November 30, 2022 @ 4:10 pm on Zoom

Afro-Latinidades: A Conversation with Dr. Amina Gautier

Bio

Dr. Amina Gautier is an Afro-Boricua award-winning writer and academic. She is the author of three short story collections, many individual stories, and works of literary criticism.

Now We Will Be Happy is a prize-winning collection of stories about Afro-Puerto Ricans, U.S.-born Puerto Ricans, and displaced native Puerto Ricans living between spaces while attempting to navigate the unique culture that defines Puerto Rican identity. Amina Gautier’s characters deal with the difficulties of bicultural identities in a world that wants them to choose only one.

Songs are prominently featured in many of the stories in the collection. Directly or indirectly the music alluded to in various stories also reflects the experiences of native Puerto Ricans, Nuyoricans, and Afro-Puerto Ricans.