Daniel A. Olivas

The Courtship of María Rivera Peña

(Adapted from the author’s novella of the same name)

The screenplay is loosely based on the true story of a migration from Mexico to Los Angeles in the 1920s, and it follows the courtship, marriage, and family life of the cook Beto and the beautiful waitress María.

California Landscape by Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts

 

About the Writer:
Daniel A. Olivas is the author of nine books including, most recently, The King of Lighting Fixtures: Stories (University of Arizona Press, 2017), Crossing the Border: Collected Poems (Pact Press, 2017), and Things We Do Not Talk About: Exploring Latino/a Literature through Essays and Interviews (San Diego State University Press, 2014). Olivas has been widely anthologized including in Sudden Fiction Latino (W. W. Norton, 2010). He is also the editor of two anthologies. Olivas has written for many publications including the The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, and La Bloga (where he blogs on Chicanx and Latinx literature), among other print and online publications. He earned his degree in English literature from Stanford University and law degree from UCLA. Daniel Olivas is an attorney in the Public Rights Division of the California Department of Justice in Los Angeles.

Image: California Landscape by Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts (1871-1927). No medium specified. No size specified. 1920. Public domain.