Li Yun Alvarado's Blog

Comelibritos' Corner: Puerto Rico

7/16/2018

Spend Your Summer with Puerto Rico:
Picture Book Recommendations (Part 2/3)

This is the second of the three part series: Spend Your Summer with Puerto Rico.

In case you missed it, check out Part 1: Book Recommendations.

Today's edition of Spend Your Summer with Puerto Rico turns its attention towards my youngest audience and to the adults who love them.

Picture of picture books with text that says: Spend your summer with Puerto Rico: Picture Books. Footer reads: www.liyunalvarado.com

As I've mentioned before, I love picture books and I've collected them for years--long before I became a mother myself.

My ever growing picture book collection focuses on stories from underrepresented communities in general, but one of the most robust sections is, unsurprisingly, the one containing picture books about Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans.

The list below features some of my son's and my favorites. They should be on your list for any of the comelibritos in your life--especially the Puerto Rican ones.

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Li Yun's Library: Puerto Rico

7/12/2018

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Spend Your Summer with Puerto Rico: Book Recommendations (Part 1/3)

First things first:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMI!

Can't spend YOUR summer in Puerto Rico?

Then let me bring a little Puerto Rico into your summer in the best way I know how--through books!

This month's blog series, Spend Your Summer with Puerto Rico, is inspired in part by my summers in Puerto Rico. I talk a little about those summer visits here.

Picture of Old San Juan with the caption: Spend Your Summer with Puerto Rico: Book Recommendations. Footer reads: www.liyunalvarado.com

Today's post--the first of a three part series-- features some of the books on my summer reading list.

I hope you get inspired to add Puerto Rico books onto your list!

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June 2018 Newsletter

6/1/2018

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Hurricane Season is Here:
3 Ways to Help Puerto Rico Today.

Hello Familia, Friends, and Fans,

Today is June 1st: the official start of hurricane season.

Last September two major hurricanes--Irma and María--devastated Puerto Rico, impacting the lives of Puerto Ricans on the island and throughout the diaspora, my family and myself included.

Salinas, PR - Jan 2014

Salinas, PR - Sept 2017

Today marks DAY 254 since Hurricane María made landfall.

There are still Puerto Ricans without power. Recent studies estimate that as many as 5,740 Puerto Ricans died as a result of the hurricane (though the government continues to report only 64 deaths as the official death count).

As we approach this September 20th, I've been thinking a lot about last fall.

In the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, people kept asking me, "What can I do?" "How can I help?"

Preoccupied with helping my own family and friends, I did not have quick or easy answers for people. There are still no easy answers because the island continues to face complex challenges.

But today I can offer you three concrete ways to help:

1. You can LEARN more about Puerto Rico, its people, literature, history, and current state of affairs. Read below to get your free resource guide.

2. You can GIVE $25 or $50 to Puerto Rico's Taller Salud--a feminist non-profit health organization serving communities in the northeast part of the island since 1979 that mobilized quickly after the storms. Read more about them and my fundraising campaign below.

3. You can SHARE the resource guide, what you learn from the guide, and the fundraising campaign. Educators can also TEACH using some of the materials they find in the resource guide.

In each of those ways you can help ensure that Puerto Rico--its contributions and its needs--are not forgotten or ignored.

I'm here to make it easy for you to complete all three steps.

Read the rest of this newsletter to learn more.

In the Newsletter:
- READINGS & RESOURCES
- BOOK CLUB?
- SUPPORT PUERTO RICO'S TALLER SALUD
- MY POST HURRICANE MARÍA REFLECTIONS

Thank you as always for your friendship and support.

En Solidaridad,

Li Yun

P.S. To get this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.

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Honoring the Nuyorican @ Beyond Baroque

3/11/2018

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Photos from our reading at Beyond Baroque

Thank you Luivette Resto for inviting me to participate.

Shout out to my fellow readers Yago S. Cura, Joshua Evans, Reinaldo Antonio Macías, Hector Luis Rivera Ortiz, and harold terzón.

Event Description: On March 10th as part of the week long events, Beyond Beat, East meets West as we honor the impact & inspiration that is the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

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