JonArno Lawson is the author of two books of poetry for adults: Love is an Observant Traveler and Inklings, as well as a contributor the Th e Chechens: A Handbook edited by Amjad Jaimoukha. He lives in Toronto.
Alec Dempster was born in Mexico City in 1971 but moved to Toronto as a child. In 1995 he moved back to Mexico, and settled in Xalapa, Veracruz where his relief prints eventually became infused with the local tradition of son jarocho music. Alec's conversations with rural musicians, presented along with thirty linoleum portraits, have been published recently as Faces and Voices of Son Jarocho. He has produced six CDs of son jarocho recorded in the field, but is perhaps best known for his two loteria games -- El Fandanguito-Lotería de Sones Jarochos and the Loteria Huasteca -- which include over a hundred prints. He has had solo exhibitions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, France… and Spain. Alec now lives in Toronto. His own son jarocho group Café Con Pan is currently in production on their second CD Nuevos Caminos a Santiagowhich will be released in May 2012 as part of the Lulaworld festival.