Editor’s recommendation and credits:

Tino Villanueva has graciously permitted us to publish his poems from “Scene from the Movie GIANT” (1993).  We are certainly humbled. A few recommendations to the reader are in order.  First, Dr. Villanueva suggests that the reader watch the movie (or watch it anew) and pay particular focus to the fight  scene.  We have included a clip from the movie elsewhere here.  Dr. Norma Elia Cantu and Drs. Arturo Madrid (Prof. Emeritus, Trinity Univ., San Antonio) and Dr. Antonia Castaneda, among many others, recently organized the Fourth Annual Arturo Madrid Symposium in Latin@ Art (April 6, 2021).  We thank them and Trinity University for granting us access to the Symposium’s program, parts of which we have included in this edition of IberoAztlan.  Be on the lookout, Dr. Cantu advises that some recorded sessions from the Symposium may soon be made available. Perhaps we can include some of those in the June edition of IberoAztlan.

Finally, you must read Jaime Armin Mejia’s piece, entitled “Memories and Poems and Songs of the Radicalized Past In Texas.   Dr. Mejia shares his personal friendship with Dr. Villanueva.  That background may be helpful to interpret Villanueva’s deep poetic vault, including “Scene from the Movie, GIANT”.  Finally, if it is another layman’s review of the poem that might interest you, read my review of “Scene from the Movie GIANT”.

The poem follows in full in multiple parts and can be enjoyed over a period to time.  First, do watch the movie clip; then you might want to read Dr. Jaime Armin Mejia’s piece. After that get after the poem.  It is a hard read.  Hopefully, the added materials will be of some value to an understanding of the poem.