Esmeralda Santiago, the Hispanic author renowned for her extensive literary career, has recently released her latest novel, Conquistadora. With elements touching on self-discovery, love, desire and passion, this epic story does not disappoint readers looking to be carried away to the world of a heroin as charismatic and unforgettable as Scarlett O’Hara.
As a young girl growing up in Spain, Ana Cubillas is powerfully drawn to Puerto Rico by the diaries of an ancestor who traveled there with Ponce de Leon. Ana finally finds her way there when she marries Ramon Argoso and convinces him and his twin brother Inocente, who share everything in life, to set off to a remote sugar plantation they have inherited on the island.
An extraordinary story of love, discovery, and adventure unfolds. Young Ana’s fantasies are quickly overcome by the relenting heat, disease and dangers of the untamed life on the countryside and the vicissitudes of running the Hacienda. The heroine finds greater danger when the Civil War breaks out in the United States, as she finds her livelihood, and life, threatened by those very people at the backbone of her wealth: the Hacienda’s slaves. With her heart set on the land she has come to call home, no sacrifice is too big for this conquistadora.
Conquistadora has already been praised by critics for the extraordinary depth of the narration and its historical content, and Esmeralda Santiago has been called “a story-telling genius.” The novel, which is already available at bookstores is published in Spanish by Suma and in English by Knofp.
Esmeralda Santiago was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and came to the United States at age thirteen. Santiago attended Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction Writing from Sarah Lawrence College and Honorary Doctor of Letters from Trinity University and from Pace University. Santiago also authored Cuando era puertorriquena, El sueno de America, and Casi una mujer. Her work has appeared in The New York Times and The Boston Globe, among other publications, as well as shows such as NPR’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition.