I was 19 when I started my writing career on a stage in Houston’s Talento Bilingue de Houston.
I wore this awful pink prom-eque dress from the 80s and talked about my life as the daughter of an exile.
And that…that performance…that piece…is where I was started and I owe all that to an organization called Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say.
Today, that wonderful, dear organization celebrates 20 years of magic making. From the showcases to now the weekly radio show, NP has showcased not only national Latino work but also local writers.
It proved to the establishment that Latinos read and that Latinos actually have stories/things to say. And it made space where there wasn’t any.
From this organization came others — Tintero Projects, the Afro-Latina Retreat, Our Word at Columbia University. It produced Latinos with MFA degrees. It launched careers, expanded audiences.
NP is a city treasure. It’s a national treasure. And something that will continue for decades to come.
Happy Birthday, Nuestra Palabra!
