An Interview with Virgil Suárez—Revisited

To do a really good interview, you have to be truly interested in the person.
Daisy Fuentes


As a follow-up to last week’s posting on Virgil Suárez, I’m revisiting an interview my students conducted with him during the Spring Semester of 2003, while I was teaching at Florida State University-Panama. In the course titled "Latino and Latina Literature in English,” we read and discussed Virgil’s fourth novel, Going Under. Many of the students’ questions refer specifically to this work. Once again, the time and effort Virgil allotted us
demonstrates his generous spirit.

Students: Is Xavier Cuevas, from your novel
Going Under, based on yourself or someone you know?

Virgil Suárez: He's a composite of many people I know. But he also shares some of the same feelings I've been having for many years.

S: What do you believe would happen to Xavier if he reached Cuba?

V: He'd be taken in for questioning, I guess. Then, he could become something that can be used as propaganda. I'm thinking here about what happened in the case of Elián González.

S: What type of research did you conduct to make Going Under seem realistic?

V: Very little. The only instance where I was worried about getting it right was for those scenes set in Key West. So I went there on several trips. Manuela's Casuelas was a restaurant I found on the way down to Cayo Hueso one day.

S: Does the American Dream generally blind Latinos?

V: It blinds everyone. Some folks make it, and many others don't. I say that the majority of people don't make it. On the positive side, though, I find that making it to the middle class by working hard might be perceived as the American Dream for most people, but not so for Latinos. Latinos tend to be more laid-back, we know how to take it easy and relax.

S: Are you, personally, longing to reconnect with your roots?

V: Sure. I'd love to return to Cuba one day. I know that I will probably return soon. At the end of this life's journey I'd love to be buried in my country.

S: When did you decide that you wanted to become a writer?

V: When I was fourteen or so. That's when I realized that I had ideas, and that I had things that I wanted to say. I became serious about doing this for a living when I found myself writing on a regular basis. I think it is also very important to read. My advice to any aspiring writer among you is to read everything you can get your hands on.

S: Do you ever get writer's block, and how do you deal with it?

V: No, I never do. But every once in a while I do stop writing to recharge my batteries. Often, I stop writing to make time to read more books. The more novels you read, the better at writing you will become.

S: How long did it take you to write Going Under?

V: A couple of years, with revisions. But I wrote in the first draft in less than a year.

S: Which is your favorite character in Going Under?

V: I liked Xavier's father quite a bit and, obviously, I had great fun with Sonny Manteca. I had so much fun with Sonny, in fact, that I am writing a whole new novel with him as the central character.

S: If you could change one thing about the novel what would it be?

V: That's one tough question! I guess I would have taken Xavier back into his childhood, talked more about his dreams and aspirations when he was younger. But I think that would have slowed down the pace of the novel.

S: Which culture do you identify more with, Cuban or American?

V: I identify with both equally, I think. I love Cuban stuff, but I also love American iconography and popular culture. I love traffic, cars, and people on the move.

Thank you all for your wonderful questions. Best, Virgil.