There are not many fifth graders that are jealous of a fictional figure like E.T. Reyna Grande was annoyed when the movie showed the alien learning English faster than she did.
Grande, author of “The Distance Between Us,” spoke at the 22nd annual Leonardo Memorial Lecture in the Garvin Theatre on Wednesday Nov. 14.
Leonardo Dorantes Memorial Lecture was established in memory of Leonardo Dorantes, a second-year City College student and Mexican immigrant who was stabbed to death in a race-related tragedy in Nov. 1990. The lecture is designed to promote the understanding of racial and ethnic differences in Santa Barbara.
“I feel honored to be speaking among people I admire,” said Grande. “Dreams belong to everyone, no matter how you look or what language you speak.”
Her third book, “The Distance Between Us” is a memoir that captures the confusion of childhood before and after emigrating from Mexico to the U.S.
“You are damned if you do and you are damned if you don’t,” said Grande when discussing immigrating to America.
Her parents abandoned Grande at a young age. Her father left his family in Mexico for a more fulfilled life in America when she was only 2 years old. At the age of 4, her mother followed her father’s footprints to find the American dream.
Left alone with her brother and sister she says her life became a burden for all of the people around her. She became neglected by her own people, discriminated and excluded from the neighborhoods. She and her siblings were abused by foul language and kids called them the “orphanage children.”
In 1985, when Grande was 9 years old, she and her brother and sister immigrated to America, illegally and undocumented. They got reunited with their parents and started a life in the Hispanic area of Highland Park in Los Angeles. Grande started elementary school along with kids who looked like her, who spoke her own language, but there was still something that made her different from the rest of her class. They knew English, and she didn’t.
Her school did not offer ESL studies so she was placed in a corner of the classroom full of English books where she got to learn English on her own. She sat in that corner for several years of elementary school, struggling with learning a second language along with trying to fit in to the American culture. Her dream of a perfect American life was far away from what she expected.
“I remember when we had a writing contest in fifth grade. I wanted to write about my birth but I knew I couldn’t write it as good as I can if I wrote it in English, so I wrote it in Spanish,” she said. “ One day we were supposed to watch the movie E.T in class, I remember that I was jealous of him (E.T) learning English faster than me. During the movie my teacher was going through our writing and I saw her pick up my story, and after a quick look she put the story in the rejected pile. That rejection prepared me for future rejections and made me stronger and more prepared in my career as a writer.”
Grande fought through school and she eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and film and video from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Grande also received her Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Antioch University, Santa Barbara.
Superintendent-President, Dr. Lori Gaskin said she was proud to present this year’s speaker. Gaskin held Grande’s book and said, “Some writing holds a mirror to a soul, reading Reyna’s words holds a mirror to a soul.”
Grande’s theme throughout her speech is not to see the differences in people you meet, but to see what you may have in common with different people. Grande says everyone should follow his or her dreams; no matter what other people tell you and no matter how anyone wants to bring you down.
“I think she is great and inspiring, I gained a lot more than I expected when I first came,” said Victoria Patterson, a chemical engineering major.
Sponsors of the speech were; Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, The Foundation for Santa Barbara City College and Santa Barbara City College Bookstore.
