My Broken Language: A Memoir

Born to a Puerto Rican mother and Jewish father, Quiara Alegría Hudes is around four years old when the narrative begins. From the start, her life is split between cultures and languages. Many of the contradictory elements of her identity can be found right in her name, which “broke its own rules” (24). Quiara comes from the Spanish verb querer, which means “to love.” Her mother invented a new conjugation of the verb to mean “beloved.” Her middle name means “happiness” in Spanish. However, there is “revolution” hiding behind the happiness: Quiara was named after the Puerto Rican anthropologist Ricardo Alegría, who published findings on the Taíno people for the first time. Hudes comes from her Jewish father, without any further context, just its “squishy” letter u. The detailed significance of her first two names speaks to the depth of Quiara’s connection to her Puerto Rican family, while her father’s last name remains mysterious and silent. Quiara’s name, full of inventions and double meanings, also speaks to the complexity of language, which is one of the text’s guiding themes.

Born in West Philly, Quiara lives briefly on a horse farm in Malvern, Pennsylvania, before moving back to Philadelphia with her mother after her parents separate.