Coming Summer 2026:
Renew your creativity and your body next summer at a one-week memoir writing retreat at Blue Spirit Wellness Center on Costa Rica's Pacific coast. We will write jointly and separately, receive helpful feedback on our writing, and apply memoir writing techniques to our life stories.
We will have time for restorative yoga, a swim in the infinity pool, and a walk along a rustic beach surrounded by lush jungle vegetation teeming with monkeys and exotic birds.
Lodging ranges from oceanfront cottages to more economical single and double rooms in the main B&B retreat center, and guests enjoy three fresh vegetarian meals each day featuring traditional Costa Rican cuisine. Transportation from the Liberia airport, two-way, is available.
Zita Arocha is an award-winning bilingual writer, journalist, writing coach and educator. Born in Cuba and raised in Tampa, she lives in Southern New Mexico. A lifelong advocate for diversity in the news media, she has written extensively about immigration and Latino issues for many publications, including The Miami Herald and The Washington Post. She is an Emeritus professor of communication at UTEP where she taught for two decades and founded the web magazine Borderzine.com. She earned an MFA in bilingual creative writing from UTEP.
Guajira, the Cuba girl, is her first published book, and she is working on a historical novel about the Cuban immigrant enclave of Ybor City. Her non-fiction essays have been published in the literary journals Rigorous, Allium, and Story Circle Network. Caminos, an anthology of mini memoirs she edited for the Center for Mexican American Studies at UT Austin, will be released in 2026.
Awards:
- Florida Authors and Editors Association, silver medal, 2025
- Indie Writers Association, finalist, 2025
- Inlandia Institute Eliud Martinez Prize, 2021
- National Association of Hispanic Journalists Award for Journalistic Excellence, 2016
- The Mayborn Prize for Literary Excellence, 2013
Guajira, the Cuba Girl — A Memoir
Find Zita Arocha's memoir available at Amazon, in print and on Kindle.