Janet Balletta, author of The Legend of the Colombian Mermaid recently received second place for the Mariposa Award for Best First Book in the category of Children & Youth. This is the 17th Annual International Latino Book Awards held in June 2015. The Awards celebrate entrants whose books are written in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, as well as achievements in Latino Literature. As with years past, this year is an amazing year for books among Latinos. A rapid increasing market reflects growth in the United States covering gaps in appropriate cultural topics.
Amongst this year’s finalists was none other than Janet Balletta for her entry of The Legend of the Colombian Mermaid, which is a unique retelling of the legend of La Sirena De Hurtado. Mrs. Balletta is a native New Yorker and descendant of Colombian and Puerto Rican parents, whose entry fit among submission guidelines to feature her intriguing tale published in 2013 (available in Spanish, published and launched in 2014), which keeps the Good Friday during Easter week tradition of an ancient legend going year-after-year. The original legend dates back to 1917. Finalists are from all across the United States and from 18 overseas countries as well.
In recognition of accomplishment, the Latino Literacy Now, the organization overseeing the Awards, displays finalists’ books and present at events like American Library Association Convention; CABE, the largest Latino teacher conference in the United States; the Chicago Latino Book & Family Festival; the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books; the NCLR Annual Conference; the San Bernardino Latino Book & Family Festival; and other key events. From the Annual International Latino Book Awards press release: “Latino Literacy Now is a nonprofit co-founded by Edward James Olmos that has produced 52 Latino Book & Family Festivals around the USA and the Latino Books into Movies Awards. Las Comadres mission is to create opportunities for Latinas through community, culture, technology, and education. REFORMA is the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and is an affiliate of the American Library Association. Previous winners have also included well-known figures from other professions including entertainers like Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan, and Cheech Marin; Sports notables Oscar de la Hoya and Jorge Posada; Media figures like Martín Llorens, Jorge Ramos, Teresa Rodriguez, and Ray Suarez; Public servant Henry Cisneros; and chefs like Paulina Abascal, Jose Garces, and Daisy Martinez.” Mrs. Balletta was presented the MARIPOSA AWARD - Best First Book - Children & Youth - 2nd Place. She states, “I am humbled and honored to receive the Mariposa Award for Best First Book in the category of Children & Youth. Thank you Jesus for granting me this privilege and thank you to all of my supporters! God bless you.” Visit Amazon to purchase a copy of The Legend of the Colombian Mermaid written by Janet Balletta, illustrated by Estella Mejia at http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Colombian-Mermaid-Janet-Balletta/dp/0985676299, and in Spanish at http://www.amazon.com/Leyenda-Sirena-Colombiana-Spanish/dp/0990904008/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8, and to read more about this author, visit her at https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Legend-of-the-Colombian-Mermaid/144278 or her website at http://www.colombianmermaid.com.