Diane M. Hinds to Compare Trinidad and Mexico at Puerto Vallarta Talk

Diane M. Hinds will give a talk at The Living Room Bookstore & Cafe in Puerto Vallarta at 5:00 pm on 25 September 2026. The event will take place at 1377 Colombia in the Cinco de Diciembre neighborhood, also given as 5 de Diciembre, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. For visitors planning their evening, the bookstore and cafe is the event’s stated destination and time.

Hinds was born in the UK to Trinidadian parents, and Trinidad was the birthplace of her parents. She draws on that family heritage while exploring Trinidad’s colonial past. “Trinidad has always lived in her through her parents’ stories and memories passed down of the place,” Hinds said.

Conquerabia: The Struggle for Identity is a historical novel set in the Spanish Antilles. It depicts the intersecting lives of governors, enslaved people, indigenous communities and free citizens, and examines how identity is forged through cultural collision and how resilience endures across generations. Hinds said that writing Conquerabia helped her find her identity and sense of belonging. She also said, “I felt displaced because I was born in the UK and was a member of a minority.” In another reflection, she said that writing the novel gave her a way to honour her inheritance and give voice to governors, enslaved people, indigenous people and free citizens who built an identity out of upheaval.

The Puerto Vallarta talk will compare how Trinidad and Mexico absorbed colonial upheaval and transformed it into distinct, resilient identities. Mexico was formerly a Spanish colony; its identity was forged through conquest, the displacement and enslavement of indigenous peoples, and centuries of cultural blending under Spanish rule. The country then followed Spanish rule with a long, hard-won path toward independence and self-definition. Hinds said that sharing the story in Mexico feels like a natural continuation of the conversation because Mexico has its own profound Spanish colonial history.

There is growing interest in Conquerabia among Spanish-language readers and publishers, and Hinds is pursuing translation rights for the Spanish-language market ahead of the event. She said she hoped Puerto Vallarta audiences would see their own histories reflected in Trinidad’s history, adding that “resilience often becomes the truest measure of identity.” The next step for interested readers is to plan for the 5:00 pm talk at The Living Room Bookstore & Cafe, 1377 Colombia, on 25 September 2026.