 Illustrated by Jayri Gomez Grab your cafecito and join us for a conversation with Maritere R. Bellas about her beautiful book Tío Ricky Doesn't Speak English / Tío Ricky No Habla Inglés. Maritere, welcome to this interview with Las Musas! We are eager to learn about your project. Tell us more! Parents will adore this bilingual English/Spanish hardcover picture book as it spotlights a nephew-uncle relationship in which language barriers know no boundaries. This book showcases the genuine importance of speaking two languages, encouraging bilingualism in our future generations, and the power behind translation, especially between multigenerational individuals. Certainly sounds like Tío Ricky Doesn't Speak English / Tío Ricky No Habla Inglés tocuhes on an experience many of us can relate to. Tell us, what inspired you to become a writer? I think my why has always been language and culture. My first two books for parents were inspired by a mission to support parents that wanted to engage in a bilingual, multilingual, multicultural lifestyle. Parents that wanted to preserve language and culture while embracing the country they had adopted. My three bilingual children’s books were inspired by the books my 50% Greek, 50% Puerto Rican and 100% American children didn’t have when they were growing up. Books with characters they could identify with and with universal stories that would pay tribute to their cultures. What 3 words would you use to describe your book?
Are you agented? If so, can you share how you got one? I love this question! And I am proud to share it! It took me a year and a half of writing, editing, revising, polishing, querying, writing workshops, learning from others, etc.… It was a long process. Along the way, I continue to be active in social media, wearing my bilingual parenting mentor hat offering information, tools and resources for parents raising bilingual, multilingual and multicultural children. My agent found me, actually!! She sent me a private message asking to see my work, from following me on IG! She ended up being the perfect agent for me as she will be championing my work nationally and internationally. I am forever grateful! What was the most difficult scene to write in this story? We decided early on that something was going to happen to Tío Ricky that would make Enrique reflect on his ability to communicate in two languages and translate for his uncle. I needed to come up with something that wasn’t going to be scary for the young readers. It took some creativity, but ultimately, we did it. What books are on your to-be-read list? Anything Yamile Saied Méndez, Adrianna Cuevas and Andrea Beatriz Arango. I am an audiobook reader. MG and YA are my favs! These women are gifted writers, and they do a beautiful job at weaving culture and language into their stories. Get to know Maritere R. Bellas Credit: Fletcher Wold Maritere R. Bellas is a Puerto Rican award-winning author, speaker, writer, podcast host and bilingual and multicultural parenting mentor. For over two decades, she has provided education, information, resources and support to families engaging in a multilingual, multicultural lifestyle. She is the creator and co-host of the Mamás 411 Podcast, listened to in 27 countries, and co-host of the Hablemos Bilingual IG Live series. Mari has published two parenting books in English and Spanish and is the author of three bilingual children’s books. Her favorite social media platform is Instagram—and when she’s not writing, you’ll find her enjoying Southern California living in a suburb of Los Angeles.
Instagram: latinaboomermom X/FB/LI: MarirereRBellas
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