Maria Elena Llana 
Cuban Author and Journalist 

The Cuban journalist and fiction writer Maria Elena Llana began her career as a journalist in 1959, the year the Cuban revolution forced the dictator Fulgencio Bautista from power. The short story she reads in this presentation, “Nochemala” (“Unholy Night” in English), was written and takes place during this turbulent era. Ms. Llana is introduced and her remarks interpreted by Dr. Sara Cooper, faculty in the CSU, Chico Department of International Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Department. The story is about a woman divided by ties to her son, who is a member of Cuban revolutionary forces, and to her husband, who rose to a position of power in the Bautista regime. Ms Llana reads her story in Spanish, with a full English translation projected in PowerPoint slides. 

Recorded: November 9, 2015