This Saturday! Filipino American Authors at LA Public Library 5/26/18 3 pm

AFTERNOON WITH FILIPINO AUTHORS
CECILIA BRAINARD & PAULINO LIM Jr.

Sat. May 26, 2018, 3 p.m.
Los Angeles Public Library, Meeting Room A
630 W. 5th Street, LA, CA 90071

Cecilia Brainard and Paulino Lim will talk about their experiences as Filipino authors in America. They will also read from their works, and there will be book signing. The International Languages Department of the Los Angeles Public Library hosts this free literary event.

Sicily: Greek, Roman, and Norman Influences

The Island of Sicily is 25,711 square kilometers, slightly smaller than Massachusetts (27,340 square kilometers). Because of its strategic location in the Mediterranean, it has always had invaders coming and going: Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Byzantines, Normans, French, Aragonese, Austrians, Spanish, and more.  

Discovering Sicily: The Godfather and the Mafia

Before visiting Sicily, my ideas about Sicily were picked up from the movie The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola 1972). Because Vito Corleone and many other Sicilians immigrated to America, I had the notion that Sicily must be a poor place. I also had the idea that Sicilians were all members of the Mafia, people who would make you an offer you couldn't refuse.  My brain teemed with preconceptions from the movie, and at the Milan airport, before boarding the plane for Catania in Sicily, I glanced at the dusky-skinned men with hooked noses, thought of Vito Corleone and his family, and felt as if I would meet Michael and the ill-fated Apollonia Corleone when we landed Catania.

Visiting Paris in May

Dear Readers,

I've just returned from a trip to Paris, Sicily, and Malta.  I've been unable to blog because Blogger is slow, although I've been able to post pictures in my Facebook and Instagram accounts -- links below.

https://www.facebook.com/ceciliabrainard

https://www.instagram.com/ceciliabrainard/

I have much to share and will start with Paris.