A love of reading, fixation with San Diego Chicano history, leads to debut children’s book
Growing up in National City meant that children’s book author María Dolores Águila was never far from Barrio Logan and its famous Chicano Park. Whenever her family headed north on Interstate 5, she was mesmerized by the iconic murals of Chicano history, culture, and leaders on the pillars of the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge.
“My father worked in the tuna canneries in Barrio Logan, and he’d tell me stories about that. … Anytime we were in Barrio Logan, I’d drink in the murals, but never quite figured out how they got there. When I was older, I’d wander the park, gazing at the murals,” she says. “One afternoon, driving down Cesar Chavez Parkway, to my mother-in-law’s apartment, the mural of Laura Rodriguez (one of the early activists involved in establishing Chicano Park and the Logan Heights Family Health Center) piqued my interest and I Googled her. After that, it became a years-long fixation where I hunted down all the information I could find about the park.”
An avid reader as a child with dreams of becoming a published author, this fixation on the park has culminated in the realization of that childhood dream in the form of her first book, “Barrio Rising, The Protest that Built Chicano Park,” available in June and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House. The book, illustrated by Magdalena Mora and also being published in Spanish (“El Barrio Se Levanta”), is about the history of protest in this historic San Diego neighborhood, leading to the completion of the promise of Chicano Park in the 1970s. Águila, 39, continues to call National City home and lives there with her family. She took some time to talk about her book, her community, and a surprising choice for the comfort movie she watches nearly every day.
Q: Congratulations on the upcoming
Q: release of your children’s book. “Barrio Rising” is the final result of a few different book ideas you had previously attempted. Can you talk about how you initially approached a book about the park and the neighborhood, and how you came to settle on this children’s book version? A: At first, I wanted to write a
A: biography about Laura Rodriguez because her life story is heartbreaking yet incredibly inspiring; but I also wanted to write about Chicano Park, so in my early drafts, two stories were fighting for space on the page. When I connected with my literary agent, she suggested focusing on the park. I revisited a picture of children planting a sprout during the takeover and it inspired me to write from the point of view of a young child participating.
Q: What was your creative process
Q: for writing this book? How long did it take from conception of the idea to the execution of the final version? What kind of research was involved in putting this story together? A: I begin in a notebook. I
A: write by hand until I have a serviceable draft, which then gets typed up. I revise on my laptop from there. I’m a night owl, working in silence while the rest of the world is sleeping. I work at home because I have the best snacks – coffee and pan dulce. My research was extensive: I read books, academic journals, newspaper articles, attended lectures, watched media, listened to music, and reexamined the murals. It took nearly nine years of research and countless drafts to get from idea to finished product.
National City inspires me and fuels my imagination, from the ringing bells of the paleteros strolling the sidewalk, lowriders cruising down Highland Avenue, the Fourth of July Carnival in Kimball Park, browsing at the swap meet, to getting dos tacos al pastor con todo at Tacos El G – I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
Q: How did your own experiences
Q: growing up in San Diego, and interacting with the park and the neighborhood of Barrio Logan, inform your approach to writing this book? How do you think those experiences showed up in the way you chose to tell this story? A: National City is next to
A:
Barrio Logan and faces many of the same challenges, namely air pollution and limited access to the bay. This is my lived experience. I wanted to show the challenges, but also the beauty of living in a tight-knit barrio. Things like the blooming jacaranda trees, walking to the tiendita, of everyone knowing who you are. I wanted readers who are in a similar situation to feel seen, respected, and loved.
Q: You were a self-described
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voracious reader as a child, devouring as many books as you could get your hands on despite books being considered a luxury expense in your home. Can you talk about the concept of representation, particularly in children’s literature, and what you remember about how that affected you as a young reader and aspiring writer?
A: I became enamored with
A: reading because I could travel through space and time with the protagonist of every novel I read. Eventually, I noticed the point of view from these characters, even in contemporary stories, was vastly different from mine. I’d catch glimpses of representation, but never as the main character. I started wondering why there weren’t characters that looked like me or my family in my books. Did our perspectives not matter? Seeing the gap in representation, at 10 years old, I decided I’d rectify the oversight and began my writing journey.
Q: As an adult, you held off on
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your dream of becoming a fiction writer and pursued an education in nursing. You figured out that nursing wasn’t for you, later became a stay-athome mom, and went after your writing dreams again. What was it about becoming a mother that compelled you to go after what you’d always wanted to do, even as a child? A: A lot of people lose themselves
A: in motherhood, but I found myself. I grew up with a single mother who sacrificed everything. While I deeply value my mother’s work ethic, I wanted my children to dream, not just survive. I didn’t know how to pursue my literary aspirations at first because I didn’t know anyone with a creative career, but my children were watching. I wanted to show them that if we didn’t find a path to our dreams, we forge our own.
Q: We hear a lot about the
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amount of rejection that comes with trying to get published; what was that experience with rejection like for you, in the beginning? How were you understanding what those rejections meant for you and what you wanted to do?
A: I was shocked at the rejections
A: at first! In my humble opinion, I’d sent out a masterpiece, and expected the industry to line up with offers. Throughout school, teachers had always praised my writing, and I was sure it’d be the same in publishing. It wasn’t. The rejection stung, but it was also a reality check. It wasn’t going to be easy. Looking back, it’s obvious my work wasn’t ready, and I can laugh about it now, but at the time it was devastating.
Q: You have another picture
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book coming out next year, and plans for more books after that. What do you think young María, carrying her stack of library books home, would say about where you are today? A: She would be beside herself
A: with excitement and joy. And then she’d probably wonder why it took so long.
Q: What are some of the most
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valuable lessons you’ve learned so far, through this process? What has this work taught you about yourself?
A: Community is everything;
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I couldn’t have reached this point without my critique partners, writing groups, and my wonderful literary agent. Stories are meant to be shared. You must be brave enough to be vulnerable by sharing your work and receiving critiques.
Q: What is the best advice
Q:
you’ve ever received?
A: In Angela Duckworth’s
A: book, “Grit,” she says: “As much as talent counts, effort counts twice.” Writing has always come naturally to me and yet I didn’t find immediate success. My “natural talent” was a hindrance because I’d never learned to work at writing, which required me to put my ego aside and roll up my sleeves. Success comes from persistence and working hard, not talent.
Q: What is one thing people
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would be surprised to find out about you?
A: I watch “Jurassic Park”
A: almost every day. It’s my comfort movie.
Q: Please describe your ideal
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San Diego weekend.
A: My ideal San Diego weekend
A: begins with brunch at Morning Glory with my family. Then, we’d go to the Central Library. After that, we’d visit my mother-in-law in Barrio Logan, go to Chicano Park and have lunch at Las Cuatro Milpas. We’d end the day watching the sunset at dog beach in Coronado.