THE LATINA BOOK CLUB

  By M.Padilla The Latina Book Club welcomes Mike Padilla, author of THE GIRLS FROM THE REVOLUTIONARY CANTINA, who graces us with a short story for Hispanic Heritage Month. Thank you, Mike. It’s beautiful. Felicidades to all of us. Once upon a time there was a boy who was taught by his immigrant parents, through cues sometimes subtle and sometimes overt, that in order to fit in it was better to not bring too much attention to the Mexican in his Mexican American-ness. Like his parents, who wanted to blend into the neighborhood of mostly white shiny faces in which they lived, the boy understood the desire to belong. He wanted to be invited to birthday parties. He wanted people to talk to at school. One day, a teacher (who happened to be the very first black teacher ever hired by his school, with an awesome globe of an Afro the likes of which the boy had only ever seen on TV) said to him, “Isn’t it wonderful to be Mexican? To have such a special culture?” The boy made a fa...

Writing should feel like it’s the most important thing in the world to you.                                             M.Padilla THE GIRLS FROM THE REVOLUTIONARY CANTINA by M.Padilla Thomas Dunne Books http://www.mikempadilla.com/ Q:  How did you get the idea for the book? Who did you base the story on? When I was a kid growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I used to look forward to whenever my Spanish-speaking relatives from Los Angeles and Mexico would come to visit. I have particularly fond memories of the women. They were incredibly funny, and they brought a kind of life and energy to our household that was so different from what I was used to. Their voices really are a big part of THE GIRLS FROM THE REVOLUTIONARY CANTINA. Another inspi...

By M.Padilla Thomas Dunne Book St. Martin’s Griffin I actually have three best friends and, unlike the “Girls at the Revolutionary Cantina,” we are separated by distance. Tania lives in California, Anne lives in Pennsylvania, while Joanna resides in Puerto Rico. Our friendship thrives thanks to Ma Bell and the internet. I only see them (separately) about once a year, but we make that one visit count! The “Girls at the Revolutionary Cantina” are together constantly, which can be good and bad.  Here’s my review of this wonderful debut novel: Padilla’s debut novel is funny, poignant, absorbing and hysterical. It’s about friendship, lovers, careers, self discovery, murder and Hollywood. Readers will laugh, cry and gasp at the shenanigans of these senoritas. Padilla does a great job at creating believable, likeable characters with witty dialogue and larger-than-life situations. SUMMARY: Nothing rips apart a long-standing friendship faster than a man. Julia Juarez and Ime ...