We're wrapping up the 2022 One Book season with a very special event on June 15, and we hope you can join us for it! For several weeks we've been discussing the One Book selection, My Broken Language, Quiara Alegría Hudes's memoir of growing up in 1980s and '90s Philadelphia. One of the main themes we've been celebrating across programs is the power of creating a community archive and preserving untold stories from our own lives, from our families, and from our neighborhoods.

Hudes writes: 

“I was dreaming ... of a library I might fit into. One with space to hold my cousins, my tías, my sister, mi madre. An archive made of us, that held our concepts and reality so that future Perez girls would have no question of our existence or validity” (235).

In that spirit, on Wednesday, June 15 at 5:30 p.m. at Lillian Marrero Library, Quiara Alegría Hudes will be in conversation with Louie Ortiz-Fonseca, the founder of Gran Varones, and Roberto Lugo, a renowned ceramicist, poet, and organizer. These incredibly talented artists and activists will discuss what it means to be an archive builder of family and community, and to create "a library of us." 

There's more! After their conversation, join us around the corner (two blocks away from Lillian Marrero Library) at Taller Puertorriqueño for a dance party at 7:00 p.m. As a musician and composer, Hudes infuses so many musical influences into My Broken Language as well as the power of dance. So we couldn't end this season without a blowout dance party! DJ Jorge will be spinning and free food will be provided by Boricua Restaurant. 

RSVP online for the free event—if you can't make it in person, we'll send you a link to watch the conversation online. 

We hope to see you there to celebrate a gorgeous season of My Broken Language and all of our community partners who made it happen!