This acclaimed autobiography of a young girl's coming of age in Puerto Rico and New York City is available in both Spanish and English editions.   Esmeralda Santiago passes her childhood as a jíbara, a Puerto Rican country girl, living in a small village.  Her life changes when she is thirteen, and she moves to New York City, where being Puerto Rican means occupying an indeterminate place in a bewildering hierarchy of Blacks, Jews, and Italians.  

How Esmeralda overcomes adversity and eventually wins acceptance to New York City's High School of Performing Arts is a record of a tremendous journey, and a remarkable and affirming story of the changes brought to a young mind as it experiences poverty, love, despair, adolescence, cultural confusion, and hope.   Translated from the English by the author.
  
"Touching and revealing, When I Was Puerto Rican takes its unique place in contemporary Latino storytelling."
--The Los Angeles Times

"In the tradition of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or Call It Sleep...this time with a unique Latin flavor ...a joyful tribute to the island of her childhood.  Santiago is a welcome new voice, full of passion and authority."
--Washington Post Book World

"Santiago's autobiographical account cinematically recaptures her past and her island culture. What is particularly appealing about Santiago's story is the insight it offers to readers unaware of the double bind Puerto Rican Americans find themselves in: the identity in conflict. Is [she] black or white? Is she rural or urban? Even more importantly, is she Puerto Rican or is she American? [One] can only be grateful that Esmeralda Santiago has chosen to explore her culture and share what she has found."
--The Los Angeles Times Book Review

"At once heart-wrenching and remarkably inspirational, this lyrical account depicts rural life in Puerto Rico amid the hardships and tensions of everyday life and Santiago's awakening as a young woman, who, although startled by culture shock, valiantly confronted New York head-on.  When in the epilogue Santiago refers to her studies at Harvard, it is both a stirring and poignant reminder of the capacities of the human spirit."
--Booklist

"Read her book.... You will see how one particular woman's journey from a rippled metal shack in a Puerto Rican countryside barrio becomes a story rich in reverberations about all those who have made a transforming physical and spiritual journey in life."
--San Juan Star

A teacher's guide is available for this title in both Spanish and English.  Please click on "teacher's guides" above.

The English edition of this title, When I Was Puerto Rican is available from Vintage Books.  The second volume of Esmeralda Santiago's autobiography, entitled Almost a Woman was published in English by Perseus Books in September 1998. It will be available in paperback from Vintage Books Fall 1999.
El trabajo de Esmeralda Santiago ha sido publicado por The New York Times, el Boston Globe, el Christian Science Monitor y la revista Vista. Se graduó de Harvard University y obtuvo un MFA de Sarah Lawrence College. Con su marido, el director Frank Cantor, dirije CANTOMEDIA, una compañía de producción de cine. Tienen dos hijos, Lucas e Ila. Este es su primer libro.
"Esmeralda Santiago describe su niñez . . . con una prosa poética [que] nos regresa a nuestros propios días de inocencia. El tono cautivador y humano del libro acentúa nuestras propias inquietantes y estimulantes experiencias infantiles."
La Revista Hispanic

"Estilísticamente fluida y finamente detallada . . . la autobiografía de Santiago casi cinemáticamente reproduce su pasado y la cultura de su isla. Lo más atrayente de la historia de Santiago es la revelación que ofrece a los lectores que no conozcan el dilema  vivido por todo puertorriqueño: la identidad en conflicto. ¿Es negra o blanca? ¿Es del campo o de la ciudad? Y más importante aún, ¿es puertorriqueña o norteamericana? El lector se sentirá agradecido de que Esmeralda Santiago se decidiera a explorar su cultura y a compartir lo que halló."
Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Cuando era puertorriqueña es la agridulce historia de una muchacha atrapada entre dos culturas . . . [está] llena de anécdotas sobre su desarrollo hacia la adultez y de dulces memorias acerca de su familia. Hermanos, hermanas, tías y tíos están deliciosamente entretejidos en la textura del libro."
The Boston Globe

"Continuando en la tradición de A Tree Grows in Brooklyn y Call It Sleep, Cuando era puertorriqueñas de Esmeralda Santiago, cuenta la historia de la inmigración norteamericana, esta vez con un sabor especial latino. Santiago ha enviado al mundo un paquete sobre sus viajes, [y] su documental es ahora nuestro regalo."
Washington Post Book World

"Una conmovedora narrativa, líricamente escrita. Esmeralda Santiago generosamente comparte con el lector las memorias de su niñez en Puerto Rico y de sus desconcertantes años en la ciudad de Nueva York. Admiro el valor que requirió el hacer ese viaje —y después escribir acerca de ello con tanta claridad. Su perspectiva sobre el pasado es siempre afectuosa, llena de espíritu y realística. El paisaje puertorriqueño está vivo en este libro lleno de ricos y evocadores detalles."
—Bobbie Ann Mason, autora de Feather Crowns

"Lea su libro . . . Verá cómo la trayectoria particular de una mujer desde una choza de metal ondeado en un barrio del campo puertorriqueño se convierte en una historia llena de ecos para todos aquellos que alguna vez en sus vidas hayan embarcado en
un viaje transformador, física o espiritualmente."
San Juan Star

********

"Santiago's autobiographical account cinematically recaptures her past and her island culture. What is particularly appealing about Santiago's story is the insight it offers to readers unaware of the double bind Puerto Rican Americans find themselves in: the identity in conflict. Is [she] black or white? Is she rural or urban? Even more importantly, is she Puerto Rican or is she American? [One] can only be grateful that Esmeralda Santiago has chosen to explore her culture and share what she has found."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review

About

This acclaimed autobiography of a young girl's coming of age in Puerto Rico and New York City is available in both Spanish and English editions.   Esmeralda Santiago passes her childhood as a jíbara, a Puerto Rican country girl, living in a small village.  Her life changes when she is thirteen, and she moves to New York City, where being Puerto Rican means occupying an indeterminate place in a bewildering hierarchy of Blacks, Jews, and Italians.  

How Esmeralda overcomes adversity and eventually wins acceptance to New York City's High School of Performing Arts is a record of a tremendous journey, and a remarkable and affirming story of the changes brought to a young mind as it experiences poverty, love, despair, adolescence, cultural confusion, and hope.   Translated from the English by the author.
  
"Touching and revealing, When I Was Puerto Rican takes its unique place in contemporary Latino storytelling."
--The Los Angeles Times

"In the tradition of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or Call It Sleep...this time with a unique Latin flavor ...a joyful tribute to the island of her childhood.  Santiago is a welcome new voice, full of passion and authority."
--Washington Post Book World

"Santiago's autobiographical account cinematically recaptures her past and her island culture. What is particularly appealing about Santiago's story is the insight it offers to readers unaware of the double bind Puerto Rican Americans find themselves in: the identity in conflict. Is [she] black or white? Is she rural or urban? Even more importantly, is she Puerto Rican or is she American? [One] can only be grateful that Esmeralda Santiago has chosen to explore her culture and share what she has found."
--The Los Angeles Times Book Review

"At once heart-wrenching and remarkably inspirational, this lyrical account depicts rural life in Puerto Rico amid the hardships and tensions of everyday life and Santiago's awakening as a young woman, who, although startled by culture shock, valiantly confronted New York head-on.  When in the epilogue Santiago refers to her studies at Harvard, it is both a stirring and poignant reminder of the capacities of the human spirit."
--Booklist

"Read her book.... You will see how one particular woman's journey from a rippled metal shack in a Puerto Rican countryside barrio becomes a story rich in reverberations about all those who have made a transforming physical and spiritual journey in life."
--San Juan Star

A teacher's guide is available for this title in both Spanish and English.  Please click on "teacher's guides" above.

The English edition of this title, When I Was Puerto Rican is available from Vintage Books.  The second volume of Esmeralda Santiago's autobiography, entitled Almost a Woman was published in English by Perseus Books in September 1998. It will be available in paperback from Vintage Books Fall 1999.

Author

El trabajo de Esmeralda Santiago ha sido publicado por The New York Times, el Boston Globe, el Christian Science Monitor y la revista Vista. Se graduó de Harvard University y obtuvo un MFA de Sarah Lawrence College. Con su marido, el director Frank Cantor, dirije CANTOMEDIA, una compañía de producción de cine. Tienen dos hijos, Lucas e Ila. Este es su primer libro.

Praise

"Esmeralda Santiago describe su niñez . . . con una prosa poética [que] nos regresa a nuestros propios días de inocencia. El tono cautivador y humano del libro acentúa nuestras propias inquietantes y estimulantes experiencias infantiles."
La Revista Hispanic

"Estilísticamente fluida y finamente detallada . . . la autobiografía de Santiago casi cinemáticamente reproduce su pasado y la cultura de su isla. Lo más atrayente de la historia de Santiago es la revelación que ofrece a los lectores que no conozcan el dilema  vivido por todo puertorriqueño: la identidad en conflicto. ¿Es negra o blanca? ¿Es del campo o de la ciudad? Y más importante aún, ¿es puertorriqueña o norteamericana? El lector se sentirá agradecido de que Esmeralda Santiago se decidiera a explorar su cultura y a compartir lo que halló."
Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Cuando era puertorriqueña es la agridulce historia de una muchacha atrapada entre dos culturas . . . [está] llena de anécdotas sobre su desarrollo hacia la adultez y de dulces memorias acerca de su familia. Hermanos, hermanas, tías y tíos están deliciosamente entretejidos en la textura del libro."
The Boston Globe

"Continuando en la tradición de A Tree Grows in Brooklyn y Call It Sleep, Cuando era puertorriqueñas de Esmeralda Santiago, cuenta la historia de la inmigración norteamericana, esta vez con un sabor especial latino. Santiago ha enviado al mundo un paquete sobre sus viajes, [y] su documental es ahora nuestro regalo."
Washington Post Book World

"Una conmovedora narrativa, líricamente escrita. Esmeralda Santiago generosamente comparte con el lector las memorias de su niñez en Puerto Rico y de sus desconcertantes años en la ciudad de Nueva York. Admiro el valor que requirió el hacer ese viaje —y después escribir acerca de ello con tanta claridad. Su perspectiva sobre el pasado es siempre afectuosa, llena de espíritu y realística. El paisaje puertorriqueño está vivo en este libro lleno de ricos y evocadores detalles."
—Bobbie Ann Mason, autora de Feather Crowns

"Lea su libro . . . Verá cómo la trayectoria particular de una mujer desde una choza de metal ondeado en un barrio del campo puertorriqueño se convierte en una historia llena de ecos para todos aquellos que alguna vez en sus vidas hayan embarcado en
un viaje transformador, física o espiritualmente."
San Juan Star

********

"Santiago's autobiographical account cinematically recaptures her past and her island culture. What is particularly appealing about Santiago's story is the insight it offers to readers unaware of the double bind Puerto Rican Americans find themselves in: the identity in conflict. Is [she] black or white? Is she rural or urban? Even more importantly, is she Puerto Rican or is she American? [One] can only be grateful that Esmeralda Santiago has chosen to explore her culture and share what she has found."--The Los Angeles Times Book Review

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

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PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

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PRH Education Classroom Libraries

“Books are a students’ passport to entering and actively participating in a global society with the empathy, compassion, and knowledge it takes to become the problem solvers the world needs.” –Laura Robb   Research shows that reading and literacy directly impacts students’ academic success and personal growth. To help promote the importance of daily independent

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