Ana Lydia Vega (born December 6, 1946,

Santurce, Puerto Rico Santurce (, meaning Saint George from Basque language, Basque ''Santurtzi'') is the largest and most populated Barrios of San Juan, Puerto Rico, barrio of the Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the cap ...

) is a Puerto Rican writer.

Biography

Her parents were Virgilio Vega, an "oral poet" from

Coamo, Puerto Rico Coamo (, ) is a town and municipality founded in 1579 in the south-central region of Puerto Rico, located north of Santa Isabel; south of Orocovis and Barranquitas; east of Villalba and Juana Díaz; and west of Aibonito and Salinas. The ...

, and Doña María Santana, a teacher from the town of Arroyo. She went to school at the Academia del Sagrado Corazón in Santurce, and studied at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

, earning a bachelor's degree in 1968. She went on to study at the

University of Provence The University of Provence Aix-Marseille I () was a Public university, public research university mostly located in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. It was one of the three University of Aix-Marseille, Universities of Aix-Marseille and was part of t ...

, France, earning a master's degree in

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...

in 1971, and a doctorate in French literature in 1978. She has received the Premio Casa de las Américas (1982) and the Premio Juan Rulfo (1984). In 1985, she was selected as "Author of the Year" by the Puerto Rico Society of Authors. Vega was a professor of French literature and Caribbean studies at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, and retired later.

Work

In Spanish

Fiction

* ''Vírgenes y mártires'' (stories, with Carmen Lugo Filippi), 1981 * ''Encancaranublado y otros cuentos de naufragio'', La Habana Casa de las Américas 1982, Premio Casa de las Américas 1982 * ''Pasión de historia y otras historias de pasión'', 1987, Buenos Aires: Ediciones de la Flor, 2015 * ''Falsas crónicas del sur'' (stories), 1991, with Walter Torres, San Juan, Ed. Univ. de Puerto Rico 2009 * ''Ciertas crónicas del norte'', 1992 * ''Cuentos calientes'', México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1996 * ''En la bahia de jobos: Celita Y El Mangle Zapatero'' (children's book, with Yolanda Pastrana Fuentes and Alida Ortiz Sotomayor), Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 2004 * ''Esperando a Loló y otros delirios generacionales'', San Juan, Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 2006

Non-fiction

* ''El Tramo Ancla'' (Puerto Rican essays, introduction and editing by Vega), Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 1991 * ''Mirada de doble filo'', La Editorial, Universidad de Puerto Rico, 2008 - journalism

In translation

* ''True and false: stories and a novella''/''True and False Romances'', translated by Andrew Hurley. London, New York: Serpent's Tail, 1994

Writing Elements

Historic context

Puerto Rico's history plays a role in Vega's writings. The country became a U.S. territory under the

Treaty of Paris (1898) The Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain, commonly known as the Treaty of Paris of 1898, was signed by Spain and the United States on December 10, 1898, and marked the end of the Spanish–American Wa ...

, after the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. Remorse still exists toward one of the leading causes of the war, and many people believe that the bombing of the US battleship USS ''Maine'' ( ACR-1) was a

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

. This sentiment is present in Vega's works. Puerto Rico became a commonwealth after adopting a constitution on July 25, 1952. Because of the nation's ties to the United States, English is mixed with Spanish to make up the dialect of the region, which is used in her writings. Migration to the United States is common, and it is also a theme in Vega's stories. Vega's writing is also influenced by her familiarity with

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...

s. In 1978, she wrote her doctoral thesis on the influence of Haitian leader

Henri Christophe Henri Christophe (; 6 October 1767 – 8 October 1820) was a key leader in the Haitian Revolution and the only monarch of the Kingdom of Haiti. Born in the British West Indies, British Caribbean, Christophe was possibly of Senegambian descent ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

and on theater in the

Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...

. Vega's father was an accomplished practitioner of the

Décima A décima is a ten-line stanza of poetry. The most popular form is called décima espinela after Vicente Espinel (1550–1624), a Spanish writer, poet, and musician from the Spanish Golden Age who used it extensively throughout his compositions. T ...

, a Puerto Rican form of poetry emphasizing improvisation.

Reception of her work

Few of Ana Lydia Vega’s Spanish-language works have been translated into English, and "her catalog, whether in English or Spanish" was out of print as of 2015.

Critical studies in English

* Ana Lydia Vega, True and False Romances By: Feracho, Lesley. IN: Quintana, ''Reading U. S. Latina Writers: Remapping American Literature.'' New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan; 2003. pp. 181–96 * Spanglish, TICKLING THE TONGUE: on Ana Lydia Vega and Giannina Braschi, by Ilan Stavans, World Literature Today, 2000. #Ana Lydia Vega: Linguistic Women and Another Counter-Assault or Can the Master(s) Hear? By: Labiosa, David J.. IN: Athey, ''Sharpened Edge: Women of Color, Resistance, and Writing.'' Westport, CT: Praeger; 2003. pp. 187–201 * The Representation of Puerto Rican Women in Two Short Stories by Ana Lydia Vega: 'Letra para salsa y tres soneos por encargo' (1979) and 'Pollito Chicken' (1977) By: Green, Mary; ''Tesserae: Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies,'' 2002 Dec; 8 (2): 127–41 * Traces of Santería in Encancaranublado By: Pardo, Diana; ''Céfiro,'' 2002 Fall; 3 (1): 25–30 * Translating Laughter: Humor as a Special Challenge in Translating the Stories of Ana Lydia Vega By: Wallace, Carol J.; ''Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association,'' 2002 Fall; 35 (2): 75–87 * Ana Lydia Vega's ''Falsas crónicas del sur'': Reconstruction and Revision of Puerto Rico's Past By: Gosser-Esquilín, Mary Ann. IN: Juan-Navarro, and Young, ''A Twice-Told Tale: Reinventing the Encounter in Iberian/Iberian American Literature and Film.'' Newark, DE; London, England: U of Delaware P; Associated UP; 2001. pp. 193–209 * Intersections in Ana Lydia Vega's 'Pasión de historia' By: Craig, Linda; ''MaComère: Journal of the Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars,'' 2001; 4: 71–83 * A Sense of Space, a Sense of Speech: A Conversation with Ana Lydia Vega By: Hernández, Carmen Dolores; ''Hopscotch: A Cultural Review,'' 2000; 2 (2): 52–59 * ''Virgins and Fleurs de Lys: Nation and Gender in

Québec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

and Puerto Rico'' By: Den Tandt, Catherine. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico; 2000 * "The Hispanic Post-Colonial Tourist" By: Martí-Olivella, Jaume; ''Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies,'' 1997; 1: 23–42 * "Like English for Spanish: Meditaciones desde la frontera anglorriqueña" By: Unruh, Vicky; ''Siglo XX/20th Century,'' 1997; 15 (1–2): 147–61 * "Ana Lydia Vega, the Caribbean Storyteller" By: Puleo, Augustus; ''Afro-Hispanic Review,'' 1996 Fall; 15 (2): 21–25. (journal article) * "Thematic and Narrative Strategies in Lydia Vega's 'Pollito chicken'" By: Engling, Ezra S.; C''ollege Language Association Journal,'' 1996 Mar; 39 (3): 341–56 * "'What's Wrong with this Picture?' Ana Lydia Vega's 'Caso omiso'" By: Boling, Becky; ''Revista de Estudios Hispánicos,'' 1996; 23: 315–24 * "Subverting and Re-Defining Sexuality in 'Three Love Aerobics' by Ana Lydia Vega" By: Puleo, Augustus C.; ''Letras Femeninas,'' 1995 Spring-Fall; 21 (1-2): 57–67 * "'Así son': Salsa Music, Female Narratives, and Gender (De)Construction in Puerto Rico" By: Aparicio, Frances R.; ''Poetics Today,'' 1994 Winter; 15 (4): 659–84 * "Women and Writing in Puerto Rico: An Interview with Ana Lydia Vega" By: Hernández, Elizabeth; ''

Callaloo Callaloo ( , ; many spelling variants, such as kallaloo, calaloo, calalloo, calaloux, or callalloo) is a plant used in popular dishes in many Caribbean countries, while for other Caribbean countries, a stew made with the plant is called call ...

: A Journal of African American and African Arts and Letters,'' 1994 Summer; 17 (3): 816–25 * "We Are (Not) in This Together: The Caribbean Imaginary in 'Encancaranublado' by Ana Lydia Vega" By: Vélez, Diana L.; ''Callaloo: A Journal of African American and African Arts and Letters,'' 1994 Summer; 17 (3): 826–33 * "Tracing Nation and Gender: Ana Lydia Vega" By: Den Tandt, Catherine; ''Revista de Estudios Hispanicos,'' 1994 Jan; 28 (1): 3–24 * "Contaminations linguistiques: Actes d'anéantissement ou d'enrichissement d'une langue?" By: Impériale, Louis. IN: Crochetière, Boulanger and Ouellon, ''Actes du XVe Congrès International des Linguistes, Québec, Université Laval, 9–14 août 1992: Les Langues menacées/Endangered Languages: Proceedings of the XVth International Congress of Linguists, Québec, Université Laval, 9–14 August 1992.'' Sainte-Foy: PU Laval; 1993. pp. III: 351-54 * "The Reproduction of Ideology in Ana Lydia Vega's 'Pasión de historia' and 'Caso omiso'" By: Boling, Becky; ''Letras Femeninas,'' 1991 Spring-Fall; 17 (1-2): 89-97 * "The Voice Recaptured: Fiction by

Dany Bebel-Gisler Dany may refer to: People with the name Given name A form of the Hebrew words and names '' daniyyel'' דניאל (« God is my Judge ») or '' dan'' דָּן (« judgement » or « he judged ») * Dany Abounaoum (born 1969), Lebanese alpine skier ...

and Ana Lydia Vega" By: Romero, Ivette; ''Journal of Caribbean Studies,'' 1991–1992 Winter-Spring; 8 (3): 159-65 * "Social Criticism in the Contemporary Short Story of Selected Puerto Rican Women Writers" By: Wallace, Jeanne C.; ''MACLAS: Latin American Essays,'' 1989; 3: 113-23 * "Pollito chicken: Split

Subjectivity The distinction between subjectivity and objectivity is a basic idea of philosophy, particularly epistemology and metaphysics. Various understandings of this distinction have evolved through the work of countless philosophers over centuries. One b ...

, National Identity and the Articulation of Female Sexuality in a Narrative by Ana Lydia Vega" By: Vélez, Diana L.; ''The Americas Review: A Review of Hispanic Literature and Art of the USA,'' 1986 Summer; 14 (2): 68–76 * "From a Woman's Perspective: The Short Stories of

Rosario Ferré Rosario Ferré Ramírez de Arellano (September 28, 1938 – February 18, 2016) was a Puerto Rican writer, poet, and essayist.

and Ana Lydia Vega" By: Fernandez Olmos, Margarite. IN: Meyer and Fernández Olmos, ''Contemporary Women Authors of Latin America: Introductory Essays.'' Brooklyn: Brooklyn Coll. P; 1983. pp. 78–90.

References

External links

On Machismo, Ana Lydia Vega. Translated by Cecile Williams
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vega, Ana Lydia 1946 births Living people People from Santurce, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican feminists Puerto Rican women short story writers American women short story writers 20th-century Puerto Rican writers 20th-century Puerto Rican women writers 21st-century Puerto Rican writers 21st-century Puerto Rican women writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American women writers Universidad del Sagrado Corazón alumni