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Latino Soul Featured Author

Norma Oquendo

Norma Oquendo

Place of Residence:Whitsett, North Carolina

LS Story: "I'll Always Remember You"

Literary Muse:
Norma says: “I started writing poetry and short stories at the age of eleven, but when I was seventeen I put my writing passion aside for marriage and motherhood. Now that my children are grown I have gone back to writing again.  At first I wrote because I loved it and I still do, but recently my youngest grandson, Taylor, has become my biggest supporter. He developed a special interest in my writing and has a copy of my books, and has even attempted to write a poem for his mom. He told his teacher about my books and brought them in to school to show her. I want to continue to fuel his interest.”

Publications:
Colors of My World and Pandora’s Box (2004). Available on www.lulu.com. Norma is currently working on a collection of short stories, which she hopes to finish in time for the holidays.

Favorite writers:
Norma says: “I find that if I pick just one or two authors I might miss out on something spectacular so I read pretty much anything and everything providing the story line is of interest to me. I recently read Mr. Ives’ Christmas by Oscar Hijuelos (who also wrote The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love), and TD Jakes’ God's Leading Lady as well as The Other Face of America: Immigrants Shaping Our Future by Jorge Ramos.”

Norma, on LS familia:
“I would like to add that being part of the Latino Soul familia is a wonderful experience. Little by little we are being fed small bites of each others lives, our ups and downs, and together we are weaving a beautiful tapestry. Regardless of what happens from here we will look back at this and remember the time we had as latinos and latinas coming together for a good cause, feeding the latino soul… and at the end of the day we feel good because for a few moments we reached out and touched someone whose problem was greater than ours and we fall asleep feeling a sense of accomplishment.”

Interview with Norma Oquendo:
  • Susan: How did you first hear about Latino Soul?
  • Norma: I first heard about Latino Soul from a friend and was thrilled about the opportunity, not only to be published, but also to have my story included in a book exclusively about Latinos written by Latinos.
  • Susan: What is your story about? 
  • Norma: “I’ll Always Remember You” is about my mother’s hospital stay and the first time in my life that my mother didn’t know who I was, which was a shocking and very painful experience for both of us.
  • Susan: Why did you choose this story for the Latino Soul anthology?
  • Norma: First and foremost when I think about cultural experiences and struggles I think about my mom. She was born in Lares, Puerto Rico, and was an only child.  She spent her childhood at home caring for my sickly grandmother, and never had the opportunity to learn how to read or write. Later, she was your traditional stay at home mom. She didn’t have a job outside of the home. Her children were her life so when I saw her in the hospital and she didn’t remember me it was like visiting a stranger. It was like it was happening to someone else.
  • Susan: What do you hope people will take from your story? 
  • Norma: Appreciation for our elders. When our elders lose their memory we don’t just lose a personal connection we lose a cultural and historical connection. They are a treasure chest of our past, our present and our future. I would also like readers to recognize that no matter how old they are that when they are around their parents they are still the children. At the hospital when my mother didn’t recognize me, the mother and grandmother in me stepped aside and it was the child in me who refused to leave without an acknowledgement.
  • Susan: Tell us about your other publications and where they can be purchased or found on the web.  What are you working on now?
  • Norma: Last year I self-published two books of poetry, Colors of My World and Pandora’s Box, and they are available on www.lulu.com/neo. I am currently working on a collection of short stories, which I hope to finish in time for the holidays, and this book will also be available at lulu.com, as well as at amazon.com.  These short stories, like my poems, describe different life experiences and struggles that we go through as individuals, couples and single parents.
  • Susan: Have you been interviewed by radio, newspapers, or TV about Latino Soul? 
  • Norma: I have been interviewed by three local newspapers and recently by a Houston radio station. I brought two articles into work and my coworkers talked about it all day and they still stop and ask me about my writing.
  • Susan: Are you doing any readings, signings, or other promotion in the near future (for Latino Soul or for other publications)?  Where and when? 
  • Norma: I plan on promoting the book the second weekend in October during a Latino function I will be attending in Connecticut. The mayor of Hartford will be attending this function and I hope to engage his interest in the book’s promotion. I will be visiting my grandsons’ schools to encourage them to carry the book in their library as well as asking mercados to post the flyer in their storefronts.

Thank you, Norma, for reaching out to readers with your poignant and moving story about your mother.

To listen to Norma reading her story, check out pocast #4 (to read her story click here).

Some important facts about Latinos/as and Alzheimer’s disease (taken from the Alzheimer’s Association report, May 18, 2004):

  • While research is only beginning to uncover the impact of Alzheimer’s disease among Latinos, data suggests that Latinos may be at greater risk to develop dementia than other ethnic or racial groups.
  • The burden of disease is falling heavily on Latino families, particularly daughters and other female relatives, in part because of the roles of caregivers of women in these communities but also because of the lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate and responsive health and community services.
  • Education appears to have some protective effect against Alzheimer’s. Latinos/as have the lowest education levels of any group in the United States. One in 10 Latino/a elders has no formal education. Over half of them have 8 years of schooling or less.
  • Age is the single greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s.  Latinos are disproportionately represented in the older age groups most at risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Latino life expectancy will increase to age 87 by 2050, surpassing all other ethnic groups in the United States. By the middle of the century, Latinos will increase as a proportion of the total elderly population from 5% today to 16%.

For more information on Latinos/as and Alzheimers, please see this detailed report by the Alzheimer’s Association:

http://www.alz.org/Downloads/HispanicReportSpanish.pdf  (Alzheimer’s Association, “La enfermedad de Alzheimer entre la población hispana/latina;” article in Spanish) http://www.alz.org/Downloads/HispanicReportEnglish.pdf  (Alzheimer’s Association, “Hispanics/Latinos and Alzheimer’s Disease;” article in English)