This charming bilingual fable explains the origins of the all-important chile Chiles ristras adorn the kitchen and dishes all over New Mexico. In the winter, when the nights grow longer and the winds blow stronger, chiles season meats and stews bringing New Mexico spice to every hungry taste bud. But chiles didn’t always grow in New Mexico, and Ana Baca tells a special fable about Benito and the chiles that crawled all over his family’s simple homestead. Benito’s mother sends him to the country fair in the hopes of their cow winning the first place prize. This would give them money to buy some seeds for the crop, but the cow misbehaves and they must leave the fair. Suddenly, Benito is stopped by a mysterious man with a peculiar bird on his shoulder. The man offers Benito some powerful seeds in exchange for his cow, which Benito quickly accepts. But when only uncontrollable weeds grow from the ground, Benito begins to feel foolish. The neighboring farmers begin to complain that the relentless weeds are killing their crop. How will the community survive? Will the rapidly growing weeds ever bear fruit for Benito?
United States
Materials from United States of America
Conversations with Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Writers
Hector A. Torres conducted these interviews with today’s popular Chicano/a writers, asking each about language and life between languages, about the creative drive that has guided them in their craft and commits them to their art. In sharing their responses, Torres reveals a brief biography of each author and a concise examination of their writings. Taking their stories and essays individually and collectively, Torres explains how each author reiterates issues that have concerned Mexican Americans since at least 1848. Chicano/a authors know that an abundance of politics can spoil a story, as can too little. The writers included here span historical terrain, first, under the shadow of Manifest Destiny and, then, under the America’s imperial sovereignty stance. Interviewees include Rolando Hinojosa (“I Reflect the Way Valleyites Act and React”), Arturo Islas (“I Don’t Like Labels and Categories”), Erlinda Gonzales-Berry (“On the New Mexican Borderlands”), Gloria Anzaldúa (“The Author Never Existed”), Ana Castillo (two separate interviews), Sandra Cisneros (two separate interviews), Pat Mora (“I Was Always at Home in Language”), Richard Rodriguez (“I Don’t Think I Exist”), Demetria Martinez (“To Speak as Global Citizens”), and Kathleen Alcalá (“To Tell the Counternarratives”).
Estrella’s Quinceañera
For as long as Estrella Alvarez can remember, her mother has been planning to throw her an elaborate quinceañera for her fifteenth birthday — complete with a mariachi band, cheesy decorations, and a hideous dress. Just thinking about her quince makes Estrella cringe. But her mother insists that it’s tradition. Estrella has other things on her mind, anyway — like dating Speedy. Does it matter that her new friends — and her parents — would never approve of aguy from el barrio? Estrella’s almost fifteen and wants to start making her own decisions. But is she ready to find out who she is — and who she really wants to be?
Famous Mexican Americans: 2
Discusses the accomplishments and contributions to society of fourteen Mexican Americans, representing a variety of professions.
Manuel and the Lobsterman
Manuel, a Puerto Rican thirteen-year-old from New Haven, Connecticut, goes to Maine with his mother and new stepfather for the summer, where he learns to work on a lobster boat and to get along with the townsfolk.
My Feet Are Laughing
Sadie, an imaginative young Dominican American, relates her experiences growing up in her grandmother’s brownstone house in Harlem.
Julian Rodriguez Episode Two: Invasion Of The Relatives
When last we encountered Julian Rodriguez, he’d saved Earth from destruction by bending to the will of his archenemy, Evilomami, and taking out the dreaded trash. In this episode, our hero must don an absurd ceremonial costume and risk contamination at the hands of The Relatives, a band of crude, genetically linked mini-brains. Yet again, Julian saves Earth from total annihilation after he realizes that the planet has at least one redeeming quality — the Earthling delicacy known as empanadas, which his Alpha Nana just happens to be serving for dinner. PRAISE FOR JULIAN RODRIGUEZ EPISODE ONE: “First in what readers will hope will be a robust series, this hybrid of fiction and graphic novel dusts off a favorite conceit with a slick swipe of edgy visuals and tart commentary. . . . It’s impossible to read this without laughing.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review
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.
Radio Man/Don Radio
As he travels with his family of migrant farmworkers, Diego relies on his radio to provide him with companionship and help connect him to all the different places in which he lives.
New Spain: 1600-1760s (Hispanic America)
Information on the history of Spanish exploration in America.