Julia Alvarez, Dominican Writer, To Receive National Medal Of Arts From Barack Obama

On Monday, July 28, President Barack Obama will present the National Medal of Arts to a group of individuals who are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the arts in the United States. This is the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the federal government. Among the recipients this year, there’s Dominican pride and joy, Julia Alvarez. Alvarez rose to prominence with the novels “How The García Girls Lost Their Accents,” “In the Time of the Butterflies,” and “Yo!”

She is one of the most significant Latina writers and she has achieved critical and commercial success on an international scale with her work inspired and influenced by her experiences as a Dominican in the United States. Her writing focuses heavily on issues of assimilation and identity and examines cultural expectations of women both in the Dominican Republic and the United States. “In poetry and in prose, Ms. Alvarez explores themes of identity, family, and cultural divides,” said the announcement from the National Endowment for the Arts.

“She illustrates the complexity of navigating two worlds and reveals the human capacity for strength in the face of oppression.” Because of this and her “extraordinary storytelling,” Alvarez will be honored in the East Room of the White House in a ceremony that will also be attended by the First Lady, Michelle Obama. According to Burlington Free Press, Alvarez “will bring five books to the ceremony, one for each member of the first family, including Michelle Obama's mother.”

“What do I have to give them?” she asked herself, according to the publication. “Books.” As for her outfit for this special occasion, the renowned author will don a black ensemble with a “colorful scarf.” “That does it,” she said. She added that this honor “affirms that you have been accepted in this literature and this country, but it really is so much more than that.” Besides Alvarez, others receiving this award are visual artist James Turrell, singer Linda Ronstadt, architects Billie Tsien and Tod Williams, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, journalist Diane Rehm, dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones, arts patron Joan Harris, musical-theater composer John Kander, writer Maxine Hong Kingston and documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles.