By Deborah Spector
FROM: LAPL Blog

Daniel A. Olivas is the author of ten books, including How to Date a Flying Mexican: New and Collected Stories (University of Nevada Press), and Crossing the Border: Collected Poems (Pact Press). He has written for many publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, Alta Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Los Angeles Review of Books. Olivas was born in Los Angeles and is the grandson of Mexican immigrants.

Daniel A. Olivas will be one of the featured authors at the Los Angeles Libros Festival, a free bilingual book festival for the whole family. L.A. Libros Fest will be streamed live on YouTube on Friday, September 23, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. The Festival will be in-person at Central Library in Downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, September 24, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with select Saturday programs streamed live on YouTube.

Our tagline this year is Read, Dream and Celebrate en dos idiomas. How do you think your books and stories help us accomplish this?

Like many Chicanos, I am not fully bilingual. When I was very young, my parents were raising us in both Spanish and English, but I stopped speaking completely for a full year at the age of three. This was in the early 1960s. My parents took me to a doctor who ran tests for my hearing and intelligence. After the tests, he said that I was normal, but he strongly recommended that my parents stop speaking Spanish at home. So, after that, I grew up speaking only English. Sadly, this kind of bigotry in the medical profession was too common back then. Even though I struggle with the Spanish language, I use a little Spanish in my fiction, plays, and poetry because I think it’s important to capture the spirit and sound of my community. Over the years, my Latino readers have told me that they appreciate this because I am accurately depicting my people. Read Rest of Interview Here