CULTURE 3- HISPANIC / LATINO
(A) LITERATURE
Mora,
Pat. 1996. Ill. by Enrique O. Sanchez. Confetti: poems for children. New
York: Lee & Low Books. ISBN 9781880000250
Brief Summary Plot
An
enchanting collection of thirteen poems as told through the voice of a young
girl who details her observations and interactions with the artistry of the
culturally rich Southwest region.
Critical Analysis
Pat Mora’s own childhood experiences of living in the
Southwest and being raised in a bilingual home saturate this assortment of
poems with authenticity and beauty. Each poem is presented with a vivid language
and appealing to our senses. The author uses a combination of free verse,
repetition, and rhyme to convey her message of childhood memories. Repetition
is heard throughout the poem Can I, Can
I, Catch the Wind with the same repeating phrase as the title. When read in
my own class, students automatically chimed in with the phrase with no
prompting from me.
Several poems are sprinkled with similes and onomatopoeias, which
add a layer of engagement for each reader. An example of a simile can be seen
in the poem Purple Snake, a
comparison of the carving wood to the carver “rough and wrinkled. Like his
hands.” The poem, Words Free As Confetti,
also provide additional simile examples. An example for an onomatopoeia can
be heard in Colors Crackle, Colors Roar as
various hues come to life with words like “orange
growls its striped, rolled roar.” Mora uses interlingualism throughout the
text, alternating between English and Spanish. A glossary is included on the
final page which provides a definition and pronunciation of each Spanish word
used in the text.
The combination of both languages for all poems was an added
highlight for my class, which is predominately Hispanic. The inclusion of dual
languages brought a sense of pride and enthusiasm for each student.
The words of the narrator, a young, Hispanic girl, provide cultural markers with striking images of a charismatic culture set against beauty of the Southwest landscape. She affectively delivers to the reader a convincing admiration, appreciation, and respect for her people and nature.
Some examples of cultural markers for names of characters
and forms of address are included. In Purple
Snake, the narrator references the character of the carver by the name, Don
Luis. In Abuelita’s Lap, she
addresses her grandmother warmly as Abuelita.
Identification of a specific culture, Tarahumaras, is mentioned
in the poem, I Hear, I Hear.
Tarahumaras are a Native American people of Northwestern Mexico who are
renowned for their long-distance running ability.
Cultural markers included for foods and celebrations are
described in several poems. In the poem, Mexican
Magician, the panadero, Spanish for baker, “cha-chas around the room,” preparing pastries such as marranitos, empanadas, and pan. Celebrations contribute to cultural
markers in the poem, Dancing Paper,
with the inclusion of piñatas, papel picados (intricately decorated tissue
paper considered Mexican folk art), cascarones (hollow egg shells filled with
confetti), and serpentinas (brightly colored curly strands of paper.)
A final cultural marker to examine in the text would be
musical preferences. Dancing Paper and
Castanet Clicks give mention to marimba music and castanets of which
both are percussion instruments.
The vivid illustrations, by Enrique O. Sanchez were created
in acrylic on paper. The illustrations use of bold color is indicative of
traditional Hispanic art. Each illustration provides an accurate depiction of
cultural markers with their visual credibility. The narrator, a young Hispanic
girl, is depicted with tan skin, dark hair, and almond shaped eyes. The
physical features of other characters represented throughout including the
panadero, children, and Tarahumaras are all have similar attributes. In the
poem I Hear, I Hear, noticeable
cultural markers include the clothing of the Tarahumaras working the land,
strapped sandals, a goat herder in shawl and straw hat, and a picture of corn, a
staple in Hispanic culture.
Cultural markers of architecture and general environment are
also evident in the illustrations that accompany each poem. Several poems,
including Castanets Clicks, Can I, Can
Catch the Wind, and Dancing Paper, detail images of pottery, an art with
Hispanic ties. In the poems Sun Song,
Cloud Dragons, and River Voice the
young girl is seen as part of the general environment of mountains, plateaus,
cactus, and various desert animals.
Themes for this book include importance of family,
especially time spent with grandparents, how imagination can open up a world to
explore, cultural awareness, tradition and customs.
Awards
Americas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature,
1996 Nominee
Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award, 1997
Nominee Texas
Review Excerpts
Horn Book Guide
reviewed March 1, 1997: Although Mora incorporates Spanish words in her verse and
Sanchez's illustrations are set appropriately in the Southwest, these poems
deal with subjects that all children can relate to: grandmother's lap, images
in the clouds, and a woodcarver who finds wonderful animals asleep in the wood.
The rhythm in some of the poems, however, does not flow smoothly, and the tone
tends toward the overly sweet.
Kirkus Review: The best of these poems that
mix English and Spanish (``I say yo soy libre'') warmly evokes familiar
touchstones of Mexican-American life. There's ``Abuelita's yellowlap,'' a
``dance-dancing panadero,'' who sings the dough to rise, and a woodcarver who
``paints open the eyes'' of animals ``found asleep/in a piece of wood.'' Most
of the poems by Mora (Uno, Dos, Tres, p. 139, etc.) are more ordinary--``Sun
song. Sun song. Sun song.'' The soft, dreamy illustrations, with Southwestern
motifs, are contrasted with borders of sharp colors, while small geometric
pieces of confetti are ``scattered'' throughout. (Picture book/poetry. 4-6)
Connections
Students can be introduced to new vocabulary for both
English and Spanish.
Students can be introduced to descriptive words
(adjectives.)
Students can be taught how to use text, illustrations, and
titles to make and confirm predictions.
Students can be introduced to elements of poetry including
rhyme, repetition, and onomatopoeia.
References
Kirkus Review. “Confetti: Poems for Children.”
Kirkusreview.com
(accessed September 28, 2015)
TWU Library Database – Books In Print
(accessed September 28, 2015)
TWU
Library Database - Children’ Literature Comprehensive Database
(accessed
September 28, 2015)
Soto,
Gary. 1997. Buried onions. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace. ISBN 9780152062651
Brief Summary Plot
Eddie,
a young Hispanic college drop, longs for a better life than the one he has
lived in Fresno, California. Although he has avoided the trappings of gangs,
drugs, and violence that afflict his neighborhood, he battles to find his
purpose. His father, uncles, and best friend have all died from the effects of
hard labor. His cousin, Jesus, a former gang member who recently turned his
life around and was starting anew, is violently killed in a men’s bathroom over
an innocent comment made about a person’s yellow shoes. Eddie’s aunt wants him
to avenge the murder of her son. Eddie’s mother just wants him to find a girl
who he can eventually marry. Eddie’s job takes him to the west side of Fresno
where he paints addresses on street curbs. He meets an elderly man, Mr. Stiles,
who gives him odd jobs to do. One job took Eddie to the landfill in Mr. Stiles’
truck. The truck was stolen outside his apartment where Eddie made a quick stop.
In an attempt to retrieve the stolen truck several days later, Eddie and Jose,
a friend in town from the Marines, try to retrieve the truck. Jose is stabbed
by cholos, local gang members.
Eddie lives in fear that the cholos will now come for him. He also comes to believe that his one time friend, Angel, has connections to his cousin’s murder. Angel, a well-known gang member, is not to be trusted himself. On the advice of a mentor, Eddie decides to enlist in the Navy, but not before he takes a stand against his constant anger and frustration. A violent fight ensues between Eddie and Angel, who denies any wrong doing in Jesus’ death. Eddie decides he can no longer be a victim to the barrio that has claimed so many others. With a cardboard box of clothes, he makes his way to the Naval Air Station and the hope of a better life.
Critical Analysis
Author Gary Soto was born and raised in Fresno, California
that has a large Hispanic population. Crime, gang activity, and drug use have
infiltrated common practice in poverty stricken areas of Fresno, California. He
is keenly aware of the experiences that are reality for protagonist, Eddie, so
the plot is believable and could quite possibly happen to anyone living within
the book’s surroundings. He writes metaphorically of Eddie’s existence in the
barrio as “buried onions.” Buried onions refer to a giant onion that Eddie
imagines is under the ground. “This
onion made us cry. Tears leapt from our eyelashes and stained our faces. Babies
in strollers pinched up their faces and wailed for no reason. I thought about
the giant onion, that remarkable bulb of sadness.”
Interpretation is left up to the reader, but the onion could
represent years of oppressive existence that no one living in Eddie’s community
has ever fought to break free of. It is the daily struggle of poverty,
discrimination, and violence. A hopeless existence of only being and not truly
living, a trap.
Cultural markers for description of physical attributes and
identification of a specific culture include references to brown skin, tear
drop tattoos, and Eddie’s identification of being Mexican as the story opens. In
Eddie’s world having brown skin is associated with being a second-class citizen.
An example of the
cultural marker for religious celebrations would be the wearing of crucifixes
by gang members. The Hispanic community is known for its roots in Catholicism,
wearing a crucifix is an outward display of this spiritual connection. I find
it ironic that any person representative of a gang would wear this piece of
religious affiliation considering all the violence inflicted on society by the
group.
Cultural markers for character names and forms of address
can be seen throughout the text. Examples of character names include Jose,
Jesus, Angel, Lupe, and Raul. Forms of address mentioned are Eddie’s aunt (Tia)
and his Nina.
Cultural marker for language plays a large role within the
text as Eddie mixes Spanish words into his speech on a regular basis. Some
examples would include vatos locos, cholo/chola (gang boy or girl), gavacho
(white person), and flaco (weak). A glossary of Spanish words is included at
the back of the book.
Another cultural marker identified in this story is food.
Eddie’s Tia is always leaving him fresh tortillas wrapped in dishtowels to
entice him into seeking revenge for the murder of his cousin. Other mentions of
food include churros, pan dulce, papas, and chile verde.
The prevailing themes throughout the book include survival, friendship,
identity, and peer pressure. Eddie had many obstacles to overcome within the
environment he has grown up in. He rejects the ways that most people within his
culture have grown accustomed to, either by choice or fear. Although Eddie may
not believe his best choice to survive is to enlist in the Navy, he has taken
his first steps to what others in the barrio can only dream of …..a future.
Awards
YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 1998 (CLASP)
Americas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature,
Nominee 1997 (ALA)
Review Excerpts
Horn Book Guide
reviewed March 1, 1997In a somber book, Soto writes of the inexorable no-exit
circumscription of life in the Fresno barrio. Nineteen-year-old Eddie's cousin
has been murdered, and several people want Eddie to find the killer and take
revenge. All Eddie wants is a future, and from the daringly ambiguous final
scene, we don't even know what he finally chooses.
Publishers Weekly reviewed
August 4, 1998: Soto gives the reader no
place to hide from Eddie's life: "I felt like crying. I sat on the steps
for a few moments. My eyes were raw, my soul trampled by bad luck and bad
luck's brother, hard times." Although it's a realistic antidote to
simplistic advice that tells kids to pull themselves up by their bootstraps,
the novel offers little hope and may shake up young teens who haven't yet had
to venture past the curbs of their own suburban neighborhoods. Ages 12-up.
Connections
Students will analyze and discuss the metaphor of the onion
in the text.
Students will discuss the character traits of Eddie. What
are his qualities?
Students will discuss discrimination and race. Why is
discrimination felt toward certain races? What ate the effects?
Students can include a book study on The Afterlife, the sequel to Buried
Onions.
References
Publishers Weekly. “Buried Onions”. Publishersweekly.com
(accessed September 28, 2015)
TWU Library Database – Books In Print
(accessed September 28, 2015)
Ryan,
Pam Muñoz. 2005. Ill. by Claudia Rueda. Nacho and Lolita. New York:
Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780439269681
Brief Summary Plot
A
prideful Pitacoche named Nacho boast of his brilliant colors and beautiful
feathers, yet with all the attention and admiration he receives from the locals
in the Mission San Juan Capistrano, he feels a sense of loneliness. As the town
prepares for the annual return of las
golodrinas, the swallows, Nacho’s curiosity is peaked as he wonders how he
too can help to prepare for the return, for he has only his songs to offer. As
the swallows return to nest, a small swallow named Lolita intrigues Nacho. A
friendship is forged between the two birds that eventually turned into love. As
the changing of seasons occur, time comes for Lolita to migrate back to the
south Americas. She reminds Nacho that there is a good possibility that she
will no longer return because the conditions for the swallow’s survival have
become poor. Lolita and Nacho devise a plan. Though they make a valiant effort
to be together, Nacho is forced to remain behind. Nacho is heartbroken that the
opportunity he had been given of making his life has purpose and meaning was
gone. He realizes his feathers hold the solution to his problem, yet he must
sacrifice his own outward beauty to gain the beauty of an everlasting love. He
plucks every colorful feather off his body to plant in the ground. As a result,
an abundance of colorful vegetation blankets the territory. The beauty of color
laid against Mission San Juan Capistrano guides Lolita and the other swallows
home. Nacho and Lolita are reunited at last to continue a love founded on inner
beauty.
Critical Analysis
Pam Munoz Ryan has written a book based on one of many
folktales her grandmother would tell her as a child. In her research she
discovered the origin of a mythical, big bird she refers to in Nacho and Lolita as a pitacoche. Her
exploration of this magnificent bird’s name revealed that its origin came from
a combination of Mayan, Incan, and Spanish descent. Upon further investigation,
it was disclosed that the mythical bird was in fact a real creature known as Cuitlacoche Comun. An in depth
understanding of the author’s quest to bring to life a memory shared between her
Mexican grandmother and herself can be found at the back of the book under
author’s note.
This tender tale takes place in San Juan Valley of
California known as the Mission San Juan Capistrano. The location is widely
known as the destination of returning swallows year after year, who have
traveled thousands of miles from South America. The author’s intent to draw the
reader into the emotional storyline is well played out in the text with lines
such as “his heart felt as cozy as the warming breezes,” “we will meet in our
dreams,” and “to me, you will always be splendid.”
The style of writing can be described as poetic by the way
the author makes use of the language throughout the story. One example would be
when Nacho overhears the locals talking about the swallow’s long migration to
get to their final destination. He determines that “the swallows were
everything he was not. He was bound to the land. He didn’t belong to anyone.”
When examining the text for cultural markers, first language
is used quite frequently as Munoz alternates between Spanish and English on several
instances. For example, describing California as “alta y baja,” referencing the swallows as “las golondrinas” singing an “arullo”
or lullaby. Many other examples can be found throughout the text.
The cultural marker for names of characters can also be seen
as the two main characters are called “Nacho” and “Lolita.” It should be noted
that the character names were always author, Pam Munoz Ryan, preference.
Other cultural markers to identify would be in the areas of
celebrations and religious practices. The story setting is that of the Mission
San Juan Capistrano where the town folk prepare for the March feast of St.
Joseph and “enthusiastically run into the churchyard” on the feast day to watch
for the return of the swallows.
Illustrator Claudia Rueda extensively researched the
location where the story took place through her travels, videos, historical
drawings, old photographs, and eventually downloaded and created a 3-D model of
the mission. Using color pencil to create the illustrations, her transformation
of both Nacho in all his brilliance
to a faded bird and the “dismal
place” of Mission San Juan Capistrano becoming a paradise of colorful
vegetation are exquisite.
Looking at the cultural
markers in the illustrations one can include similar skin tone, uniform facial
features and hairstyles of dark hair and eyes, and identical clothing of long
dresses, shirts, and pants. The women look to be grinding or sifting corn from a
large burlap bag. While others can be seen basket weaving, a tradition known
within the Hispanic community. One character, which is dressed in Friar
clothing, is representative of a religious person and looks to be carrying a
small bible.
Cultural markers are clearly evident in the architecture and
community context. The mission is representative of a rural location with wide,
open spaces. The Mission of San Juan Capistrano has extensive ties to the
Hispanic culture through its past and surrounding areas in California and other
southern states. The illustrations also depict modes of transportation as ox
drawn carts.
The theme that runs throughout the story is that love is
selfless. When one takes their focus off the external beauty and concentrates
on the qualities that make you beautiful on the inside, you begin to see the
importance of kindness and humility. It really is the simple things in life
that give us the most pleasure.
Awards
Western Writers of America Spur Award, 2006 Finalist
Review Excerpts
Booklist reviewed
October 1, 2005: If you think Jeanne Willis' Tadpole's Promise (2005), in which a
romantically involved tadpole and caterpillar metamorphose into predator and
prey, is too much of a downer, here's a happier interspecies romance--one that
puts magical flourishes on a Mexican folktale Ryan heard from her grandmother.
Nacho is a pitacoche bird that "carries all the colors of the world in his
feathers," but he longs for a companion. Then he meets a migratory swallow
named Lolita, and ooh-la-la! He cannot fly well enough to return with her to
South America, so he converts his enchanted feathers into bright flowers that
cloak the landscape and guide the returning Lolita back to his side. Although
the seams between truthful animal behavior and anthropomorphic fantasy seem a
bit rough, Ryan's cozy storytelling will draw listeners close, and the
Colombian-born illustrator cleverly exploits the contrast between the
drought-scarred backdrops and Nacho's brilliance to achieve a vibrancy that is
unusual in colored-pencil illustrations. A fanciful, broadly appealing
affirmation of the transforming power of love. Grades 1-3. - Jennifer Mattson
Publishers Weekly: A
sense of enchantment pervades this tender love story, which begins when a
mysterious bird called a pitacoche, arrives in the San Juan valley. Rueda
(Going to Grandma's Farm) depicts the gray-brown adobe town as dull in hue but
elegant in its simplicity, a striking contrast to Nacho, who "carried the
colors of the world in his feathers." The bird's magnificent appearance
and "haunting" evening song, cause the villagers to speculate that
the winged visitor is "a spirit from the past" or "a prophet of
the future." But Nacho, although proud of his gifts, has a lonely heart:
he is "the only pitacoche for thousands of miles and hundreds of
years." When las golondrinas (the swallows) arrive on St. Joseph's feast
day, Nacho forms a strong attachment to one of them, Lolita, offering her one
of his wondrous feathers (a gray feather grows back in its place) and when the
swallow accepts it, "by the mystery of the ages, it became a blue
hibiscus." Throughout the ensuing months, Nacho helps all the swallows
build nests and gather food, and when it comes time to migrate, Nacho tries to
fly south too, without success. "That night... Nacho's song ached with
sadness. 'Low-leeeee-tah, I loooove you.' " Nacho then makes a great
sacrifice in hopes of luring the swallows ("especially Lolita") back
in the spring. Rueda's wordless spreads pay tribute to the enormity of Nacho's
offering, which transforms the valley. Ages 4-8.
Connections
Students can identify the character traits of Nacho, and
then identify the character traits they possess.
Students can compare and contrast Nacho and Lolita by
creating a Venn diagram.
Research the migration of the swallows from South America to
San Juan Capistrano.
Nacho’s talent was that he sang beautifully. Have students
write about one thing they do very well with supporting details.
References
Booklist. 2005. “Nacho and Lolita”. Booklistonline.com
(accessed September 28, 2015)
Publishers Weekly. “Nacho and Lolita”. Publishersweekly.com
(accessed September 28, 2015)
TWU Library Database – Books In Print
(accessed September 28, 2015)
TWU
Library Database - Children’ Literature Comprehensive Database
(accessed September 28, 2015)
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