Dead Chicano Mixtape - by Vincent Rendoni (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Dead Chicano Mixtape hits different. It hits hard. This isn't just a book. It's a raw, unflinching remix of mortality, narrative, and heritage. Part reanimation of the past, part reimagining of the future, Dead Chicano Mixtape fills the gaps of memory, race, and culture with myths and characters too big for this life--and the next. Here, absent fathers mingle with Kaiju-sized abuelas. Past-their-prime tíos crack beers with the God of the Dead. Superpowered sisters cross paths with Speedy Gonzales. All of them asking that burning question: how do you live? If you're looking for contemplation or meditation, look elsewhere. Dead Chicano Mixtape will hit you in the gut, leave a ringing in your ears with its songs on your lips long after it's gone.

Review Quotes

"Don't miss out on this stellar collection by a sure-footed poet we'd all be lucky to hear from for many years to come."
--Danusha Laméris, author of Blade by Blade and The Moons of August

"Gaps in multiracial lineage haunt the imagination. Rendoni's imagination haunts back. Caught between Latine machismo and the white gaze, he packs poems full of mythological rewrites. He reveals the deep power and connectivity in Chicanx storytelling. We witness a sly poetic voice chew up the colonial narrative, spit it out, and bat it between two skillful paws. You're gonna want to see this cat play."
--Felicia Zamora, author of Interstitial Archaeology

"Hilarious, energetic, and tender when such sentiments are tagged into the page, Dead Chicano Mixtape confronts the triumphs, tribulations, and absurdities of a culture that demands our attention and revels in our applause. What you have here is a brilliant sophomore collection that isn't afraid to rumble. Here's to hoping your song is playing at the end of the match."
--Esteban Rodríguez, author of The Lost Nostalgias

About the Author

Vincent Antonio Rendoni is the author of A Grito Contest in the Afterlife, winner of the 2022 Catamaran Poetry Prize for West Coast Poets selected by Pulitzer Prize-finalist Dorianne Laux. His poems have appeared in AGNI, Prairie Schooner, Copper Nickel, Ninth Letter, Pleiades, Alaska Quarterly Review, december, and elsewhere. He lives in White Center, WA.