KCRW Audience to Hear Short Stories of Mexico

When Americans think of Mexico, says Mexican television director Hector Tajonar Loyola, they are much more likely to think of its scenic beach resorts or its vibrant artworks than its contributions to world literature.

“It’s a very visual image we have of Mexico,” he said. “Very few Americans think of Mexican literature because they don’t know it.”

Loyola would like that to change. So he has taken on his first radio project: directing dramatic readings of Mexican short stories on Santa Monica-based public-radio station KCRW-FM (89.9).

The series of readings is intended to coincide with the current exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, “Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries.”

The 15 dramatic readings will air over five weeks beginning at 10 tonight and continuing on successive Monday nights, with repeats Thursdays at 1 p.m. Next year the series is scheduled to be re-broadcast on National Public Radio affiliates around the country.

“I was really very happy and enthusiastic about this because I think Mexican literature is great literature and it is not well-known in the States,” said Loyola, who is director of cultural programs at Televisa, the Mexican television network.

The program, funded by the Friends of the Arts of Mexico and the California Arts Council Challenge Program, features short stories by such contemporary Mexican authors as Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, Elena Poniatowska, Ines Arredondo and Alfonso Reyes.

“The goal of the series is to promote a greater understanding of the depth of the cultural heritage of Mexico,” said Miriam Bertram, executive producer of the series and managing director of the Friends of the Arts of Mexico. “It’s felt that outside of Mexico that heritage is not well understood. We want people to say, ‘Gee, Mexico has really great literature and this really touches my soul and teaches me something.’ ”

The stories cover a wide cross-section of styles, plots and themes.

“They run the gamut of everyday life,” Loyola said. “Some are very dramatic. Others have a lot of humor. People will hear the passionate and the greedy, the tragic, the witty, the absurd.”

“The view Americans have of Mexican literature tends to be rather folkloric,” he continued. “Through literature you really get the flavor of the soul of the country, of what a country really is. It is much more than folklore, much more complicated, much more varied.”

All the readings will be performed by Latino actors, among them Hector Elizondo, Tony Plana and Rosemarie Lagunas.

“One of our criteria was that we preferred to have Hispanic actors because it seemed to be an important aspect and something that would serve the project,” said series producer Roz Abraham. “The criteria for selection was based on being Hispanic and being very good.”

“I think this is a very important project in that people are coming together to bring Mexican literature to the public,” Abraham said. “We want to let people know that it’s out there and it’s accessible to them.”