JULIA ALVAREZ

From the internationally bestselling author of In the Time of the Butterflies and How the García Girls Lost Their Accents comes “a stunning work of art that reminds readers Alvarez is, and always has

A "phenomenal, indispensable" (USA Today) exploration of the Latina "sweet fifteen" celebration, by the bestselling author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents The quinceañera, a celebration of a Latina girl''s fifteenth birthday, has become a uniquely American trend. This lavish party with ball gowns, multi-tiered cakes, limousines, and extravagant meals is often as costly as a prom or a wedding. But many Latina girls feel entitled to this rite of passage, marking a girl''s entrance into womanhood, and expect no expense to be spared, even in working-class families. Acclaimed author Julia Alvarez explores the history and cultural significance of the "quince" in the United States, and the consequences of treating teens like princesses. Through her observations of a quince in Queens, interviews with other quince girls, and the memories of her own experience as a young immigrant, Alvarez presents a thoughtful and entertaining portrait of a rapidly growing multicultural phenomenon, and passionately emphasizes the importance of celebrating Latina womanhood.

El 25 de noviembre de 1960 se encontraron, al pie de un risco en la costa dominicana, los cuerpos sin vida de tres muchachas. Según la versión oficial, se trataba de un accidente, y ningún diario público la verdad: las tres hermanas Mirabal, conocidas como las Mariposas, luchaban contra el violento regimen dictatorial del general Trujillo, y una cuarta hermana, Dede, seguia con vida. Tres decadas despues, Dede narra la apasionante historia de su lucha: las represarias que cayeron sobre su familia cuando Minerva rechazo en publico el acosos sexual de Trujillo, como Patria se unio al movimiento opositor desde la iglesia y el camino que llevo a Maria Teresa del amor a la revolucion. Graciasa la magia y al poder de la imaginacion de la escritora Julia Alvarez, las Mariposas recobran su fuerza en una novela deslumbrante y conmovedora.

Una escritora descubre las similitudes sorprendentes entre su propia existencia y la historia de una valiente mujer del siglo XIX, doña Isabel Sendales y Gómez, quien junto con 22 huérfanos acompañara al doctor Francisco Xavier Balmis en la Real expedicion de la viruela. Los niños, inoculados con el virus, atravesaran el oceano para hacer llegar la vacuna a las tierras de America. La determinacion y el valor de doña Isabel son fuente de inspiracion para Alma Huebner, quien poco a poco se obsesiona con los detalles de la aventura de esta mujer ejemplar.

El 25 de noviembre de 1960 se encontraron, al pie de un risco en la costa dominicana, los cuerpos sin vida de tres muchachas. Según la versión oficial, se trataba de un accidente, y ningún diario publico la verdad: las tres hermanas Mirabal, luchaban contra el violento regimen dictatorial del general Trujillo, y una cuarta hermana, Dede, narra la apasionante historia de su lucha en una novela llena de magia y poder de imaginacion. Encuadernacion: Cartone.

¿Quién es Yo? ¿Una temible escritora que ejerce su oficio a pesar de la realidad de sus personajes? ¿Una invención de sí misma o una personalidad buscándose desesperadamente en otra cultura y en los demas? En ¡Yo! se aprecia el otro perfil de toda historia: la ficcion que logra escapar al creador para revelarse sobre el claro lienzo de una realidad siempre aterradora. Quiza Yolanda Garcia sea la unica que logra escapar de la imaginacion, ademas de ser la entrañable protagonista de la tercera novela de Julia Alvarez, que a la par que De como las chicas Garcia perdieron su acento, con ¡Yo! se ha asegurado un nuevo exito.

Joe vive en Nebraska; siempre ha querido ser agricultor. Sin embargo, su padre debe vender las tierras para pagar las deudas. Entonces decide ser profesor. Poco a poco, se siente más y más perdido: su vida carece de rumbo. Se casa, pero al poco tiempo se separa. Sin ningun horizonte, decide irse de vacaciones a la Republica Dominicana. Alli tomara un cafe que cambiara su vida: la propietaria le lee el poso y le vaticina una vida nueva, cerca de montañas y de aves. Poco a poco empieza a entender la tragedia de los campesinos: acostumbrados a cultivar el cafe al modo antiguo, ahora se ven obligados a vender sus tierras porque no pueden competir con los grandes propietarios, quienes consiguen mejores precios, industrializando el cultivo del cafe. Joe ha entendido que su vida esta aqui.

A través de quince relatos relacionados entre sí, la autora retrata la vida de una familia dominicana exiliada en el Bronx neoyorquino. Las cuatro hijas, las García del título, intentan adaptarse a su nuevo pais y se rebelan contra sus mayores.

Julia AlvarezJulia Alvarez's brilliant first book of fiction sets the Garcia girls free to tell their irrepressibly intimate stories about how they came to be at home -- and not at home -- in America. "A warm, honest rendering of family life." --Elle Magazine "She has beautifully captured the threshold experience of the new immigrant." --New York Times Book Review

Mujer fuerte, siempre en lucha contra la adversidad, Salomé Ureña inspiró una revolución con su poesía y abrió el camino de la educación para las mujeres de su país. Ni en los momentos aciagos cedió en sus empeños, aunque íntimamente se preguntara: ¿qué es la patria? ¿qué es esta idea de la nación que empuja a tantos a dar la vida por su liberación, para que luego otras la vuelvan a encadenar?

Gracias a la magia y al poder de la imaginación de la escritora Julia Álvarez, las Mariposas recobran su fuerza en una novela deslumbrante y conmovedora.

[A] beguiling memoir of family and culture.O, The Oprah Magazine In a story that travels beyond borders and between families, acclaimed Dominican novelist and poet Julia Alvarez reflects on the joys and burdens of lovefor her parents, for her husband, and for a young Haitian boy known as Piti. In this intimate true account of a promise kept, Alvarez takes us on a journey into experiences that challenge our way of thinking about history and how it can be reimagined when people from two countriestraditional enemies and strangersbecome friends.Julia Alvarezs new novel, Afterlife, is available now.

"Original and illuminating."The New York Times Book Review In her most ambitious work since In the Time of Butterflies, Julia Alvarez tells the story of a woman whose poetry inspired one Caribbean revolution and of her daughter whose dedication to teaching strengthened another. Camila Henriquez Urena is about to retire from her longtime job teaching Spanish at Vassar College. Only now as she sorts through family papers does she begin to know the woman behind the legend of her mother, the revered Salome Urena, who died when Camila was three.In stark contrast to Salome, who became the Dominican Republics national poet at the age of seventeen, Camila has spent most of her life trying not to offend anybody. Her mother dedicated her life to educating young women to give them voice in their turbulent new nation; Camila has spent her life quietly and anonymously teaching the Spanish pluperfect to upper-class American girls with no notion of revolution, no knowledge of Salome Urena.Now, in 1960, Camila must choose a final destination for herself. Where will she spend the rest of her days? News of the revolution in Cuba mirrors her own internal upheaval. In the process of deciding her future, Camila uncovers the truth of her mothers tragic personal life and, finally, finds a place for her own passion and commitment.Julia Alvarez has won a large and devoted audience by brilliantly illuminating the history of modern Caribbean America through the personal stories of its people. As a Latina, as a poet and novelist, and as a university professor, Julia Alvarez brings her own experience to this exquisite story.Julia Alvarezs new novel, Afterlife, is available now.

Latina novelist Alma Huebner is suffering from writers block and is years past the completion date for yet another of her bestselling family sagas. Her husband, Richard, works for a humanitarian organization dedicated to the health and prosperity of developing countries and wants her help on an extended AIDS assignment in the Dominican Republic. But Alma begs off joining him: the publisher is breathing down her neck. She promises to work hard and follow him a bit later. The truth is that Alma is seriously sidetracked by a story she has stumbled across. Its the story of a much earlier medical do-gooder, Spaniard Francisco Xavier Balmis, who in 1803 undertook to vaccinate the populations of Spains American colonies against smallpox. To do this, he required live "carriers" of the vaccine. Of greater interest to Alma is Isabel Sendales y Gomez, director of La Casa de Expositos, who was asked to select twenty-two orphan boys to be the vaccine carriers. She agreed with the stipulation that she would accompany the boys on the proposed two-year voyage. Her strength and courage inspire Alma, who finds herself becoming obsessed with the details of Isabels adventures. This resplendent novel-within-a-novel spins the disparate tales of two remarkable women, both of whom are swept along by machismo. In depicting their confrontation of the great scourges of their respective eras, Alvarez exposes the conflict between altruism and ambition.

Named A Great American Novel by The Atlantic! From the international bestselling author of In the Time of the Butterflies and Afterlife, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents is "poignant...powerful... Beautifully captures the threshold experience of the new immigrant, where the past is not yet a memory." (The New York Times Book Review)Dont miss Alvarezs new novel, The Cemetery of Untold Stories, available now! Acclaimed writer Julia Alvarezs beloved first novel gives voice to four sisters as they grow up in two cultures. The Garcia sistersCarla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofiaand their family must flee their home in the Dominican Republic after their fathers role in an attempt to overthrow brutal dictator Rafael Trujillo is discovered. They arrive in New York City in 1960 to a life far removed from their existence in the Caribbean. In the wondrous but not always welcoming U.S.A., their parents try to hold on to their old ways as the girls try find new lives: by straightening their hair and wearing American fashions, and by forgetting their Spanish. For them, it is at once liberating and excruciating to be caught between the old world and the new. Here they tell their stories about being at homeand not at homein America."Alvarez helped blaze the trail for Latina authors to break into the literary mainstream, with novels like In the Time of the Butterflies and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents winning praise from critics and gracing best-seller lists across the Americas."Francisco Cantu, The New York Times Book Review"A clear-eyed look at the insecurity and yearning for a sense of belonging that are a part of the immigrant experience . . . Movingly told." The Washington Post Book World