November 2013 Conversations with Las Comadres: Teleconference Series
The Sound of Things Falling — Outside Links: Book Author Publisher
Unbreakable: My Story, My Way — Outside Links: Book Publisher
Los Mariachis — Outside Links: Book Author Listen Publisher
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW: Length — 00:55:52 | Size — 10.05 MB
November 2013 Book of the Month
The Sound of Things Falling
By Juan Gabriel Vásquez
Published by Riverhead Books
ISBN-13: 978-1594487484
In the city of Bogotá, Antonio Yammara reads an article about a hippo that had escaped from a derelict zoo once owned by legendary Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. The article transports Antonio back to when the war between Escobar’s Medellín cartel and government forces played out violently in Colombia’s streets and in the skies above.
Back then, Antonio witnessed a friend’s murder, an event that haunts him still. As he investigates, he discovers the many ways in which his own life and his friend’s family have been shaped by his country’s recent violent past. His journey leads him all the way back to the 1960s and a world on the brink of change: a time before narco-trafficking trapped a whole generation in a living nightmare.
About the Author: Juan Gabriel Vásquez
Juan Gabriel Vásquez is a critically acclaimed Colombian writer, translator, and award-winning author of a collection of stories Los amantes de Todos los Santos, as well as the novels Historia secreta de Costaguana and The Informers, which has been translated into seven languages.
He has translated works by Victor Hugo, E.M. Foster and John Hersey, among others, his essay “El arte de la distorsión” won the Premio Nacional Simón Bolívar, and he is a regular columnist for El Espectador, the newspaper of dissent in Bogotá.
Educated in Colombia, and in Paris at the Sorbonne, he now lives and teaches in Barcelona, Spain with his wife and twin daughters.
November 2013 Additional Conversation
Unbreakable: My Story, My Way
Inquebrantable: mi Historia, a mi Manera
By Jenni Rivera
Published by The Atria Books/Atria Español
ISBN-13: 978-1476744759 English
ISBN-13: 978-1476745428 Spanish
The only autobiography authorized by Jenni Rivera “I can’t get caught up in the negative because that destroys you. Perhaps trying to move away from my problems and focus on the positive is the best I can do. I am a woman like any other, and ugly things happen to me like any other woman. The number of times I have fallen down is the number of times I have gotten up.”
These are the last words that beloved Mexican American singer Jenni Rivera spoke publicly before boarding the plane that would crash and cut her life short on December 9, 2012. However, they are not the final words that La Diva de la Banda had for the world. Those are found in the pages you hold in your hands, Jenni’s own account of the highs and lows of her extraordinary journey.
She became the most acclaimed Spanish-language singer in the United States and sold more than 15 million records worldwide. A single mother of five and grandmother of two, she was also an actress, a television producer, the star of her own reality show, and an entrepreneur. But for all its immense success, Jenni’s life often seemed to be a series of personal battles in which perseverance was her only weapon. As her fame grew, she made it her mission to speak about her struggles, forging an intimate connection with her fans. She became a figure of strength and a source of encouragement to women of all ages.
In Unbreakable, Jenni recounts the crucial moments in her past, revealing her experiences with domestic and sexual abuse, divorce, body image issues, making her way in a male-dominated industry, raising her children as a single mother, and learning that she could depend only on herself.
Though she is no longer with us, Jenni will always be the “Rivera rebel from Long Beach,” the girl who maintained her sense of humor and fighting spirit in every circumstance. In this remarkable memoir, Jenni leaves behind a legacy of inspiration and determination that will forever live on through her precious family, friends, and fans.
About the Author: Jenni Rivera
Winner of 15 gold records, 15 platinum, and 5 double platinum records, with more than 15 million records sold in all, Jenni Rivera was one of her or any generation’s most popular and in-demand artists, not only in Mexico but also in the United States, selling out performances at such prestigious venues as the Staples Center, the Kodak Theatre, the Nokia Theatre, and the Gibson Amphitheatre.
She was also slated to perform at New York’s Madison Square Garden later in 2013 and had signed with the ABC television network to star in her own sitcom. Jenni was also one of the decade’s most award-winning artists.
In 2009, she earned a record-breaking 11 Billboard Award nominations, becoming the first female regional Mexican performer to be honored with so many nominations.
November 2013 Additional Conversation
Los Mariachis
By Rita Rosa Ruesga
Published by The Scholastic
ISBN-13: 978-0545563277
The classic rhyme “Ten Little Monkeys” gets a fun spin with a roving Mariachi band!
Putting a fun spin on the classic rhyme about the ten little monkeys, Scholastic is proud to present a magnificent band of ten Mariachis! And like all Mariachi bands, they can play birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and even TV shows.
About the Author: Rita Rosa Ruesga
Rita Rosa Ruesga was born in Cuba and holds a degree in choral conducting from the National School of Fine Arts of Cuba. Rita Rosa created Musikartis, a bilingual music curriculum, and works as a music producer, teacher, and voice coach. She has been nominated for the Latin Grammy three times.
Euliser Polanco (Illustrator)
Euliser Polanco was born in Las Tunas, Cuba, and graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Arte de la Habana. He lives in Spain, where he directs his own art academy for children and adults. His artistic work ranges from painting to video to digital photography.