National Book Festival Highlights Prominent Latino/a Authors

*From the article: “Among the more than 120 authors were Latino writers from the United States and a variety of Latin American countries, including some who specialize in ‘crossborder’ themes.” VL

By Patricia Guadalupe, NBC News (4.5 minute read)

Latinos figured prominently at the 16th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival in downtown Washington, D.C., held September 24th at the city’s convention center – two enormous buildings the size of 35 football fields.

Among the more than 120 authors were Latino writers from the United States and a variety of Latin American countries, including some who specialize in “crossborder” themes.

Luis Alberto Urrea, a native of the Mexican border city of Tijuana and a creative writing professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, entertained a packed room with stories of his family, including his Tía Flaca (Aunt Skinny), and a cousin who had a deep voice at 7 and a “Zapata mustache” at 11.

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“I was deeply infected with storytelling from the get go and I truly love it. There is beauty in our roots. Sometimes we think our roots are shameful and people tell you that you’re no good or your ancestors are no good, or that you come from a neighborhood of no hope and terrible crime,” Urrea said. “But it’s about the beauty of those places, and I carry that with me. I became obsessed with capturing the daily lives. I would sit all morning and watch them sift through the pinto beans and I would tell them my newest poems and stories, and they would say ‘Ay Luisito, you talk so pretty.’ I feel responsible to the ancestors and people who are gone.”

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