Gringa Latina: A Woman of Two Worlds

"All at once enchanting and real. Full of masterful storytelling. A treasure." -- Betty Rollin, author of First, You Cry and Last Wish Gringa Latina tells the story of a life spent in two cultures, filtered through the veils of memory. Gabriella De Ferrari, the author of the acclaimed novel A Cloud On Sand, grew up in Peru, the daughter of gringos, or foreigners: her parents had come from Italy as newlyweds to set down roots in an exotic and alluring country far from home. De Ferrari recalls her privileged upbringing in the small desert town of Tacna, at the foothills of the silent Andes: the wonders of her mothers inventive cuisine, an inspired melding of Italian and Peruvian ingredients; her friendship with her Peruvian neighbor Señorita Luisa, doomed to be an old maid because her betrothed left her for someone else; her ties to Saturnina, the Indian maid who taught her about curses and miracles; and her admiration for her father, the trusted sage of their town. Eventually De Ferrari attended in the United States, where she is called a Latina. She married an American and raised her children, as her parents did, in an adopted country far from home. Today, as she contemplates her life in America, where she feels both estranged and accepted, she realizes how much Peru peoples the landscape of her memory and remains a lodestar. Gringa Latina, a book of recollections, celebration, and self-definition, is the enchanting result. Gabriella De Ferrari was born and raised in Peru, then moved to the United States, where she earned degrees from St. Louis University, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and Harvard University. In Boston, she became director of the Institute of Contemporary Art, then curator of the Busch-Reisinger Museum and assistant director of the Fogg Art Museum. The author of the novel A Cloud on Sand, she is also a feature writer for Mirabella, Vanity Fair, and Travel and Leisure.