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Courtesy Xochitl Mora,

Memoir retelling of orphanage life in Chile setting for “Santiago’s Children”

  (Laredo, TX )-Three years and four books later, the Laredo Public Library’s One City, One Book program is still going strong, each time choosing powerful, thought-provoking books by modern-day authors as the selected tome for each year and inviting the entire community of Laredo to not only read, but also, to learn, share and grow from the book.

 “This year’s selection is no exception, as the book, “Santiago’s Children,” by author Steve Reifenberg, will have the same emotional impression on the reader as the previous reads did,” said Maria G. Soliz, director for the Laredo Public Library.  “We have two goals for One City, One Book. One is to promote literacy, and two is to build a sense of community as we read the same book. This initiative will open dialogue among families, friends, co-workers and even strangers.  What better way to accomplish this than to read an amazing a book!”

 According to the book’s review on Amazon.com, “Santiago’s Children” will have a profound impact on those who read the book.  

 “Unclear about his future career path, Reifenberg found himself in the early 1980s working at a small orphanage in a poor neighborhood in Santiago, Chile, where a determined single woman was trying to create a stable home for a dozen or so children who had been abandoned or abused.

 “With little more than good intentions and very limited Spanish, the 23-year-old plunged into the life of the Hogar Domingo Savio, becoming a foster father to kids who stretched his capacities for compassion and understanding in ways he never could have imagined back in the States. In this beautifully written memoir, Reifenberg recalls his two years at the Hogar Domingo Savio. His vivid descriptions create indelible portraits of a dozen remarkable kids: mature-beyond-her-years Verónica; sullen, unresponsive Marcelo; and irrepressible toddler Andrés, among them. As Reifenberg learns more about the children’s circumstances, he begins to see the bigger picture of life in Chile at a crucial moment in its history. The early 1980s were a time of economic crisis and political uprising against the brutal military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.  

 “Reifenberg skillfully interweaves the story of the orphanage with the broader national and international forces that dramatically impact the lives of the kids. By the end of ‘Santiago’s

 Children’ Reifenberg has told an engrossing story of not only of his own coming-of-age, but also of the courage and resilience of the poorest and most vulnerable residents of Latin America.”  Review from Amazon.com

 Half of the author’s profits go to support the work of at-risk children in Santiago, Chile.

 “We’re often overwhelmed by problems in the world.  We can’t do everything.  But choose something.  Even if our own dreams and aspirations aren’t in line with what other people think, try anyway,” said Reifenberg.

   This book has also been selected by Texas A&M International University as the Global Read for its freshman class. 

 “We are excited to once again be sharing our book title and focus this year with One City, One Book. From campus to community at large, this represents a marvelous opportunity for us all to share in the magic and transformative power of reading.” — Conchita Hickey, executive director of TAMIU”s University College and director of the University’s Reading the Globe campus read.

 Additionally, thanks to the efforts of Laredo Advisory Board Member and United ISD Librarian Carmen Escamilla, upper-level history classes at UISD will be reading the book.  Escamilla is also reaching out to her counterpart at Laredo ISD and St. Agustine High School to also invite them to participate in the program. 

 “Any other schools who would like to participate in the One City, One Book read are welcome to join us,” said Escamilla.  “Like other reads we have had in the past, the difficult nature of the circumstances described in ‘Santiago’s Children’ require maturity and sensitivity by the reader.”

 In an effort to enhance the message and themes of the book, the Laredo Public Library will also host several activities, including book discussions, documentary screenings, presentation and a collection drive, leading up to the culmination of the One City, One Book initiative with the author’s lecture on October 7.  On that day, Reifenberg will visit TAMIU in closed session during the day and the general public presentation later that evening at the Laredo Civic Center.

 The documentary selected to screen as part of the activities is entitled “Machuca,” and is an astonishingly intimate and painful coming-of-age story about a pair of 12-year-old boys from opposite extremes of society who form an unlikely friendship during the last days of President Allende and the first days of Pinochet. The potent events are accompanied by a searingly beautiful soundtrack with heart-stopping beats that propel the drama of the story.

 Throughout the history of the One City, One Book program, organizers have hosted collection drives that complement the social issue of the book.  This year, the Laredo Public Library will be hosting a volunteer collection drive throughout the month of September to benefit La Casa Hogar, the orphanage in Laredo’s Sister City of Nuevo Laredo.   Look to the Laredo Public Library for more information on this important initiative.

 “It is important that we take the lessons we learn from the stories selected for One City, One Book and apply them to a very real problem in our community,” said Soliz.  “By understanding the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual toll the children in the orphanage face, we can better appreciate what we have, and help make a difference, right here, right now. This is just one more benefit of reading:  becoming aware of the problems and challenges in the world around us and finding solutions to them.”

 Everyone in the community is invited to stop by the Laredo Public Library to check out a copy of the selected book.  The book will also be for sale at Books-A-Million bookstore.