COLUMNIST

Born in Matanzas, Cuba, in 1959, Fabiola Santiago grew up in Miami enamored of her family's nostalgic stories and their memories of the softest sands and the bluest beach in the world, Varadero. Exiled to the United States in 1969 with her parents and younger brother on one of the historic Freedom Flights, Fabiola has been a writer and editor for The Miami Herald since 1980.

Her award-winning stories and essays on arts, culture and identity have been published in several magazines and anthologies in the United States and abroad. She was the founding city editor and managing editor of the Spanish-language El Nuevo Herald from 1987 to 1993, and in 2001, shared in a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the federal government seizure of the child Elian González.

She has taught journalism at the University of Florida, Florida International University and Barry University. Fabiola is a graduate of the University of Florida and has three daughters. She lives in Miami. Her novel, Reclaiming Paris, is the story of a woman's quest for identity set in contemporary Miami to the backdrop of the city's Cuban culture and history. The book has also been published in Spanish as Siempre París and in Norwegian as Habanita. Read more about her work at www.reclaimingparis.com and www.fabiolasantiago.com.

You can contact Fabiola at fsantiago@miamiherald.com

Top Story

In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Saying goodbye to one of the family

Azabache taking seriously the job of watching 5-month-old Isabela Murray, the writer's granddaughter.

In a world rightfully preoccupied with major tragedies and infamies of all sizes, my loss may seem pitifully small and insignificant. But how does a writer say goodbye to a dog that, more than a pet, was a member of the family?

In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Moms of Trayvon, Zimmerman are victims too

The mothers, too, are victims.
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Zimmerman has been star witness against himself

It’s too early in the George Zimmerman murder trial to make any predictions.
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Honoring his roots, Lebron James inspires pride in all of us

“I’m LeBron James from Akron, Ohio, from the inner city. I’m not even supposed to be here. That’s enough.”
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Return of the real Rick Scott

I had missed the real Rick Scott.
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Some say ‘sí,’ Sen. Marco Rubio says yes

In what should go down as one of the most bizarre days in recent U.S. Senate history, Marco Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida, a Cuban-American, introduced Tuesday an amendment to the immigration reform bill requiring English proficiency of all citizenship candidates.
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: So many memories, so many lessons learned at 1 Herald Plaza

Moving from the bayside newsroom where I became a writer is like leaving the home where you grew up.
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Reasons to laugh in the rain

I can hear the happy shrieks of children in my neighborhood.
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Too often hatred, racism rule the day

Some days, my morning news feed negates that I live in a multicultural, pluralistic, progressive country in the 21{+s}{+t} century.
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Dissidents’ return to Cuba an act of courage

Here’s Cuba, post-travel “reform,” round one.
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Despite defense claims, Trayvon’s past is irrelevant

Who was Trayvon Martin?
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Boy Scouts didn’t go far enough

It was a historic decision and we can call it progress — the right thing to do for the children — but that’s all.
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Damas de Blanco are true heroes

Whether in the streets of Cuba, at international forums — or now in Miami before they return to the island — these brave women are a peaceful but powerful force to behold.
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Many moms in this family, but Mami wears the crown

When I’m work-weary, I stand in the hall where my mother displays the diplomas and certificates she has earned during a lifetime, and I quickly regain perspective and gratitude.
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: City pols should keep nose out of art

I like my politicians to stay as far away as possible from my art.
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: For voters, Miami Dolphins stadium deal is a shot in the dark

You know that moment in parenting when a child asks for something particularly nerve-wracking and you escape making the decision with the cowardly, “Ask your father,” or, tables turned, “Ask your mother”? 1373583536
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: On immigration, GOP back to ugly ways

Sounds like many Republicans in Congress no longer remember they lost the presidential election.
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Senate fails the nation, victims on gun control

It took Adam Lanza less than five minutes to kill 20 children and six educators using his mother’s high-powered military-style rifle.
In My Opinion

Fabiola Santiago: Daughter carries out father’s bold work in Cuba

A gray Miami morning framed the conversation with Rosa María Payá, blinding rain pouring into Biscayne Bay, long, tear-like droplets streaking the conference room windows.
Fabiola Santiago: Jay-Z ignores Cuba’s real heroes

It’s not difficult to clear up the confusion the “street cred” self-conscious Jay-Z expressed in the rap he quickly penned upon his return from Cuba, Open Letter.