Esmeralda Santiago
Encyclopedia
Esmeralda Santiago is a Puerto Rican
author and former actress known for her novels and memoirs.
district of Villa Palmeras, Santurce
, Puerto Rico
. In 1961, she came to the continental United States
when she was thirteen years old, the eldest in a family that would eventually include eleven children. Santiago attended New York City
's Performing Arts High School, she and her husband, Frank Cantor, founded CANTOMEDIA, a film and media production company, which has won numerous awards for excellence in documentary ng.
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.
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
where she portrayed a student named Esmeralda.
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
.
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
author and former actress known for her novels and memoirs.
Early life
Santiago was born on 17 May 1948 in the San JuanSan Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
district of Villa Palmeras, Santurce
Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Santurce is a district of San Juan, Puerto Rico.-Summary:Santurce is one of the top ten most populated areas of the island holding Miramar, Loíza, Isla Grande, Barrio Obrero, and Condado as main cultural hot spots for art, music, cuisine, fashion, hotels, technology, multimedia, film, textile and...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. In 1961, she came to the continental United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when she was thirteen years old, the eldest in a family that would eventually include eleven children. Santiago attended New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Performing Arts High School, she and her husband, Frank Cantor, founded CANTOMEDIA, a film and media production company, which has won numerous awards for excellence in documentary ng.
Career
Her writing career evolved from her work as a producer/writer of documentaryDocumentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
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
House & Garden (magazine)
House & Garden was an American shelter magazine published by Condé Nast Publications that focused on interior design, entertaining, and gardening....
, Metropolitan Home
Metropolitan Home
Metropolitan Home was a magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. The magazine focused on "high-end modern design and interiors, blended with intelligent reporting, to connect with a progressive reader mindset." It was originally published from 1974 through 1981 as Apartment Life,...
, and Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
.
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
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
.
Her second memoir, Almost a Woman, received numerous "Best of Year" mentions, in addition to an Alex Award from the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
. It has recently been adapted into a film for Exxon Mobil Masterpiece Theatre, which premiered nationally on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
on September 14, 2002.
With Joie Davidow
Joie Davidow
Joie Davidow is an author and editor. She was born in Philadelphia, United States, to a Romanian mother and Russian father and grew up in New Jersey. Davidow was one of the founders of the L.A. Weekly, a newspaper that has been publishing in Los Angeles since December, 1978. She launched the...
, 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
Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
.
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
Bel Kaufman
Bella "Bel" Kaufman is an American teacher and author, best known for writing the 1965 bestselling novel Up the Down Staircase.-Early life:...
's novel, Up the Down Staircase
Up the Down Staircase (film)
Up the Down Staircase is a 1967 drama film about the first, trying assignment for a young, idealistic teacher played by Sandy Dennis. Tad Mosel wrote the screenplay adaptation of the novel of the same name by Bel Kaufman.-Cast:...
where 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.Awards and honors
In addition to literary and community service awards, Ms. Santiago has earned a Master of Fine ArtsMaster of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in Fiction Writing from Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
and Honorary Doctor of Letters from Trinity College
Trinity College (Connecticut)
Trinity College is a private, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut after Yale University. The college enrolls 2,300 students and has been coeducational since 1969. Trinity offers 38 majors and 26 minors, and has...
, from Pace University
Pace University
Pace University is an American private, co-educational, and comprehensive multi-campus university in the New York metropolitan area with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York.-Programs:...
and from University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
The University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez in Spanish , is a land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant state university located in the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico...
.
See also
- List of Puerto Rican writers
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Nuyorican MovementNuyorican MovementThe Nuyorican Movement is a cultural and intellectual movement involving poets, writers, musicians and artists who are Puerto Rican or of Puerto Rican descent, who live in or near New York City, and either call themselves or are known as Nuyoricans...
- Puerto Rican literature
- Giannina BraschiGiannina BraschiGiannina Braschi is a Puerto Rican writer. She is credited with writing the first Spanglish novel YO-YO BOING! and the poetry trilogy Empire of Dreams , which chronicles the Latin American immigrant's experiences in the United States...
- Rosario FerreRosario FerréDr. Rosario Ferré is a Puerto Rican writer, poet and essayist. Her father, Luis A. Ferré, was the third elected Governor of Puerto Rico, and the founding father of the New Progressive Party. When her mother, Lorenza Ramírez de Arellano, died in 1970...
- Ana Lydia VegaAna Lydia VegaAna Lydia Vega is a celebrated Puerto Rican female writer. She has received the Premio Juan Rulfo and the Premio Casa de las Américas . Vega was a professor of French literature and Caribbean studies at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras...
External links
- Official website
- Esmeralda Santiago on the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Biographical sketch