Jan. 2012 Issue 3
My Hero She wears combat boots and camouflage. She is always on the alert protecting her platoon. Sometimes she feels like giving up and leaving everything behind, but she knows her people look up to her. She is not afraid to break a nail or to get down and dirty. She will take down a billion men if she has to‌to protect her team. It is a daily fight for her and I thank her for protecting my rights and freedom. Thank you to all Army women, My Heroes. ~ Cinthia Gutierrez, San Benito
Cover Art by Felix Mendoza, San Benito
SPEECHLESS in the RGV INTRODUCTION Speechless is the creative writing & art FREE magazine of the Rio Grande Valley. This is an opportunity for the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas to showcase its young artists. Art is subjective and means something different to every person. It is in a constant state of change, so you can never really pin down what it is other than thought provoking.
Speechless in the RGV The Unlikely Hero Issue Issue # 3 Esmeralda Noyola, Director
Go online to see a list of our sponsors, drop off points, an extended bigger version of this issue, and past issues. Speechless NOTE: Speechless in the RGV will be coming out every month. No work or any part of this issue may be reproduced without the written consent of the artist or writer. We are always looking for submissions. All ages are welcome. Include your name and e-mail. For more information on Speechless in the RGV contact E. Noyola, at SpeechlessMagazine@live.com LIKE us on Facebook: facebook.com/speechlessRGVmag The views reflected within this issue do not represent the views of Speechless in the RGV ; in fact, the views expressed by any speaker or character in any statement, poem, drawing, photo, painting, or short story do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone. This is an artistic and creative expression of the artists & writers. This is art.
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Angel Arreola, San Benito
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Table of Contents Cover Art by Felix Mendoza
Cover
My Hero by Cinthia, Gutierrez
Cover
Slash by Angel Arreola
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Dreamland by Alexandra Y. Hernandez
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The Kat's Meow by Ruby Red
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Kat's photo by Veronica Galvan
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City by Alex Mata
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I Want to be a Hero by Bianca Mena
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Shadow of a Hero by Bryan Guzman
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My Hero by Alexandra R. Arredondo
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Insignificant Child (excerpt) by Jocelyn Garcia
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Mirror by Leeroy Zuniga
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She's A Villian To Me by Alexandra Y. Hernandez
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Blader by Jose Olguin
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Be My Hero by Esmeralda Noyola
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Happy There by Yazeem Guerra
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Desperate by Bryan Guzman
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The RGV is Speechless by Ruby Red
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Like You by Ruby Red
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Hero by Tommy Johnson
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Photo by Dark Creatures
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Beautiful Lady by Rogelio Garcia
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Villain by Marco Tapuro
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Portrait by Jenn Alva
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Portrait by Yazmin Pe単a
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Don't Need Super Powers by Nashvill Huerta
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Between Our Realms by Adam D. Harris
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Hero by Cristo Arevalo
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Meet Kat! Kat Galvan s a very talented 7-year-old from Weslaco, Tx. She designed awesome glasses and debuted her work at the 1st annual Local Yokel Fest on Dec. 16th at Al Basha in McAllen, TX organized by local artist Estrella. She was very well received. Kat is now open for business and will be popping up at art festivals all over the RGV and sharing with the RGV’s local artists. Go online for EXTRA pictures of The Kat’s Meow! ~ Esmerala Noyola, Mission
Kat Galvan , Weslaco
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I Want to be a Hero My nephew’s name is Gilbert Garcia Jr. I want to be his hero. Junior means the world to me. I’ve always wanted to be a tía and now I am. I take care of him like if he was my own. He may only be a year old, but he changed my life. I thought to myself, “Hey, I need to grow up and think more about things because I’m going to be a tía. “ I want to be there for him when he needs someone to talk to or when he can’t go to his mom. I want him to look up to me. The point I am trying to make is that I love this kid! ~ Bianca Mena, San Benito Alex Mata, San Benito
My Hero Your Hero wears a cape and tights…. Mine wears large sweater and a sundress… Your Hero has the ability to fly and crush stuff… Mine has the ability to give warm hugs and make cookies…. Your Hero has a fan club… Mine has me as their number one fan…. Your hero saves many….. My Hero saved me. Your Hero is super and famous…. Mine is ordinary and great. Your Hero has a comic book…. Mine loves telling stories…. Your hero is Superman. Mine is my Grandma. ~ Alexandra R. Arredondo, San Benito
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Bryan Guzman, La Joya
Insignificant Child by Jocelyn Garcia, Roma The night was dark and still. A heavy sensation fell upon Olympus. Not a soul laughed or rejoiced. Everyone strayed far away from Hera, who lay in an abyss of sorrow. She was impatient and losing of her mind. No one dared to step near her, but Hades strolled in. It was no coincidence for Hera herself had summoned him over. As he walked in, he noticed Hera was in a frenzy that overtook her being. She stood in the middle of her room, and looked like a speck of dust amidst all of her belongings which she rummaged through with aggravation. “Greetings precious,” Hades states trying to lighten the mood. He approaches her steadily as if not to disrupt a baby’s dreams. Even though she stands before him, she seems to be far away in some place of solitude. She continues with her desperate search and suddenly breaks downs exclaiming, “Where is it? Where did it go? My beauty and the pride I boasted about with delight…where is it?” Hades tries to disregard the question for he knows it is not meant for him. Instead, he reaches out to her and holds her wrists as she stubbornly tries to shake him off with no achievement. They quarrel for a while; he slams her against the wall and seals the door with frustration. It’s quite unusual because as Hera shoves Hades away she shifts forward with a perplexing sense of desire. Neither of them understands what’s going on, but both seem to allow the moment to continue. Suddenly, they give in to each other unexpectedly, and converge into one as if they were a couple of crazy adolescents discovering the meaning of lust. Hera sat down on the edge of the bed and carried a conversation with Zeus. All the while she tuned in and out he went back to that night which had happened a couple of weeks ago. She had shared it with Hades, who went from being her brother-in-law to the most delightful elixir of life. As Zeus continued babbling on and on, her thoughts shifted around in distress. She could already sense the small person inside her beginning to grow. Puzzled, Hera began to contrive a plan to hide her bastard child. Nobody could ever find out about her intimate night with Hades. It would surely be a catastrophe in all of Olympus. Also, since she had never betrayed Zeus before everyone felt sympathy towards her and justified all of her immoral acts. This time however, she knew that everyone would surely look down on her. With a determined sigh she remarked, “I’m going away.” Zeus was in the middle of a sentence and was taken by surprise, his eyes made their way to hers and with a nod he returned to where he had left off. So it was set, she was to leave today. There was no time to be wasted. Hera was going to live on Earth in some dark and pitiful caverns that attracted no human eye. The child would be brought up by some earthling and nobody, not even Hades, would ever know of its existence. Once again Hera found herself in the desolate darkness of her thoughts. She sat in the cold piercing floor of what had been her home for 7 months now. This was it; she could feel the moment rushing with full force towards her. The child in her womb lay perfectly upside down and was as still as a rock. “Hmm,” she captured all of the air around her and kept it in for a moment. Indeed, this was it. “Ahh ahh,” she cried in anguish. It took only a few minutes for a gracious baby girl to come into the world. Hera held her with delicacy and pronounced, “Ariadne.” Although Hera knew she would love to watch her child grow into a powerful goddess, she could waste no time in keeping her any longer. Ariadne was to grow as an insignificant earthling and nothing more. Hera gathered her feelings and bottled them up as she transformed herself into a feeble troubled lady. As soon as her eyes fell on the beggar sitting down on the sidewalk she knew she had found the perfect match for Ariadne. Of course these were the last conditions she wanted her daughter to grow up in, but after all Ariadne was a bastard, which was in everyone’s eyes below any poor fool. This beggar was blind and with a scarred face but had the warmest most jubilant heart any human could have. Since the beggar could not see her, the task was much simpler than she expected. All she did was held his hands and placed the baby on them; she whispered that she was ill and that she needed to leave her child’s life with someone who would surely take great care of her. The man smiled peacefully and only said, “Don’t you worry my dear, for I will love and care for this little one like she was my own. What shall I call her?” A smile slowly spread across Hera’s pale face, “Ariadne, for she will be a pure loving soul.” As Hera lifted herself up, Ariadne’s hand wrapped itself capriciously around her finger. It seemed like she was pleading Hera not to abandon her. Guiltily Hera dashed before the beggar could utter another word. The old beggar laid thoughtfully and remembered the day he had first held Ariadne in his arms, it seemed like it was only yesterday yet twenty years had already gone by. “Shall I get you a blanket papa John?” questioned Ariadne with concern. “Please my dear and some soup too for my stomach shouts in emptiness.” She perused with anxiety
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because she doubted there would be any soup left from the day before. Ariadne and the old beggar were now living in a small humble house not far from the city so as soon as she realized there was only a tiny drop left she fled to the store. As she strolled back to her house Zeus laid eyes on her and his heart raced with hunger for love. Originally, he knew he was out looking for a pretty distraction but never did it occur to him that he’d come face to face with pure beauty. He waited patiently for his prey to be alone, and as soon as the old beggar fell into a heavy sleep he made himself visible to her. Ariadne’s face burned with embarrassment as soon as she saw Zeus’ charming face. Although his beauty was immense it didn’t possess her at all. She bowed down her head with gratitude and thanked him for laying eyes on her but she strictly emphasized that she would never allow herself to love him. She knew he was taken and loved by another more precious woman for whom she felt great love towards without even knowing why or how and so she respected Hera and forbade Zeus to look for her ever again. Of course by the time Zeus reluctantly agreed to leave, Hera had already spotted him and felt her insides kindle with a fire of hatred. Hera opened and slammed doors as she made her way towards Argos Panoptes who had always been her intimate friend and took care of her little troubles. “He will surely know how to exterminate this one,” she thought to herself. She approached him and said, “Argos I need your assistance now. You are to annihilate an insignificant girl who thinks she is better than me.” “Hera my dear, your wish is my command,” he replied with simplicity. “My command contains only one word my dearest, torture.” Hera smiled with repugnance, sat down and crossed her legs looking like the most expensive porcelain doll. “Just a thought Argos, why wait any longer, let’s act on this now while the lovers remain together,” Hera stated firmly. He nodded and both made their way towards Ariadne’s home.
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“Surprise my love,” Hera said in disgust looking at Zeus as he approached the door. “Going somewhere?” she questioned. Argos immediately grabbed Ariadne and shook her with restraint. Her warm brown eyes widened and she shrieked. The hostile environment grew thicker on everybody’s skin. Argos’ stare pierced right through Ariadne’s pure soul. Zeus stood bewildered and stunned; he looked at Hera and lied to her face saying that Ariadne was unimportant and that both her and Argos’ presence were unnecessary and ridiculous. Hera’s anger only flourished with this. Ariadne pleaded and told Hera how she had abstained from Zeus’ love in respect for her. Hera’s abhorrence only incremented with this and she said, “Do I look like a child to you! Are you trying to make a fool out of me! Very well then, you shall feel my wrath! Argos, you are to skin her alive and pull out nail by nail, then feed her to the dogs for all I care.” At the sound of this Zeus felt appalled and mortified. He knew he would not allow that, and so he reached out for his thunder bolt. At the sight of this Hera thrust herself before Argos in the hopes of preventing his death. She believed Zeus would never hurt her, but to her misfortune he did not hesitate on zapping her. Ariadne, Argos and Zeus stood in fear as a great cloud of smoke enwrapped Hera’s body. “Gulp,” everyone swallowed with terror as their eyes settled on Hera’s appalling body which shook with pain. The courageous Argos and great Zeus stepped back with amazement at the sight of this. The beautiful amazing goddess looked sickening. Her skin was gone in most of her body, and the pieces that remained were of a black burnt color. The goddess that smelled like flowers on pure spring now carried the odor of an overcooked piece of meat. Ariadne, forgetting about the wrath Hera had towards her, paced slowly to her side. She knelt down besides her and to everyone’s surprise, she took her hand softly and caressed her face. She not only forgave but loved Hera. Ariadne’s eyes welled up with mournful tears and her body shook letting out heartfelt sobs. Magically, Ariadne’s tears ran down her face and landed straight into where Zeus had zapped Hera. They enclosed the damaged portion of her skin, in which was left a dark and deep whole. At that very moment the whole universe was brightened by a powerful ray of light. It seemed like the sun had fallen and exploded right before everyone’s eyes. This explosion was a pure mystery to everybody for it had never been experienced before; it was after all the uniting bond of mother and daughter and expressed the power hidden on the insignificant girl which everyone disregarded. by Jocelyn Garcia, Roma
Art by Carlos Flores, McAllen ISSUU.COM/SPEECHLESSINTHERGV
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by Leer
oy Zuni
ga, La J oya
She’s A Villain to Me She won't shut up Won't leave me alone Won't stop hurling these insults at me -sharp as stones. She never let's me win Always finds someway my day to ruin And every time I see her, she always has -something bad to say, To me. And I would punch her! Kick her! Hurt her! If only she weren't hiding behind the mirror. ~ Alexandra Yuritzi Hernandez, McAllen
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Be my hero!
Jose Olguin, Mission
According the Suicide Prevention Recourse Center 42% of gay boys and 72% of lesbian girls commit suicide every year because of bullying or feelings of desperation and loneliness. Speechless in the RGV wants to let our GLBT high school and college students know that you are not alone. Find help. Tear out our yellow ribbon card on page two of all our magazines and give it to an adult or a friend. I want to be your hero. ~ Esmeralda Noyola, Mission
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Happy There The sky so bright even though it is cold. The moon so big how is that so? The river water look at it flow. That you were gone I didn’t know. You sent this message, “You’re finally home.” Just love and peace no rules no wrong. You feel no pain no tears anymore. You’re happy there no life of war. A better place where you fly and sore. I’ll miss you though. I hope you know my dearest friend I love you so. ~ Yazeem Guerra, La Joya
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Desperate by Bryan Guzman, La Joya
The RGV is Speechless. Speechless in the RGV on the other hand is not. We did not be remove teen suicide reference pieces in this issue and apologize for any offence. Teen suicide awareness is important to us and we want to recognize that it's an issue that needs to be addressed. This magazine will continue to be an outlet, a vent, for the teens and young adults of the Rio Gande Valley. Feel free to express yourselves and continue submitting you REAL hard hitting stories to Speechless in the RGV. We support all issues that are important to RGV students including, but not limited to, Valley Pride, The Dream Act, growing teen violence, anti-cartel teen recruitment, & the Nalional Anti-Bullying initiative. You will not be ignored.
Like You LIKE you, like me We are the same, you see? On the other side One corner of the valley to another We wanted to go on no further
There were two teen suicides in the RGV in November 2011. One of these made national news. Speechless in the RGV extends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of these two teens. San Benito and La Joya...from one side of the valley to the other...let us stand together. ~ Ruby Red, McAllen
LIKE you, like me We are the same, can it be? On the other side Now I’m not alone. LIKE you, like me We are the same, and now hear me. From the other side This is where I realize That I wasn’t alone In wanting to go home
Like you, LIKE me I want you to know That like you, I was in the shadows too. Only needing an ear From a friend like you. ~ Ruby Red, McAllen Tommy Johnson, San Benito 13
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Dark Creatures, Brownsville
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Marco Tapuro, La Joya Beautiful Lady I’ve been dreaming of her lately. Dreaming we’re getting married and she’s wearing a beautiful long black dress. There’s black everywhere. The entire wedding décor is black. My dream wedding has come true. My first love was run over by a drunk driver three years ago and died. I loved her so much that I couldn’t accept the fact that she wasn’t with me anymore. Thoughts of suicide were with me at all times. I just couldn’t accept reality. One night, I dreamed I was with the most beautiful lady in a black wedding dress. I’ve had this dream many times before and every time I woke up I wondered who she was. This time was the last time. We were getting married. I was so happy, but I still didn’t know who she was. At the moment I grabbed her hands all the people from the church disappeared. Even the pastor and it was just me and her alone. Then, she revealed her identity and it was my first and only love. I kissed her and I disappeared. My first love came for me and I never woke up from that dream. Now we’re together forever. Not even death will keep us apart. Our love will burn more fiercely than the fiercest star for ever and ever. Rogelio Garcia, La Joya
Jenn Alva, San Antonio
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Yazmin Peña, San Benito
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Nashvill Huerta, San Benito
by Cristo Alvarado, La Joya Between Our Realms As I walk the path of death in the Dark Realm of Eternum. I see a girl with white wings standing in front of a door that reads “DEATH” in an ancient language. I look at her and I stopped. “Who are you?” I asked as I stood straighter trying to hide my fear. “I am Akira, an angel from the Light Realm of Eternum.” She replied in a calm and soothing voice. “Why are you here?” I asked. “For you dragon, it is not your time.” She replied with a smile. She extended her hand and I took a step back scared and afraid. “Don’t be afraid, Dragon Child, I won’t hurt you.” She added with a smirk on her face. I took her hand and I saw sun light. I felt the wind and hear the birds chirping. “Where am I?” I asked curiously smiling as I looked at the sky. “You are reborn in a world between our realms, the human world,” she replied brushing her hair to one side of her face. “Thank you,” I said with a smile as I looked at her as she smiled back. “You’re welcome,” she said as she disappears in a gleam of light towards the sky. ~ Adam D. Harris, San Benito
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