{"id":1752,"date":"2025-07-23T17:24:59","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T17:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/?p=1752"},"modified":"2025-07-24T14:57:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T14:57:11","slug":"sandra-cisneros-the-house-on-mango-street-went-from-the-banned-books-list-to-the-opera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/23\/sandra-cisneros-the-house-on-mango-street-went-from-the-banned-books-list-to-the-opera\/","title":{"rendered":"Sandra Cisneros\u2019 The House on Mango Street Went From the Banned-Books List to the Opera"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sandra Cisneros<\/a>, one of America\u2019s greatest writers, says that up until a few years ago, she was over speaking about her 1984 novel, \u201cThe House on Mango Street<\/a>.\u201d What started as an autobiographical book that she says she wrote during the \u201cmost powerless time\u201d in her life became a work of fiction as Cisneros drew on the harsh realities her students experienced living their lives outside of her classroom across working-class neighborhoods in Chicago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Countless people saw themselves in Esperanza, the book\u2019s Latina protagonist, and her Chicago neighbors, making \u201cThe House on Mango Street\u201d a huge success with more than 7 million copies sold, translated to over 25 languages<\/a>, and becoming a longstanding fixture on required-reading lists \u2014 as well as banned-book lists \u2014 in U.S. grade schools and universities. As Cisneros published other books and still works on new ones, she never expected \u201cThe House on Mango Street\u201d to have the long life it has had.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was kind of tired of talking about my first born. I\u2019m proud of it, but it\u2019s not my favorite book,\u201d Cisneros tells Refinery29 Somos.<\/p>\n

But her classic novel gained a new life when Grammy-nominated composer Derek Bermel<\/a> approached Cisneros nearly 10 years ago with the idea to collaborate on turning \u201cThe House on Mango Street\u201d into an opera. Excitedly, Cisneros accepted. Together, they co-wrote a libretto \u2014 the script of an opera \u2014 and brought the characters to life for the first time through songs, orchestral arrangements, and scenes on a stage. <\/p>\n

On Friday, July 18, the operatic debut of \u201cThe House on Mango Street\u201d drew nearly 1,000 people from across the country and outside the U.S. for its world premiere at Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u201cI had so much fun with this collaboration, and I feel grateful that the book is doing its spirit work and not just in Latino communities. I get letters from people across the globe. It\u2019s very shocking, energizing, and confirming,\u201d Cisneros shares. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it will do its spirit work after I\u2019m gone, in 100 years, or 10 years, or 20 years, but it\u2019s doing the work it needs to do at this time in history, and I\u2019m very happy that the work is speaking to people whose lives are like the protagonists and who feel it gives them hope. That\u2019s what we need to do in times that are dark.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI was a little worried about this opera coming out at this time with this administration, but I believe, and have to trust, that it\u2019s opening at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sandra Cisneros<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Against the backdrop of today\u2019s conversations around mass deportations<\/a>, the continued hypersexualization of Latinas<\/a>, and the gentrification of Black and brown neighborhoods<\/a>, among many other topics covered in the book, the opera manages to make the script relevant while still drawing many of its lines directly from the novel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had no idea when we were putting this together how contemporary it was going to be. So last night, as I watched it with the audience, it was chilling,\u201d Cisneros says.\u00a0 \u201cI was a little worried about this opera coming out at this time with this administration, but I believe, and have to trust, that it\u2019s opening at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n

While walking the lush, green outdoor grounds of Glimmerglass Festival, I found myself among a crowd of mostly older, mostly white festivalgoers \u2014 that is, until I overheard a woman speaking Spanish. Looking to connect with other Latinas, I approached her. Samantha Alvarez greeted me with a smile and told me she\u2019s from Pilsen, Chicago, just like Cisneros, She said the inspiration she felt from feeling represented by \u201cThe House on Mango Street\u201d as a kid opened up a world of possibilities and empowered her to start a travel community and podcast called Hood Girls Travel Too<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Sandra, a hood girl like me, was creating such an impact in the world with her writing, maybe I could be someone, too,\u201d Alvarez says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf Sandra, a hood girl like me, was creating such an impact in the world with her writing, maybe I could be someone, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Samantha Alvarez<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Alvarez invited me to sit with her. Before I knew it, I was sitting with 12 other women who are part of Rise & Thrive Latinas<\/a>, a Chicago-based book club-turned-community for Latinas. The women carpooled together, driving nearly 800 miles from Chicago to Central New York to see the opera.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor most of us, \u2018The House on Mango Street\u2019 was one of the first times we saw ourselves in a book, especially growing up in Chicago. And there we sat, watching the book that gave us life come to life as an opera \u2014 a medium not many of us are familiar with. But this time we were part of the inside jokes, we understood the references, we understood the dynamics Esperanza was experiencing. This time we were not the outsiders, we were home,\u201d shares Rise & Thrive Latinas founder Stephanie Gomez.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This, Cisneros says, was exactly her goal: to introduce her characters to a new audience and introduce a new audience to opera.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that they all drove, these women from different walks of life, all of them in a caravan to come here was so moving to me. And they don\u2019t even know each other, except through this Latina book club, and their enthusiasm and their willingness to embrace each other and the story was so gratifying for me, was just thrilling,\u201d Cisneros shares. \u201cThere was even a woman who came from Los Angeles and she wasn\u2019t part of the book club, but they grabbed her and said, \u2018Come on, come with us.\u2019 This is what I want to see, an opera where the audience includes my community, including the diversity of faces and people on the stage. That was just beyond my dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe incredible thing about this book is that it\u2019s both specific and universal, that almost anybody can see themselves in these characters. Older people, younger people, people of all different races and ethnic origins find themself in the story of their family and their neighborhood in that book.\u201d<\/p>\n

Derek Bermel<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

I watched the opera on the edge of my seat, shimmying to the tunes and tearing up at the drama. Derek Bermel, the composer of the opera, created a new layer of depth for the \u201cMango Street\u201d characters by infusing the sounds of m\u00fasica norte\u00f1a, rancheras, merengue, salsa, and hip-hop \u2014 all genres that would play in the Chicago neighborhoods in \u201cThe House on Mango Street.\u201d Having grown up in New York City in the 1990s and 2000, I also felt at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe incredible thing about this book is that it\u2019s both specific and universal, that almost anybody can see themselves in these characters. Older people, younger people, people of all different races and ethnic origins find themself in the story of their family and their neighborhood in that book,\u201d Bermel says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bermel and Cisneros worked closely on the songs to ensure they would reflect the characters\u2019 origins and personalities. One of those characters is Lucy, one of Esperanza\u2019s first real friends when she moves to the neighborhood and whose Mexican-American Spanglish is sprinkled throughout the Tejano-style music in her scenes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt made me feel so connected to my ancestors and the sacrifices that so many generations before us had made.\u201d<\/p>\n

SAMANTHA Sosa<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cTo be a Latina in this Latina-driven story, in a Latina-written opera, felt like such a privilege and honor when I was cast in the role. I based her off on myself and my experiences growing up in Caracas,\u201d says Samantha Sosa, who plays Lucy. \u201cIt made me feel so connected to my ancestors and the sacrifices that so many generations before us had made. It felt like such an honor to be doing the show, and then when we all did our bows, personally, when I took my bow, I felt like I was taking it for more than just myself, I took it for a community of living people and a community of people that came before all of us in the audience and on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much like Cisneros shared that her journey out of Chicago to Iowa for her master\u2019s degree provided some relief and fresh perspective after years of living in the city, I felt a wave of comfort wash over me while taking a break from New York City and enjoying my time around Cooperstown. I was relieved to get fresh air, look out to the foothills of the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains, and feel the breeze off the Otsego Lake.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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I stayed at The Landmark Inn,<\/a> a historic 1856 mansion that was the most relaxing place to rest between visiting Cooperstown\u2019s main attractions just minutes away. I found a plethora of cultural connections, from visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame\u2019s \u201c\u00a1Viva Baseball<\/a>!\u201d exhibit on Latin American baseball traditions \u2014 which featured my family\u2019s Dominican hometown team Las Aguilas as well as a literal nod to my favorite Venezuelan Mets player Francisco Alvarez by way of a bobble head in the gift shop \u2014 to viewing American folk art at the Fenimore Art Museum<\/a> and walking through the historic village at the Fenimore Farm<\/a>. I strolled through the Cooperstown Farmers Market, tasted locally made food like chocolates by Madrile\u00f1a Sonia Sola of Nectar Hills Farm, and sourced the cutest rainbow striped wristlet handmade by Brazilian artist Lucia Emiko<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On my final day in Cooperstown, Cisneros and I met at Clausen Lodge<\/a> and we both admired the view of rolling green hills. We sat on the porch the morning after her opera\u2019s premiere and, as we closed our discussion, Cisneros shared why she felt spiritually moved to center her book\u2019s vignettes about migration and the threat of deportation in the opera.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe story of immigration is the great American story, and I feel that people who don\u2019t feel love toward immigrants [suffer from] arrested development.\u201d<\/p>\n

sandra Cisneros<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t tell our stories, it will be like it never happened. The story that I was privy to while writing \u2018The House on Mango Street\u2019 is one of great American values. The story of immigration is the great American story, and I feel that people who don\u2019t feel love toward immigrants [suffer from] arrested development,\u201d Cisneros says. \u201cEverybody is on a spiritual path, and if you can\u2019t open your heart to love, and you are enclosed with anger, resentment, and revenge, it\u2019s because you\u2019re not developed as a human being. Politicians that are in positions of power right now are spiritually immature. They haven\u2019t come into a place where they can see others who are unlike them with love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before parting, Cisneros shared her advice on how to protect our hearts and minds during these politically strife times.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that it\u2019s going to be very important that we retreat into connecting with our ancestors and our cultural beliefs, with art, which is our medicine, and with community. Our community is going to be our strength. Who\u2019s going to love us, if not us?\u201d Cisneros says. \u201cWe have to go back to our ra\u00edces, connect with our ancestors and with our culture. That\u2019s the gift that we can give to el mundo: our spiritual generosity, our spiritual vision, our spiritual love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Performances of \u201cThe House on Mango Street<\/a>\u201d at Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, New York, will run for a limited time through August 16, 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sandra Cisneros, one of America\u2019s greatest writers, says that up until a few years ago, she was over speaking about her 1984 novel, \u201cThe House on Mango Street.\u201d What started as an autobiographical book that she says she wrote during the \u201cmost powerless time\u201d in her life became a work of fiction as Cisneros drew…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1752"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1758,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752\/revisions\/1758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/baldheadedgirls.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}