There is no truth except imagination. Once upon a time, the truth was the Earth was flat. That was the truth for more than one thousand years and to disagree with that truth was to be tortured for imagination. Once upon a time, the truth was that I was supposed to be a dishwashing convict criminal and to disagree with that truth was to fight the universe. I chose and continue to choose to fight the universe with my most powerful weapon, my imagination. But how, how can we possibly fight against the universe with only imagination? How can we … Continue reading Ben Bac Sierra’s “Inventing Your Destiny” Presentation, Thursday, November 17, 2011

“What doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.” I think Nietzsche meant well, but this point is incomplete. Believing in his logic, I feel, helps us to justify our suffering, but to fully accept his quote is to use suffering as a crutch to comfort us into a make-believe that we are better people for our pain. The reality is that every human being on this planet is expected to tolerate the pain! Everyone dies a little (or a lot) every single day, and I cannot in good conscience believe that we all become much, much stronger every day simply from … Continue reading Active Engagement

Ya Basta! student club sponsored this great event. Lowriders and literature! Lots of interest around campus. One of my favorite in the Barrio Bushido reading installments. Here I am reading from “El Santo” and “The American Dream” chapters. Then you will see a great dialogue between myself and the audience. Excellent questions from grassroots gente. Please enjoy this and share it with your friends. Allow it to play while you concentrate on it, work around the house, or walk to work. Ben Bac Sierra Continue reading City College Barrio Bushido Reading, 4-14-2011

    Click on the link here at the end of this sentence to obtain the forty five minute reading of Chapter One Losing Balance Hello Everyone, I have converted Barrio Bushido’s first chapter: “Losing Balance” into audio format. Check it out and spread this sample to your friends. Soon the entire novel will be an audiobook ready for sale on Amazon and at my readings and other events, such as the Cesar Chavez street fair and San Fran’s Carnaval in late May. Always My Best, Ben. Continue reading Barrio Bushido Audiobook, Chapter One: Losing Balance

Hello Friends, The crack epidemic of the 1980’s and 1990’s was one of the worst devastations our varrios ever experienced. Crack forced women to abandon their children, sons to steal from their mothers, and kids to go hungry and become demoralized. In my novel, Barrio Bushido, I confront the reality of this devastation by providing a magical narrative from the Santo character. Santo is the saint of the streets. He loves unconditionally and sees beauty even in hell, as long as he can sacrifice and give strength to his gente. In the video you are about to watch, he has … Continue reading San Francisco Book Reading Video “El Santo and Maricela”

Negative thinking can be powerful; it can give one a powerful high and feel intensely rich, but ultimately, it is destructive, not only of objects, but destructive of self. One becomes addicted to hate, and in that atmosphere it is difficult to smile. The best argument I can give in favor of negative thinking is that it can make a person tough and resilient and destructive driven. In war, this can be useful. Although there are many flaws to the philosophy of positive thinking, it is a way of life that more fully leads to happiness. Through positive thinking it … Continue reading My Argument for Positive Thinking

Hello Everyone, Here is a video of yesterday’s Barrio Bushido “El Santo” reading at Pegasus Books in Berkeley. Enjoy! Chapter Seven: El Santo             I know nothing but repetition and nonsense and can tell you nothing you do not already know. I cannot tell you of magical experiences beyond the grave or of adventures in mythical Utopia. I can tell you only of the jokes I have played, the blood I have shed, the tears I have cried, and the many moons that have passed for me since I was brought into this existence. I cannot tell you of emotions … Continue reading Pegasus Barrio Bushido Book Reading in Berkeley

Hello All, Pues, because everyone said “break a leg,” I went and upped the ante and broke two bones in the same leg 🙂 Thank you all for your warm wishes and for volunteering. I am about to go on a surgery trip, gente—a magical trip that is going to leave me incoherent for about a week. After the surgery I know I will be sleeping a lot and also I’ll be heavily medicated. I figure that the best I can do is to enjoy the ride and converse with the ephemeral and perpetual spirits out there. I do think … Continue reading “Break a Leg”

Hello Friends, Follow these links to a San Francisco Bay Guardian reporter and an SF Weekly critic commenting on Ben Bac Sierra and Barrio Bushido. Enjoy! San Francisco Bay Guardian article: http://www.sfbg.com/2011/02/15/crazy-homeboy?page=0,0 SF Weekly Preview: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2011/02/benjamin_bac_sierra_brings_tal.php Continue reading Crazy Like a Homeboy