Magdalena
Zenaida
admits to being many things: a writer, an artist, and above all things, she
says, the “mother to a little one who is the source” of her creativity. She has
also traveled the globe, living in London, Boston, Colombia, and Ann Arbor,
where they now make their home. Zenaida earned a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary
Studies (BAIS) from the University of Miami in Spanish literature and
International Studies, and a BA from the University of Michigan in English
literature. She finally found her love of teaching as part of non-profits and
community organizations in the United States and abroad.
Zenaida
continues to teach workshops independently and at 826Michigan’s writing center
in Ann Arbor, while she also continues to look forward to further travel. She
has worked as a freelance writer for publications such as Scene Magazine, WhereBoston,
The Ann Arbor Observer, The Ann Arbor News, and the 826 blog, TheStaple. Her bilingual poem, “Tu
Propio” was chosen for The Michigan Daily’s
Annual Literary Issue in 2011.
An Honest Boy,
Un Hombre Sincero
(Laredo Publishing) is Zenaida’s first children’s book. In it, she tells the
story of the Latin American hero, José Martí, exposing children to how he
fought for Cuba’s independence not only through political action, but also
through poetry and essays. The book is illustrated by veteran children’s artist
Gastón Hauviller of Buenos Aires,
Argentina.
Zenaida has written a lovely book, one that not only entertains through engaging language and vibrant artwork, but also educates, a book that says to children: you can help make this world a better place and the written word is one of your most powerful tools.
Magdalena
Zenaida agreed to sit down with La Bloga
to chat about her book and inspirations.
DANIEL OLIVAS: Was there a
moment in your life when you realized that you wanted to be a writer, or was it
a gradual development?
MAGDALENA ZENAIDA: From a very
young age I found writing a very natural way to express myself. I originally
hoped to be a poet, freelance journalism was just where I had the most early
opportunities. Devoting myself to being the writer I wanted to be was something
I didn’t really have the courage to do before my daughter was born because I
needed to find that faith in my voice.
DO: Though you’ve
written for adults as a freelance writer, why did you decide to make your first
book one for children?
MZ: Again, I think
it goes back to my roots in poetry. I love having a distilled, emotive way of
conveying something, and it hadn’t occurred to me before that children’s
literature very much relies on that style. Also, I love the idea that children’s
books reach an audience at the very cusp of forming a perspective on the world.
DO: What inspired
you to write a children’s book on a very adult subject, the political fight for
Cuba’s freedom as embodied in José Martí? Did you learn of Martí when you were
young?
MZ: I had a lot of
familiarity with Cuban history because I lived in Miami for so long. I also had
familiarity with Martí, because when I was teaching in South America, he was a
great figure for inspiring an intellectual pride in Latin American children.
Overall though, I loved the idea of writing about him because I knew he truly
believed in the creative power of children from a global perspective, that
freedom from any kind of oppression is always going to be reached through
learning and friendship.
DO: The artwork by Gastón
Hauviller is quite lovely and evocative. Could you tell us a little about how
he came to illustrate your book?
MZ: I feel very
fortunate that I had a vision for the style of my book, and my publisher found
him! She told me that Gaston worked with “guantanamera” playing in the
background- and when they sent me the illustrations, I was amazed to find
images and colors exactly as I dreamed they would be.
DO: What do you
hope children get from your book?
MZ: I would like
for children to hold to the message how valuable they are, that by cultivating
their values now, they are the greatness of the future...that all of the
legacies that seem too great or too mature for them now, are for them to own as
they grow.
DO: Are you
thinking about your next book or are you going to take a break and focus on An Honest Boy, Un Hombre Sincero for
now?
MZ: I am in a
constant state of writing. There are little scribblings all over my home. For
adults, I am toying with different ideas of different formats, perhaps a
collection of essays. And for children, I have an idea lingering about one of
my other heroes, Paulo Freire, but that also would take some time to research
and distill into a message for young readers.
IN OTHER LITERARY NEWS:
Frequent
guest essayist for La Bloga, Alvaro
Huerta, is happy to announce the publication of his first book, Reframing
the Latino Immigration Debate: Towards a Humanistic Paradigm (San Diego State University
Press). With a foreword by Dr. Juan Gómez-Quiñones, UCLA Professor of
History, and photos by Antonio Turok, acclaimed photographer, the book consists of
short, non-fiction essays on Latina/o immigration in the U.S., including key
policies and programs, such as “Operation Wetback,” the Bracero Program (where Huerta's
late father served), Arizona’s inhumane laws and draconian, Congressional immigration
bills.
From the Publisher:
Brash,
intelligent, and possessed of a searing rhetorical passion, Alvaro Huerta's Reframing the Latino Immigration Debate
asks readers to reassess critical political and cultural issues unfolding along
the U.S./Mexico border. Paired in this volume with the striking photography of
Antonio Turok, Huerta's words move readers "towards a humanistic
paradigm" in a work that emerges as must-reading for students, scholars,
and policy-makers alike.
Praise for
Reframing the Latino Immigration Debate:
"A passionate and insightful account of that complex condition we refer
to as immigration. Huerta brings to the fore the deeper meanings of us all,
people on the move." —Saskia Sassen, Ph.D., Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University
"Huerta's perceptive prose and Turok's evocative photographs make
this a book to remember and treasure." —Michael Dear, Ph.D., Professor of City & Regional Planning,
University of California, Berkeley
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning
to breathe free…," cries the Statue of Liberty with silent lips.
Alvaro Huerta's compassionate essays complete her sentence. The message
is loud and clear: the wretched have a place in America, for it is they who
make it worth." —Ilan Stavans,
Ph.D., Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture, Amherst
College
"Blending searing social critique of xenophobic pundits, unjust laws and
mendacious politicians with creative, heartfelt personal essays about family
and love, Alvaro Huerta weaves a tapestry for immigrant rights in the early
twenty first century. The personal is political, and this collection of short
essays interspersed with memorable photographs by Antonio Turok fights the good
fight." —Pierrette
Hondagneu-Sotelo, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, University of Southern
California
"Brick-word by brick-word, Alvaro's essays construct the paradigm that
makes evident that Latinos are foremost simply part of the human race and
integral to the history, struggles, and fabric of the United States. As such,
his advocacy essays affirm time and again that Latinos deserve the same
humanistic respect and dignified respect that all hard-working and family
embracing inhabitants of this land should receive." —Federico Subervi, Ph.D., Professor of Journalism
& Mass Communication, Kent State University
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