What's a quirky or little-known fact about yourself, your writing, and/or one of your novels? (For example, you can tell us about a non-standard pet you have, an unusual way you do your writing, a strange real life incident that inspired a scene in one of your novels, or so on.)
Belinda Acosta's answer:
I was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. I don’t find that so “odd” or “quirky,” but by the number of times people rear back when I tell them that, it apparently strikes others as wacky. When most people think of the U.S. Latino experience, they think of East Los Angeles, the Bronx of New York, or Texas. But I am a Midwesterner, made with Mexican parts and a heavy dose of Tejana backbone, thanks to my mother who was born and raised in the South Texas Valley.
Though Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz is centered around a quinceañera, I never had one (my mother asked me if I wanted a Sweet 16 and I declined—I was going through an anti-femme phase. Don’t ask). I don’t have any children. I had never been to a quinceañera mass until I was writing this book. But I’ve been fascinated by the range of approaches to the ceremony and hearing women’s oral histories on the subject. One of my favorite things to do at the nail salon—when you’re sitting there waiting for your nails to dry—is to ask women sitting with me if they had a quinceañera. The question always launches them into these long involved tales about their daughter’s quince, their niece, their comadre’s girl, and on and on and on. Some people think it’s babbling, but it’s the kind of babbling I love. It’s music to my ears. And sitting there waiting for your nails to dry is really boring.
—Belinda Acosta
July 31, 2009
Thank you, Ms. Acosta, for sharing this interesting information about your life.
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