284: The Art of Pretend: Karla Cornejo Villavicencio On Her Frst Work Of Fiction, Girlhood, and Pop Songs

This week, in celebration of Latino Heritage Month, we’re bringing you a special conversation with the brilliant Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, author of The Undocumented Americans, and her fiction debut, Catalina. Our Nationly producer, Sofia Sanchez, leads this thoughtful interview as a guest host, where they delve into Karla's first novel, ‘Catalina.’ Recently nominated for the National Book Award, the debut novel captures “a year in the life of the unforgettable Catalina Ituralde, a wickedly wry and heartbreakingly vulnerable student at an elite college.” Inspired by autobiographical music, second-wave girlhood, and dark humor, the conversation explores how “Catalina” is written with the cute wink, the rehearsed twirl, and the knowing smile of a pop song by artists like Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, or Olivia Rodrigo. (Just how far can she take her performance? Who’s watching?) The two also discuss the Ecuadorian-American writer’s personal journey from girlhood to womanhood, from non...