A voice for Ana, a Salvadoran war ex-prisoner

EL PASO, Texas - Oct. 21, 2023 - PRLog -- We are creating this GoFundMe site to raise $8,000 to make an audiobook of "Tell Mother I'm in Paradise: Memoirs of a Political Prisoner in El Salvador," by Ana Margarita Gasteazoro.

Ana was a Salvadoran woman who lived in exile in Costa Rica after her release from two years in the notorious Ilopango prison for women, until near her untimely death in 1992 at age 41. During those years, she and her friend Judy Blankenship recorded her life story, the basis of the English edition of her book published by University of Alabama Press in 2022. A Spanish edition, "Díganle a mi madre que estoy en el paraíso: Memorias de una prisionera política en El Salvador," was first published in El Salvador in 2019 by MUPI (Museo de la Palabra y Imágen), and in 2022 by Aristata Press, Portland, Oregon. So we have Ana's amazing life story in two languages – lots of beautiful written words – but now we propose making an audiobook in Ana's captivating voice. You can listen while you're on a run, cleaning the house, cooking dinner or awake in the middle of night. We guarantee you won't be able to turn her off.

We have a great narrator in Eva Gasteazoro, New York-based performance artist, writer and translator and Ana's cousin who grew up with her. We have a great producer, Diego Murcia, award-winning journalist and podcast and audiobook producer based in El Paso, Texas. Judy Blankenship, editor of both books, will be cheering from the sidelines.

Help us getting the money to make this voice a chance to tell its story and to the world to hear it. You can make donations here: https://gofund.me/c9e87bbb