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Volume 5, Number 2 - Spring 2007
Marking 15 Years in the
Family of Gente y Cuentos
by Sarah Hirschman
“¡Cómo estas! ¡Qué gusto de verte!” There were embraces and kisses as the Spanish-speaking crowd milled in the auditorium of the Princeton Library. It felt like the reunion of a large extended family. And it was: this group was gathered to celebrate the 15th anniversary of a lively and successful Gente y Cuentos group.
Angélica Mariani, the Peruvian coordinator of the group since its beginning, was surrounded by affectionate past and present participants; a screen showed photographs taken over the years.
Elba Barzelatto, the Chilean assistant director of the library, organized the celebration. She helped me create this group in 1991 after the idea occurred to me: a program in Spanish in the library located on the edge of a largely Latino neighborhood.
The group drew recent immigrants, third-generation Latino-Americans, those who were struggling to learn English and those for whom Spanish was a beloved, though rarely spoken, mother tongue. People who had once felt that the library was not for them became more comfortable as they participated in Gente y Cuentos. A librarian made sure that everyone got cards, explained that there were books in Spanish that could be borrowed free of charge and that their children were welcome after school.
The library was so pleased with those new clients that the staff offered to support Gente y Cuentos so we could continue it throughout the year. At this gathering, people celebrated both the group’s longevity and their personal achievements; past and present participants poured out thanks to the library, to Mariani and to the authors of the stories they had read and loved.
A Peruvian woman spoke about how she discovered Latin American literature with a group that soon began to feel like a family. Through “Mujeres de ojos grandes” by Angeles Mastreta, she was able to relive some of her own story. A Cuban said that Gente y Cuentos offered “unforgettable experiences; the various cuentos discussed created a psychological and sociological chemistry that helped us open up to each other creating a new mutual respect.”
Another participant noted that she and her husband now offer their house for a Christmas celebration, with paella, arroz con leche, ropa vieja and flan brought by the guests, and how this yearly occasion has bound the group. Others—Mexicans, Colombians, Guatemalans, Puerto Ricans, Argentineans, Peruvians—mentioned García Márquez, Isabel Allende, Ricardo Piglia and other authors they encountered in Gente y Cuentos and still remember today.
Over the years, participants’ interconnections stretched beyond the borders of the weekly group. There were generous gifts: one member paid the ESL class tuition for another who could not afford the fee; people took others into their homes during housing crises; participants drove one another on errands or helped out when there was an illness in the family. “We are part of the family of Gente y Cuentos,” said one participant after another, recalling all the ways those words were proven true.