[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 24148-24149]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING DISTINGUISHED LATINO WRITERS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RUBEN HINOJOSA

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 2, 2003

  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, in recognition of the National Book 
Festival sponsored by the Library of Congress and First Lady Laura 
Bush, I rise today to honor three distinguished Latino Writers.
  Jose-Luis Orozco is in many respects a multi-cultural teacher and 
musician and is recognized across the country for his contributions to 
bilingual education and literacy. His recordings and books share and 
transmit Latin American traditions and culture to millions of children. 
As a children's author, songwriter, performing artist, he has recorded 
13 volumes of Lirica Infantil, Latin American Children's Music. He has 
also written two award winning books, De Colores and Other Latin 
American Folks Songs for Children (Dutton 1994) and Diez Deditos, Ten 
Little Fingers. (Dutton 1997).
  Mr. Orozco was born in Mexico City. At the age of ten he traveled the 
world with the Mexico City Boys Choir. In 1970 after graduating from 
Mexico City School of Music, he moved to the United States. Initially, 
on a two week visit, Orozco permanently stayed and completed his 
master's degree in Multi-cultural Education from the University of 
California, Berkeley.
  Jose-Luis Orozco continues to perform for children around the country 
at concert halls, libraries, and schools. He is a recognized expert in 
children music is a featured speaker and presenter at numerous 
educational conferences for teachers, parents, and librarians. Mr. 
Orozco is a valued resource for all who seek to use music as a multi-
cultural learning tool. His passion and dedication to multi cultural 
education through music has impacted countless of individuals 
throughout the country.
  Pam Munoz Ryan is the author of the novel Esperanza Rising, winner of 
the Pura Belpre Medal, a the Jane Addams Peace Award, and the American 
Library Associations' Top Ten Books for Young Adults and the Americas 
Award. In addition, her novel Riding Freedom has also gained wide 
recognition winning the Willa Cather Award and the California Young 
Readers Medal. Pam Munoz Ryan is also recognized for her picture books 
for young and older readers, such as the award winning Amelia and 
Eleanor Go For A Ride and also her work, When Marian Sang, is a 
recipient of the American Library Association's Sibert Honor, including 
the National Council of Teachers in English's Orbits Pictus Award.
  Pam Munoz Ryan was born and raised in California in the San Joaquin 
Valley. She is the oldest of three sisters. She grew up surrounded by 
her aunts, uncles, and grandparents. During her childhood many hours 
were spent at the local library where her love of literature was 
cultivated. After receiving her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from 
San Diego State University, she became a teacher, an administrator, and 
after the encouragement from a friend a writer. Through her life's 
passion, as writer Pam Munoz Ryan has touched many lives.
  Judith Ortiz Cofer is an English and Creative Writing Franklin 
Professor at University of Georgia. A native of Puerto Rico, her 
lectures center on biculturalism and the creative processes. She is 
driven by a deep belief in freedom of expression and the necessity to 
disseminate the literature and art of the many people contributing to 
the culture of the United States.
  Her literary work is respected through the country being awarded The 
Anisfield Wolf Award for The Latin Deli, a collection of essays, short 
fiction, and poetry. In addition, she was awarded the first Pura Belpre 
Medal by Reforma of the American Library Association (1996) for her 
book, An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio, which also garnered 
the American Library Association Best book of the Year 1995-96. She 
also is the author of Line in the Sun, a novel, a collection of 
personal essay and short stories, and her work Silent Dancing was 
awarded a PEN/Martha Albarnd Special citation for nonfiction.
  Judith Ortiz Cofer has been awarded several fellowships from the 
National Endowment for the Arts and Witter Bynner Foundation For 
Poetry. In 1998 Judith Ortiz Cofer was awarded Paterson Book Prize for 
her work, The Year of Our Revolution: New and Selected Stories and 
Poems at Passaic County Community College; additionally, she was the 
recipient of Christ Janner Award in Creative Research from the 
University of Georgia. The Rockefeller Foundation also awarded her 
residency at the Bellagio, Italy Conference Center in 1999.

[[Page 24149]]

  In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month and The National Book 
Festival, I hope we take time to recognize the contributions of these 
and many other fine Hispanic authors. America's people come from rich 
and diverse cultural backgrounds. Literature is at the root of 
America's culture. These three authors have added tremendously to our 
diverse American cultural fabric

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