Pa que crezcas is a book that can be classified as very family-oriented. Who is Marta Garo and what was her childhood like?
The writer and the narrator are quite similar because let’s say that the one narrating this book is a reflection of myself. I grew up in La Perdoma, in Tenerife, where many of these stories take place. I had a childhood where my parents did not separate the children. We were in contact with family stories, with adults. We were able to learn from their way of speaking, their concerns, and what life was like for them. That has been a gift for me. I have been able to get to know them, enjoy who they are, soak up many traditions that are being lost today, and also listen to that language that we are using less and less.
How did your love for literature begin and what drove you to write a book?
I loved reading since I was a child. I liked to see myself in many characters. As I mention in the synopsis, I remember reading a lot about Manolito Gafotas. I saw that he was a normal child, with glasses and everyday problems. That realism. That is something that I reflect in my book. I have always been drawn to everyday stories. It is not necessary for something extraordinary or fantastic to happen in the stories, but that everyone’s life can also be literature. In adolescence, I began to write something, rather after my time abroad. When I arrived in the islands, I explored my literary voice through various workshops at the Canarian School of Literary Creation. In Gran Canaria, I took a workshop taught by Alexis Ravelo that impacted me greatly. These workshops helped me to develop, and I also attended others with Almudena Grandes. They helped me realize that writing is not just a vocation, but something you have to train for.
The world of publishing is quite complicated. What was the process like to get the Talón de Aquiles publisher to release Pa que crezcas?
Pa que crezcas was sent to several publishers, both in the Canary Islands and the mainland. It was very difficult to contact the Canarian publishers. Many publishers have their manuscript submissions closed, so you have to do a lot of research. When the Talón de Aquiles publisher said yes, they were very interested. They were very interested in the book having many Canarianisms due to its linguistic richness. I really like how the publisher edits and well, here I am with them.
Tell me a bit about the characters of Pa que crezcas, because you mentioned that several are based on people you know.
Pa que crezcas starts with a family that arrives coincidentally in Tenerife and from there they settle in La Perdoma. Alberto and Anita are a couple with five children and well, I tell their life, their anecdotes, their philosophy of life. I would like to highlight two characters who are not part of the same family: Raúl and Nereida. They are two Cubans who arrive in Tenerife looking for Nereida’s family. They start to investigate, search in the villages, and do not find anyone. One day they come across a little girl in La Perdoma square, and she leads them to her parents’ house. In the end, they have no idea about the family the Cubans are looking for. However, Raúl and Nereida become good friends with the couple and end up finding that Canary makeshift family.
The collage on the cover shows a dragon tree, a girl holding blue balloons. There is also a bonfire and an elderly person. What do each of these figures represent to you?
That collage represents one of the stories that takes place on the eve of San Juan, the day of the bonfires. In Tenerife and Gran Canaria, bonfires are not only celebrated on the beach, but people who have a vegetable garden or a farm burn their vine branches and related items there. There is an anecdote about when the father picks up the girl in his arms because she is afraid to jump over the bonfire, and then the father helps her. Hence the title Pa que crezcas. That expression symbolizes how I have grown up listening to these stories that are part of me and that have made me the person I am today.
