The irreverent and never irrelevant Gustavo Arellano, known nationwide for his controversial column ¡Ask a Mexican!, will be arriving for a book signing starting on Friday, April 20 at Café Olé, 121 So. San Francisco St., Flagstaff.

In a message to CHAC via Facebook, Arellano said the talk will begin at 5:30 p.m.

“… Hope to see ustedes there!” he said.

Arellano is on a nationwide tour to promote his book “Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America.” He was scheduled to be in Santa Fe on April 19 and will then head to Tempe for a book signing on April 21.

Arellano is no stranger to Flagstaff, at least in his writings.

In a column that appeared nationwide in 2011, including the OC Weekly, he addressed a shout-out by a Flagstaff resident.

… GOOD MEXICAN OF THE WEEK: A wholetown. Consider the following letter:

Last fall, Flagstaff’s Museum of Northern Arizona hosted the seventh annual Celebraciones de la Gente, partnering with the local organization Nuestras Raíces, which is based around the historic Hispanic families of Flagstaff. The weekend focused on the celebration of Día de los Muertos, but included music, dance, art, even formal presentations: Zarco Guerrero on the artist Lalo Guerrero and discussions by Carlos Velez-Ibanez (director of the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University) and Miguel Vasquez (anthropology professor at Northern Arizona University). I particularly enjoyed the ofrendas set up around the museum courtyard by Flagstaff families. These were attended by family members (often three generations) who answered questions and told their family histories—a wonderful opportunity to learn some history and culture, not from professors or books, but from our neighbors.

So . . . a shout-out to our Museum of Northern Arizona and only somewhat less directly to our little town of Flagstaff. It ain’t utopia here, but we’re doing pretty well as a pocket of sanity in a state sporting the meanest gun-slinging sheriff in America, a governor dumber than Palin and a state legislature bent on taking us down the road to madness.

One Old, Straight, White Man Who Still Thinks We’re All in This Together

DEAR GABACHO: Gracias for the reminder that sane people do live in Arizona because between Arpayaso, Jan Brewer and Russell Pearce, your state is a couple of beans short of a burrito. Also, the Flagstaff City Council voted to oppose Senate Bill 1070. Book a vacation up there, folks, and people who are interested in the Museum of Northern Arizona can visit online at musnaz.org.

For more information on his book tour, visit http://www.gustavoarellano.net/