The Latino Book & Family Festival

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2007 Festival Tour
	Dallas/Ft. Worth June 23-24
	Houston Sept. 29-30
	Los Angeles Oct. 20-21
	Chicago Nov. 10-11
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	2006
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2006 Chicago Latino Book Festival Brings Celebrity Authors
Announces launch of "Readers Are Leaders... Leer Es Poder" Program

Sportsman's Park Celebrity authors from Mexico and local and national Latino authors will present their new books and sign autographs at the 8th Annual Chicago Latino Book & Family Festival on November 11 and 12, 2006. A new feature this year is a motivational speaker’s program called Readers Are Leaders….Leer Es Poderthat invites leaders from different professions to read a passage from a children’s book or from a book that inspired them and speak about how books influenced their lives.

Presented by Edward J. Olmos and Latino Literacy Now, the Latino Book & Family Festival celebrates and promotes literature and reading by featuring Spanish and English-language authors that appeal to a broad range of ages and interests. The event is free to the public and takes place from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12, at Unity School, 2100 S. Laramie Ave., Cicero, Illinois.

Headlining the festival will be the nation’s foremost Hispanic radio psychologist Doctora Isabel, who will present her new book, Los Siete Pasos Para Ser Feliz (Seven Steps to Being Happier). Known as “the Angel of Radio”, this nationally syndicated call-in talk show host and best-selling author offers advice on marriage, raising children and adolescents, education, and other life issues. Her recent book Seven Steps to Success in Love made the bestseller’s list.

Making a special appearance, Angelica María, the living legend of Mexican television and cinema, will speak about her recently released autobiography, La Novia de Mexico (Mexico’s Sweetheart). Since her debut as a child actress at the age of four, she has delighted audiences acting and singing in more than 60 films, playing the sweet heroine in Spanish telenovelas, and performing in musical theater. She currently plays the mother of Betty (played by her real-life daughter Angelica Vale), the star of the hit telenovela La Fea Mas Bella (the Mexican version of the “Ugly Betty” series spawned by the smash soap opera, Betty La Fea.

The authors of Mexico’s best-selling book, Quibole (What’s Happening), Yordi Rosado and Gaby Vargas, will sign books and talk about issues on the minds of young adults. Yordi Rosado co-hosts a popular Mexican television talk show, and Gaby Vargas is the leading image consultant to Mexican presidents, first ladies, and celebrities and author of eight books on how to create a successful, professional image. Quibole is an advice book written for young adults that has sold more copies than any other book in Mexico in the past 40 years.

Female festival goers who want to improve their body image will get expert advice from Gloria Hincapie, the body sculpture consultant to today’s hottest Latino stars. Ms. Hincapie’s roster of famous clients includes Miss Universe contestants, supermodels, TV talk show hosts, anchors, actors and pop stars. This renowned body massage specialist has spas in the United States, Columbia and Venezuela and will be opening new franchises around the country.

“Nuyorican” poet and author Marie Delgado Travis and Nancy Harless, author of Womankind: Connection and Wisdom Around the World, will read the stories they contributed to the award-winning anthology Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul. Ms. Travis will also be presenting a workshop titled “What Latinos Need to Know to Get Published.”

Authors of children’s books will do readings with puppets and storybook characters on stage. Teatro Vista, Chicago’s talented bilingual theater company, will perform dramatic readings of scenes from children’s storybooks. Other theater performances include a Spanish-language production of the classic musical Helly Dolly! (Que Tal, Dolly) by Teatro Conceptos.

Additional attractions include music performances by mariachi and classical guitar groups and a wide variety of dance performances. Children can greet Santa Clause, “lucha libre” wrestler Silhueta Azul (the Blue Shadow), circus performers, mascots and storybook characters, including Snoopy, Strawberry Shortcake, the McDonald’s characters and more. Workshops on safety and health, education and literature will be held throughout the weekend. Major sponsors include the Town of Cicero/District 99, McDonald’s, Telemundo and Univision Radio.

The festival schedule will be available online on Nov.1 and will be webcast live on Nov. 11 and 12 at www.lbff.us. For more information, call Gloria Alicea-Hernandez, LBFF Chicago/ Readers Are Leaders coordinator, or Martha Saldana, TeleGuia editor, at (708) 850-1071.