Julia Alvarez worked with real life migrant workers and dairy farmers, which is where she got the idea for this book in the first place. There’s a great exhibit up at the Vermont Folklife Center website that has photographs and interviews of the people that Julia Alvarez worked with. It is really interesting! You can check out the exhibit here!
Posts Tagged ‘Alvarez’
Mexican Migrant Workers and Vermont Dairy Farmers
Posted: October 22, 2011 by greerrachele in UncategorizedTags: Alvarez, farming, Mexico, migrant workers, online exhibits, oral history, photographs, Return to Sender, Vermont, vermont folklife center
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Interview with the Author!
Posted: October 15, 2011 by greerrachele in UncategorizedTags: Alvarez, radio interview, Return to Sender, seven sisters, vermont public radio
Seven Sisters
Hear the author read from the book!
Posted: October 12, 2011 by greerrachele in UncategorizedTags: Alvarez, narrators, reading out loud, Return to Sender
Check it out! Julia Alvarez reads from the book. Do you like hearing the words in her voice? Or did you already have a voice in your head that was different?
La Golondrina (The Swallow)
Posted: October 11, 2011 by greerrachele in UncategorizedTags: Alvarez, birds, La Golondrina, music, Return to Sender, soundtracks to reading
Barn Swallow Photo by sannse, North Devon, 14 May 2004
On her website, Julia Alvarez talks about a soundtrack for Return to Sender. She lists special songs that meant a lot to her while she was writing the book. One of them, that Mari mentions frequently, is “La Golondrina” which means swallow in English. Check out this video of Placido Domingo singing the song. You can even listen while you read to create atmosphere!
What do you think? How did the song make you feel? What images did it bring to mind?
