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Latino Soul Featured Author

Anjela Villarreal Ratliff

Anjela Villarreal Ratliff


Place of Residence: Austin, Texas

LS Story: “In My Classroom”

Previous Publications: Anjela is the author of the poetry chapbooks: Canela Is Chameleon, De Semillas a Frutas , Madre Mía, published in 2002. Madre Mía was for and about Anjela’s late mother, a farmworker who participated in the UFW strikes and organizing efforts in the 1970s. Additionally, Anjela’s poetry has been published in various anthologies, including Cantos alSexto Sol: An Anthology of Aztlanahuac Writing and The Mesquite Review. Currently Anjela is the moderator of the maravilloso yahoo online site for Latino Soul authors.

Literary Muse: Anjela says:“I tend to be the kind of writer who does not like to follow routine too closely.  I like being able to be spontaneous in my writing.  My muses vary according to my frame of mind.  But, in general, my muse is my mantra: We must write our stories to leave our recorded history for future Latino generations.   But, I can also be inspired to write by such things as nature, current affairs, music, a memory, an experience, a writing prompt, a call for submissions, or even just a challenge to myself.”

Some of Anjela's Favorite writers: Ilan Stavans, Benjamin Saenz, Ana Castillo, Sandra Cisneros, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Helena Maria Viramontes, Julia Alvarez

Anjela's Recommended Books:
High Tide In Tucson, Barbara Kingsolver
Feminism on the Border, Sonia Saldívar-Hull
The Essential Haiku (Basho, Buson, and Issa), editor Robert Hass
Care of the Soul, Thomas Moore
The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron (she's reading this book for the eighth time!)
Places Left Unfinished in the Time of Creation, John Philip Santos
Magical Urbanism, Mike Davis

Anjela began exploring creative writing in 1990, when she was in her mid- thirties. Most of her inspiration comes from childhood memories and personal experiences.  She is grateful for the support she receives for her writing from her husband, and her two older sisters, Lucía and Elodia.  Anjela has had many of her poems published and several prose pieces.  But her piece in Latino Soul, “In My Classroom,” is the first story she has published.  It has encouraged her to write more prose--mostly personal essays and short fiction.  Anjela has many works-in-progress, including a nonfiction manuscript that she’s been working on for a few years about how Latinos are underrepresented in all areas of Mainstream America.

Interview with Anjela Villarreal Ratliff:

  • Susan: Why do you think that Latino Soul is an important book that people will want to read? 
  • Anjela: Latino Soul is an important sampling of the varied lives and experiences of Latinos across the United States.  For every author in the Latino Soul book, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, more in this country waiting to have their stories heard.  Our stories have universal themes that go beyond ethnic and cultural barriers.  That’s why readers of ALL backgrounds can enjoy the book.  The stories I love best in the book are the ones about turning hardships into lessons for becoming stronger and more determined human beings.  I also loved the stories about our ancianos, who have left us their wisdom and their legacies.
  • Susan: What do you hope people will take from your story or poem? 
  • Anjela: That we adults must always keep in mind how to make life better for the children of this world, who will become the adults of the future.  And, that a child’s home language is to be respected at all times.
  • Susan: What particular contribution do you think Latino/a writers make to the American literary scene today? 
  • Anjela: Latina and Latino writers are an important thread in the American weave.  They write the stories for the growing population of Latinos in this country.  Without these stories, the quilt of these United States is left with giant gaps in its cloth.  These stories need to be written and made available through the literary mainstream, so that bookstores across the nation will fill their bookshelves with them. 
  • Susan: Why will non-Latino/a readers will be interested in Latino Soul?
  • Anjela: When I founded Austin Hispanic Writers, back in 1996, I always told the members that one day in the not too distant future, this country would become hungry for our stories.  That it is our duty as Latino writers to write our stories for when that time comes.  I think that time is now. I believe that the United States is becoming a place where people of all backgrounds and all languages will find their proper place; where one day, everyone will be welcomed and appreciated. 
  • Susan: How did you first hear about Latino Soul?
  • Anjela: I belong to several online Latino networks.  These groups send out ongoing messages of interest to other Latinos and one of them sent me the “Call for Submissions” for the Latino Soul book.  I submitted my short story back in December of 2003, and got an immediate reply that my story was being considered for publication.  It took two more years after that for the book to be completed.
  • Susan: How did your family and friends react when they heard that you were going to be published in Latino Soul? 
  • Anjela: Everyone I know: family, friends, fellow writers, even my neighbors, were thrilled at my good news.  They sometimes treat me like a celebrity!  They tell me they love my story, and that it brings tears to their eyes.  They especially are thrilled at the media attention that has come my way because of being published in Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul.
  • Susan: What feedback have you received about the book? 
  • Anjela: Everyone who has read the book has nothing but great things to say about it.  They especially like the diversity of voices and experiences depicted in the book.  One of my sisters told me that she wants to make the book last a long time, so she is reading it a little at a time.  My husband, who is Anglo, told me that the stories carry universal themes, which he can relate to.  Another sister said she is recommending the book to all her Latino and non-Latino friends.  My writer friends tell me they are really enjoying the stories, and that they feel like their lives are mirrored in those stories.  I have not heard one single negative comment about the book.
  • Susan: Have you been interviewed by radio, newspapers, or TV about Latino Soul? 
  • Anjela: In August, I did a short taped commentary for KUT radio in Austin.  I was called by one of the station’s news directors.  She sent me some guidelines to follow for writing my three minute piece.  Then I went to the radio studio to record it.  That was an exciting experience.  The recording was aired a few days after, and is archived at their website (http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kut/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=804571).  I just did a live phone interview for a Houston radio show: Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say (http://www.kpftx.org/archives/kpftsignal/). They interviewed me and two other Latino Soul authors live via a teleconference.  That was an enjoyable experience as well.
  • Susan: Are you doing any readings, signings, or other promotion in the near future (for Latino Soul or for other publications)?  Where and when? 
  • Anjela: I have four upcoming readings and signings at major bookchains: Borders, Barnes and Noble, and BookPeople.  One is on October 15th in San Antonio; and three are in Austin, Texas: for November, January, and February.  All of these readings will also feature several other authors from the Latino Soul book.  I am anxious to meet my fellow co-authors in person.

Thank you, Anjela, for your wonderful story, you inspiring words and your generous heart!

To listen to Anjela reading her story "In My Classroom" on pocast #3 (click here).

Susan Gets The Last Word!: Anjela’s story about our bilingual/bicultural identity is a hot topic, and an important one for Latinos/as and non-Latinos alike.  Here are some facts about the history of the Spanish language in the United States and the linguistic identity of U.S. Latinos/as:*

  • Latino communities in the United States are distinguished linguistically by their high and unrivalled degree of bilingualism.  44% of Latino adults living in the U.S. are fully bilingual, making Latinos the most linguistically skilled population in the United States.
  • 76% of Latino adults today are fluent English speakers (either English dominant or bilingual; 31% of Latino adults are monolingual English speakers)
  • 69% of Latinos living in the U.S. speak Spanish
  • 24% of Latino adults are monolingual Spanish-speakers (96% of these speakers are immigrants to the U.S.)
  • 55% of the Latino population is native born
  • 45% of the Latino population is foreign born (and about half of these Latino immigrants are fluent in English)
  • The Latino population (more than 41 million) of the U.S. is the fifth-largest Spanish-speaking community in the world behind Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina
  • Research shows that with population growth being driven by a high birth rate rather than immigration, U.S. Hispanics are becoming primarily English speakers
  • Research shows that the rate at which Latino immigrant communities become English dominant in successive generations follows typical immigrant patterns, in spite of widely held perceptions that Latino communities resist the English language
  • Spanish was spoken on American soil long before the English language arrived.  The first Spanish words were spoken by the Spanish conquistadores who first set foot in what was then Mexico and what is now the southwestern United States around 1540.
  • 97% of the U.S. total population is English speaking (out of 288 million people, 280 million speak English)
  • Monolingualism is not the natural order of things.  In the overwhelming majority of countries in the world, more than one language is spoken in the home, and a variety of languages are spoken in each country
  • Monolingualism is almost always the result of directed campaigns to stifle other tongues

*These facts are taken from various sources, including the Pew Hispanic Center, Washington, D.D. (pewhispanic.org), and the research of linguist Ana Celia Zentella.

Recommended books on issues of Latino language and education:
Subtractive Schooling: U.S. - Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring,
Angela Valenzuela, 1999
Latinos: Remaking America.  Edited by Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco and
Mariela M. Paéz, 2002  
Ethnic Identity and Power: Cultural Contexts of Political Action in School
and Society (SUNY Series, Power, Social Identity, and Education), editor Henry Trueba et al., 1998
Building on Strength: Language And Literacy in Latino Families And
Communities (Language and Literacy Series (Teachers College Press))
Ana Celia Zentella, 2005