Everyone Has a Story
Just as a lion is the product of all
the zebras it has eaten, I am the
product of all the books I've read—
especially family-based stories. I'm
particularly fond of the stories these two
prolific children's authors have written based on
their families. Patricia Polacco writes stories
of her Russian heritage and stories about her
family in Michigan and California.
Reading many of Tomie de Paola's stories
transports you to his life growing up in an Italian
and Irish household. Even one of his dedications
to Binney & Smith Inc. and Crayola crayons
informs you about his life. Subliminally, I've been
inspired to show my DNA in my writing. I hope
readers enjoy the nuggets of truth about my
family which I sprinkled in The Wind Called
My Name, especially
since I am the product of people who I think led
interesting lives.
Both sides of my family traveled the Manito
Trail when they left their ancestral New Mexican
homes. Our trail led to Wyoming where there
were work opportunities. Here they found they
were now the minority population. My mom's
story growing up in a Hispanic family in a small,
southern Wyoming town during the Great
Depression was the impetus for The Wind Called
My Name. Some details from my dad's family
moving to Wyoming in the 1940s are integrated
into the story too.
What fascinates me is how most people
bring their cultures with them when they move.
This was the case for most of the Hispanic
families like mine in Wyoming who
brought their rich New Mexican
culture with them and passed it on to
their children. Thus, this population
grew up with a querencia or longing
for New Mexico even if they weren't
born or raised there. I equate this
to the people of the Jewish
Diaspora who left Israel, but made
sure Israel never left them or their
children.
Naturally, my young
protagonist Margarita Sandoval
(my mom) has a strong New
Mexican identity and hopes her
new Wyoming friend Caroline
will embrace her culture. But
instead, Caroline questions it
and sometimes unknowingly
ridicules it, until both girls
learn they can accept their
differences as well as
share their similarities. I've
jokingly said I should have
included my maternal
family tree in the book,
and it really would be
easy for my readers to
construct one. More
than family names,
however, I hope
readers take away
from The Wind Called My Name that Margarita,
a young Hispanic girl, has a story to tell, as do
her parents, her grandparents, as do we all. In
my office, I have a quote I reflect on as I write.
Author Isabel Campo so eloquently says, "Our
universe is made up of 'vacant silences.' There is
room for seven billion stories, one written by each
person in this tiny planet." My question to you is,
what is your story? LS
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this article? Email us at info@latinastyle.com
About the Author
By Mary Louise Sanchez
Mary Louise Sanchez is a retired
teacher/librarian. The Wind
Called My Name is based in part
on her family history, particularly
the life of her mother, who was
born and raised in Fort Steele,
Wyoming. The Wind Called My
Name is her debut novel. A winner
of the Tu Books New Visions
Award, Mary Louise lives with her
husband near Denver, Colorado.
42 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle Vol. 25, No. 1, 2019
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