Esmeralda Santiago

Esmeralda Santiago

Santiago at the 2012 Texas Book Festival.
Born (1948-05-17) May 17, 1948
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Occupation writer, actress
Nationality Puerto Rican
Spouse Frank Cantor
Website
www.esmeraldasantiago.com

Esmeralda Santiago (born May 17, 1948) is a Puerto Rican author and former actress known for her novels and memoirs.

Early life

Santiago was born on May 17, 1948 in the San Juan district of Villa Palmeras, Santurce, Puerto Rico.[1] During her early life her family moved from the city, to the countryside, and vice versa. During those times they dealt with poverty.[2] In 1961, she moved to the United States when she was thirteen years old and the eldest in a family that included eleven children. Santiago attended a junior high school in Brooklyn, and went on to attend New York City's Performing Arts High School. She graduated from Harvard University and Sarah Lawrence College. She eventually met Frank Cantor and married him. The couple founded CANTOMEDIA, a film and media production company, which has won numerous awards for excellence in documentaries. Santiago currently lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband.

Career

Her writing career evolved from her work as a writer of documentary and educational films. Her essays and opinion pieces have appeared in national newspapers including the New York Times and the Boston Globe, and on mass market magazines like House & Garden, Metropolitan Home, and Good Housekeeping.

Upon publication of her first book, the memoir When I was Puerto Rican, Ms. Santiago was hailed as "a welcome new voice, full of passion and authority," by the Washington Post Book World.

Her first novel, America's Dream, has been published in six languages, and was an Alternate Selection of the Literary Guild. "Thrilling and page turning, the fabulous story of América Gonzalez is laid out masterfully," according to the Chicago Tribune.

Her second memoir, Almost a Woman, received numerous "Best of Year" mentions, in addition to an Alex Award from the American Library Association. It has recently been adapted into a film for Exxon Mobil Masterpiece Theatre, which premiered nationally on PBS on September 14, 2002.[3]

With Joie Davidow, Ms. Santiago is coeditor of the anthologies, Las Christmas: Favorite Latino Authors Share Their Holiday Memories and Las Mamis: Favorite Latino Authors Remember their Mothers both published by Knopf.

Her 2004 memoir, The Turkish Lover, describes her life from the time she left New York in 1969 at age 21 until her graduation from Harvard in 1976, and focuses on her relationship with Turkish filmmaker Ulvi Dogan.

While still in high school, she was cast in a small role in the 1967 film version of Bel Kaufman's novel Up the Down Staircase, wherein she portrayed a student named Esmeralda.

Activism

In addition to her literary endeavors, Ms. Santiago is an active volunteer. She is a spokesperson on behalf of public libraries. She has designed and developed community-based programs for adolescents, and was a founder of a shelter for battered women and their children. She serves on the boards of organizations devoted to the arts and to literature, and speaks vehemently about the need to encourage and support the artistic development of young people.

Stroke

In 2008 Santiago had a stroke affecting her ability to read and speak. After a long rehabilitation program, Santiago's recovery from stroke has been largely successful, though not complete. She estimates that today her reading ability in English is at about “98 percent,” and in her native Spanish about “80 percent,” in part because English has been her predominant language since coming to the U.S [4] In 2011, three years after the stroke, she finished her epic novel, "Conquistadora."[5]

Awards and honors

In addition to literary and community service awards, Ms. Santiago has earned a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction Writing from Sarah Lawrence College and Honorary Doctor of Letters from Trinity College, from Pace University and from University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez.

Bibliography

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ FAQ page on Santiago's website
  2. ↑ Santiago's Page on pbs.org
  3. ↑ Masterpiece Theatre: Almost A Woman
  4. ↑ Recovery from stroke
  5. ↑ Santiago finsihes epic novel after stroke

External links

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