“One Last Song for My Father,” one of my most emotionally significant books, continues to inspire me in so many ways. As an artist, I’m always looking for ways to add dimension to my words. In my imagination, music is always the next creative frontier. I’ve discovered I can use the magic of AI to create songs that enhance the spirit of the book. So please enjoy this new tune inspired by one of the…
Continue reading“Long-gone times will never repeat. The love we lived will be forever.” —Victoria, from the play One Last Song for My Father In March of 2020, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and it marked worldwide seismic changes that resonated even more noticeably here in our American backyard. This momentous time in history marked a quantum leap that transformed our fundamental way of living, working, and creating. It was during the lockdown, in search of…
Continue readingI am six years old. The early brightness of the rising sun makes me squint. In my hands I hold the bright colored fruit my mother handed me for breakfast. As I admire its porous roundness, its citrusy sweet aroma penetrates my nostrils. I’m sitting alone on the stoop where Papa finds me before going to work to dig out sand to sell. “What are you doing here?” he asks, sitting by my side. And…
Continue readingIt finally saw the light of day! My new play adaptation of One Last Song for My Father was invited by the Kennedy Center to be workshopped as part of their Local Theatre Residency program, March 25-29, 2024. It was a brief yet intense week of rehearsals culminating in a captive audience getting a first glimpse of this adaptation of my recently published memoir. In yet another iteration in my creative career, this was my…
Continue readingEl Adoquín Timesagosto 19, 2023 Uno de los momentos más difíciles y dolorosos que puede pasar una persona es ver a uno de sus seres queridos perder la memoria -por alguna condición de salud- hasta el punto de ni poder reconocer sus familiares más cercanos. Así fue lo que vivió el autor puertorriqueño Edwin Fontánez, quien recientemente lanzo su libro La última canción para mi padre: Memorias de un hijo, un homenaje a su padre,…
Continue readingEdwin Fontánez was recently a guest on the Latino Book Chat podcast hosted by Christianne Meneses Jacobs. He discussed the inspirations for and lessons learned from writing his memoir One Last Song for My Father. >> Listen to the Episode
Continue readingAS SEEN IN Arlington Magazine, May/June 2023 The songs of nature and lazy Sundays were reminders of things unsaid. I could smell it in the charged air. Rain was about to come. The trees became agitated as the wind rolled vigorously through the persianas and into my room. Sitting on the side of the bed, I waited for the deluge as the pummeling sound of raindrops over the grove and the orange tree became a…
Continue readingAward-winning author, artist, and designer Edwin Fontánez will be among the roster of acclaimed international artists participating in the Kennedy Center’s upcoming festival RiverRun: art nature impact. The festival is inspired by the saying “Rivers are the arteries of life” and will explore and celebrate the culture and art that has been fed by the rivers of the world through exhibitions, performances, lectures, and activities. The festival begins on World Water Day (March 22) and…
Continue readingI know I’m not alone in wishing for a time-traveling machine that would take me back to those days when life seemed more “benign” and living was easier. But that is just a fallacy, a way of romanticizing the past to find a secure space to hide from the hard times we are facing today as a society. To live in the past is a fool’s errand, but to ignore it also obscures the path…
Continue readingThe story behind my inspiration for One Last Song for My Father Those who experience this memoir, my most personal work to date, will discover messages of longing, loss, and ultimately love. When unforeseeable circumstances threaten to tear apart the family fabric, we all have feelings of hopelessness. Facing my father’s illness compelled me to take on this personal examination of my father’s life. Since his passing at age 92, I sought to find the…
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