Cafe Literario
New Web site breaks literary boundaries and makes Spanish-language books more available
Mexican-American author, Victor Villasenor discusses what inspires his writing as Esmeralda Santiago, center, and Mirta Ojito, right, look on in New York, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. (Photo/Scholastic/Stuart Ramson)
Reading is the stepping-stone to success but also a way to vent anger for three Spanish-language authors who helped launch Café Literario at Scholastic headquarters in New York on November 19. Café Literario is just one of many features on the newest—and largest—Spanish-language online bookstore, www.LibreriaLectorum.com .
Bestselling authors Mirta Ojito, Esmeralda Santiago, and Victor Villaseñor spoke about their lives as writers before an invitation-only audience. Antonio Martinez (co-anchor for Univision 41 Al Despertar) was the moderator.
Mirta Ojito
Ojito emigrated via boat from Communist Cuba to the United States when she was only 16 years old. Her book, Finding Mañana: A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus, is Ojito's own story blended with the many tales of Cubans all over the country and the people who helped them escape.
After being a journalist for more than 20 years, Ojito now teaches journalism at Columbia University. Reading was her main introduction into the world of journalism and writing. As a young child, she was always asking questions and constantly reading. Her life experiences have shaped her writing.
"Being an immigrant is my frame of reference, it is how I see the world, it is how I do my journalism," she said. "I'm always an outside observer. It's always very much part of my writing."
Esmeralda Santiago
Esmeralda Santiago has a similar yet, in some ways, entirely different background. Santiago was born in Puerto Rico. She left for the United States when she was 13 years old. She was the eldest of 11 children.
Santiago describes herself as a culture writer and has the books to prove it! She is the author of three memoirs, all of which made bestseller lists. She is also a writer of children's books, through which she says she unconsciously conveys the morals she learned through stories she knew as a child. To her, writing about her culture was a way to understand the drastic turn her life took when she moved to the United States.
"The dynamic between the two cultures [Puerto Rico and the United States] is what brought me to writing," she said. "To be a writer, you have to be a little bit apart from what is happening. If you are too much in the middle of it, you can't capture it."
Victor Villaseñor
For Victor Villaseñor, writing was a way to vent anger. Born in the U.S. but of Mexican descent, he faced much racism from his peers and even his family while growing up. Some members discriminated against the more indigenous members.
A writer of various children's books, Villaseñor retells the stories he was told as a child. He has also written books about his adolescent years and his family. When asked if he thinks racism in the United States has changed, he said that even though the situation has improved, there is still a sneaky type of racism present in this country. He was very pleased that Barack Obama was elected President.
"The whole world is changing," said Villaseñor. "We are getting out of a fear-based world."
Café Literario is a great way of introducing both English and Spanish books to everyone in the family! A rerun of the event is now available on Libreria-Lectorum.com .
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Lya Ferreyra is a Kid Reporter in the Scholastic Kids Press Corps.
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