Volume 3, No. 2 (Fall 1999) -- Mexican American Heritage Issue

A little girl’s confidence and imagination soar when she has her grandmother by her side for a day in New York. The grandmother speaks only Spanish, and her words are translated with loving pride by her granddaughter Rosalba. This beautiful, warm book introduces family love as well as Spanish culture and the beautiful language of the Spanish speaking people. A festival of color comes to life as the girl and her grandmother float along.

Rosalba and her grandmother Abuela take a remarkable trip in Rosalba’s imagination. During a bus ride, Rosalba begins to dream. What if she could fly? They would fly all over the city. Oh! what sites they saw. Downtown, they would see the docked ships unload fruits “from the land where Abuela grew up; Mangos, bananas, papaya those are all words of the Spanish language.”

Eventually, the two would become tired. “Descansemos un momento,” Abuela would say. She wants to rest a moment. They rested on a cloud chair, and Abuela holds her granddaughter in her arms, with the entire sky as their house, “nuestra casa.” At the end of the day, the adventure is over and it’s time to return home. But it won’t be long before these inseparable companions take their next adventure.

You to can let your imagination soar as you read “Abuela”.

A visit to Puerto Rico proves to be a cultural eye-opener for the boy in this story, especially when he finds out the meaning of a Yaqua Day during their first day of rain. Join New Yorker Adan Riera as he takes a trip with his parents to the motherland to visit never-before-seen relatives and find delight in the rich heritage he finds there.

Visiting the family is fun for everyone. Until now, Adan had no idea how large his extended family really is. A trip through groves of Grandfather’s fruit trees brings them baskets full of oranges, mangos, mapenes (bread fruit), names (similar to a potato) and coconuts. Adan has only seen these fruits delivered by truck to his family’s store in New York City. It is amazing to see these fruits growing on trees. That night, Uncle’s sore knee indicates that tomorrow it will rain. This is good news in Puerto Rico.

The next morning, Adan wakes to find his whole family wearing bathing suits and ready to go. It’s raining! Quickly, Adan joins them, and in the forest he hears shouts and swishing noises. His father hands him a huge discarded frond from a palm tree.

“This is what we do with it,” says his father. He runs, then belly-flops on the yagua. He skims down the grass, sails up into the air, and vanishs over the ledge. His mother finds another yagua and does the same. Soon Adan joins them, sliding down the slick grass, soaking wet, and zipping into the river pool at the bottom. The day is spent sliding and climbing back up, over and over again. What fun! Adan can now appreciate a rainy day, a Yagua Day! This has been a trip he’ll never forget. If you can’t make it to Puerto Rico on your own, join Adan in his adventures.