Legendary writer Bárbara Mujica joins me to discuss her latest novel, Miss del Río: A Novel of Dolores del Río, the First Major Latina Star in Hollywood as well as her landmark work, Frida. We also talk about all sorts of other topics from Covid-19 to is there life in other galaxies. What a joy to connect with this brilliant woman.

Bárbara Mujica is a novelist, essayist, short story writer and critic. Her latest novel, I Am Venus, revolves around the mystery surrounding The Rokeby Venus, the only extant female nude by Spanish painter Diego Velázquez. I Am Venus won the 2012 Maryland Writers’ Association Fiction Competition in the category Historical Fiction.

Bárbara Mujica is a professor at Georgetown University and a specialist in early modern Spanish literature. On campus, Mujica initiated the student veteran’s program. U.S. News and World Report recently named the “Number 1 university for veterans in the United States.”

Mujica won numerous prizes for her writing, most recently from the Maryland Writers Association for I Am Venus, and for “Imagining Iraq,” in the category Short Story. She won The Trailblazer’s Award for Frida and other writings, the Pangolin Prize for Best Short Story of the Year, and the E. L. Doctorow International Fiction Competition. In addition, she won grants and awards from Poets and Writers of New York, the Spanish Government, Georgetown University, and other institutions. She is a two-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize for Fiction. Mujica’s essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, The Dallas Morning Star, and hundreds of other publications. Her essay “Bilingualism’s Goal” was named one of the best 50 op-eds of the decade by The New York Times.

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What Matters Most
What Matters Most
Paul Samuel Dolman

Author, musician, and speaker Paul Samuel Dolman interviews a variety of people on creativity, the arts, relationships, and spirituality.

Read the Book That Inspires the Show

Paul Samuel Dolman, author, podcaster, and speaker, presents What Matters Most (the book!) a series of interview transcriptions from more than twenty inspirational Nashville and Tennessee residents, including special guest the journalist and author Bill Moyers.

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, former Governor Don Sundquist, Academy Award-winning actress Patricia Neal, Grammy Award-winning entertainer Wynonna Judd, and many more share intimate and inspirational aspects of themselves.

This twentieth anniversary edition also features bonus material from thirty more notables from Tennessee, including local business owners, spiritual leaders, coaches, radio personalities, authors, and educators.