L'autore
I grew up in Brooklyn and was 16 in 1961, the year of Diego’s story. Growing up there at that time helped me describe the “feel” of living in a big city like New York. I remember the wonderful mix of people, not only immigrants from foreign countries, but also the poor from our southern states and from the Protectorate of Puerto Rico. It mattered not, the prejudices and differences of our parents, we as children cared less where our roots were from as long as you lived in our neighborhood and could play stick ball. My brother and I were foster children until my father rescued us. I say rescued, because we were abused, both sexually and emotionally at the so called, “Catholic” homes where we lived. At the time, my brother was 10 years old and I was 8. Our world changed totally in Brooklyn, from the monotony of suburban consistency, to the variety of city life. As an adult, I stayed in Brooklyn, worked and eventually retired from the Department of Sanitation. I then bought a New York City Taxi Cab, enduring traffic and congestion for three hectic years before finally selling the medallion. I travelled West in a 30 foot RV to escape city life and to see the states. It was a wonderful experience, but after 2 1/2 years on the road, at the age of 51, I needed something more meaningful and fulfilling for myself. I found that in writing and like a lot of writers, I began with poems. Eventually, I wrote my first novel which took 15 years to write. That, I blame on my ineptness at grasping the King’s English, blamed in turn on inattentiveness during my school years. Through perseverance and perhaps equally as much because of a love and passion for creating my very own story, I was able to complete the work to my satisfaction. Diego’s Brooklyn, is my second of three novels and my personal favorite, because the character represents the child of my times--an unsuspecting, trusting boy with simple dreams and a warm smile for those around him. He could have been a friend, a neighbor, the kid down the block, or perhaps, in some ways, he was me. Put together, the everyday mingling of the well to do with the average Joe, the corner grocery store owner, the poor, and let’s not forget the criminally insane, and you have the actors and makings for a play about “Life in Brooklyn”, a play I was more than happy to be a part of. ---Adrian Del Valle
