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.
At first, I wanted to write 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.
I begin in a notebook. I 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.
National City is next to 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.
I was shocked at the rejections 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.
She would be beside herself with excitement and joy. And then she’d probably wonder why it took so long.
Community is everything; 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.
In Angela Duckworth’s 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.
I watch “Jurassic Park” almost every day. It’s my comfort movie.