Stories about Santa Claus are always sure to be kid-pleasers. What child doesn’t like to hear how Santa Claus and his team of reindeer will battle the clock and blizzards to make children’s wishes come true?

Yet, while these stories always excite the imaginations of children, it’s stories about the holiday icon that attempt to create a personal bond with those children who may speak another language, have different family traditions or live in untraditional storybook settings that create a greater sense of awe and belief that Santa is real and will not forget them on December 25.

Charro Claus and the Tejas Kid (Cinco Puntos Press 2008) by South Texas author Xavier Garza takes the traditional tale of Santa Claus and moves him out of the North Pole and down to the Texas-Mexico border. Children learn that Santa not only needs help this year delivering toys but that he hands over the “reins” to his Mexican American primo Pancho.

Adding such elements as a magically transformed mariachi suit, a flying wagon, a golden guitar and a team of luche libre masked burros named Rigo, Jaime, Freddie and Little Joe, Garza turns the tale of Santa delivering toys in a new direction.

Continue reading "A Latino Santa Claus takes the reigns to deliver toys to Texas-Mexico border children" »

Filed 17 de Diciembre, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now more than ever, the issue of school readiness for young children is on the minds of not just parents but politicians and policy makers as the country finds itself lacking the necessary high-skilled labor force it needs to compete in a global environment.

Yet contrary to popular perception, equipping pre-schoolers with their own computers and software programs isn't necessarily the key to school success. Basic lessons still need to be taught and learned and the tools for these activities are found outside the computer in simple activities that have been shoved aside for the sake of technology.

Thankfully the new children's book Come Into My World: 365 Creative Games and Activities for Children Ages 0 to 5 (2008 Lunita Company, LLC), by Lina Cuartas and Annabel Lugo Hoffman, resurrects such old-fashioned ideas as actually taking a child by the hand and exploring the world together.

Author Lina Cuartas draws much of her inspiration for the book from her time spent teaching the Huitotos and Boras children of the Amazon rainforest. It was an experience that changed her perspective on how to look at life — and how life’s lessons should be learned.

The book, available in both English and Spanish, is broken down by month and lists a different activity for each day using materials readily found around the house. From creative tasks like making a collage, creating colored ice cubes or illustrating a book about themselves to exploratory activities like going on a treasure hunt around the house or going for a walk outside to appreciate nature to even turning mundane chores into learning experiences like picking up toys or emptying trash cans, Come Into My World strives to introduce basic concepts that are essential for reading, math, science and social skills.

The best thing about the activities is that the children don’t even realize they’re learning and parents get to rediscover the wonder of the world hand-in-hand with their child.

Filed 23 de Noviembre, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the many definitions of art is that "art is a human activity, made with the intention of stimulating thoughts and emotions. "

Whether it's prehistoric stick figures, classic Madonna images, leafy landscapes, tortured self-portraits, psychedelic graffiti sprawls or the contemplative elements that comprise performance art, art has a long, long history with thousands of players. Unless you're a student of Art History, it's impossible for the casual lover of art to fully understand and appreciate just how art has evolved over the centuries — until now.

ART: Over 2,500 Works from Cave to Contemporary (DK Publishing, November 2008) brings the evolutionary history of art to our fingertips. Yet unlike dry, academic Art History books, ART simplifies the history to be appreciated in two ways — through abbreviated entries and thousands of reproduced illustrations of well-known art and their artists.

The 612-page coffee table book acts as a time machine taking readers through the different centuries and the art that defined it. From prehistoric art and the early Christian and Islam art of the 1400s all the way through the contemporary art being created around the world today, the book presents the subject matter in easy digestible bits mixing historical facts, artistic analysis and biographical information.

Continue reading "Appreciating ART through the (p)ages of history and culture" »

Filed 26 de Octubre, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Comedian Bill Santiago is well known for using language to make people laugh. Now in his new book Pardon My Spanglish: One Man’s Guide to Speaking Habla (Quirk Books 2008), Santiago applies that comedic talent while serving as historian, teacher and translator as he guides readers through understanding the evolution and the unofficial do’s and don’ts of speaking Spanglish.

Since Spanglish is much more than just “bastardizing” perfectly good English words into Spanish, and vice versa, Santiago explains that the key to speaking good Spanglish (Spanglish Rule #32) is to never stay in English or Spanish for too long.

In fact, Spanglish is a very generous language that, according to Santiago, observes the grammar rules of both English and Spanish — but not too strictly. In fact, one of the major lessons of the book is that rules should not cramp the personal conversation style of the speaker.

Santiago believes that since “practice makes perfect,” the only way to master Spanglish is by adopting seven bad habits that, he swears, will lead to proficiency. Among them, are the self-explanatory habits: “Fake It Hasta Que You Make It” and “Practice Random Acts of Spanglish.”

Continue reading "Latino comedian takes Spanglish mainstream" »

Filed 9 de Octubre, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Bacardi family name is synonymous with rum. It is an association that has proven profitable financially, socially and politically. Yet, the Bacardi legacy entails more than just creating a well-known brand — it’s about sustaining a patriotic connection for over 140 years to Cuba, the birthplace of the family business.

Who would have thought that the history of the Bacardi family, one of the most instantly recognizable names in the liquor industry, would also be a lesson in Cuban history? After all, isn’t Bacardi rum native to Puerto Rico?

No and sí. It’s exactly that contradictory answer that hints at the complex relationship the Bacardi brand has with the country where it all started. In “Bacardi and The Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause” by Tom Gjelten (Viking 2008), readers learn that the true origin of the infamous rum was born and perfected in Cuba, and that the company’s history is so entangled with the struggles and oppression of the island nation that it’s impossible to separate one from the other.

Courtesy of Gjelten, readers are transported back through time when the Bacardi brothers, sons of an illiterate Catalan bricklayer, first arrived in Cuba from their native Spain in the 1800s. One brother, Facundo, had the vision to create a business that would not just provide a living but leave a legacy.

Continue reading "Keeping the spirits of patriotism and family history alive" »

Filed 19 de Septiembre, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Norma Garcia’s only daughter Jasmine died in a horrible car accident. Though she continually feels her daughter’s loss, it was an experience that propelled this young mother to chart a new destiny for herself and others.

On August 11, 2001, Norma Garcia’s life changed in an instant. One moment this San Antonio native was a mother of two returning with her husband and children from a fun-filled Mexican vacation. The next she was laying in a hospital bed bruised, fractured and swollen from a rollover car accident when a tire on the family’s SUV blew out.

Yet, what was worse was that she no longer was a mother of two living children. Her eldest, 13-year-old Jasmine, had been thrown from the car and critically injured. Her premature death, only several days later, pushed Norma into a whole new life direction that served as the impetus for her to share her unique story in “My Dear Jasmine: A Journey from Tragedy to Triumph” (Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing 2008).

“My Dear Jasmine” can at first easily be mistaken as being a grieving mother journaling the most horrific incident of her life. But it’s only when walking alongside the author as she shares her daughter’s writings, baby pictures and smiling photos of that ill-fated vacation, all the while reliving the happy memories and recounting those dark times, that readers uncover the underlying inspirational message offered in the book.

However, as much as the book is about one mother sharing memories of her only daughter, it’s also a story that advocates and promotes a life-saving issue as well — organ donation.

Like most grieving families, Norma Garcia had never fully considered organ donation until she was approached and asked if she would consider donating Jasmine’s heart and liver.

As Norma walks readers through one of the most difficult times in any parent’s life, it’s not hard to see the transformations occurring in Norma and how the death of her child actually gave this mother a new life.

Filed 10 de Septiembre, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

An unlikely motive is the impetus for author Stephanie Elizondo Griest to embark on an 8-month journey throughout Mexico in search of her family’s roots. What she uncovers is a connection that doesn’t just link families but countries.

“If I only spoke Spanish, I would be more Mexican.”

It was that simple belief that sent Corpus Christi, Texas native and author Stephanie Elizondo Griest on an 8-month journey through Mexico to rediscover her maternal family roots.

What resulted was “Mexican Enough: My Life Between the Borderlines,” (Washington Square Press, 2008) part journal, part travelogue, part research and fully entertaining as this 30-something Mexican American traveled throughout Mexico learning her mother’s native tongue and getting to know a people, a culture and a history that was familiar yet foreign.

In her book, Ms. Griest makes the reader feel like a privileged friend lucky enough to tag along on an adventure that explores Mexico City’s gay sub-culture to villages decimated of men lured by promises of generous salaries in “El Norte” to marching through the Zapatista-controlled jungles of southern Mexico.

It’s through her eyes and the many conversations that she strikes up with people along the way that we get an honest look at what and who is Mexico.

From “Mexican Enough,” we learn that most children as young as 5-years-old dream of coming north into the United States to work. We learn that the reason why signs of Coca-Cola and Pepsi are so prevalent in the impoverished Mexican countryside is because these companies will paint homes and businesses for free if owners agree to act as billboards for their products.

We learn that Wal-Mart just isn’t a discount store but a conglomerate that is the largest private employer in the country and operates over 900 stand-alone businesses ranging from health clinics to restaurants.

Ms. Griest’s quest for her identity reveals the common experiences of life in Mexico and in the process allows us all to get to know a country whose history is rooted with our own.

Filed 3 de Septiembre, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Congresswomen and sisters Loretta and Linda Sánchez grew up the daughters of Mexican immigrants in California. Being bilingual and bicultural, the women share how they balanced both worlds to achieve the ultimate American Dream.

Linda and Loretta Sánchez made history when they became the first sisters to serve in Congress together. Yet, the fact that these two California Latinas of Mexican immigrant parents were able to rise from humble beginnings, attain post-graduate degrees and win their respective races when the political odds were stacked against them is a greater testament to each woman’s place in history and serves as the foundation for their new book Dream in Color: How the Sánchez Sisters Are Making History in Congress (Hachette Book Group USA 2008).

Alternating their perspectives, Loretta and Linda share memories of juggling a bicultural and bilingual childhood in a household of seven children. However, with Loretta being the second eldest and Linda next to the youngest, what emerges in the book are two distinct voices who shared similar life experiences tempered more by their birth order than heritage.

Continue reading "Sisterly support creates a winning team in Congress" »

Filed 27 de Agosto, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Sheryl Luna

A review of the history of the Southwest reveals the impact of attitudes and treatment of early Mexican Americans that have evolved to define today’s perceptions of Hispanics.

In Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American Race, (NYU Press 2007) law professor and author Dr. Laura E. Gómez argues that Mexican-Americans are a race, not merely an ethnicity. She bolsters that argument by citing that “racial categories and racial difference are socially constructed… race is historically contingent and given meaning by persons, institutions, and social processes.”

In other words, it’s in the eye of the beholder. In thoroughly reviewing historical documents, Gómez found that there were many examples to bolster her claim that race wins in the debate over ethnicity.

The book is a close historical account of institutions, colonization and violence that was, in her view, propagated based on views of Mexican-Americans as an inferior race. She supports this argument with clear researched documents that indicate American acquisition of the area was anything but peaceful.

An analysis of the U.S. Mexican War and the U.S. annexation of Texas by Gómez, finds both to be acts of war where blood was shed. In exploring further documents, Gómez found that Mexicans were viewed as a race to be subjugated and were considered a passive people. She notes that U.S. officials, including President Polk, acknowledged a racial division “between the Spaniards, who monopolize the wealth and power of the country, and the mixed Indian race, who bear[s] its burdens.”

For Gómez, all of this led to the oppression of non-white people. Hence, she argues that the colonization of the Southwest was brought about largely by deeply embedded views that Mexicans were not white and they were indeed viewed as a race.

Continue reading "Ethnicity or race? Deconstructing the identity of Mexican Americans" »

Filed 20 de Agosto, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

An aerospace research scientist creates a Mayan tale to introduce young readers to the magic and science of space exploration.

Space exploration. The topic has been so romanticized and sensationalized on the big and little screens that when it comes to the real thing most people channel surf right past TV images of a live rocket launch or space shuttle landing.

As such, science teachers have a hard time competing with science fiction special effects to get their students interested in the real science of space exploration. Yet, one scientist hopes to show that the adventure of exploring the universe is still a fantasy to be fulfilled.

Dr. Dora Musielak, an aerospace research scientist and veteran author, has written a book that is equal parts “science fantasy,” and astronomy textbook.

Kuxan Suum: Path to the Center of the Universe (AuthorHouse 2008) begins with the tale of a Mayan princess named Da'Lau whose curiosity about the stars and planets takes her on a magical journey. Mixing the tale with real Mayan terms and factual scientific explanations, Dr. Musielak grounds the fantasy in a reality that doesn’t take away from the magic that readers expect while exploring the pages.

However when the story-telling part of the book ends, Dr. Musielak bridges the fantasy and the factual with pages filled with other-worldly images taken by the Hubble Space telescope.

Continue reading "Bridging the fantasy and facts of space travel" »

Filed 13 de Agosto, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)