L-R: Kristen Millares Young, Dariel Suarez, Christopher Louis Romaguera. Courtesy The Hugo House
Authors Kristen Millares Young, Dariel Suarez and Christopher Romaguera will read from their latest works to highlight the intersections between politics and migration for writers of the Cuban diaspora during a Zoom discussion at 6 p.m. Thursday, sponsored by Red Hen Press in Pasadena and Hugo House.
Addressing cultural identity through the lens of craft, these novelists and essayists will discuss research, language, place, and familial pasts to celebrate “The Playwright’s House,” Suarez’s debut novel from Red Hen Press.
In the book, Cuban lawyer Serguey is happily married, backed by a powerful mentor, and with career prospects that would take him abroad — more than any young lawyer could ask for. But when his estranged brother Victor appears with news that their father — famed theater director Felipe Blanco — has been detained for what he suspects are political reasons, Serguey’s privileged life is suddenly shaken.
A return to his childhood home in Havana’s decaying suburbs — a place filled with art, politics, and the remnants of a dissolving family — reconnects Serguey with his troubled past. He learns of an elusive dramaturge’s link to Felipe, a man who could be key to his father’s release.
With the help of a social media activist and his wife’s ties with the Catholic Church, Serguey sets out to unlock the mystery of Felipe’s arrest and, in the process, is forced to confront the reasons for the hostility between him and Victor: two violent childhood episodes that scarred them in unforgettable ways. On the verge of imprisonment, Serguey realizes he must make a decision regarding not just his father, but his family and his own future, a decision which, under the harsh shadow of a communist state, he cannot afford to regret.
Audience members are encouraged to bring their craft questions to this conversation moderated by Romaguera.
To register for free, go to https://tinyurl.com/5ywwsdht.
For more information, call (626) 356-4760 or visit www.hugohouse.org/events/migratory-politics-the-craft-of-cultural-identity/.
