The Latin American Studies’ speaker, Mayra Santos-Febres, came to the University of Scranton on April 24 and 25 to lecture and speak in selected courses. As a student, I had the honor of attending two classes that that invited this widely acclaimed writer, professor, and literary critic to speak and inspire students through unique workshops and intimate class conversations. It was a memorable learning experience, considering not only Ms. Santos-Febres’s tremendous success in the literary field and knowledge about culture, language, and writing, but her enthusiastic and amicable personality which encouraged students to ask questions, share experiences, and fully embrace this educational opportunity.
Ms. Santos Febres is a author, poet, novelist, and literary critic with two completed collections of poetry, Anamu y manigua and El orden escapade. She is also the recipient of the Juan Rulfo Award for her short story Oso blaco. However, her first novel and the book she is most well known for is Sirena Selena vestida de pena, that tells the story of a teenage male drag queen. Her stories deal with sexual tension, race, identity, social status, and political concerns in the Caribbean community.
One of the Ms. Santos-Febres’s greatest qualities was her ability to relate to the students and her sincere interest in not only teaching them, but seeing them as individuals in her time at the University of Scranton. In each class, rather than jumping into her lecture she allowed every student to introduce themselves and tailored each conversation to meet the interest of that individual. For example, in Writing for Solo Performance, Ms. Santos-Febres not only explained the Gods of her faith, but after explaining the various personalities of each deity and their importance to the Caribbean culture, she asked each student what was sacred to them and to perform a prayer explaining its significance to the class. She not only inspired heart-felt compositions, but offered her own constructive criticism and friendly commentary on every piece.
Also, in my Latin American Culture class, Ms. Santos-Febres again explained the various culture differences and the meaning of color in the Caribbean opposed to its definition in the United States. Then she casually walked around the class, inviting every student to ask her questions about her heritage, life, or work. She made a point to engage everyone and spent a significant amount of time on each question. Ms. Santos-Febers explained her writing process as well as what writing meant to her. Likewise, she talked about the themes of her short stories, the inspiration for her first novel, and even gave advice to students who enjoyed writing. Likewise, she welcomed students to stay with her after class for any further questions. Overall, Ms. Santyos-Febres offered a unique learning opportunity, that not only allowed students to learn about the Caribbean culture but themselves and to question their own identity.