Esmeralda santos autobiography books

1993 autobiography by Esmeralda Santiago

When I Was Puerto Rican is a 1993 autobiography written by Puerto Rican native Esmeralda Santiago.

It is the first of three installments,^[1] followed by Almost a Woman and The Turkish Lover.

Esmeralda santiago husband

This first book begins by describing Santiago's life in Macún, a sector of Candelaria barrio in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.^[2] It details the circumstances that led to her mother bringing her and her siblings to New York.

The second part of the book describes Santiago's initial adjustment to life in America. The memoir closes with Santiago's audition to New York's Performing Arts High School.^[3][4]

Plot summary

Esmeralda Santiago is the oldest child her parents have together, although her father has an older daughter she doesn't know about.

Her parents' relationship is damaged as her mother suspects her father is having an affair. Amid the drama, one of Esmeralda's siblings, Raymon