Austin, you’re my kind of town! I had a great weekend in Austin. On Friday, I visited an elementary school as part of the Reading Rock Stars Program. Each child received a signed copy of the book to bring home with them, and the school surprised me with a paper tree (pictured above and below). Each child created a leaf for the tree answering the prompt “What freedom means to me.” It was a wonderful morning. On Saturday, I presented on a panel with Margarita Engle. It was an honor to meet Margarita, and educator Elda Acevedo moderated a thoughtful conversation. The weekend wrapped up with a reading and dance party at Flat Track Coffee as part of the Texas Book Festival’s LitCrawl. The event name? Cuba Libro, of course!

Reading Rock Stars program

With my cousin Amaya Labrador and educator Elda Acevedo, who moderated my panel with author Margarita Engle

Presenting alongside fellow Cuban-American author Margarita Engle