The home we carry with us in this life
The home we carry with us in this life
with Elizabeth Santiago author of 'The Moonlit Vine'
#NuevasPaginas is a space that aims to amplify and spotlight Hispanic/Latine/x authors with newly published books. The goal is to connect readers to their next favorite Hispanic/Latine/x authored book through a mini casual get-to-know-the-book-and-author interview. So give please spread the news so we can reach more readers and continue the love/support of Latine literature!
Hey Book Franz!
I don’t know about you, but occasionally my brain will stop me from doing the things I need to get done. I think it’s my brain’s way to protect me and get me to take breaks so I don’t burn out. I share that all to say, I know I missed being in your inbox last week and it might happen again in the future. That said, I hope you know I’ll always come back because we have such a wonderful lineup of authors coming up!
What is Lupita reading this week?
📕 Physical book - I am three stories into ‘The Consequences’ by Manuel Muñoz and so in love with his writing. These stories have such a sharp and captivating voice. I can’t wait to talk to the LBC besties about this one!
🎧 Audio - I started listening to ‘Horse Barbie’: A Memoir by Geena Rocero! It details the life of a trans pageant queen from the Philippines. So far, I am finding it so very interesting.
For #LupitasBookClub Besties:
WE ARE FINALLY READING THE CONSEQUENCES by Manuel Muñoz!!! By WE, I mean me, and hopefully, you too, if you haven’t already read it. So I am opening up a chat for anyone that wants to check in about our book of the month :) or just come over and say hello!
Without further ado, our special guest author for today’s Nuevas Pagina issue is……Elizabeth Santiago author of The Moonlit Vine!
Photo taken by Kevin Evans
Could you tell me a bit about where this photo was taken? Is it special to your book in some way?
This is a photo taken in Isabella, Puerto Rico of me with my son Ezekiel. I started The Moonlit Vine before the pandemic and finished it during. I had wanted to visit places on the west coast of Puerto Rico I had mentioned in the book to make sure I was representing them well with my descriptions. I also wanted to visit Isabella where my mother and grandmother were born but had to wait until it was safe to travel again. We got our chance in early 2022. As we drove on the road that brought us to Isabella, we were greeted by this sculpture titled, “Cara del Indio” or Indian’s face. It’s a sculpture of Cacique (leader) Mabodamaca who fought the Spaniards when they arrived. It was awe-inspiring to see it and it made me feel like I was also contributing to keeping the Taínos, the native people of Puerto Rico, in our minds and hearts through The Moonlit Vine. It was special to share that moment with my then 11-year-old son, so he is aware and proud of his ancestry. You can learn more about this sculpture here: https://www.puertorico.com/cara-del-indio
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’m a huge fan of Toni Morrison’s work. All of her books take on painful topics and themes yet couch them in these beautiful metaphors. There is always ancestral knowledge, elder wisdom, and historical narratives present in her work, and the desire to tell stories about people who don’t often have stories told about them. It’s exactly what I wanted to do with The Moonlit Vine.
I wanted to represent generational trauma, colonialism, fighting for your survival, and how all of those things mix to create a person, a family, a community, and a culture. For me, my story begins with the native people of Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico because that’s when certain seeds got planted that have grown into the messy weeds we have today. That’s what The Moonlit Vine is about. I hadn’t seen fictional works that featured the Taínos in ways that showed them as strategic. The artifacts depicted in the book are symbols of the knowledge they had that got handed down generation after generation. Instead of perpetuating this narrative that the Taíno did not survive, I wanted to present that we are, in fact, still here. Our ancestors knew what they were up against and ensured their survival through the tools they had in their possession. I hadn’t seen that story before and that’s the one I wanted to tell.
What are two central themes in your book that you connect with the most and why?
One theme that really resonates with me is the role of women in shaping our culture. Much of our culture, traditions and history get passed down from our elders, in particular our abuelas. I have always had a strong connection to the women in my family – the ones I know and the ones that have passed on. It’s hard to explain, but I feel their presence. I feel women, in particular, walking with me through life. I have always felt that and writing The Moonlit Vine gave me the opportunity to express the appreciation, love and awe I have for our ancestors.
Another theme is the role community plays and can play in affecting an outcome. I grew up in a strong community in Boston. On the outside, we were seen as the “bad” neighborhood, but on the inside, I felt like I belonged. Our communities are not given enough credit for supporting each other through good and bad times. I wanted to show the assets a community has versus the deficits seen by those who live on the outside. One last thing I’ll say is shout out to librarians! The librarians at the local branch where I grew up were amazing. They welcomed me, helped my pick out books and even kept books for me that they knew I would like. I have heard similar anecdotes from other community members as well, so I had to create a librarian character who is part of the community fabric – another asset in our neighborhoods.
If a book was home, where would your home be?
My book would be Puerto Rico. Even though I didn’t grow up there or ever live there, it lives in me, in my blood and in my family. My parents missed Puerto Rico after they migrated to Boston for work. They talked about it often and brought all that history and culture with them. I carry it now and am passing it on to my son. My son is proud of his ancestry, and I know that he will carry on our culture and traditions. The book represents the home we carry with us in this life.
If your book was a famous musician who would it be?
I love this question! I created a playlist to go with my book and it featured Bad Bunny, Rihanna, Ivy Queen, Rauw Alejandro, and Marc Anthony. I wanted to celebrate the music I hear in my own neighborhood as I walk around. Since my protagonist Taína Perez has a poster of Bad Bunny in her room and she and her abuela have a short conversation about him in the book, I will say the book would be Bad Bunny. He represents Puerto Rico and modern music.
What comfort food could a reader pair with your book?
Alcapurrias! They are a recurring food item in the book. Alcapurrias are made with yucca, plantains, sofrito, stuffed with meat, and fried to perfection. I wanted a typical Puerto Rican dish to represent our culture and one that included ingredients that our Taíno ancestors might have used like yucca and plantains. It’s a small thing, but it was important to show through food our culture also survived. So, if you are reading my book, get an alcapurria to pair with it.
In what ways has access (or little to no access) to Hispanic/Latinx/e literature defined you as a writer?
Growing up, there were little to no stories about Puerto Ricans that I related to. There were a few, but not as accessible as some of the other more mainstream titles. As I got older, I was thrilled to see more and more books by Puerto Rican and other Latinx authors. What I didn’t see very often were books about families that were struggling to make it told in ways that didn’t demonize or put down these characters. I wanted to tell stories based on what I saw and experienced which were people working very hard to make ends meet, but not having the support they needed, or their kids needed to thrive. Even with those struggles, I saw real humanity, love and passion. Even though we were poor and folks in my community were poor, there was joy and love. There was also so much laughter. I wanted to capture the nuances of growing up in those environments because I hadn’t seen that depicted as much as I had hoped.
Where can readers keep up with your work?
Follow me on IG: @liznarratives and Twitter @liznarratives Also subscribe to my newsletter at theuntoldnarratives.com. I have built a site to help other writers tell their stories. Check it out!
Thank you to Elizabeth Santiago for taking the time to chat with me about her book! Please please make sure you purchase a copy (or request your local library carry a copy) #SupportLatinxLit!
Elizabeth Santiago grew up in Boston, MA with parents who migrated from San Sebastián, Puerto Rico in the 1960s. The youngest of nine, Elizabeth was entranced by the stories her mother, father, aunts and uncles, and community elders told her. Later, she sought to capture and honor those narratives and share them with the world. She earned a BFA in creative writing from Emerson College, a master's in education from Harvard University, and a PhD in education studies from Lesley University. She still lives in Boston with her husband Kevin and son Ezekiel, but travels to Puerto Rico as often as she can to feel even closer to her ancestors, culture, and heritage.
Synopsis for ‘The Moonlit Vine’ from the Bookshop website:
Fourteen-year-old Taína just learned that she is a descendant of a long line of strong Taíno women, but will knowing this help her bring peace and justice to her family and community?
Despite her name, Taína Perez doesn't know anything about her Taíno heritage, nor has she ever tried to learn. After all, how would ancient Puerto Rican history help with everything going on? There's constant trouble at school and in her neighborhood, her older brother was kicked out of the house, and with her mom at work, she's left alone to care for her little brother and aging grandmother. It's a lot for a 14-year-old to manage.
But life takes a wild turn when her abuela tells her she is a direct descendant of Anacaona, the beloved Taíno leader, warrior, and poet, who was murdered by the Spanish in 1503. Abuela also gives her an amulet and a zemi and says that it's time for her to step into her power like the women who came before her. But is that even possible? People like her hardly make it out of their circumstances, and the problems in her home and community are way bigger than Taína can manage. Or are they?
A modern tale with interstitial historical chapters, The Moonlit Vine brings readers a powerful story of the collective struggle, hope, and liberation of Puerto Rican and Taíno peoples.
Also available in Spanish!
This book looks great! I put in a request for it at my library