WASHINGTON, DC, 17 July 2022 — The Contra War unfolded almost exclusively in the country’s northern mountains bordering Honduras with minor incursions from Costa Rica led by Sandinista defectors. Fighting never really came to the capital, which posed special challenges for people like me who wanted to cover the conflict. To do so, I had […]
BRONX DOCUMENTARY CENTER, New York, 4 March 2022 — We had an engaged, lively audience at the Bronx Documentary Center last week as I presented my memoir, Wait for Me: True Stories of War, Love and Rock & Roll. Thanks to Mike Kamber and his crew for a wonderful visit and the opportunity to meet […]
Friends, Colleagues, As you may recall, the event planned for December at the Bronx Documentary Center was postponed because of the spike in the pandemic. The book presentation and discussion now is scheduled for Friday 4 March at 6 PM at the Bronx Documentary Center. See https://www.bronxdoc.org/events/bdc-conversations-bill-gentile/detail?fbclid=IwAR0KTYPTpdI_3Ros6ThlAjvXXvr_qauTsWzBZic5tGR4Bwb3MRRN3lJ2CvY At the event, I’ll raffle off a couple […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 22 July 2021 — In discussions with readers of my memoir, “Wait for Me: True Stories of War, Love and Rock & Roll,” I’m learning that too few are accessing the website designed to complement the book. Go to www.waitformebook.com and listen, chapter after chapter, to the music that accompanied me during my […]
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, 1989 — I never liked El Salvador. It had extracted too much blood from too many people and too many of its victims were my friends and colleagues. A tiny and overcrowded country, El Salvador had a menacing, sinister feel about it. Death squads prowled the streets at night and frantic, […]
Excerpted from the memoir sub-titled, “A True Story of War, Love and Rock & Roll” Lt. Francisco Noel Talavera (L) is a 19-year-old from the northern mountain city of Jinotega. He has a bad complexion and the habit of spitting through the gap in his two front teeth. He also happens to be the commander of […]