Beatriz Portela grew up in Miami, left to attend UC Santa Cruz, then stayed put in California after landing her first job, at a TV station. She continued working in that field when she returned to the Magic City, editing film and commercials, and writing and producing educational videos and programming. She later went back to school to earn her MBA at the University of Miami.
I heard you spent a few weeks in Antarctica earlier this year, which fascinates me. Tell me about that.
Oh, yeah – that was fabulous! I’m sort of retired now so I really like to spend as much time as I can painting and traveling. Antarctica was always a dream; my mother had gone a while back and always raved about it. A friend of mine was also interested in going so we planned an expedition. It was a smaller ship, about 100 passengers, and we went to Antarctica, South Georgia Island and the Falklands. It was phenomenal.
What was the most memorable thing you saw on the trip?
The wildlife was amazing, and the penguins! I’d never seen penguins in the wild and each place we stopped had different species. It was incredible to see them in their natural habitats. You’d go onshore and be surrounded by them. You could walk up to them and touch them, but of course you can’t. That was so hard! You just want to lie down and have the penguins come up to you, and so many of them are curious, they’d do it. There were also tons of seals everywhere. It was like a Garden of Eden of animals.
Something else I’d love to hear about is your art. What different mediums do you use?
I’m a little all over the place. [laughs] Right now I’m doing a landscape-based watercolor of some of what I saw on my trip, but I also paint in oils.
And you’ve shown your work locally.
Yes, the last show I did was at Fairchild Tropical Gardens.
You said you grew up in Miami – do you remember when you first became aware of Miami Book Fair?
Probably at Books & Books – I hang out there a lot – and I’ve been going to the Fair for at least 20 years. I think those are the two greatest things in Miami.
What compelled you to join the Friends of the Fair family?
Making that commitment to help keep it going, and also being part of the community. That’s important. And the authors and events, of course. I go to author talks year-round, but the Fair is something else.
It’s like author conversations on steroids.
Exactly!
What are your favorite FOTF benefits?
The dedicated line to get into the sessions early and the preferred seating. And when you’re on the line you always meet such interesting, like-minded people. I really enjoy the author receptions you do during the rest of the year, too. You go, have a glass of wine, talk to people – it’s great.
What’s an MBF moment or experience that really resonated with you?
Seeing Khizr Khan. I think that was in 2017. It was a year of a lot of political angst and there were a ton of authors writing about that at the Fair that year, and he was one of them. He was amazing. So inspiring! I think he’s Pakistani, and hearing someone from another country speak about what it means to be an American and how incredible our Constitution is, that really stood out for me.
Are you reading any good books right now?
A book about gene editing called The Code Breaker, by Walter Isaacson. It’s super interesting. Next will probably be An Unfinished Love Story, Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book about her and her husband’s political activities in the ’60s.
If MBF came to you and said, “Beatriz, who do you most want to see at this year’s Fair?” who would that be and what would you ask them?
The Dalai Lama. I don’t know that he’s written any books himself or if anything’s been written about him recently, but he’s someone I’d love to see. Through the years I’ve heard him speak on several occasions and I’m always so inspired. He’s filled with such joy. I’d ask him how I could be that way, too.
Interview by Elisa Chemayne Agostinho; responses have been edited for space and clarity.
