THE LATINA BOOK CLUB

    I was in Chicago recently and I made time to visit the National Museum of Mexican Art to see THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET exhibit.   The exhibit included some photos of Sandra Cisneros and there was even a cordon-off area with her old desk and typewriter, and an old street sign.  (There actually is a Mango Street.)   There were also a few photos that spoke of her life and experience.   But the real focus of the exhibit was the work of other artists interpreting Cisneros' book.   Picture taking was not allowed inside the exhibit so I can only tell you about the amazing, creative, colorful and vibrant interpretations from other artists -- some were paintings, there was a mural and a 3D structure one couldn't miss.   All very inspiring.   I was able to take this one picture as I was going into the exhibit -- a quote of limitless energy:  "I can never have too much sky."       Here are some other photo...

   “In Mexico they say when someone you love dies, a part of you dies with them. But they forget to mention that a part of them is born in you— not immediately, I’ve learned, but eventually, and gradually.” –Sandra Cisneros It doesn’t matter how old you are, when your mother dies, you feel like an orphan. You can be 5, 15, 30, 53, and the loss of your mami will hit you hard. Such is what happened to critically acclaimed author Sandra Cisneros. When her mother died, she felt like “a glove left behind at the bus station.” And it takes a visit from a friend and her cat to shake Sandra from her depression. From that visit, Sandra came up with this wonderful story. In HAVE YOU SEEN MARIE?, the missing “person” is the cat. As Sandra and her friend Roz search for Marie, they travel all over the San Antonio talking to neighbors and strangers alike. Unfortunately, no one has seen poor Marie, but on her journey Sandra soon realizes that others have also lost loved ...

The Latina Book Club will feature "Author Cameos" every Wednesday -- brief bios of new authors to explore. Join us and, as always, Read Latino. SANDRA CISNEROS Poet, writer, teacher, counselor Sandra writes poetry, fiction and children’s books. Her best known novels are THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET and CARAMELO. Her collection of short stories, WOMAN HOLLERING CREEK AND OTHER STORIES won several awards including, the PEN Center West Award for Best Fiction and the Quality Paperback Book Club New Voices Award. Sandra is a teacher, counselor, lecturer and writer-in-residence at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. She was awarded the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, which led her to organize the Latino MacArthur Fellows, Los MacArturos. Sandra is also president and founder of the Macondo Foundation and the Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation. Sandra was raised in Chicago and now lives in San Antonio. To learn more about this award-winning author, visit her at h...