Esmeralda santiago husband
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Esmeralda Santiago / Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0.
Writer and actress
The publication of her autobiographical memoir When I was Puerto Rican (1993) immediately gained Esmeralda Santiago critical attention as a talented and deliberate narrator of women’s oppressive experiences in a sexist cultural and social environment. Santiago is now one of the leading Puerto Rican and Latina writers in the United States.
Born in the neighborhood of Villa Palmeras in Santurce, Puerto Rico in 1948, the author grew up in a rural sector of the town of Toa Baja. Coming from a large poor family, she was eleven years old when, in 1961, her mother decided to move with her eleven children to Brooklyn, New York. Because of her academic achievements, she was able to secure admission to New York’s Performing Arts High School and study acting. After graduating from high school she attended Harvard University where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. She also holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College. After becoming a leading writer, she has received honorary doctoral degrees i
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Esmeralda Santiago
Puerto Rican writer
Esmeralda Santiago (born May 17, 1948)[1] is a Puerto Rican author known for her narrative memoirs and trans-cultural writing.[2] Her impact extends beyond cultivating narratives as she paves the way for more coming-of-age stories about being a Latina in the United States, alongside navigating cultural dissonance through acculturation.[2][3]
Personal life
Santiago was born on May 17, 1948, in the Macún neighborhood of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.[1] She was the eldest of eleven children while raised mostly by her mother and partly by her father, though they were never married.[2] Her family lived in the countryside and was descended from poor, peasant farmers. In 1961, at age 13, she moved to the United States. Santiago attended junior high school in Brooklyn and learned English in two years, then attended New York City's prestigious Performing Arts High School.[4] Upon graduating, Santiago attended community college and worked various jobs for eight years. After,
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BIOGRAPHY - CRITICISM Esmeralda Santiago was born in Puerto Rico, the eldest of eleven children raised by a single mother. When she was thirteen years old, the family moved to Brooklyn, New York. Within two years, she had learned enough English to be accepted into the prestigious Performing Arts High School. She spent eight years studying part-time at community colleges while working full-time, until she was accepted as a transfer student to Harvard University with a full scholarship and received her Master's degree from Sarah Lawrence College. Upon graduating magna cum laude in 1976, she and Frank Cantor, her husband, founded Cantomedia, a film and production company that has won numerous awards for excellence in documentary filmmaking. She has done extensive work for victims of domestic violence, including helping found a Youth Service Center and a shelter for battered women in Massachusetts. Her first book, a memoir of her childhood entitled When I Was Puerto Rican appeared in 1993 to great critical acclaim. She soon followed this memoir with the novel America Copyright ©backaid.pages.dev 2025 |