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| Book launch - Ramor Ryan, Zapatista Spring |
"Zapatista Spring" by Ramor Ryan
Party, book launch and reading
22nd October, 8:00pm-00:30am
Dj- music- byob
Seomra Spraoi, 10 Belvedere Court, Dublin 1
http://seomraspraoi.org/
http://akpress.com/2011/items/zapatistaspring
"Ramor Ryan is a brilliant story-teller, and Zapatista Spring is impossible to put down. In this vivid account of democracy and solidarity in action, the pages overflow with humanity, wit, and the mountains and mud of Chiapas. This candid story should be read by anyone who has been inspired by the Zapatistas."—Ben Dangl, author of Dancing with Dynamite.
In "Zapatista Spring", Irish activist Ramor Ryan tells the exhilarating story of eight international volunteers working with indigenous campesinos to build a community water system in a Zapatista hamlet called Roberto Arenas in Chiapas, Mexico. A fantastic storyteller, Ryan vividly brings to life the interpersonal dramas of the international brigade, the challenges of doing Zapatista solidarity work amidst a dangerous climate of right-wing military repression, and day-to-day life in a remote Tzeltal community of subsistence family farmers. Ryan's writing is especially rich and you really feel like you're in the Lacandon Rainforest, knee-deep in mud, experiencing first-hand the mountains, rivers, snakes, alligators, and mosquitoes that comprise this tropical bioregion. The eight volunteers are themselves fascinating characters that you will enjoy meeting, from Josef, a straight-edge vegan from Poland, and Nebula, an anarchist sex worker from Barcelona, to Omar, a gay Arab filmmaker, and Tlaxlocaztla, a Chicana student looking for her roots. I won't spoil the ending, but I will tell you that it is sad and tragic and all too typical of the Mexican government's campaign to crush the Zapatista movement. (To find out what happens you will have to read the book!) In summary, not only is it highly important and informative, it is also really good literature. Moreover, it is also visually very beautiful, containing many powerful black-and-white photos of Chiapas and an awesome cover.
