Sandra Cisneros, arguably the most popular Hispanic writer in the United States, turns 57 years old today. Cisneros has won acclaim for her stories and poems that depict the Latina experience in America.
The House on Mango Street, which follows a year in the life of young Esperanza Cordero, was published in 1984. The book is now required reading in many classrooms and was featured in PBS’s 2007 series The American Novel – the only book by a Latino author to earn that distinction. Women Hollering Creek and Other Stories, published in 1991, is a collection of stories following the lives of Latinas (including one called Rosario “Chayo” De Leon – great last name!). Her 2002 book, Carmelo, follows one family’s summer trip from Chicago to Mexico. She’s also published books of poetry and children’s books.
Cisneros has founded The Macondo Foundation, an organization for writers. But, as this Texas Observer article notes, she has found it challenging to write and run the foundation at the same time, and she plans to move from San Antonio to New Mexico.
Cisneros is working on book called Writing in My Pajamas, but no release date has been set. Until then, check out some of her clips on YouTube, where she talks about writing and her books.
The Hispanic Reader 
Nice! You probably know this already, but when she moves from San Antonio, she’ll be leaving behind her famous purple (now pink) house in the King William neighborhood where the color once caused quite a stir.
I remember driving by her purple house! I saw on her website that it’s now pink: “My house is no longer violet because the sun faded it from violet to blue after a few years. We painted it Mexican-pink so it can fade into pink, then built my office in the backyard and painted it Mexican-marigold. The colors make me happy.”
Pingback: In the news: Librotraficantes in Arizona, Anaya, Valdes, Díaz : Latina Lista