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Interviewing Cultura Profética. (Photo by Mario Ruben Carrión)
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Sneak peek of audiobook narration for La colina que ascendemos
Praise for Chula (2019)
Chula has been praised by best-selling author Elizabeth Acevedo, and has been
profiled in People en Español, Remezcla, Hip Latina, and countless blogs and
Instagram pages including Mixta and Latinx Reads. Here is some of that praise:
“Alcantara’s Chula sings with ferocity and wit.” - Elizabeth Acevedo, National Book
Award Winner, Author of The Poet X
“Without noticing, you read lines of the book in the voice of her family member, hearing
mami’s worry, older family members’ judgments, the excitement of a best friend, and
yourself as the narrator, because you talk like Alcántara and have lived like her, too. It’s
all so familiar.” - Stacy Fernández, Remezcla (Link)
“What makes the book’s texts unique can be best described with my experience three
pages in. As a Dominican-American who understands both Spanish and English, that’s
how long it took me to realize I was reading in Spanglish. Alcantara writes the way she
speaks, the way I speak, the way my sister speaks — it naturally resonates with the
bilingual reader as the autobiographical dive takes place.” - Jennifer Motaval, People En Español (Link)
“Chula is a collection of intimate, messy in the way life is, unapologetic and dare I say
fabulous stories. The imagery is strong, and her narrative manages to switch organically
between English and Spanish in the same way you are probably texting with your best
friend by now.” - Carmen Rita Candelario, Mixta (Link)
“In her book titled Chula, Amanda Alcántara embodies the multiplicity of meanings tied
to this epithet, creating a body of work that not only code switches from Dominican
dialect to standard English, but also conflates style and form cuando le da su gana,
through her use of journaling, lyrical poetry, memoir, storytelling vignettes, prose and
refránes reflective of who she asserts herself to be: La que se inventa frases porque
vive entre 2 lenguas y 5 vidas- hija, hermana, puta, santa y amiga. Seamlessly moving
from Spanish to English, while embracing all the margins, ella se fajó a trabajar in
creating this living document of a young girl and later a woman who is proud to claim
que ella ‘nunca sera fina pero tampoco sencilla.’"
- Peggy Robles-Alvarado, Author of Conversations With My Skin and Homage To The
Warrior Women
profiled in People en Español, Remezcla, Hip Latina, and countless blogs and
Instagram pages including Mixta and Latinx Reads. Here is some of that praise:
“Alcantara’s Chula sings with ferocity and wit.” - Elizabeth Acevedo, National Book
Award Winner, Author of The Poet X
“Without noticing, you read lines of the book in the voice of her family member, hearing
mami’s worry, older family members’ judgments, the excitement of a best friend, and
yourself as the narrator, because you talk like Alcántara and have lived like her, too. It’s
all so familiar.” - Stacy Fernández, Remezcla (Link)
“What makes the book’s texts unique can be best described with my experience three
pages in. As a Dominican-American who understands both Spanish and English, that’s
how long it took me to realize I was reading in Spanglish. Alcantara writes the way she
speaks, the way I speak, the way my sister speaks — it naturally resonates with the
bilingual reader as the autobiographical dive takes place.” - Jennifer Motaval, People En Español (Link)
“Chula is a collection of intimate, messy in the way life is, unapologetic and dare I say
fabulous stories. The imagery is strong, and her narrative manages to switch organically
between English and Spanish in the same way you are probably texting with your best
friend by now.” - Carmen Rita Candelario, Mixta (Link)
“In her book titled Chula, Amanda Alcántara embodies the multiplicity of meanings tied
to this epithet, creating a body of work that not only code switches from Dominican
dialect to standard English, but also conflates style and form cuando le da su gana,
through her use of journaling, lyrical poetry, memoir, storytelling vignettes, prose and
refránes reflective of who she asserts herself to be: La que se inventa frases porque
vive entre 2 lenguas y 5 vidas- hija, hermana, puta, santa y amiga. Seamlessly moving
from Spanish to English, while embracing all the margins, ella se fajó a trabajar in
creating this living document of a young girl and later a woman who is proud to claim
que ella ‘nunca sera fina pero tampoco sencilla.’"
- Peggy Robles-Alvarado, Author of Conversations With My Skin and Homage To The
Warrior Women
