NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Three distinguished Latina writers shared their work and literary career paths at The College of New Rochelle, in an event organized by the Westchester Chapter of 100 Hispanic Women.
Maria Venegas, Suzan Colon, and Sulma Arzu-Brown read from their books, answered questions from the audience, and signed copies of their work during An Evening of Literature by Latinas, with proceeds benefiting 100 Hispanic Women’s scholarship fund.
Dr. Dorothy Escribano, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, welcomed attendees, who began the evening by sampling some Latin American cuisine.
Escribano noted The College of New Rochelle’s significant Latina and female population, and emphasized the College’s commitment to providing excellent education while leaving students with as little debt as possible.
Venegas, who was born in Mexico and moved to the United States at the age of 4, read from her memoir Bulletproof Vest: The Ballad of an Outlaw and His Daughter — a chronicle of her relationship with a man who lived and died violently. The passage is raw and emotional, but also sprinkled with humor.
Colon is a former senior editor of O, the Oprah Magazine, and has contributed to Good Housekeeping, Jane, Harper’s Bazaar, Rolling Stone, and numerous other magazines. She blogs for The Huffington Post, has appeared on The Today Show, The Early Show, and NPR.
Colon is the author of the novel Beach Glass and eight other books; Thursday evening, she read from her inspirational memoir, Cherries in Winter: My Family’s Recipe for Hope in Hard Times.
Colon was laid off from her dream magazine job in 2008, and cutting her budget meant making food instead of eating out. She read the hilarious directions for “Suzan’s Rigatoni Disoccupati,” also known as Past of the Unemployed, whose only ingredients are a half pound of spaghetti and a jar of sauce.
Arzu-Brown, a Garifuna (descendants of West African, Central African, Island Carib, and Arawak people) woman from Honduras who moved the New York City at 6 years old, is the director of events for the New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Her book, Bad Hair Does Not Exist! / Pelo Malo No Existe!, was inspired by an exchange with a caretaker who advised her to get her young daughter’s hair relaxed because she had “pelo malo” — bad hair.
Her response, illustrated by her friend Isidra Sabio, became the book. The book features colorful illustrations of girls will various hair types, and seeks to teach young girls — particularly black, afro-descendent, afro-Latinas, and Garifuna — ways of defining and describing themselves without identifying with the term “bad hair.”
