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A bilingual Christmas story for children: Rudolfo Anaya's posthumous book

2021-12-25T03:55:50.274Z


The story takes place in New Mexico and includes typical Chicano words. It tells the adventures of a funny cast of animals, the protagonist being a tiny and curious owl named Ollie Tecolote.


By Morgan Lee -

The Associated Press

A writer known as the father of Chicano literature died in 2020 of a bilingual children's book that told the story of Christmas in the southwestern United States.

The work of Rudolfo Anaya, who died at the age of 82 due to natural causes, was published these festivities posthumously by the Museum of New Mexico Press with parallel texts in Spanish and English.

The book

New Mexico Christmas Story

(Christmas Stories New Mexico, in Spanish)

is the latest in a series of illustrated stories for children by Anaya, which has a fun cast of animals, whose main protagonist is

a tiny and curious owl named Ollie Tecolote

.

One of the many books by author Rudolfo Anaya is on display in the library named in his honor in Albuquerque, New Mexico.Susan Montoya Bryan / AP

The book was painstakingly crafted by Anaya in her final year of life as an invitation for children to explore literature in Spanish and English, explained Enrique Lamadrid, editor and retired director of the department of Spanish teaching at the University of New Mexico.

Lamadrid collaborated closely with Anaya in his later years in the translation of the series

Owl in a Straw Hat

(Owl with straw hat, in Spanish).

"We did it very, very, very carefully so that the children felt comfortable,"

said Lamadrid, who became friends with Anaya in the 1970s.

“It starts with love.

You have to fall in love with your second language in order to be good, "he said.

Anaya achieved fame and influence in literature in 1972

with the novel

Bless Me, Ultima,

which is about a boy in New Mexico who comes of age in the post-World War II era with the accompaniment and guidance of a spiritual healer. .

The book was adapted to film and opera.

It starts with love.

You have to fall in love with your second language in order to be good "

Enrique Lamadrid EDITOR

Anaya wrote her

New Mexico Christmas Story

in English.

for children, with a couple of phrases and words in Spanish about Hispanic holidays, food, and traditional “grandparents” jokes.

In northern New Mexico, “grandparents” is also used to refer to family members disguised as older people who, at Christmas time, go from house to house asking frightened children if they have been good or bad.

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The images in the book are by pop culture painter and muralist Moisés Salcedo, who calls himself El Moisés, and offers a visual tour of winter holiday traditions in northern New Mexico.

From the

handmade

lantern

candles

to the steaming

pozole

and an adventure related to the Three Kings.

In Albuquerque, Michelle Garcia, a city preschool teacher, reads the book

Owl in a Straw Hat

to her 4- and 5-year-old students, sitting in a semicircle.

Comments and questions are welcome.

[Writer Rudolfo Anaya, renowned author of the work 'Bless Me, Ultima' dies]

Hispanic traditions run deep in New Mexico, where Spanish settlers arrived in 1598.

Nearly half of the state's population says they have Hispanic roots,

and some of the students in Garcia's class, though not all, recognize Spanish words. in Anaya's book.

García assures that a glossary in English and Spanish that is in the work helps him to answer any questions.

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"There is such a variety of words that you can feel identified especially if you are of Chicano or Spanish descent," explained Garcia, who traces his Hispanic roots and familiarity with Spanish expressions to his grandparents in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.

[Why are some Dr. Seuss books no longer published?]

García took a day off to meet Anaya shortly before he died.

He knew he was likely to show up when a public library was named after him.

"He said he had met his wife in the library," Garcia recalled.

“It was a wonderful story to encourage the children to come to the library

,

open a book and read

.

It gave me courage to tell those stories, "he said.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2021-12-25

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