Karla Cornejo Villavicencio on “Catalina,” the Tale of an Undocumented Student at Harvard
Jul 23, 2024
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Author Karla Cornejo Villavicencio discusses her novel 'Catalina,' focusing on the challenges and uncertainties faced by an undocumented student at Harvard. Topics include the decision to write a novel instead of a memoir, reflections on being undocumented, and motivations for sharing their story. Villavicencio highlights the complexities of living with uncertain immigration status and the emotional toll amidst political turmoil.
'Catalina' explores the complexities and uncertainties undocumented students face at prestigious universities.
Carla Cornejo Villavicencio aims to humanize undocumented immigrants and challenge stereotypes through her storytelling.
Deep dives
Catalina's Complex Identity & Struggles
The protagonist of the novel 'Catalina' is depicted as an undocumented immigrant navigates the challenges in the US as she completes her senior year at Harvard. Despite working at a prestigious magazine before returning to Harvard, Catalina's undocumented status creates uncertainty about her future. Anecdotes about her summer in Queens highlight the contrast between her reality and her grandfather's experience, showcasing the complexities of her identity and struggles as an undocumented individual.
From Memoir to Fiction: Catalina's Transformation
Author Carla Cornejo Villa Vicencio explains her choice to write a novel like 'Catalina' rather than a memoir. The novel delves into Catalina's experiences as she observes the political debates on immigration, mirroring Vicencio's own college years marked by the Dream Act discussions. Vicencio's deliberate shift from nonfiction to fiction allows her to explore Catalina's emotional turmoil and breakdown, reflecting her own journey of peaks and valleys during her college years.
Embracing Vulnerability through Storytelling
Vicencio's book 'The Undocumented Americans' expanded beyond her story, revealing various perspectives of undocumented immigrants in the US. In sharing vulnerable narratives, Vicencio aimed to counteract prevailing stereotypes and offer a platform for immigrants to portray their full, rich lives. Through her storytelling, Vicencio formed personal connections that deeply affected her, indicating a departure from traditional journalistic detachment to emotionally engaging with her subjects.
Catalina Ituralde is the protagonist of the novel that bears her name, “Catalina.” In the summer before her senior year of college, she’s working as an intern at a prestigious literary magazine, and come fall she’ll be back at Harvard to plot her future. But, contrary to a life of comfort that this scenario suggests, Catalina’s situation is complicated and uncertain: she’s an undocumented immigrant, raised in Queens by her grandparents, and after graduation she might not have the privilege of choosing what job she takes. “Catalina”is the second book by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, who first gained attention with the essay “I’m an Illegal Immigrant at Harvard,” published anonymously in the Daily Beast; her first book, “The Undocumented Americans,” was a finalist for the National Book Award. Though Villavicencio has since become an American citizen, “There’s this Latin American paranoia that comes from my parents, [who] grew up under a dictatorship,” she tells David Remnick. “I’ve heard all of these stories . . . and then there’s also being undocumented here, where the idea that I could disappear at any time, my parents could disappear at any time – I don’t think that I’m necessarily capable of feeling that kind of permanence.”
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