Chilean Author Andrea Amosson Shows Off Latest Work, “Cuentos Encaderados”

By: Crescencia CeCe Faz

Cronkite Special to AZLatinos.com

Cuentos Encaderados, or Told from the Hips, is the newest book from Chilean author, Andrea Amosson. Made up of individual stories, the book features strong women from all different backgrounds, cultures and histories, who learn to overcome tribulations in their own lives.

Andrea Amosson was born in the Atacama Desert of Chile, a company-owned mining town, and the driest place on earth. “Growing up in such towns is very stimulating in the sense that, in the absence of entertainment, we used to tell each other stories. I loved seeing my friends’ faces, afraid at sundown, and every time I would add new facts just to make it more fun or believable,” Amosson said.

Being Chilean is a huge part of her identity – not only as a person, but as an author. “I have a need to go back to my country of origin through my stories because I find strength in the people from Atacama, the hard miners and the resilient native people who are capable of domesticating this tough environment, with almost no water and virtually no resources,” she said.

But those living in Atacama are not the only ones who inspired her to write Cuentos Encaderados. Amosson has met strong and wonderful women during her travels; and found inspiration from the women in her family – each of them clever and resilient in their own ways – who faced and overcame the struggles of their lives, just like the characters in her book.

Not only is the purpose of Cuentos Encaderados to address subjects that interest Amosson – like growing and developing in a safe place –  but to prove to women that they have the resources and the freedom they need to show strength and improvement in  their lives.

Aside from being a successful author, Amosson also teaches the only Spanish weekly creative writing class in the Dallas area, and has founded a free, Spanish only book club that celebrated its second anniversary last October with over 30 of its members. Amosson is also the founder of “La Farmacia de la Ñ.” This is a literary group of Hispanic writers and poets within the Dallas-Fort Worth area that offers free public literary events to the Hispanic population. This group promotes reading and writing, and also serves as an open space to share the Latin-American culture.