Great journalism gives voice to the voiceless. In 2003, Los Angeles Times reporter Sonia Nazario won the Pulitzer Prize in feature writing for her series on one of many “voiceless” children — a Honduran boy named Enrique who undertook the treacherous journey north to the United States in search of his mother. Enrique made eight attempts to get to the United States — clinging to the top of Mexican freight trains, dealing with criminals and corrupt cops and enduring violence — and Nazario’s exhaustive reporting gave voice to his experience. Nazario later transformed the original series into the nationally bestselling book “Enrique’s Journey,” which writer Isabel Allende described as “a twenty-first-century Odyssey.”
As our national debate about immigration intensifies, the Anaheim committee is honored to announce Sonia Nazario as our keynote speaker at Thursday’s opening ceremony. In preparation for her keynote, we have selected “Enrique’s Journey” as our One Story. We encourage journalism staffs to read and discuss the book; stay tuned for links and resources to use in the classroom. Nazario will be signing books after her keynote.
If you teach younger students, there is a young adult version of the book, and the Spanish translation is also readily available.
To get your students excited, the local committee suggests listening to this 2012 interview with Ms. Nazario about what college freshmen can learn from Enrique’s Journey and/or this 2018 interview, which traces Nazario’s own journey from investigative journalism to immigration advocacy.
Resources:
- Main Website for the book
- Resources for Educators
- Enrique’s Journey Teacher Guide from Random House