I loved how Pastora Carmen Colon-Brown was able to connect
Negi’s story and her own. I already enjoyed When
I Was Puerto Rican, but Pastora was able to bring the story to life even
more than it already was. I can only imagine how difficult it was for her to be
banned from “acting Puerto Rican” and speaking Spanish in her home, but I
really appreciated her willingness to be open with us and explain what life was
like for her growing up. This class as a whole has provided me with such an incredible
new perspective from which I can approach the immigrants that I work with and
Pastora’s presentation is just one more that has taught me so much. I think the
program that she is running through her church is fascinating and wonderful. I’m
also very happy that it is so close to where I’m located because I’m looking
forward to working on a community project for her.
I completely agree with you. Pastora's story made the book so real to me. To hear the emotion in her voice and to hear about the conseqences of going against the expectations of her family.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am interested in potentially working with her in the future. Maybe we will work together!