WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.810 align:middle line:90% 00:00:02.810 --> 00:00:07.160 align:middle line:84% So if in the Cuban Missile Crisis, 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:10.760 align:middle line:84% if the Russians were the people that actually put up 00:00:10.760 --> 00:00:14.390 align:middle line:84% the missiles, why did the Cubans get blamed for it? 00:00:14.390 --> 00:00:16.550 align:middle line:90% That's a good question. 00:00:16.550 --> 00:00:20.870 align:middle line:84% There were actually missiles, United States missiles, 00:00:20.870 --> 00:00:23.540 align:middle line:84% in Turkey, pointed at Russia, also. 00:00:23.540 --> 00:00:28.340 align:middle line:84% So it was actually a situation involving several countries, 00:00:28.340 --> 00:00:31.040 align:middle line:84% and yet, here in the United States, 00:00:31.040 --> 00:00:35.900 align:middle line:84% the name has been given to that incident that only names Cuba. 00:00:35.900 --> 00:00:38.540 align:middle line:84% It's called the Cuban Missile Crisis in the United States. 00:00:38.540 --> 00:00:40.165 align:middle line:84% That's not what it's called in Cuba, 00:00:40.165 --> 00:00:41.540 align:middle line:84% so that's a really good question. 00:00:41.540 --> 00:00:43.820 align:middle line:84% In Cuba, it's called the October Crisis. 00:00:43.820 --> 00:00:47.000 align:middle line:84% And in Russia it's called the Caribbean Crisis. 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:49.070 align:middle line:84% So there are different ways of looking 00:00:49.070 --> 00:00:51.890 align:middle line:84% at the exact same historical event, 00:00:51.890 --> 00:00:53.360 align:middle line:90% depending on where you live. 00:00:53.360 --> 00:01:01.020 align:middle line:90% 00:01:01.020 --> 00:01:04.080 align:middle line:84% What made you want to become a writer? 00:01:04.080 --> 00:01:06.030 align:middle line:90% I love reading. 00:01:06.030 --> 00:01:09.150 align:middle line:84% I just love reading, and ever since I was little, 00:01:09.150 --> 00:01:10.560 align:middle line:90% I've loved books. 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:12.810 align:middle line:84% And sometimes, there's something I 00:01:12.810 --> 00:01:15.750 align:middle line:84% want to learn about or read about, 00:01:15.750 --> 00:01:18.090 align:middle line:90% and there isn't a book yet. 00:01:18.090 --> 00:01:21.450 align:middle line:84% So for instance, Rosa la Bayamesa, 00:01:21.450 --> 00:01:23.430 align:middle line:90% there wasn't a book about her. 00:01:23.430 --> 00:01:26.890 align:middle line:84% I wanted to know about her, I wanted to read about her. 00:01:26.890 --> 00:01:29.340 align:middle line:84% The only way I could get a book to read about her 00:01:29.340 --> 00:01:31.860 align:middle line:90% is to write it. 00:01:31.860 --> 00:01:34.990 align:middle line:90% And what inspired you the most? 00:01:34.990 --> 00:01:37.830 align:middle line:84% Well, really, those childhood visits to Cuba 00:01:37.830 --> 00:01:40.950 align:middle line:84% have inspired me the most, because those 00:01:40.950 --> 00:01:44.820 align:middle line:84% helped me to feel connected to both cultures 00:01:44.820 --> 00:01:46.890 align:middle line:90% that I wanted to write about. 00:01:46.890 --> 00:01:50.430 align:middle line:84% Going back as an adult really inspired me, also. 00:01:50.430 --> 00:01:53.550 align:middle line:84% Travel, in other words, along with reading, 00:01:53.550 --> 00:01:55.950 align:middle line:84% is one of the biggest inspirations. 00:01:55.950 --> 00:01:57.510 align:middle line:84% I can tell you, I never would have 00:01:57.510 --> 00:02:01.410 align:middle line:84% written a book about orangutans if I hadn't been to Borneo. 00:02:01.410 --> 00:02:04.410 align:middle line:84% I just wouldn't have seen them up close 00:02:04.410 --> 00:02:06.450 align:middle line:90% in the same, exciting way. 00:02:06.450 --> 00:02:09.000 align:middle line:84% It's not the same as seeing them in a zoo, 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:10.199 align:middle line:90% to see them in the wild. 00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:13.110 align:middle line:84% So travel is, really a huge inspiration. 00:02:27.310 --> 00:02:32.260 align:middle line:84% Yo quisiera saber más de los libros que usted ha escrito en 00:02:32.260 --> 00:02:33.760 align:middle line:90% toda su vida. 00:02:33.760 --> 00:02:36.064 align:middle line:90% Ay, bueno, gracias. 00:02:36.350 --> 00:02:42.370 align:middle line:84% The question was, the books that I've written in my life. 00:02:42.340 --> 00:02:45.910 align:middle line:84% El libro de mi abuela, The Wild Book, 00:02:45.910 --> 00:02:49.870 align:middle line:84% el de los cuentos de la niñez de mi abuela para mí es lo más 00:02:49.870 --> 00:02:52.030 align:middle line:90% importante. 00:02:52.030 --> 00:02:54.810 align:middle line:84% De todos mis libros, ese es el que-- 00:02:54.810 --> 00:02:56.830 align:middle line:90% Es el más personal. 00:02:56.840 --> 00:02:58.660 align:middle line:84% So I'm answering that, the book that 00:02:58.660 --> 00:03:01.000 align:middle line:84% means the most to me, of the ones I've written, 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.450 align:middle line:84% is The Wild Book, because it's about my own grandmother. 00:03:04.450 --> 00:03:09.070 align:middle line:84% And because it's so personal, that means the most to me. 00:03:09.070 --> 00:03:09.910 align:middle line:90% Gracias. 00:03:09.910 --> 00:03:12.870 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:03:12.870 --> 00:03:16.470 align:middle line:84% How did it come that you were able to hold a sea turtle? 00:03:16.470 --> 00:03:18.750 align:middle line:90% You know, I visited a place-- 00:03:18.750 --> 00:03:20.670 align:middle line:84% that's a good question, because you're not 00:03:20.670 --> 00:03:24.600 align:middle line:84% supposed to just go around, picking up wild animals. 00:03:24.600 --> 00:03:26.040 align:middle line:90% That's not very nice. 00:03:26.040 --> 00:03:31.920 align:middle line:84% But I visited a place where sea turtles were being raised 00:03:31.920 --> 00:03:35.700 align:middle line:84% to be returned to the wild, to increase their populations, 00:03:35.700 --> 00:03:38.430 align:middle line:84% and I was allowed to pick that one up. 00:03:38.430 --> 00:03:39.180 align:middle line:90% So good question. 00:03:39.180 --> 00:03:42.210 align:middle line:90% 00:03:42.210 --> 00:03:45.660 align:middle line:84% Out of all your books, where you wrote all the good things 00:03:45.660 --> 00:03:47.490 align:middle line:84% that happened and all the bad things. 00:03:47.490 --> 00:03:50.010 align:middle line:84% So while writing about the bad thing, 00:03:50.010 --> 00:03:52.440 align:middle line:90% did it make you feel better? 00:03:52.440 --> 00:03:54.150 align:middle line:90% That's a really good question. 00:03:54.150 --> 00:03:57.330 align:middle line:84% First it makes you feel worse, because it's sad. 00:03:57.330 --> 00:03:59.040 align:middle line:90% And you have to-- 00:03:59.040 --> 00:04:03.330 align:middle line:84% I mean, imagine writing in the voice of Lieutenant Death, that 00:04:03.330 --> 00:04:05.610 align:middle line:90% wasn't fun. 00:04:05.610 --> 00:04:09.420 align:middle line:84% He was a real slave hunter, he left a diary, that I'd read. 00:04:09.420 --> 00:04:12.900 align:middle line:84% Just reading his diary made me sad and angry, 00:04:12.900 --> 00:04:15.720 align:middle line:84% and then to have to write in his voice. 00:04:15.720 --> 00:04:17.970 align:middle line:84% But I didn't want to leave out that part of the story, 00:04:17.970 --> 00:04:19.787 align:middle line:84% because it was an important part. 00:04:19.787 --> 00:04:21.870 align:middle line:84% I didn't want to pretend that there weren't really 00:04:21.870 --> 00:04:25.950 align:middle line:84% people like him, so I had to go through that sadness 00:04:25.950 --> 00:04:28.800 align:middle line:84% and anger, and then come out feeling better 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:31.090 align:middle line:84% on the other side once it's on paper. 00:04:31.090 --> 00:04:31.590 align:middle line:90% Yes. 00:04:31.590 --> 00:04:34.990 align:middle line:90% 00:04:34.990 --> 00:04:39.490 align:middle line:84% Have you ever had anybody say, I know that your books will never 00:04:39.490 --> 00:04:41.530 align:middle line:84% be published, and that nobody will ever 00:04:41.530 --> 00:04:43.060 align:middle line:90% like to read your books? 00:04:43.060 --> 00:04:43.930 align:middle line:90% Oh, yes. 00:04:43.930 --> 00:04:47.980 align:middle line:84% If you're going to be a writer, you have to expect rejection, 00:04:47.980 --> 00:04:50.980 align:middle line:90% and that happens all the time. 00:04:50.980 --> 00:04:53.080 align:middle line:84% I still get rejections sometimes, 00:04:53.080 --> 00:04:54.880 align:middle line:90% not as often as I used to. 00:04:54.880 --> 00:04:57.070 align:middle line:84% But in the early years of a writers, 00:04:57.070 --> 00:05:01.330 align:middle line:84% submitting work for publication, there will be rejections. 00:05:01.330 --> 00:05:06.310 align:middle line:84% Nobody has instant acceptance of every manuscript, 00:05:06.310 --> 00:05:09.700 align:middle line:90% it just doesn't happen. 00:05:09.700 --> 00:05:14.230 align:middle line:84% But the thing is that you can't let it get you discouraged. 00:05:14.230 --> 00:05:17.230 align:middle line:84% I mean, it's going to hurt, but you keep trying. 00:05:17.230 --> 00:05:22.060 align:middle line:84% And if you give up, then you'll never 00:05:22.060 --> 00:05:25.990 align:middle line:84% know whether you could have eventually. 00:05:25.990 --> 00:05:31.720 align:middle line:84% I like to think of it as being very similar to dating. 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:34.570 align:middle line:84% You just have to find the right editor. 00:05:34.570 --> 00:05:39.700 align:middle line:84% Just because not every boy in the whole school 00:05:39.700 --> 00:05:42.490 align:middle line:84% likes the same girl, doesn't mean that somebody is not 00:05:42.490 --> 00:05:44.590 align:middle line:90% going to like her. 00:05:44.590 --> 00:05:47.890 align:middle line:84% And just because not every editor in the whole world 00:05:47.890 --> 00:05:51.940 align:middle line:84% likes the same book, doesn't mean that one editor won't, one 00:05:51.940 --> 00:05:54.250 align:middle line:84% editor might fall in love with that book 00:05:54.250 --> 00:05:57.010 align:middle line:84% and really work to get it out there. 00:05:57.010 --> 00:06:01.090 align:middle line:84% And that's what you need, is you find the perfect match. 00:06:01.090 --> 00:06:03.280 align:middle line:84% So it is, in a way, kind of like dating. 00:06:03.280 --> 00:06:08.570 align:middle line:90% 00:06:08.570 --> 00:06:12.170 align:middle line:84% What inspires you, when you make the title of your book, 00:06:12.170 --> 00:06:15.500 align:middle line:84% what inspires you to name a book in a certain way? 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:17.390 align:middle line:84% Like you did with the Surrender Tree. 00:06:17.390 --> 00:06:19.640 align:middle line:90% What inspired you to write that? 00:06:19.640 --> 00:06:20.630 align:middle line:90% That's a good question. 00:06:20.630 --> 00:06:23.840 align:middle line:84% The Surrender Tree I named for the tree 00:06:23.840 --> 00:06:28.430 align:middle line:84% where the Cubans were not allowed 00:06:28.430 --> 00:06:31.670 align:middle line:84% to raise their flag when the Spaniards surrendered 00:06:31.670 --> 00:06:33.020 align:middle line:90% to the Americans. 00:06:33.020 --> 00:06:37.850 align:middle line:84% Because, that to me, is a big part of US, 00:06:37.850 --> 00:06:40.190 align:middle line:90% Cuba relations, ever since. 00:06:40.190 --> 00:06:43.640 align:middle line:84% And Silver People, for instance, my new book, 00:06:43.640 --> 00:06:47.420 align:middle line:84% I named the Silver People because the Caribbean Islanders 00:06:47.420 --> 00:06:50.240 align:middle line:84% who were taken to Panama to dig the canal 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:54.290 align:middle line:84% were paid in silver, while the Americans were paid in gold. 00:06:54.290 --> 00:06:58.940 align:middle line:84% So the people who received the lower status, 00:06:58.940 --> 00:07:01.880 align:middle line:84% it really shows you what it feels like to be a second class 00:07:01.880 --> 00:07:02.570 align:middle line:90% citizen. 00:07:02.570 --> 00:07:04.820 align:middle line:84% And they were actually called silver people, 00:07:04.820 --> 00:07:07.550 align:middle line:84% whereas Americans were called gold people. 00:07:07.550 --> 00:07:08.630 align:middle line:90% And that's not right. 00:07:08.630 --> 00:07:14.300 align:middle line:84% So the title relates to something in the story. 00:07:14.300 --> 00:07:18.290 align:middle line:84% And do you have any ideas for the names of the books 00:07:18.290 --> 00:07:22.113 align:middle line:84% that you talked about, coming out like a year from now? 00:07:22.113 --> 00:07:24.280 align:middle line:84% Do you have any ideas for the titles of those books? 00:07:24.280 --> 00:07:29.210 align:middle line:84% Yes, the one coming out about the girl who was brave enough, 00:07:29.210 --> 00:07:30.530 align:middle line:90% at the age of 10. 00:07:30.530 --> 00:07:32.750 align:middle line:84% She started playing drums, even though only men were 00:07:32.750 --> 00:07:36.800 align:middle line:84% supposed to play drums, is called Drum Dream Girl. 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:44.750 align:middle line:84% And the one about, let's see, my memoir is not fully, 00:07:44.750 --> 00:07:45.350 align:middle line:90% I'm not sure. 00:07:45.350 --> 00:07:47.360 align:middle line:84% I've just written a memoir about my traveling 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:49.130 align:middle line:84% back and forth to Cuba as a child. 00:07:49.130 --> 00:07:51.800 align:middle line:84% And that's just recently been accepted, 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:54.440 align:middle line:84% so it's still in the editing process, 00:07:54.440 --> 00:07:56.150 align:middle line:90% so they can't say for sure yet. 00:07:56.150 --> 00:07:59.390 align:middle line:84% I know what title I've chosen, but I don't know that the-- 00:07:59.390 --> 00:08:01.580 align:middle line:84% it's not just the editor, who has to agree, 00:08:01.580 --> 00:08:04.400 align:middle line:84% but the marketing department at the Publishing House. 00:08:04.400 --> 00:08:06.710 align:middle line:84% So it goes through a whole process. 00:08:06.710 --> 00:08:09.740 align:middle line:84% There's a point at which, your book becomes teamwork, 00:08:09.740 --> 00:08:11.810 align:middle line:84% and you're working with a lot of other people. 00:08:11.810 --> 00:08:13.820 align:middle line:84% Especially if it has illustrations. 00:08:13.820 --> 00:08:15.950 align:middle line:84% Drum Dream Girl has illustrations, 00:08:15.950 --> 00:08:18.350 align:middle line:84% so that book belongs to the artist as much 00:08:18.350 --> 00:08:20.010 align:middle line:90% as it does to me. 00:08:20.010 --> 00:08:20.510 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:08:20.510 --> 00:08:21.170 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:08:21.170 --> 00:08:24.030 align:middle line:90% 00:08:24.030 --> 00:08:25.530 align:middle line:84% What age were you when you weren't 00:08:25.530 --> 00:08:28.500 align:middle line:90% able to visit Cuba anymore? 00:08:28.500 --> 00:08:32.789 align:middle line:84% My last summer visit, well, let's see. 00:08:32.789 --> 00:08:35.280 align:middle line:84% The missile crisis was when I was 11. 00:08:35.280 --> 00:08:44.070 align:middle line:84% So I went into junior high with a completely different life 00:08:44.070 --> 00:08:46.590 align:middle line:90% than I'd had as a younger child. 00:08:46.590 --> 00:08:49.590 align:middle line:84% With a life where, I only had contact 00:08:49.590 --> 00:08:52.050 align:middle line:84% with my American family, not my Cuban family. 00:08:52.050 --> 00:08:58.470 align:middle line:84% So I lost the huge extended family network and those summer 00:08:58.470 --> 00:08:59.520 align:middle line:90% visits. 00:08:59.520 --> 00:09:04.980 align:middle line:84% And it was it was really, a very difficult thing for me. 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:07.830 align:middle line:84% How do you think people like our age, 00:09:07.830 --> 00:09:10.950 align:middle line:84% how could we relate to something like that? 00:09:10.950 --> 00:09:14.730 align:middle line:84% Well, I guess you could imagine if your parents suddenly 00:09:14.730 --> 00:09:21.150 align:middle line:84% made you move to, let's see, what's 00:09:21.150 --> 00:09:22.785 align:middle line:90% the farthest you can get? 00:09:22.785 --> 00:09:26.850 align:middle line:90% 00:09:26.850 --> 00:09:27.390 align:middle line:90% OK. 00:09:27.390 --> 00:09:29.880 align:middle line:84% Yeah, move halfway around the world, 00:09:29.880 --> 00:09:33.870 align:middle line:84% and you could never see your relatives and friends. 00:09:33.870 --> 00:09:36.870 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:09:36.870 --> 00:09:38.730 align:middle line:90% Why did you wrote the book? 00:09:38.730 --> 00:09:39.480 align:middle line:90% Which one? 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:40.860 align:middle line:90% The Surrender Tree? 00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:42.690 align:middle line:84% I wrote The Surrender Tree, because I 00:09:42.690 --> 00:09:46.380 align:middle line:84% admire the courage of Rosa la Bayamesa, 00:09:46.380 --> 00:09:49.980 align:middle line:84% to stay hiding in the jungle for 30 years, 00:09:49.980 --> 00:09:55.060 align:middle line:84% just so she could help people by curing them, by being a nurse. 00:09:55.060 --> 00:09:55.560 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:09:55.560 --> 00:09:56.280 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:09:56.280 --> 00:09:58.960 align:middle line:90% 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:03.490 align:middle line:84% Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring, young poets? 00:10:03.490 --> 00:10:07.900 align:middle line:84% Yes, write from the heart, write about the things 00:10:07.900 --> 00:10:09.940 align:middle line:90% that are important to you. 00:10:09.940 --> 00:10:12.790 align:middle line:90% Don't try and copy anyone else. 00:10:12.790 --> 00:10:16.750 align:middle line:84% Just be yourself, be yourself on paper. 00:10:16.750 --> 00:10:20.500 align:middle line:84% Don't try and copy the people whose books are popular, 00:10:20.500 --> 00:10:21.160 align:middle line:90% right now. 00:10:21.160 --> 00:10:25.510 align:middle line:84% Because the truth is, 10 years from now, what's popular 00:10:25.510 --> 00:10:26.170 align:middle line:90% will change. 00:10:26.170 --> 00:10:28.420 align:middle line:84% One year from now, what's popular will change. 00:10:28.420 --> 00:10:31.570 align:middle line:84% So just be yourself and practice. 00:10:31.570 --> 00:10:34.450 align:middle line:90% Read and practice. 00:10:34.450 --> 00:10:37.750 align:middle line:84% How, in what ways, are you and Sylvia and your grandmother 00:10:37.750 --> 00:10:39.310 align:middle line:90% connected? 00:10:39.310 --> 00:10:43.060 align:middle line:84% My grandmother, is in a different book. 00:10:43.060 --> 00:10:46.840 align:middle line:90% 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:50.710 align:middle line:84% Wasn't it that that, Sylvia was a model of your grandmother. 00:10:50.710 --> 00:10:53.080 align:middle line:84% That you put her there because of your grandmother. 00:10:53.080 --> 00:10:54.910 align:middle line:90% And your author's notes. 00:10:54.910 --> 00:10:57.550 align:middle line:84% Oh, in the very beginning, I mentioned 00:10:57.550 --> 00:11:00.850 align:middle line:84% that my great grandmother and great grandfather 00:11:00.850 --> 00:11:03.460 align:middle line:84% were some of the people who had to be in those camps. 00:11:03.460 --> 00:11:06.160 align:middle line:84% But they were already adults at that time, 00:11:06.160 --> 00:11:10.600 align:middle line:84% so Sylvia is really inspired more by the children who 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:11.455 align:middle line:90% were in the camps. 00:11:11.455 --> 00:11:16.960 align:middle line:90% 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:21.280 align:middle line:84% She is not modeled after a specific family member, 00:11:21.280 --> 00:11:25.330 align:middle line:84% she represents, for me, the entire group 00:11:25.330 --> 00:11:29.130 align:middle line:84% of children who would have been in that situation. 00:11:29.130 --> 00:11:29.890 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:11:29.890 --> 00:11:30.520 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:11:30.520 --> 00:11:33.870 align:middle line:90% 00:11:33.870 --> 00:11:38.220 align:middle line:84% Now that our class has learned about Cuba's rough journey 00:11:38.220 --> 00:11:41.490 align:middle line:84% to modern times, what can we do to help Cuban people today? 00:11:41.490 --> 00:11:42.900 align:middle line:90% Oh, thank you. 00:11:42.900 --> 00:11:45.870 align:middle line:90% I think the best thing that-- 00:11:45.870 --> 00:11:49.350 align:middle line:84% most things are limited by the Trade and Travel Embargo, 00:11:49.350 --> 00:11:53.370 align:middle line:84% so you can't just send things to Cuba. 00:11:53.370 --> 00:11:56.010 align:middle line:84% Like medicines, and it's very difficult 00:11:56.010 --> 00:11:57.750 align:middle line:90% to do that sort of thing. 00:11:57.750 --> 00:12:01.050 align:middle line:84% But if you write letters to president Obama, 00:12:01.050 --> 00:12:04.620 align:middle line:84% asking for normal diplomatic relations, 00:12:04.620 --> 00:12:09.150 align:middle line:84% for talks between the countries, I think that would help a lot. 00:12:09.150 --> 00:12:09.650 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:12:09.650 --> 00:12:12.570 align:middle line:90% 00:12:12.570 --> 00:12:16.160 align:middle line:84% Given that you're the first Latina awarded the Newbery 00:12:16.160 --> 00:12:19.100 align:middle line:84% Honor, are there any Latina writers that inspire you? 00:12:19.100 --> 00:12:23.420 align:middle line:84% Yes, Tomas Rivera, my professor, did inspire me a great deal, 00:12:23.420 --> 00:12:25.790 align:middle line:90% and many poets have inspired me. 00:12:25.790 --> 00:12:29.840 align:middle line:84% There's so many poets whose work I just love, 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:32.150 align:middle line:90% and they're all in that library. 00:12:32.150 --> 00:12:36.710 align:middle line:84% So if you have a chance to explore, they're hundreds, 00:12:36.710 --> 00:12:38.840 align:middle line:90% so I can't just name one. 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:43.550 align:middle line:84% But José Martí, who is quoted in various parts of The Surrender 00:12:43.550 --> 00:12:46.790 align:middle line:84% Tree, there are excerpts of his work. 00:12:46.790 --> 00:12:49.490 align:middle line:84% José Martí certainly did inspire me a lot. 00:12:49.490 --> 00:12:50.450 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:12:50.450 --> 00:12:51.200 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:55.000 align:middle line:90% 00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:57.130 align:middle line:84% Have you ever considered The Surrender Tree 00:12:57.130 --> 00:12:59.770 align:middle line:84% in another medium, such as a play, film, or opera? 00:12:59.770 --> 00:13:02.530 align:middle line:84% I would never have thought of it, myself, 00:13:02.530 --> 00:13:07.180 align:middle line:84% but the Graduate School of Theater at Yale University 00:13:07.180 --> 00:13:10.480 align:middle line:84% did a dinner theater production of The Surrender Tree, 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:11.830 align:middle line:90% a few years ago. 00:13:11.830 --> 00:13:14.620 align:middle line:84% Where they actually serve people dinner 00:13:14.620 --> 00:13:15.910 align:middle line:90% while they watch the play. 00:13:15.910 --> 00:13:19.000 align:middle line:84% And they built a tree for the actors 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:20.740 align:middle line:90% to climb in, for the play. 00:13:20.740 --> 00:13:28.030 align:middle line:84% And they did masks, they made masks and wrote original music 00:13:28.030 --> 00:13:28.840 align:middle line:90% for it. 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:32.374 align:middle line:90% So it was a musical play. 00:13:32.374 --> 00:13:33.720 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:36.890 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:13:36.890 --> 00:13:39.410 align:middle line:84% After loving The Surrender Tree, which one of your books 00:13:39.410 --> 00:13:41.330 align:middle line:90% should we read next? 00:13:41.330 --> 00:13:43.460 align:middle line:90% Thank you, oh, thank you. 00:13:43.460 --> 00:13:47.510 align:middle line:84% I hope that you will read Silver People, because it not only has 00:13:47.510 --> 00:13:54.440 align:middle line:84% the story of the suffering of the laborers, who 00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:58.190 align:middle line:84% were taken to dig the Panama Canal exactly 100 years ago. 00:13:58.190 --> 00:14:01.220 align:middle line:84% This is the centennial, this is the 100th anniversary 00:14:01.220 --> 00:14:03.470 align:middle line:90% of the Panama Canal opening. 00:14:03.470 --> 00:14:07.100 align:middle line:84% But it also teaches a lot of rainforest biology. 00:14:07.100 --> 00:14:09.110 align:middle line:84% There are poems in here, and the voices 00:14:09.110 --> 00:14:11.210 align:middle line:84% of a lot of different plants and animals, 00:14:11.210 --> 00:14:14.780 align:middle line:84% that I think you could learn a lot about tropical rainforest 00:14:14.780 --> 00:14:15.500 align:middle line:90% from. 00:14:15.500 --> 00:14:19.550 align:middle line:84% And every time you order something 00:14:19.550 --> 00:14:21.920 align:middle line:84% to be delivered the next day, you 00:14:21.920 --> 00:14:25.160 align:middle line:84% go online you click next day delivery, 00:14:25.160 --> 00:14:27.350 align:middle line:90% you just take that for granted. 00:14:27.350 --> 00:14:31.550 align:middle line:84% If you stop and think about it, before those things, made 00:14:31.550 --> 00:14:34.940 align:middle line:84% in China and made in Asia, get close enough, 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:37.190 align:middle line:90% a video game set, for instance. 00:14:37.190 --> 00:14:40.580 align:middle line:90% Get close enough-- or a book. 00:14:40.580 --> 00:14:41.690 align:middle line:90% To you. 00:14:41.690 --> 00:14:44.180 align:middle line:84% To be delivered the next day, first it 00:14:44.180 --> 00:14:49.700 align:middle line:84% has to come, very slowly, through that same Panama Canal 00:14:49.700 --> 00:14:52.280 align:middle line:90% that was built 100 years ago. 00:14:52.280 --> 00:14:55.460 align:middle line:84% With hundreds of thousands of Caribbean Islanders, 00:14:55.460 --> 00:14:59.180 align:middle line:84% laboring with shovels under very difficult circumstances. 00:14:59.180 --> 00:15:01.880 align:middle line:84% And I think that, I really would love 00:15:01.880 --> 00:15:04.790 align:middle line:84% to honor the memory of those people who 00:15:04.790 --> 00:15:08.690 align:middle line:84% worked so hard to dig it and were not honored at the time. 00:15:08.690 --> 00:15:11.270 align:middle line:90% 00:15:11.270 --> 00:15:11.840 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:15.230 align:middle line:90% 00:15:15.230 --> 00:15:19.490 align:middle line:84% So the two of us are warring generals, police, oppression. 00:15:19.490 --> 00:15:24.150 align:middle line:90% And I'm in dunbar overthrow. 00:15:24.150 --> 00:15:26.900 align:middle line:84% O'dell, why don't you tell them who you are. 00:15:26.900 --> 00:15:29.870 align:middle line:90% I'm Lieutenant Death. 00:15:29.870 --> 00:15:32.420 align:middle line:84% What do you have on your face, there? 00:15:32.420 --> 00:15:34.560 align:middle line:90% I got attacked by a wild wolf. 00:15:34.560 --> 00:15:36.560 align:middle line:84% But in the book, it wasn't really a wolf, right? 00:15:36.560 --> 00:15:39.620 align:middle line:90% It was just a dog. 00:15:39.620 --> 00:15:42.500 align:middle line:84% Looks like Letty is wearing a tunic, 00:15:42.500 --> 00:15:45.470 align:middle line:90% from the time, and a straw hat. 00:15:45.470 --> 00:15:47.510 align:middle line:90% Serena's got a great armband. 00:15:47.510 --> 00:15:53.000 align:middle line:84% Angelique wrote her own poem, based on Sylvia's poem. 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:54.680 align:middle line:84% And then, can turn around, for us? 00:15:54.680 --> 00:16:02.900 align:middle line:90% 00:16:02.900 --> 00:16:04.790 align:middle line:84% And that's because, Rosa's like a guardian 00:16:04.790 --> 00:16:07.910 align:middle line:90% angel for the Cuban people. 00:16:07.910 --> 00:16:12.180 align:middle line:84% Now, Chris is wearing a book cover rendition. 00:16:12.180 --> 00:16:13.190 align:middle line:90% Wow. 00:16:13.190 --> 00:16:16.340 align:middle line:84% It was actually done by Alejandro Monroe, in art class. 00:16:16.340 --> 00:16:19.790 align:middle line:84% And then, can you show us the back? 00:16:19.790 --> 00:16:21.730 align:middle line:90% Waterfall. 00:16:21.730 --> 00:16:23.260 align:middle line:90% Beautiful. 00:16:23.260 --> 00:16:25.180 align:middle line:90% [AUDIENCE APPLAUSE] 00:16:25.180 --> 00:16:28.550 align:middle line:90% 00:16:28.550 --> 00:16:32.540 align:middle line:84% Star has a vest, looks like she's been fighting 00:16:32.540 --> 00:16:34.640 align:middle line:90% in the jungle for a while. 00:16:34.640 --> 00:16:37.340 align:middle line:84% And Gabe looks like he's seen better days, 00:16:37.340 --> 00:16:39.950 align:middle line:84% maybe he just escaped from one of the reconcentration camps. 00:16:39.950 --> 00:16:47.390 align:middle line:90% 00:16:47.390 --> 00:16:52.094 align:middle line:84% And lastly, Alejandro has a sash with The Surrender Tree painted 00:16:52.094 --> 00:16:54.956 align:middle line:90% on it. 00:16:54.956 --> 00:16:56.870 align:middle line:90% [AUDIENCE APPLAUSE] 00:16:56.870 --> 00:16:59.450 align:middle line:90% Thank you so much, your guys. 00:16:59.450 --> 00:17:00.830 align:middle line:90% That's fantastic. 00:17:00.830 --> 00:17:03.865 align:middle line:90% Thank you all, so much. 00:17:03.865 --> 00:17:05.320 align:middle line:90% [AUDIENCE APPLAUSE] 00:17:05.320 --> 00:17:07.260 align:middle line:90% 00:17:07.260 --> 00:17:11.319 align:middle line:84% Thank you, and we'll see you at your follow-up, matinee visits.