Leer esta historia en español.
If you speak Spanish, live in Indianapolis and would like to talk about books with like-minded people, the organization Mujeres Conectadas has a program for you.
This month, the Spanish-language book club will discuss “Se regalan dudas” by Ashley Frangie and Leticia Sahagún. The meeting will take place 6:30-8 p.m. Aug. 13 at the Haughville Library, 2121 W. Michigan St.
Dominic Zepeda, the director and founder of the nonprofit Mujeres Conectadas, is the organizer. “It’s important that we have these open and free spaces,” she said. “We Latinos do not only come here to work — we are integral beings who are interested in art and reading.”
Although the Spanish-language book club has been around in different formats since 2018, the club became an official library program in 2022, which means that books can be checked out through its system.
We talked to Zepeda to learn more. (This interview was edited for length and brevity.)
Jennifer Delgadillo: What types of books will you read and what will the discussion be like?
Dominic Zepeda: We will talk about fiction and nonfiction books. We will express our opinions (what we like, what we don’t like, and we will find topics to address) with other readers in the city.
JD: Who chooses the books?
DZ: I choose them with a focus on personal development. I chose very psychological books about grief or relationships. Since the club is bimonthly, we start with six picks and then decide on two more.
We are also introducing some novels and will possibly continue choosing with the help of people who are part of the club and know about literature.
JD: Have there been moments that have shown you the importance of the club?
DZ: There are people who say that the club has changed their lives because of the reading, the friendships and the community. It has given them meaning. In terms of identity, people love to read in Spanish because when they are here in the U.S. they start to forget the words.
There are many people who have never set foot in a library or read a book and have now done that because of this club. That, to me, is very nice.
Upcoming books
Can’t join the club in August? These are the books planned for October and December:
“La ridícula idea de no volver a verte” by Rosa Montero.
6:30-8 p.m. Oct. 8 at the West Perry library branch, 6650 S. Harding St.
6:30-8 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Eagle library branch, 3905 Moller Road
Upcoming programs
The library has more Spanish-language programs planned for the month of August:
6-7 p.m., Monday, Aug. 12 at the Central Library, 40 E St Clair St.
Basic Computer Classes in Spanish — Introduction to Computers
6-7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 27 at the Garfield Park Library, 2502 Shelby St.
Jennifer Delgadillo is the arts and culture editor for Mirror Indy. You can reach out to her at jennifer.delgadillo@mirrorindy.org.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
