SANTA ANA : Latina Author Allende Greeted

More than 300 people turned out for a book signing Wednesday by Isabel Allende, one of Latin America’s top women writers.

Allende was welcomed by Mayor Miguel Pulido, who read a proclamation naming Wednesday “Isabel Allende Day.” He described her as “one of the few Latina authors” who has successfully broken into Latin America’s small circle of elite writers, most of whom are men.

At a reception at the Santa Ana Public Library, the Chilean-born novelist signed copies of her new book, “Paula.” The book is about the death of her 28-year-old daughter, who had been in a coma from a rare disease.

“For me,” said Allende, 52, writing the book “was like walking through a long, dark tunnel. . . . I lost my child.”

Allende said writing the book helped put the ordeal behind her and helped her prepare for another Jan. 8, Allende’s symbolic date for beginning each new project.

“Each Jan. 8, begins the writing process for me,” she said. “With each book I start from scratch. There is no formula.”

Allende, a romantic, said she enjoyed stories with happy endings, where people live “happily ever after.” But her stories usually stop short of happiness because, she said, “characters always betray me.”

Allende, who now lives in Marin County, has sold 10 million copies of her books, including “The House of the Spirits,” which is in the same genre as “Like Water for Chocolate,” by Mexico’s Laura Esquivel, which was made into a popular movie.

Both works dramatize Latin American cultural virtues and vices by threading them with a storyteller’s touch dubbed “magic feminism.”

“Allende brings a women’s or feminist’s perspective on cultural and spiritual elements,” said Lillian Manzor-Coats, associate professor of Comparative Literature and Women’s Studies at UC Irvine.

The visit was arranged through one of Allende’s best friends, Carmen Harris of Fountain Valley. Harris, who grew up with Allende’s husband in Whittier, later was portrayed as a fictional character, Carmen Morales, in Allende’s book “The Infinite Plan.”