On healing and music
with Dr. Heloisa Prieto author of 'The Musician'
#NuevasPaginasconLupita is a space that is both an archive and resource aimed to "spotlight" Hispanic/Latinx/e authors with newly published books. The goal is to connect readers to new and/or old favorite Hispanic/Latinx/e authors and their books! So give this & every post a share to help us reach more readers!
How does it work?!
Here’s the deal, I came up with a set of casual/random/funny questions to ask each Hispanic/Latinx/e author, I interview. For now, the questions will all be the same but maybe in the future I’ll launch this into more specific questions to the author or maybe I’ll turn this series into a mini-podcast, or maybe……well, you get it! The possibilities are endless.
If you are new here don’t forget to check out all the other amazing interviews! We also have a great line-up of guest authors coming up so make sure you don’t miss an issue by subscribing now!
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Hey Heyyy Book Franz!
January feels like it is flying by! I can’t believe that next week I’ll be sitting down with THE Patricia Engle, an author I have long admired, to chat about her newest book - The Faraway World. It’s a collection of short stories I’ve been dying to read. If you are in the DC, Maryland, and or Virginia area, the event is totally free to attend and we’d love to have you there for a night of bookish fun. You can sign up to attend here.
Speaking of ICONS, did you all hear the news today? Past Nuevas Paginas interviewee- Meg Medina was named the first Latinx ambassador for young people’s literature by the Library of Congress! A position that was first established in 2008. If you haven’t checked out Meg’s interview and work, please make sure to check it out!
For the #LupitasBookClub Besties:
TikTok has spoken and so this month (I know the month is basically almost over and we are starting this late but just roll with it lol), we will be reading WHEN WE WERE SISTERS: A Novel by Fatimah Asghar. I’m excited! Because for our last few book picks, I’ve read them before everyone. With this one, I don’t know what to expect and we’ll truly be reading the book together. So grab a copy and join us! I’ll be launching discussion videos and a discussion thread right here on February 18th.
Without further ado, our special guest author for today’s issue is……Dr. Heloisa Prieto author of The Musician!
Could you tell me a bit about where this photo was taken? Is it special to your book in some way?
This photo was taken at the Atlantic forest preserved area. This is the region that holds the krukutu village, a Guarani community; when Thomas, the musician, is rescued from a deadly cult, he is taken to this spot by Marlui, who falls in love with him. His recovery will imply an initiation in the art of sound healing by Popygua, her grandfather, a wise Guarani xaman.
Tell me about your book without telling me about your book - share any literary inspirations behind your book! If there are none, the gap you wanted to fill in the literary canon with your book.
I have been close to my Guarani friends for many years now. They have taught me a lot and placed me under the care of three xamans. Popygua is their mouthpiece. In exchange, I have introduced their authors and poets to publishers and producers. We used to spend long hours speaking about narratives. There was a specific time in which I brought to them a professor from the university, an expert in Greek myths. By listening to the exchange between his narratives and the indigenous ones, I realized how much classical mythology deals around power struggles, whereas guarani myths were more related to self-discovery and transcendence. The Musician was my way to pay homage to Guarani traditional wisdom, by placing Popygua as a lighthouse.
What are two central themes in your book that you connect with the most and why?
I was a teenager living in Michigan when Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Jimmy Hendrix had untimely deaths. They were followed by other musicians I really loved, such as Kurt Cobain and recently, Taylor Hawkins. In Brazil, we had similar tragedies. But when I worked with the Tikuna community in the Amazon forest, I realized their relationship to art was completely different: painting, singing, and storytelling being a collective activity. Later on, as I became close to the Guarani community, I realized music was seen as a healing tool. There is a quote, by Popygua that I actually heard from Aparicio, an extraordinary xaman:
“A musician and a healer share the same path; they spend their lives traveling, speaking beyond words, and rescuing ancient memories of wisdom and hope from people’s hearts .. .”
I believe Indigenous people need respect in the sense that they represent a source of wisdom and ecological balance to the world. This is a central theme in The Musician.
If a book was home, where would your home be?
The Atlantic forest reservation
If your book was a famous musician who would it be?
Estas Tonne is a worldly acclaimed musician. We became friends and in 2017 he came to Brazil. I took him to the Guarani reservation and he was able to play his guitar in the praying house. The chapter entitled Five Strings was inspired by this actual experience. I also acted as his interpreter during a free presentation at Ibirapuera park. This is when I noticed how people in his audience, coming from all walks of life, reacted to his mesmerizing songs.
Anyway, in 2019 we started regularly meeting online to discuss narratives. Estas is a skilled writer and has published fragments of his works on his site.
Hopefully, he will eventually publish his amazing journals, but during our exchange, we concentrated on The Musician and he made suggestions. Thomas' journey has been inspired by these conversations.
What comfort food could a reader pair with your book?
As a Brazilian, I suggest drinking strong coffee, eating bananas and peanuts. Açai is also a treat.
In what ways has access (or little to no access) to Hispanic/Latinx/e literature defined you as a writer?
I have studied the works of Jorge Luis Borges for my PHD research. His literature has a huge influence on my narratives, and I guess, in The Musician, some dialogues between Dr. Alonso and Thomas have been inspired by the uncanny atmosphere of some of his short stories. Isabel Allende's `The House of Spirits’ has also been a source of ideas in the sense that she weaves political issues into a magical realism narrative. I also love ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho and Jorge Amado storytelling skills. Carlos Castaneda has been one of my favorite writers of all times and contemporary Indigenous writers such as Daniel Munduruku, Olivio Jekupe and Ailton Krenak have provided me with a new mindset.
Where can readers keep up with your work?
https://www.facebook.com/HeloisaPrieto
https://twitter.com/heloisa_prieto
https://www.instagram.com/heloisa.prieto/
A huge thank you to Dr. Heloisa Prieto for taking the time to chat with me about her book -The Musician! Please please make sure you purchase a copy (or request your local library carry a copy) #SupportLatinxLit!
Dr. Heloisa Prieto is one of Brazil's most celebrated children and YA authors. She has sold over two million books in her native country. Her Mano series of YA novels inspired the Time Warner movie The Best Things in the World. She recently published 1,002 Ghosts, and her book Viajantes do Vento was selected for the PNLD Public Book-Purchasing Programme, the biggest of its kind in the world.She has spent a lifetime researching myths and legends-both ancient and modern-and organizing and curating collections of cross-cultural interest. She has created and organized numerous creative writing workshops for children, teenagers, and adults. Heloisa also has a PhD in French literature (University of São Paulo) and a master's degree in semiotics (Catholic University of São Paulo).
Synopsis for The Musician from the Bookshop website:
Thomas has felt alone most of his life, his only companions the musical creatures that he can see but others can't. Wealth, talent, charisma, good looks, and fame conceal the eighteen-year-old's lingering pain following the loss of his parents. His music is his bridge to the world, and his favorite form of connection.
A chance meeting with a group of strangers leads to the eventual revelation of his magical musical secret-and there are those who wish to steal it from him. Soon the wealthy Dr. Alonso and his beguiling daughter, Dora, trick Thomas into joining a cult from which he may never escape.
When Marlui, a young Guarani shaman, senses the danger surrounding Thomas, she vows to protect him from Dr. Alonso at all costs. Can she rescue him, or will Thomas succumb to the advances of Dora and lose not only his heart but the powers that bring him joy?
I haven't discovered that many publications on Substack that elevate voices of authors from underrepresented backgrounds. The work you're doing here is so important!