz 256). The establishment of diversity within the academic and literary structures of Houston is vital for equitable growth. Only as people of different cultures interact and become immersed in the literary scene can true change can happen. It will be difficult to alter the status quo of an older, white demographic at operas, but change is possible through the efforts of Diaz and a sustained effort to build Latinx cultural capital.

Equally important, a more equitable education system needs to be formed in Houston in order to ensure kids can stay in school and access the resources they need to reach their full potential. This kind of reform is one of the primary factors needed to make Houston a less fragmented and more sustainable city. Diaz understands the unfortunate inequalities in Houston’s education system and expresses that through “A Night at the Opera”. “It’s Monday night. My friend just won the Pulitzer Prize. Yet 50% of kids who look like me, who form 50% of the Houston Independent School District, will drop out of school” (Diaz 256). The reality is that Latinx students are disproportionately falling behind, while those at the top seem unconcerned. ¹ All kids in the Houston Independent School District should have a fair chance to graduate and pursue higher education if they so choose. This can only be possible once those at the top confront their capitalist mentality and realize that cities are meant for inclusion, not division.

It is interesting to get a firsthand view of these issues from Tony Diaz, who is an esteemed writer and academic. The journey for him to become a writer was difficult and took great courage and perseverance. Diaz is a testament to the strength of the Latinx population and their ability to overcome daunting odds. Unfortunately, discrimination against Latinxs is still a reality in 2020, but it causes significant issues for the development of America and, more specifically, Houston.

Because of Diaz, today, Latinxs across Houston are better able to learn and express their talent through Nuestra Palabra. The organization also gives young Latinxs access to authors and books, helping to encourage and inspire the next generation. Diaz’s work has challenged restrictive norms for Latinx engagement in the arts and provides a hopeful model for the future of Latinx writers and academics.

As Houston’s Latinx demographic continues to grow, the future of the city’s literary/arts scene is largely dependent on the attention and support given to Latinx artists. This needs to be a priority in order for Houston to develop more equitably. It is evident that the city must recognize leaders like Tony Diaz and help give them a larger platform for their work. The focus also needs to shift to creating better access to education opportunities for at-risk Latinx students. This process will take time given the long history and institutional nature of Latinx marginalization. Nevertheless, Houstonians and city leaders must work to unlearn prejudices and strive for equity. Writers like David Harvey have outlined the long-term consequences of division. This division is constantly being challenged due to the efforts of people like Rich Levy at Inprint and Tony Diaz of Nuestra Palabra. Systemic progress, however, cannot be made by the lone efforts of these exceptional few. Instead, there needs to be a concerted effort to create more inclusion in Houston in the workplace and academic world. Over time, this will encourage the growth of a more inclusive society and literary/art infrastructure in Houston. Looking towards the future, it is vital that Houston includes Latinx authors in the literary scene and allows them to get the recognition they deserve.

 

Works Cited

“About Us.” Inprint, https://inprinthouston.org/about-us/.

Deschamps, Claudia. “‘Nuestra Palabra’ Celebrates 18 Years Showcasing Latino Literature.” NBC News, 27 April 2016, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/nuestra-palabra-celebrates-18-years-showcasing-latino-literature-n562671.

Diaz, Tony. “The Era of Cultural Accelerators.” The Cultural Accelerator, 4 Dec 2018, https://www.tonydiaz.net/blog/the-era-of-cultural-accelerators.

Diaz, Tony. “A Night at the Opera”. Literary Houston, edited by David Theis, TCU Press, 2010, pp. 254-257.

Harvey, David. “The Right to the City (2008).” Social Justice and the City, University of Georgia Press, pp. 315-332

“Poverty in Houston, Texas.” Welfare Info, https://www.welfareinfo.org/poverty-rate/texas/houston.