When I Was Puerto Rican

E S M E R A L D A S A N T I A G O

“Touching and revealing . . . takes its unique place in contemporary Latino storytelling.” —Los Angeles Times

AU T H O R O F A L M O S T A W O M A N A N D T H E T U R K I S H L O V E R

A Memoir

“This coming-of-age memoir . . . will speak to anyone whose parents loved and hated each other, to anyone who recalls a child’s bittersweet loss of innocence, and to anyone who simply enjoys good writing.”—Miami Herald

In When I Was Puerto Rican, Esmeralda Santiago tells of a childhood in Puerto Rico full of both tenderness and domestic strife, a childhood bursting with tropical sounds and sights. And mired in poverty. As she grew up, Esmeralda discovered the proper way to eat a guava, listened to the sound of tree frogs in the mango groves at night, savored the taste of the delectable sausage called morcilla, and learned the formula for ushering a dead baby’s soul to heaven. But when her mother, Mami, a force of nature, decides to take off for New York with her seven—soon to be eleven—children, Esmeralda, the oldest, must learn new rules, a new language, and eventually a new identity.

“A powerful tribute to the island of her childhood.”—Washington Post Book World

“A story rich in reverberations about all those who have made a transforming physical and spiritual journey in life.”—San Juan Star

Also by Esmeralda Santiago and available from Da Capo Press: The

Turkish Lover

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR

A Merloyd Lawrence BookCover design by Cooley Design LabCover photograph courtesy of the author

$13.95 US / $18.95 CAN

Da Capo PressA Member of the Perseus Books Groupwww.dacapopress.com

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When I Was Puerto Rican

Includes Reader’s Guide

Inside

� Our new place in Sabana Seca was a pretty finca at the endof a cul-de-sac by a golf course. A creek ran at the side of theproperty dividing us from the large house next door, whichMami said belonged to “una gente rica” —rich folks. On theother side of us was the home of Doña Lina and Don José,their children, and their television set.

We had seen television before, but this was the first time wewere captivated by the figures on the screen. Tom and Jerry, ElPato Donald, and El Ratoncito Mickey Mouse delighted uswith their adventures. Superman burst through walls, liftedcars, and caught people falling out of buildings before they hitthe ground. Tarzan let out mighty yelps and swung from limb