Samuel Caraballo Cruz has been a public servant for many years. He has dedicated a great part of those years to teaching and sharing his language with students, teachers, and parents living in the communities he has served in the United States. He has volunteered his time to helping college students improve their foreign language skills, and he has also served as an interpreter in court cases involving Hispanics.
Caraballo states, “Whatever I do for my fellow man, whether significant or not, I do because of the ideas and spirit of fellowship passed on to me by my parents and members of my wonderful community.” His dedication and hard work have earned him recognition including the Award for Distinguished Service, presented to him by the Virginia Congress of Parents and Teachers in 2001.
Caraballo’s belief in the power of education is evident in a verse of the alma mater he wrote for the students of a rural school in his native Vieques, Puerto Rico: “We love you,” he wrote, referring to the school, “and we’ll forever love you, for you have been, and will always be, where the nobility of mankind is cultivated, an eternal lamp where the thought receives its source of light!”
Caraballo is the author of Estrellita en la ciudad grande / Estrellita in the Big City (Piñata Books, 2008), Mis Papitos: Héroes de la cosecha / My Parents: Heroes of the Harvest (Piñata Books, 2005), Mis abuelos y yo / My Grandparents and I (Piñata Books, 2004) and Estrellita se despide de su isla / Estrellita Says Good-bye to Her Island (Piñata Books, 2002), Caraballo’s first children’s book. It is both a personal account of his childhood experiences and a tribute to immigrants around the world. This tender tale will please all readers, especially those who have experienced separation from their loved ones by time or distance.
Samuel lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia with his wife and family.
Contact: http://www.samuelmcaraballo.com
