Find Me in Havana: A Novel

by Serena Burdick

Overview

From the bestselling author of THE GIRLS WITH NO NAMES, a new historical novel based on the dazzling story of one of Hollywood’s most celebrated Hispanic actresses and her daughter’s search for closure.

“Told in a series of letters, FIND ME IN HAVANA is a beautiful and heart-wrenching story of mothers and daughters, and the American Dream that comes with the biggest price of all. I couldn’t put it down!” — Heather Webb, USA Today bestselling author

Cuba, 1936: When Estelita Rodriguez sings in a hazy Havana nightclub for the very first time, she is nine years old. From then on, that spotlight of adoration—from Havana to New York’s Copacabana and then Hollywood—becomes the one true accomplishment no one can take from her. Not the 1933 Cuban Revolution that drove her family into poverty. Not the revolving door of husbands or the fickle world of film.

Thirty years later, her young adult daughter, Nina, is blindsided by her mother’s mysterious death. Seeking answers, the grieving Nina navigates the troubling, opulent memories of their life together and discovers how much Estelita sacrificed to live the American dream on her own terms.

Based on true events and exclusive interviews with Nina Lopez, Estelita’s daughter, Find Me in Havana weaves two unforgettable voices into one extraordinary story that explores the unbreakable bond between mother and child, and the ever-changing landscape of self-discovery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780778389361
Publisher:	Park Row Books
Publication date:	01/12/2021
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	258,093
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Serena Burdick Graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in California before moving to New York City to pursue a degree in English Literature at Brooklyn College. Author of GIRL IN THE AFTERNOON, she lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband and two sons.

Editorial Reviews

11/30/2020

Burdick (The Girls With No Names) delivers a poignant and gripping account of the life of Cuban actress Estelita Rodriquez (1928–1966) through letters between Estelita and her daughter, Nina. At 15, Estelita travels to New York with her mother to sing at the Copacabana. She meets Chu Chu Martinez, a famous Mexican singer, and by 18 she is married and living in Mexico with Chu Chu and their six-week-old baby, Nina. Soon, though, Chu Chu forbids her to perform again. She escapes to Los Angeles with Nina and settles in with her mother, who talks her into signing a movie deal with Republic Pictures. However, Hollywood and fame leave less time for Nina, who is sent to boarding school. In 1958, when Nina is 12 and at home on summer break, she is kidnapped by Chu Chu. What follows is a chase through Mexico and a harrowing stay in Cuba during the revolution. With great skill, Burdick weaves a heartbreaking narrative of a star’s rise and fall, and whose unexplained death at 37 deeply affects her daughter. Estelita’s sacrifices and determination as a mother and an artist make for a deeply affecting tragedy. Agent: Stephanie Delman, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Serena Burdick brings Hollywood legend Estelita Rodriguez to vivid life in FIND ME IN HAVANA. Written with beautiful prose and searing honesty, this story of mothers and daughters will stay with you long after you turn the final page.” — Bryn Turnbull, bestselling author of The Woman Before Wallis


“Burdick brilliantly captures the glamour, and the grit, of life as a Cuban immigrant turned Hollywood star in her fascinating new novel about Estelita Rodriguez. Told in a series of letters, FIND ME IN HAVANA is a beautiful and heart-wrenching story of mothers and daughters, and the American Dream that comes with the biggest price of all. I couldn’t put it down!”— Heather Webb, USA Today bestselling author of The Next Ship Home

“A poignant and gripping account of the life of Cuban actress Estelita Rodriquez… With great skill, Burdick weaves a heartbreaking narrative of a star’s rise and fall… A deeply affecting tragedy.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Marisol Ramirez and Frankie Corzo alternate narrating as mother and daughter in this drama based on true events. Ramirez displays her range as Estelita, an actress who perseveres through many hardships, only to meet an untimely death. Her daughter, Nina, reflects on their complicated relationship—the two were often separated by acting assignments and Estelita’s multiple marriages. While processing her grief, Nina uncovers her mother’s sacrifices for her dream. As Nina, Corzo sounds younger, her higher pitch and flatter speech devoid of the rolling r’s and rhythmic intonation she associates with her mother’s Cuban accent. Ramirez uses a flirty tone to show Estelita exercising her feminine wiles to escape bad situations. Distraught yells and strangled cries from both talented narrators capture the novel’s recurring element of danger. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2021 - AudioFile

Marisol Ramirez and Frankie Corzo alternate narrating as mother and daughter in this drama based on true events. Ramirez displays her range as Estelita, an actress who perseveres through many hardships, only to meet an untimely death. Her daughter, Nina, reflects on their complicated relationship—the two were often separated by acting assignments and Estelita’s multiple marriages. While processing her grief, Nina uncovers her mother’s sacrifices for her dream. As Nina, Corzo sounds younger, her higher pitch and flatter speech devoid of the rolling r’s and rhythmic intonation she associates with her mother’s Cuban accent. Ramirez uses a flirty tone to show Estelita exercising her feminine wiles to escape bad situations. Distraught yells and strangled cries from both talented narrators capture the novel’s recurring element of danger. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2021 - AudioFile