Novelist Marisel Vera in conversation with Adriana E. Ramírez

 

Free Virtual Book Launch

Upcoming Lectures                Your Visit                  About Us                  Donate Marisel Vera Thursday, June 25th Virtual Book Launch In conversation with writer Adriana E. Ramírez Registration for this event is free. Registrants will be emailed a link to view the pre-recorded virtual event on June 25th. Copies of The Taste of Sugar by Marisel Vera and The Swallows by Adriana E. Ramírez are available for sale online from White Whale Bookstore. REGISTER "Subtle yet arresting, The Taste of Sugar, is a gorgeous feat of storytelling. Marisel Vera melds meticulous research with deep compassion and pure talent to fashion a novel that excavates the pain of the history while drawing hope from the buried stories of our nation. This is historical fiction as its best, using the moral dilemmas of the past to decipher our present conflicts in order to light our way toward a more just future." Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage It is 1898, and groups of starving Puerto Ricans, los hambrientos, roam the parched countryside and dusty towns begging for food. Under the yoke of Spanish oppression, the Caribbean island is forced to prepare to wage war with the United States. Up in the mountainous coffee region of Utuado, Vicente Vega and Valentina Sanchez labor to keep their small farm from the creditors. When the Spanish-American War and the great San Ciriaco Hurricane of 1899 bring devastating upheaval, the young couple is lured, along with thousands of other puertorriqueños, to the sugar plantations of Hawaii—another US territory—where they are confronted by the hollowness of America's promises of prosperity. Writing in the tradition of great Latin American storytelling, Marisel Vera's The Taste of Sugar is an unforgettable novel of love and endurance, and a timeless portrait of the reasons we leave home. Marisel Vera emerges as a major voice of contemporary fiction with this heart-wrenching novel.  A proud Boricua, Vera is the author of If I Bring You Roses, and the two-time winner of Willow Review's fiction prize. She lives in Chicago and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.   Made Local is presented in partnership with Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures 301 South Craig Street Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15213 United States

Tartan Salsa at CMU

What will this week bring? Put these down on your dance calendar!! 🤗

Tuesday: New BACHATA challenge w/ Carmen, starting TODAY!
Thursday: Cuban Rhythms challenge w/ Manuel
Sunday: NY Style Salsa On2 w/ Kuai-kuai

* * * Special event on Friday * * *
JUST MERCY Watch Party
When: THIS Friday at 8:00 pm
After our conversations last week about the history of salsa and about anti-racism, Tartan Salsa is hosting a movie night via Zoom to begin/continue learning about systemic racism. We will be watching Just Mercy (available for free on many platforms, see link), which tells a true story about the criminal justice system in this country. Join us!
http://justmercyfilm.com/

See you on Zoom, and keep dancing! 😊

 

diversity-network CaPS Workshop: Grief, Hopelessness and Isolation - This Thursday at 4:30pm

Hello,

 

Our colleagues with CaPS will be hosting the following workshop on dealing with ambiguity and injustice on Thursday at 4:30pm. This workshop will be open to the entire campus community. Please visit their website for more information.

 

In this interactive workshop, we will come together to normalize, think about and explore the collective and personal losses

that many have experienced during these times. Using a grief model lens, we will think about how we experience loss, identify

it in our lives, and figure out how to process and resolve it.

 

Best,

 

 

Lower Level 75, Cohon University Center

Pittsburgh, PA 15213

p: 412.268.2150|f: 412.268.1527