About us
MISSION AND HISTORY
Our mission is to fortify the reading habits and the consumption of literature among Puerto Ricans and U.S.Latino communities, specially among its youth. We also want to support Puerto Rican Literature written both in Spanish and in English and to fight for a better recognition of Puerto Rican and Latino authors throughout the world.
Salón Literario Libroamérica was founded by Puerto Rican author and Ph.D. in Literature Mayra Santos-Febres. A renowned writer, Santos-Febres is interested in supporting her fellow writers, in breaking ethnic and geographic boundaries and promoting the literatures produced by other Puerto Ricans and Latinos both in the US and in the island of Puerto Rico. She was also preocupied by the Island’s failing education indexes in reading comprehension, both in Spanish and in English, and insisted that writers should be more involved in promoting good reading habits among Puerto Rican youth.
In 2007, she met with engineer and philanthropist Carlos Pesquera and decided to create Salón Literario as a non-for-profit organization for the internationalization of Puerto Rican Literature and the promotion of reading habits.
FOUNDER
Mayra Santos-Febres is a renowned Puerto Rican writer and intellectual. Winner of both the Mellon and the Ford Foundation Fellowships (1988), she obtained her PHD. in Arts and Literature at Cornell University (1991). She has been a guest scholar at Cornell University (1994), Harvard University (2004) and Universidad Complutense, Madrid (2009). In 1996, she won a Juan Rulfo Literary Prize (Paris, France) for her short stories. In 2007, she was a Premio Primavera (Espasa Calpe) finalist for her novel Nuestra Señora de la Noche and in 2009 she won a John S. Simmon Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2010, the prestigious Spanish newspaper “El País” named her one of the most influential iberoamerican leaders in 2010.
BOARD
Moisés Agosto-Rosario- President (2009). Author and Project Manager for HIV Prevention in Tides Fountation
Dr. Waldert Rivera- Vicepresident-Medical Anthropologist and Consultant for Humana de Puerto Rico
José Colón Santana, Esq. – Treasurer-President of Lawyers Delegation of San Juan.
Ana Ivelisse Feliciano-Secretary- General Manager of Terranova Editores, Inc.
Vocals
Dr. Migdalia Barreto- UPR Cayey Professor in Literature
Dr. José Muriente, Director of Educational Institute of Technology and Arts. Member of the Academy of Art and Sciencies , Puerto Rico
Gloria Ramírez de Arrellano- Vicepresident of WARO TV
Isabel Quilez- Business woman and philanthropist.
Executive Staff
Mayra Santos-Febres- Executive Director
Astrid Rivera- Administrative Assistant
Financial Statements
