Aug. 6, 2024
As a highlight to Hispanic Heritage Month, TCCL will present the Hummingbird Award in Literary Arts to Reyna Grande on Saturday, Oct. 19 from 11 a.m.-noon at Martin Regional Library, 2601 S. Garnett Road. Grande will talk about her life and writings, and sign copies of her books.
Reyna Grande is the author of the bestselling memoirs The Distance Between Us and A Dream Called Home, where she shares her experiences before and after arriving in the United States from Mexico as an undocumented child immigrant. Her other notable works include the novels Across a Hundred Mountains, Dancing With Butterflies, and A Ballad of Love and Glory, which is set during the Mexican-American War. Additionally, she co-edited the anthology Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival and New Beginnings, featuring stories by and about undocumented Americans.
Born in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico, Reyna Grande was just 2 years old when her father left for the U.S. to find work, followed by her mother two years later. In 1985, at the age of 9, Reyna made her own journey north. She attended Pasadena City College before transferring to the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she became the first in her family to graduate from university.
“The Hummingbird Award is all about representation. A lot of times careers in the arts or languages aren’t seen as real careers, and when students are interested in being a visual artist or writer, it’s not as valued,” said Amairani Pérez Chamu, Hispanic Resource Center coordinator. “So, having somebody who is accomplished in their field and who has made a living out of their art is important, and being able to bring that to Tulsa is very special.”
Given biennially by the Tulsa Library Trust and TCCL’s Hispanic Resource Center, The Hummingbird Award in Literary Arts, also known as the “Premio Colibrí en Arte Literaria,” honors and recognizes a nationally prominent author, poet, or artist whose work has elevated and affirmed the voice of the Latinx community. The award consists of an engraved plaque and a $10,000 cash prize.
The Hispanic Resource Center, located at Martin Regional Library, 2601 S. Garnett Road, was established in 1999 to provide resources for Tulsa County’s growing Hispanic community. Throughout the year, the center provides cultural, informational and educational resources, as well as activities and services for both Spanish-and-English-speaking families.
For more information on TCCL’s programming and services, call 918-549-7323, or visit www.tulsalibrary.org.
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