Ron Arias
Encyclopedia
Ron Arias is a former senior writer and correspondent for People magazine and People en Español
. He is also a highly regarded Chicano
writer whose novel
The Road to Tamazunchale has been called "one of the founding texts in Contemporary Chicano/a Literature."
. He attended Stuttgart American High School in Ludwigsburg, Germany. His university education includes Oceanside-Carlsbad Community College
, Universidad de Barcelona
, UC Berkeley, Universidad de Buenos Aires (where he studied Middle English
under Jorge Luis Borges
), and UCLA where he received a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a master’s degree in journalism.
Arias served in Andean Peru as a Peace Corps
volunteer, and some of his experiences in the Andes inspired his novel, Road. Another influence on his decision to become a journalist was his search to learn why his father withdrew from the family after the Korean War
. He spent 30 years as a journalist, 22 of them at People. He has also worked for Caracas Daily Journal, the Buenos Aires Herald, and contributed stories and columns to The New York Times
, Revista Chicano/Riqueña, The Christian Science Monitor
, The Nation
, and the Los Angeles Times
. After retiring from magazine journalism in 2007, Arias taught biography-writing at California State University, Dominguez Hills
.
His best known work is The Road to Tamazunchale, for which there are around 20 critical studies listed at the MLA
database. The novel radically breaks with the tradition of Chicano literature that focuses on learning to understand reality, constructing a Chicano version of history and bringing order to the world. Instead, Arias' protagonist is more a creator of worlds than an interpreter of them.
, which he was assigned simply because he was the only staff member who speaks Spanish.
, currently residing in Tokyo
, Japan
.
People en Español
People en Español is a Spanish-language American magazine published by Time Inc. that debuted in 1996, originally as the Spanish-language edition of its publication People...
. He is also a highly regarded Chicano
Chicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
writer whose novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Road to Tamazunchale has been called "one of the founding texts in Contemporary Chicano/a Literature."
Early life
Arias is a native of Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. He attended Stuttgart American High School in Ludwigsburg, Germany. His university education includes Oceanside-Carlsbad Community College
MiraCosta College
MiraCosta College is a community college located in the northern coastal region of San Diego County, California. MiraCosta College is located at 1 Barnard Drive, Oceanside, California 92056. It also has a campus in Cardiff-by-the-Sea and a Community Learning Center in Oceanside.- History :MiraCosta...
, Universidad de Barcelona
University of Barcelona
The University of Barcelona is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia in Spain. It is a member of the Coimbra Group, LERU, European University Association, Mediterranean Universities Union, International Research Universities Network and Vives Network...
, UC Berkeley, Universidad de Buenos Aires (where he studied Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
under Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
), and UCLA where he received a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a master’s degree in journalism.
Arias served in Andean Peru as a Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
volunteer, and some of his experiences in the Andes inspired his novel, Road. Another influence on his decision to become a journalist was his search to learn why his father withdrew from the family after the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. He spent 30 years as a journalist, 22 of them at People. He has also worked for Caracas Daily Journal, the Buenos Aires Herald, and contributed stories and columns to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Revista Chicano/Riqueña, The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
, The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
. After retiring from magazine journalism in 2007, Arias taught biography-writing at California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Dominguez Hills is a public university located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County and was founded in 1960...
.
Literary work
Arias has been called "a post-modernist who integrates in his fiction a keen eye for actual Mexican-American experience." His work is influenced by twentieth century Latin American literature. Arias focuses on urban Chicano life, especially "the struggle between imagination and rationalism and the transcendent possibilities of ethnic pluralism."His best known work is The Road to Tamazunchale, for which there are around 20 critical studies listed at the MLA
Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature...
database. The novel radically breaks with the tradition of Chicano literature that focuses on learning to understand reality, constructing a Chicano version of history and bringing order to the world. Instead, Arias' protagonist is more a creator of worlds than an interpreter of them.
Journalism
Arias worked for People magazine from 1985 until 2007, and has become known both his interviews with famous people and for his coverage of major disasters all over the world. He says that he is "the magazine’s ‘parachute journalist.’On every continent, I covered five wars, famine, earthquakes, hurricanes, all kinds of disasters in Haiti, Somalia, Ethiopia, Australia, Vietnam, Moscow, you name it." His first major disaster article was the 1985 Mexico City earthquake1985 Mexico City earthquake
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake that struck Mexico City on the early morning of 19 September 1985 at around 7:19 AM , caused the deaths of at least 10,000 people and serious damage to the greater Mexico City Area. The complete seismic event...
, which he was assigned simply because he was the only staff member who speaks Spanish.
Marriage and children
Arias' only child is filmmaker Michael AriasMichael Arias
Michael Arias is an American-born filmmaker active primarily in Japan.Though Arias has worked variously as visual effects artist, animation software developer, and producer, he is best known for his directorial debut, the anime feature Tekkonkinkreet, which established him as the first...
, currently residing in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Published works
- The Road to Tamazunchale, novel inspired by his time in PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
(1975) Bilingual Review Press, Univ. of Ariz. - Five Against the Sea, survival tale of five men who survived 142 days drifting at sea (1988) Dutton/Penguin.
- "Healing from the Heart," with Dr. Mehmet Oz (1998), Dutton.
- White's Rules: Saving Our Youth One Kid at a Time (with Paul D. White), story of a Canoga Park teacher's response to killing of a student (2007), Random House
- Moving Target, a memoir (2002), Bilingual Review Press, Univ. of Ariz.
Awards
- Nominated for National Book AwardNational Book AwardThe National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
for The Road to Tamazunchale - Top Prize, University of California, IrvineUniversity of California, IrvineThe University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
, Chicano/Latino Literary Prize for The Road to Tamazunchale - First Place, Los Angeles Press Club Award for People magazine's coverage of the Laci PetersonLaci PetersonLaci Denise Peterson was an American woman who was the subject of a highly discussed murder case after she went missing while seven and a half months pregnant with her first child. Peterson was reportedly last seen alive on December 24, 2002...
murder. (2004) - Latino Literary Hall of Fame Award, Best Biography for Moving Target (2003)
See also
- ChicanismoChicanismoChicanismo is a cultural movement begun in the 1960s in the Southwestern United States by Mexican Americans to recapture their Mexican, Native American culture.-Major themes:...
- List of Mexican American writers
- Latin American literatureLatin American literatureLatin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous languages of the Americas. It rose to particular prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the...
- Post-modernism
External links
- CSU Dominguez Hill article on Arias (accessed March 2008)
- Peace Corps Online (accessed March 2008)
- UCLA bio (accessed March 2008)