MANHATTAN — There will be something for everyone at the Shabazz Center in Washington Heights next Monday, as author Julia Alvarez arrives in the neighborhood for a day of readings.
Alvarez, who spent her childhood in the Dominican Republic, is the author of numerous children’s books, including The Tia Lola Stories – about “a kind of Mary Poppins with a Spanish accent” – which she will read from at the event.
Recommended for children ages nine to 12, the free reading will begin at 3 p.m. on Oct. 17 and feature a “special appearance by Tia Lola herself,” according to The Bago Bunch event networking group, which helped promote the reading.
Later that night, at 7 p.m., Alvarez will return to the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial & Educational Center, located at 3940 Broadway between 165th and 166th Streets, to read from her classic novel In the Time of the Butterflies.
Published in 1994, the book is a fictionalized account of the Mirabal sisters, Dominican dissidents who were murdered following public opposition to the dictator Rafael Trujillo. It was also the inspiration for a 2001 TV movie, staring Salma Hayek, Marc Anthony and Edward James Olmos.
Admission is free, but people interested in attending must RSVP through the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA), by emailing info@nomaanyc.com or by calling (212) 568-4396.
