El cinco de febrero/February 5th

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¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Giannina Braschi! (1953-       )

Photo from goodreads.com.
Click HERE. 
A Puerto Rican poet, essayist, and novelist (born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and based in New York City), Braschi dedicates her life's work to "inspiring personal and political liberation" (from Braschi's official website, click HERE). A tennis champ before she discovered writing (she was ranked #1 in Puerto Rico after winning the USTA's National Tournament in 1966), Braschi now holds a PhD in the Spanish Golden Age and is considered one of the top Latinx writers of our time (read more about her and other influential Puerto Ricans HERE). Some of her most prominent works include the poetry collection Empire of Dreams (1988, originally published in Spain), the Spanglish novel Yo-Yo-Boing (1998), and the "philosophical fiction" The United States of Banana (2011, written in English). She discussed her work (including "huevos poéticos") in this 2013 interview. She shares her views on art, culture, philosophy, and politics on her official website (click HERE) and invites fans to a reading (back in 2011, but a great comprehension activity for novice Spanish students!) HERE.

Related: Read about Puerto Rican Raquel Salas Rivera, Philadelphia's Poet Laureate for 2017-2018, in this philly.com profile.

For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.

Other February 5th birthdays:

Cristiano Ronaldo (1985-     ): He is Portuguese, NOT Spanish, but worth mentioning here because he is one of the best soccer players in the world, and he plays for Real Madrid.

Neymar (1992-      ): He is from Brazil (where the official language is Portuguese, not Spanish), but is also worth mentioning here because he is one of the best soccer players in the world as well, and he plays for FC Barcelona.

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