PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – This week, Beyond Kultura Events Foundation delivered 25 copies of La Sangre Llama (Overseas Bloodlines), a 145-page family saga by BKE president and author Loekie Morales, to local high schools with Spanish-language programs.
In La Sangre Llama, Morales recounts her own family’s story of migration, loss and reunification. For many years, the Dutch version of the book, Bloedlijn Overzee, was on the reading list for high-school Spanish students preparing for literature exams in the Netherlands.
“Thanks to our sponsors, Banco di Caribe and BKE, we were able to donate these hardcover books to high schools,” says Morales. “The schools can use them in their Spanish lessons, and students can read them for their Spanish exam.”
According to Morales, the book project began when she asked her then-97-year-old grandmother, “What do you think if I go to Coro, Venezuela, to search for your family?” With her grandmother, Morales slowly began filling in the gaps in the family tree.
“As the saying goes, Seek and ye shall find, and that was completely true,” Morales says about the writing of La Sangre Llama. “This search had some downs, but there were crazy, emotional encounters as well. Those beautiful moments will stay forever in my mind and heart.”
At the invitation of schools, the multi-lingual Morales also visits classrooms to discuss the book’s themes, including migration, socio-cultural differences among countries, norms and values, childhood and expressions of love and compassion, with Spanish learners.
PHOTO ATTACHED — CUTLINE: BKE president and author Loekie Morales and project leader Ingrid Holaman delivering the books to high-school representatives.
