I am proud to announce that my debut publication, "La Madremonte", is now in The Acentos Review.
A thousand thanks to the good people at The Acentos Review, who have accepted my short story for publication. This is an achievement in comparison with which everything else I’ve ever done is a sham. Like that time I hosted and produced a radio show at my university? So boring. Or when I wrote 50,000 words in a month for NaNoWriMo? So banal. Truly, with this publication I have reached my peak. Nothing I can ever do will compare. Which is why I have made the tough decision to retire from everything, effective immediately. If you need me, I will be in that hole over there.
Just kidding! No, but seriously. I am still in disbelief that this is even happening.
Despite the many years I've spent working on my craft, I still never truly believed I would ever get published anywhere. My lack of confidence wasn't in my writing skills. It was in this idea that no one else would enjoy the stories that I enjoy writing, but I have heard time and time again from authors and writers all over that the best thing you can do is to write the stories you want to read. So, that is what I've spent my writing time doing, and now one of my stories is available for you to read.
"La Madremonte" is a short story I wrote early on during my MFA program. The idea came to me as I was doing some midnight research on Colombian mythology. As a Colombian American, I am always curious about Colombian culture, so I did some rabbit hole research and came across the story of La Madremonte, or the Mountain Mother.
I found her to be a fierce woman who protects her world from harm-doers and who will give someone who did something wrong that motherly glare for a second chance, before entrapping them in the jungle forever (grounded for life, if you will). This mother figure seemed like the perfect counterpart for a young main character who is struggling to connect with his Colombian roots.
Nick symbolizes this internal struggle that many first, second, and beyond generation children have with their heritage. Depending on their upbringing, they may never connect with the foreign country of their family, feeling more American than anything else due to their life in the U.S. I wanted to explore this, because while it is a unique experience for all, I believe it is something many children of immigrant families can relate to. I hope this story resonates with someone in that way and perhaps encourages them to dig deeper into the heritage that they've yet to explore.
A deep and heartfelt thank you to the team at The Acentos Review for accepting my work. I am so thrilled to have my story amongst the work of other incredible Latino artists.
I hope you enjoy the story. 😊
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