From: 7:00pm
At Lower Hall St Andrew's Church
Anglo-Bolivian Society with Friends of Bolivia
Short Street London SE1 8LJ
We are very pleased in collaborating with the Anglo-Bolivian Society in hosting a talk by Vicky Borda Oviedo, a Bolivian who spent 35 years living and working in London. Vicky's book, The Illegal Dance: Memories of a Young Bolivian Woman in London, looks at the precarious existence of young migrant workers in the London of the 1980s and relates her own 'dance' around the law, unsympathetic employers and difficult landlords as she gradually made friends and established a position in society.
The talk is at Short Street London SE1 8LJ, including refreshments, is £2 for members of either FOB or the A-BS, £3 for non-members and £1 for students with ID and places can be reserved at anglobolivian@gmail.com and paid for at the door. We hope to see you on the 5th.
"The Illegal Dance: Memories of a Young Bolivian Woman in London"
By Vicky Borda Oviedo
Summary of the book
In 1980 a young Bolivian girl is sent to Europe. Her parents see her departure from her country as the only way forward for her. One night, a month after she has arrived at her uncle‘s home in Sweden the family learn there has been a coup d'etat in Bolivia. Her father phones from Bolivia and tells her not to return. A few months later she goes to study in England. Once in London alone, and without speaking a word of English she faces a series of misfortunes, many of them with painful consequences. While trying to overcome her difficulties she meets other immigrants also struggling to make a living. Thirty-five years later, after achieving professional success she returns to Bolivia. The book is full of unexpected events and stories of a young woman alone in London.