A collection of English and Spanish bilingual poems from the editor of Cool Salsa.
Red Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems On Being Young and Latino in the United States
Author: Book Importer
Voices In First Person: Reflections On Latino Identity
This eclectic, gritty, and groundbreaking collection of short monologues features 21 of the most respected Latino authors writing today, including Sandra Cisneros, Oscar Hijuelos, Esmeralda Santiago, and Gary Soto. Their fictional narratives give voice to what it’s like to be a Latinx teen in America. These voices are yearning. These voices are angry. These voices are, above all else, hopeful. These voices are America.
Desert Passage
Miguel and Ramón are in big trouble with their family. The cousins were almost expelled from school for fighting, and just as they’re finishing up their final year in middle school and preparing to enter high school, their grades have dropped. Miguel’s father Rodrigo who, with his wife Connie, has raised Ramón since his father’s tragic death in a car accident has decided the boys need to be punished. So instead of going on the family’s summer vacation to Santa Fe, they’ll stay with their Abuelita Rosa in a remote town in northern Arizona and do chores around her place.Dreading a long, boring month with their grandmother in the middle of nowhere, the boys get started on the extensive list of tasks they are supposed to complete. Cleaning the shed seems like the least disagreeable one, and soon they find something interesting: a two-wheeled Vespa scooter covered with dust and cobwebs. Excited at their find, the boys decide fixing the scooter might enliven their stay. If they can get it to run, they’ll at least be able to get around town.The next morning, though, Miguel and Ramón wake to a quiet house, and they’re shocked to find their grandmother unconscious in her bed. When the ambulance takes her away to the hospital, the boys are left alone and unable to contact Miguel’s parents. Suddenly, the scooter seems to be the only answer to reaching their family, and so the boys gather food, water, sleeping bags, and the small amount of money they have and begin the long trip to New Mexico.Miguel and Ramón quickly learn that traveling across the country isn’t as easy as they had expected. Sharing the road with fast-moving eighteen-wheelers and camping in the cold desert all make for an exhausting trip. But along the way the boys see many wonderful sights including the Grand Canyon and the red rocks of Sedona and meet lots of interesting people: Frank, an old friend of their grandfather’s who helps them get the scooter ready for the trip; Turner, an attentive youth group counselor they meet at the Grand Canyon; and a group of scientists exploring an ancient Native American site. Most importantly, Miguel and Ramón will discover a lot about themselves through their growing independence as emergent young men.
Tortilla Chronicles: Growing Up In Santa Fe
A family memoir full of New Mexico flavor, Tortilla Chronicles serves up a hearty helping of the “City Different” from the perspective of the humble, hardworking Romeros, a family honored for its contributions to regional folk arts. Marie Romero Cash, herself a renowned artist, poignantly sketches each family member using his or her own voice. Their stories present a rare glimpse into the life of a traditional Hispano family and provide an antidote to typical nostalgic tourist accounts of 1950s Santa Fe. One of the main characters is Santa Fe itself, and the narrative tours the city’s streets, shops, plaza, and surrounding hills and arroyos in astounding detail. The ancestry and rituals of family life, the culture and religion of northern New Mexico, and the growth of a neighborhood and its children are all part of the recipe.
Quesadilla Moon
As a young migrant worker, David is shocked and thrilled when the man running the field store offers him a loaf of bread in exchange for a song. Singing has been strongly discouraged by David’s father, who views it as a less-than-manly activity. But the opportunity to get food for free is a temptation David can’t resist, and the praise he receives afterwards produces a sense of euphoria he has never felt. Someone is actually paying him to sing! But singing always leads to conflict with his father, and the only time David can do it without getting into trouble is when the others start to harmonize to pass the time as they move up and down the rows, picking cotton, asparagus, or other crops. To help get through the grueling labor, David regularly daydreams about performing in front of an adoring audience. As David and his family move from town to town following the crops, he begins to forget his dream of becoming a singer, until one day when he learns about a local competition. Somehow, his feet carry him to the Four Square Apostolic Church where the contest will take place, but he is shaken when the elderly black ladies setting up for the event tell him it’s only for “colored folk.” When he is ultimately given the chance to participate, he eagerly seizes the opportunity. Is it really possible that his dreams might come true? Will the people who believe in him–a group of African-American women and an ambitious young reporter from the Oakland Tribune–be able to help David overcome the racial, social, and familial barriers he faces?
Marisol and Magdalena: The Sound of Our Sisterhood
Separated from her best friend in Brooklyn, thirteen-year-old Marisol spends a year with her grandmother in Panama where she secretly searches for her real father.
Prizefighter En Mi Casa
Following a car accident that left her with epilepsy, twelve-year-old Chula–with a little help from a visiting fearsome Mexican boxer–tries to deal with the repercussions her new condition has on her family, neighborhood, and school.
First Person Fiction: Call Me Maria (First Person Fiction)
Maria is a girl caught between two worlds: Puerto Rico, where she was born, and New York, where she now lives in a basement apartment in the barrio. While her mother remains on the island, Maria lives with her father, the super of their building. As she struggles to lose her island accent, Maria does her best to find her place within the unfamiliar culture of the barrio. Finally, with the Spanglish of the barrio people ringing in her ears, she finds the poet within herself. In lush prose and spare, evocative poetry, Cofer weaves a powerful novel, bursting with life and hope.
The Year Of Our Revolution: Love And Rebellion In The 1960s: Stories And Poems
Teenaged Mary Ellen-known to her parents as María Elenita-is pulling away from their conservative Puerto Rican world, towards dreams of rock music, political protest, and first love. But as she learns about the “secret” lives of her parents and other adults, she finds that the taste of freedom is not so sweet. Judith Cofer’s new collection-drawn from her own adolescence, with a novella included especially for the paperback edition-will speak to readers of both sexes, and all races.”…her descriptions of barrio life with a pervasive current of sensuality and rebellion…there is wisdom aplenty in this radiant collection.” -Publishers Weekly
Free Baseball
Felix knows his dad was a famous baseball player in Cuba—and that his father risked everything to send Felix to America. But his mom won’t reveal anything else. When a baseball team with Cuban players comes to town, Felix wonders if they knew his dad and sneaks into their locker room to ask. That’s when the players mistake him for their new batboy. Determined to uncover the truth about his mysterious father, Felix plays along, going as far as running away from home to become the team’s batboy. His bittersweet adventure glows with the friendship of a miraculous dog, the warmth of a mother’s love, and the magic of baseball.