#the smell of old lady perfume

¡Qué bonita bandera! AKA what heritage(s) do you claim?

Mexican, Xicanx

When was the first time you saw yourself represented?

I read a poem by Lorna Dee Cervantez in speech class as a 10th grader. When I went to the library to look for it on the shelves, I stumbled upon Sandra Cisneros.  Lorna was from California and Sandra from Chicago, even so they are Chicanas chignonas.  As a kid growing up on the Texas border, I really connected.

How do you connect to your heritage through your books (if at all)?

I write about Xicanx kids in Chicago in Pig Park (Cinco Puntos, 2014) and also kids on the Texas border in The Smell of Old Lady Perfume (Cinco Puntos, 2008).  Not a Bean (Charlesbridge, 2019) is a culturally relevant picture book about the lifecycle of a jumping bean.

What do you hope for the future of Latinx books?

There are so many stories that still need to be told.  I meet a ton of kids who are budding writers.  I can’t wait to read their stories one day.

What is the book that inspired you to write for kids/teens?

Pat Mora’s picture books are a big inspiration.  As far as teens, I was really inspired by Benjamin Alire Saenz’ Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood. He writes about kids in the Southwest and does it beautifully.  Reading his books doesn’t just make me want to write, it makes me want to write something beautiful.

What are you writing now?

I’m working on a couple of picture books now.  My first picture book, Not a Bean, will be published by Charlesbridge in 2018.  My 2008 middle grade,The Smell of Old Lady Perfume, will be available as an ebook and Spanish translation for the first time this year.  It is very exciting to think my family abroad will be able to read.

Claudia Guadalupe Martinez grew up in sunny El Paso, Texas where she learned that letters form words from reading the subtitles of old westerns with her father. She now lives and writes in Chicago.

Website*Twitter*BuyPig Park!