Confidence, Language, and Awesome Abuelas: Julio Anta and Gabi Mendez Discuss the Upcoming Speak Up, Santiago!

Considering the news, and the state of the country today, you can probably understand why, when asked whether or not I’d like the interview the creators of a graphic novel that explores the linguistic insecurity that so many American-born Hispanics who don’t speak Spanish face today, I didn’t just jump at the chance. I LEAPED at it! I HURDLED at it! I broke down walls, doors, and other sundry barriers to get to it!

Meet Eisner Award-nominated author Julio Anta and illustrator Gabi Mendez. They’ve a little book out on March 4th by the name of Speak Up, Santiago! (Random House Graphic| Ages: 8-12) that can be best described in this way:

“Santi is excited to spend the summer in Hillside Valley, meeting the local kids, eating his Abuela’s delicious food, exploring! There’s just one problem—Santi doesn’t speak Spanish that well and it feels like everyone he meets in Hillside does. There’s Sol (she’s a soccer player who really loves books), Willie, (the artist), Alejandro (Santi’s unofficial tour guide!), and Nico (Alejandro’s brother and blue belt in karate). In between all of their adventures in Hillside, Santi can’t help but worry about his Spanish-what if he can’t keep up?! Does that mean he’s not Colombian enough? Will Santi find his confidence and his voice? Or will his worries cost him his new friendships…and the chance to play in Hilliside’s summer soccer tournament?!”

And the blurbs, man, the blurbs! We’ve got blurbs from Kat Fajardo, Kayla Miller, Raul the Third, you name it!

Did I have questions? I did.

Were they willing to answer those questions? They were.

Let’s do this thing:

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Betsy Bird: Hi, Julio! I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me about SPEAK UP, SANTIAGO. The book has a central premise that I can’t really remember seeing all that often in books for kids as a main plot, rather than a side plot. Could you tell us a bit about where the book came from?

Julio Anta: Thank you so much for having me! The book came from a lot of different places – my insecurities with my Spanish speaking skills, a desire to write a book that featured my abuela Emma, the great day trips my family and I began taking to the Hudson Valley during the pandemic, and the incredible Latino enclaves I was discovering in a part of the state that historically did not have large Latin American populations. As we were going on these beautiful hikes and eating at amazing Latin American restaurants established by mostly new arrivals, I kept imagining a story set in these towns. At the same time, I was teaching my son Spanish and thinking about the intersections between my own insecurities and the ones I hoped he wouldn’t develop himself. That’s when I discovered the character of Santi – a 12-year-old modeled after my son who just wants to connect with a very specific part of his Latino identity – language. 

BB: That’s awesome. And Gabi! Thanks so much for answering my questions too! So, tell us a little bit about how you came to SPEAK UP, SANTIAGO. What appealed to you about the book?

Gabi Mendez: Thank you for the opportunity! When this story was just an outline (though an impressively detailed one, Julio is so good at that), the two of us connected on Twitter, and then over a long phone call. It was in that call that Julio described what felt like my own story: one of a kid growing up feeling so insecure and disconnected from their culture through difficulties with language. I’d somewhat recently come out of grad school with a thesis project tackling those feelings in my own life, so when the opportunity came to bring strength and empathy to other kids going through that, it felt almost too good to be true. The funny thing is, through almost every step of production we’ve had folks reading and commenting, “I went through this too!” I think we must be doing something good.

BB: Sounds like an ideal match. Julio, with semi-fictionalized graphic memoirs, I’m always curious where the author lays down the line between what truly came from their own life vs. what they made up on their own. How much of your own true story is in this book, and what did you specifically choose to fictionalize?

Julio: Well, like most of my favorite books, there’s truth in every part of this story. Is it the whole truth? Sometimes! But often, it’s a combination of truth and fiction. Unlike Santi, Spanish is my first language. I grew up in Miami, not New York. But the truth is still there. As I started attending school and English became my dominant language, I began feeling incredible anxiety about speaking Spanish, insecurities over my accent, forgetting words, etc. It’s still something I struggle with now as an adult, but like Santi comes to realize by the end of our book, I’ve found peace in it.

BB: But age is such a huge component of that too. Gabi, this isn’t the first graphic novel you’ve done for kids. That said, you’ve done a range of audience ages over the years. When creating art for a middle grade audience, how do you adapt to that particular age range?

Gabi: I think my baseline style is luckily suited to the age range. Despite the target audience age in the past, I’ve had a lot of kid protagonists because I find them really compelling. They are very honest and strong in their convictions as they grow and learn about the world around them! So I tend to draw characters and worlds that have a youthful sensibility. When it comes to creating a specifically middle grade appeal though, I think it has to do with the energy of the illustrations. Kids feel things so strongly, I try to show it in their body language and how they emote to create a feeling that will be relatable for them. I also like to keep the framing and paneling itself dynamic to keep it visually interesting.

BB: Julio, let’s get your take on that. While you’ve done a fair number of graphic novels, this appears to be a book written for your youngest audience to date (9-12 year olds). Did you have a natural understanding of how to write for this age level or did it take some trial and error?

Julio: It was tough! Voice is so important when writing for middle grade. I have to give my editor Shana Corey a lot of credit for her wonderful guidance in helping me find that voice for my middle grade debut. It was a lot of trial and error, a lot of reading great middle grade books, writing, rewriting, and listening how my son and his friends speak to each other. But it was a challenge I’m so glad I took up because it made writing book 2 in our Hillside Valley series so much easier!

BB: And is Hillside Valley based on anywhere specific?

Julio: Earlier I mentioned the Hudson Valley, but more specifically, Hillside Valley is modeled after the towns of Cold Spring and Beacon in appearance, and the town of Sleepy Hollow, with its vibrant Latino community, in spirit.

BB: Awesome. Now let’s talk a bit about the art. Gabi, I just want to give you props for Abuela Emma’s look. You would not believe how many grandmothers come up to children’s librarians bemoaning the fact that in books for kids they’re always pictured and little white-haired geriatric ladies. Your Abuela is hearty, healthy, with a strong fine head of brown hair. Why did you decide on this particular look?

Gabi: I’m so glad Emma’s look was a success, she was always a joy to draw! This is particularly because she was very much inspired by my own grandmothers. Both are ladies who were very active during my childhood. We went camping, played hard, my Nana on my mother’s side even still works in her garden. My Grandma on my dad’s had dark brown hair until she was 101 years old! With Julio’s grandmother as another important reference to round out her personality and image, Abuela Emma’s whole vibe is built on some very spirited ladies. I hope other real grandmothers can see themselves in her too!

BB: And when you first create your characters for a book, how much trial and error is there? Did you find creating the characters for this book to be easy or difficult?

Gabi: For all of my collaborative work, character creation has been surprisingly easy. I think with the benefit of a partner, the process of taking their ideas, mixing in reference images, and infusing my own experience makes the process very enjoyable. Santi, his friends, and Abuela Emma were pretty set from the first concept images. I do think that it really helped having the majority of the characters from hispanic backgrounds. These people could be my cousins, my classmates, people from my hometown, I had so much to draw from. I also feel so lucky to have a partner like Julio for this project! He communicates his ideas so well and always has plenty of reference, which is such a boon for an illustrator.

BB: Well, Julio, keeping in mind its readership, you may well have cut things out of the book. What ended up on the cutting room floor? And how different is this final version from its first draft?

Julio: Again, I’m going to sing the praises of my editor… because there wasn’t much on the cutting room floor, but there were a lot of additions in subsequent drafts. Reading the book now, some of my favorite moments are places where Shana poked me and said, “I think there’s something more in this pocket of story. Wanna explore it a little more?”  

I think the best editors are those that help you tell the story you want to tell and encourage you to dig deeper into areas you may not have thought of before. So much of the work Shana and I did together is shaped by that ethos and helped me write a book that I’m incredibly proud of. 

BB: Beautifully put. Finally, what do you two have coming out next? And what are you working on?

Julio: We have Hillside Valley book 2 next! It is titled Sol Goes For Goal and focuses on Sol, one of the characters we introduce in Speak Up Santiago. All of our Hillside Valley kids are back for this story I co-developed with Gabi Mendez, the amazing illustrator of our series!

Gabi: I’m currently rounding the finish line for book 2 in the Hillside Valley series! We’ll be following Santi’s friend Sol in that one, so you can look forward to some big feelings and some very fun soccer action. Beyond that I’ll be making a foray into more of the YA range, armed with coffee puns and confused teenage transplants.

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Fantastic stuff from two great collaborators. As I mentioned before, Speak Up, Santiago! comes out March 4th, so feel free to pre-order it now. Many thanks to both Julio and Gabi for answering my questions, and to Cynthia Lliguichuzhca and the team at Random House Children’s Books for helping to organize and put this interview together.

Filed under: Interviews