La Voz

Issue date: 6/4/07 Section: College Life

Media Credit: Julia Eckhardt

Alfredo Vea walked into room WTC 309 in an unassuming manner, marked by his criminal de- fense lawyer wear.

Vea spoke at the Reading and Writing Center Tuesday, May 22, and was invited to read from his work and discuss culture. Among his books is "Gods Go Begging," which was named by the L.A.

Times one of the best books of the year in 1999. Some of his books are required reading for several EWRT 1B courses.

Vea weaves his stories together to demonstrate a single element: the importance of culture.

He grew up as a migrant farm worker, to later become a Vietnam veteran, then supported himself through college doing odd jobs. He is now a criminal defense lawyer and writer.

Student Rosy Contreras asked Vea why he decided to become a lawyer. "So the person I'm representing might turn to me and see a person of the same color," he said.

Culture is intrinsically and even scientifically important, Vea said. He encourages people to care about other languages besides English, which he said does not need to be the world language as it is becoming. "Get out of the cultural stupor, get rid of your automobile, your cell phone, whatever your TV taught you, and ask yourself 'What's left?' The answer would be 'A lot.'"

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