Cristina Henríquez: Unknown Americans
Cristina Henríquez is a novelist based out of Chicago, originally from Delaware. Her latest novel is The Book of Unknown Americans, which follows the lives of different Latino immigrants residing in the same apartment building in Delaware. Their stories give us insight into the perspectives of immigrants living in this country, how we perceive them and how they are oftentimes misunderstood in the media. At the center of the novel is the love story of Mayor and Maribel, two teenagers with complicated relationships with their own families.
These stories were inspired by Cristina’s father who came from Pánama to study in the US and other Latino immigrants living in this country. The launch of the book started the #UnknownAmericans tumblr, featuring real life immigrants’ stories. Check out the site, read the stories and submit your own!
Cristina and I met up on Skype to talk about her book, how the media unfortunately portrays immigrants (ahem, Donald Trump) and her writing process. This interview was featured on KBOO Community Radio’s Radiozine and the Intersections Radio podcast which airs on XRAY.
Check out the podcast!
Air date: 8/25/2015, Rebroadcast on XRAY: 3/9/2016
**You can read the transcript: 082815 Intersections Transcript cristina henriquez
*This interview features music by La Santa Cecilia