Tony Ray Baker
Hi, I’m Tony Ray Baker with Remax and GayTucson.com, And today we’re here with Carlos Valenzuela, and I’m super excited to talk to you about your new book. Well, how… Welcome first of all!
Carlos Valenzuela
Oh, thank you very much. We actually get to shake hands. This book is about nine months old. It came out in April of last year, so it’s almost going to have a birthday party.
Tony Ray Baker
Oh, nice. So, Carlos, how long have you been in Tucson?
Carlos Valenzuela
I’ve been in Tucson for 10 years, now, I’m going on at 11. I moved here, well my last pit stop was from Chicago, Illinois. I lived in Lakeview, which is,
Tony Ray Baker
I’m from Chicago!
Carlos Valenzuela
So you’re familiar with Boys Town. I came to Tucson, and Tucson was not a random choice, because I’m originally from the border area of Douglas Arizona, and Agua Prieta, which is part of the setting for Letters to Young Carlos.
Tony Ray Baker
Nice. So let’s delve into that. You, this young Carlos would be you?
Carlos Valenzuela
No, not really. There is, what I did was I sort of didn’t fictional setting using what I knew of the town and the time. In other words, I think if anybody is watching us and, their writers or would like to write, they probably could understand that as a first-time author, I would have a much easier time writing about my hometown as a setting. Than, for example, the jungle of Brazil, which I have nothing in common with. So it is, although in on the introduction right away. I do say this, I’ve had a wonderful, wonderful life, but not as wonderful as to deserve publication. So this is a fictional work. I mean, people always ask me Tony, is that your father? And no, this is a very bad man the father. My father was wonderful. He was a very nice man.
Tony Ray Baker
Yeah, nice. That’s why I wanted to get into that part with you right away. Um, tell me. So can you give me a little premise, or give us a little premise on what this is about?
Carlos Valenzuela
This story is about a young gay boy growing up in the 19 in the late 50s, early 60s along the border. And what it is that he went through a lot of it borrowed from my life and borrowed from the couple of other gay people that I managed to know, ever, in that hometown and the challenges and struggles.
I also revisit the 1960s and 50s as an era, when men were totally in charge of everything, and you kind of stepped out of the way if they were coming regardless. And women’s roles were very diminished. I mean, you were very lucky if you were married to a man who was successful and that you considered that a real achievement. And there’s a, I have a sister, or there’s a sister Bonita in the book, who is actually the sister, and you begin to see the signs of rebellion in women. Like, “I’m not going to put up with that,” with the sister, but not with the mother.
Tony Ray Baker
So there’s a little pushback?
Carlos Valenzuela
A little. So so there’s a little bit of that in it. And of course, there’s a little bit of church in it, because in Young Carlos, the book starts when he was like seven years old, and he’s an altar boy. And, you know, we have Padre Sancho, and he’s telling him that, you know, he can’t even go to the movies if it’s not an “A” movie. So all of those influences are in there and revisited in a way that I hope and readers have told me that they really find it to have a bicultural feeling. There’s some stuff about Douglas and how it is in the United States and some stuff about, you know, small town, homophobic, Catholic leaning, small town, Agua Prieta at the time.
Tony Ray Baker
Nice. What? So what would, what would you like the folks watching right now, what would you like them to know about picking up this book?
Carlos Valenzuela
Well, I’m always so grateful if somebody picks up the book, because again, for those of you that are not authors or have not gone through the publishing, or self-publishing, a first book is not like a moneymaker, you know? And I knew that going in and still continue to do it because it’s the message that I feel is so important about understanding how it is to be gay if you’re not.
A lot of people from my generation, or I should say, quite a few have said, “you took me through memory lane, to a place where I remember all of those things.” But what I would like for them to know, because the story has a good ending, I mean- the challenges are overcome in other words. And I think it’s a come-from-behind story where if you, if you really try, if you really accept a little bit of the struggle, but keep pushing, you’re going to make it.
Tony Ray Baker
I love that message. That’s a great message.
Carlos Valenzuela
Yes!
Tony Ray Baker
We’re sitting here at Hotel McCoy.
Carlos Valenzuela
I love this hotel, Yes. Yes.
Tony Ray Baker
I haven’t gotten to peruse through the whole building but I’m doing that next. We’re in front of the Barrio Books, and they carry your copy.
Carlos Valenzuela
That they do. They do…
Tony Ray Baker
I’m sorry. This is the Spanish and English versions correct?
Carlos Valenzuela
The English? The Spanish version just came out a month ago.
Tony Ray Baker
Nice!
Carlos Valenzuela
It took an act of faith and a lot of work to translate it because the translation is not just into Spanish. I wanted it to be northern Mexico, Spanish, which, you know, we do have our accents just like you do here with English. You know with the Bronx and California, you can definitely tell the difference. So I had to have it redone a couple of times until I felt that the people were speaking like we spoke in the 1960s and Northern Mexico.
Tony Ray Baker
That’s really cool.
Carlos Valenzuela
Yes, there’s some words that we would use that aren’t even used today, but they were the common one (at the time.) So I took on the translation and I’m hoping people like it.
Tony Ray Baker
I’m super excited for anybody who speaks Spanish, yes. And from that era, yes, that will be a trip down memory lane. It’s really great that you went to that extent.
Carlos Valenzuela
And they can come right here with Syrena at Barrio Books and pick up a copy.
Tony Ray Baker
That’s awesome, thank you so much. I’m so excited about your book. Are you planning another one already?
Carlos Valenzuela
I am planning on the sequel. And I, I like to to write about this message. I mean, Tony, I’m 76 years old now and I, there’s a generation of us that really went through a tremendous amount. I mean, when we were in our 20s and 30s, it was not a nice world. And we went through AIDS. And I did. I survived all of that. I think it’s for a reason. And I think it’s for me to let everybody else know that, you know, everybody’s cool. Yeah, everybody’s good.
Tony Ray Baker
And if you keep pushing, you can make it.
Carlos Valenzuela
And if you keep pushing, you can make it. Yes. Yes, just be grateful for what you have and accept everyone allow everyone to be themselves, and you’d be surprised what a relief that is. It’s like taking a big weight off your shoulder when you don’t have to judge people anymore. Yes. That is the gift of being queer.
Tony Ray Baker
That’s awesome, thank you so much!
Carlos Valenzuela
You’re welcome.
Tony Ray Baker
So good to see you again. Thank you. And we have a question from the audience. Jenn is behind the camera. Thank you, Jenn. And the noise you’re hearing is a gentleman washing the sidewalks. Yeah, if you’re picking that up.
Carlos Valenzuela
And I have to let everybody know, I have a very bad crush on Jenn.
Tony Ray Baker
Everybody has a bad crush on Jenn.
Jenn Hopkins
Where can we find you next?
Carlos Valenzuela
My book or me?
Jenn Hopkins
I heard you might be at the Tuscon Festival of Books.
Carlos Valenzuela
Oh, oh, oh yes, I would. I will be at the Tucson Festival of Books, but you can also, if you check GayTucson.com or Tucson, the magazine, the online magazine you might be able to read me there too.
Tony Ray Baker
Talk about it Jenn real quick, no? (Laughter.) Doing some guest blogging for our website.
Carlos Valenzuela
Yes, I am.
Tony Ray Baker
And Jenn, are you setting up a separate page for him for his blogs are will be under blog.
Jenn Hopkins
It’s gonna be under blogs. And I’m talking with James today to set up his own authorship. So it won’t be, I won’t have to add in Carlos and then my pictures under it. It will just be Carlos. You’ll have your own section now.
Carlos Valenzuela
Well, that’s good. That’s great. Thank you so much. We are. We’re all in this together,
Tony Ray Baker
That’s right. I’m excited that you’re gonna be writing for us.
Carlos Valenzuela
Thank you. Thank you for allowing me.
Tony Ray Baker
That’s really fun. So thank you so much.
Carlos Valenzuela
Bye!
Tony Ray Baker
I’m Tony Ray Baker with Remax select in Tucson. All right, if you need anything, give me a call at 631-8669 area code, of course, is 520 and look for our app, just search Tony Ray and the Google store, or the Apple Store.
That’s Tony Ray, T-O-N-Y-R-A-Y And you’ll see our app. And we’re going to have great places like Barrio Books here behind me in that app under fun local shops. Have a great day, bye!
