User:Publishing - Shafer/Juan B. Ciuro

Juan B. Ciuro – Latino Author/Screenwriter/Humorist Born March 3, 1950 in New York City, he was named after the Patron Saint of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Juan was raised in the bi-cultural worlds of his Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican home and the English-speaking world of New York City.

Juan began writing after attending night classes at Lehman College in the Bronx during the late 1980s. He completed his first book (a humorous autobiography), Lousy Puerto Rican (LPR), ISBN 0-9747720-0-3, published in 2003. He was represented by Moses Cardona, literary agent, at the oldest (Est. 1893) and one of the most prestigious literary agencies in the United States – John Hawkins & Associates, Inc.

Gustavo A. Mellander, Ph, D., in The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine wrote, "...I was shocked and offended when I received the book and saw the title. It irritated me so much that I put it aside.  Well, don't ever judge a book by its cover or its title.  The author is a keen observer of our human condition.  He also has a sense of humor.  You'll find yourself chuckling as you read this book.  His vignettes of growing up in the Bronx are on target, and his subsequent adventures are insightful...."

LPR was well received within the Puerto Rican and Latino community. However the politically incorrect title of LPR hampered efforts to “mainstream” it.