¡Mira, Look!: Rubén Darío

Hoy vamos a hablar de Rubén Darío de la autora puertorriqueña Georgina Lázaro y el ilustrador nicaragüense Lonnie Ruiz, una obra incluida en la serie de literatura infantil cuando los grandes eran pequeños. Esta última es un acercamiento a los grandes autores de la literatura hispanoamericana. Si quieres sumergirte en la vida de Rubén Darío, magnífico poeta nicaragüense y artista precoz como el que más, acompáñame a descubrir su propia historia.

Rubén Darío es una invitación a conocer la vida y desarrollo artístico del poeta del mismo nombre en lengua castellana; una historia compuesta por estrofas de cuatro versos octosílabos que riman entre sí y combinan con evocadoras imágenes que acompañan el arco cronológico, entretejiendo un desarrollo personal y profesional marcado por la pasión por las letras. Los colores, de tono claro, generan una paleta donde la poesía es la auténtica protagonista. El libro viene introducido por un extracto final de un poema del autor titulado A Margarita Debayle y fechado a 20 de marzo de 1908:

 

Ya que lejos de mí vas a estar,

guarda, niña, un gentil pensamiento

al que un día te quiso contar

un cuento.

 

La historia se desarrolla sin prisa pero sin pausa, reflejando una tierna infancia del autor en San Marcos de Colón (Honduras), marcada esta por la convivencia con su madre y la ausencia del padre, el contacto con la naturaleza primigenia, la posterior mudanza a León (Nicaragua) y su adopción por parte del coronel Félix Ramírez y su esposa Bernarda Sarmiento; tía y madre adoptiva de la madre de Rubén Darío, cuyo nombre real es Rubén García Sarmiento.

Pronto el futuro maestro de las letras quedó fascinado con los libros, y entre fiestas populares, amor paternal e interminables historias, su imaginación iba escalando imparablemente hacia los cielos; allá donde solo los privilegiados que confluyen con las artes tienen acceso. La muerte de su padre adoptivo agrió su imparable ascenso, pero no impidió que un día, alumbrado por la poesía, siguiera su camino, granjeándose el apodo del niño poeta y consiguiendo la publicación de un poema en un diario de León a los 12 años. Entre amores de niñez de los que marcan de por vida y agrietan corazones, Rubén Darío termina mudándose a la capital del país, Managua, donde hace de la biblioteca su templo y se termina casando. Allí galopa incesante hacia aguas internacionales, sigue afilando su pluma y se erige como el que para muchos es el padre del modernismo literario.

Georgina Lázaro es una autora puertorriqueña con extensa trayectoria en literatura infantil que cuando comenzó se sentaba en una mesita con lápiz y papel y así redactaba los cuentos que luego les leía a sus hijos a la hora de dormir. Entre sus libros de la serie cuando los grandes eran pequeños destacan, además de Rubén Darío, autores de la talla de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Pablo Neruda o Federico García Lorca. Lonnie Ruiz, por su parte, es un ilustrador nicaragüense que además practica la docencia universitaria y ha participado en bienales de España, México o Rusia.

Recursos relacionados y enfocados a la promoción de la poesía:

• Georgina Lázaro, autora de Rubén Darío.
• Lonnie Ruiz, ilustrador.
• Lectorum Publications, editorial.
• Artículo del New York Times sobre el poeta.
• Vida y obra del autor.
• Vídeo animado del poema A Margarita.
• Página web enfocada en la docencia en el ámbito centroamericano, que incluye una pequeña biografía sobre Rubén Darío y otros autores notables de la región.
• Blog con la pieza A Roosevelt de Rubén Darío.
• Plan lectivo del PIER Summer Institute sobre la poesía anti-imperialista de Rubén Darío y Pablo Neruda.

¡Como siempre, espero hayáis disfrutado de esta obra y seguimos con la serie de poesía del mes!

Santi

 

Our Next Good Read

Join us on Monday, December 11th at Tractor Brewing (1800 4th St NW) from 5:00-7:00 pm to discuss our next book.  It’s another adult novel month! This month we decided to do a “fan favorite” and our book group chose Like Water for Chocolate/ Como agua para chocolate by Laura Esquivel.  This book is available in both English and Spanish (each version is hyperlinked above)!

Here’s a sneak peek into the book: (from Goodreads)

A sumptuous feast of a novel, it relates the bizarre history of the all-female De La Garza family. Tita, the youngest daughter of the house, has been forbidden to marry, condemned by Mexican tradition to look after her mother until she dies. But Tita falls in love with Pedro, and he is seduced by the magical food she cooks. In desperation, Pedro marries her sister Rosaura so that he can stay close to her, so that Tita and Pedro are forced to circle each other in unconsummated passion. Only a freakish chain of tragedies, bad luck and fate finally reunite them against all the odds.

We hope to see you there!

We’ll also be raffling off a copy of January’s featured book, Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller (Grades 2 – 7).  Join us that evening to be entered!

April 28th | Week in Review

¡Hola a todos! This is my last post of the school semester. I want to thank everyone for taking the time to look at sources I have shared through this blog. I am always pleased to share them with you and hopeful that they may be of use to you.

– You might only think of tortillas when you think of Mexico, but the country’s culinary repertoire goes far beyond that – in part because of the overlapping indigenous, Spanish, and French influences. The next time you’re using food as an introduction to Mexican culture, you might want to read this Illustrated Guide to Mexico’s Delicious Breads. The article discusses how bread was made more palatable with “the addition of indigenous ingredients, like corn, piloncillo, and chocolate. And then when the French began arriving to Mexico, they introduced European baking techniques, which have had long-lasting effects in the Latin American country.”

February 24th | Week in Review

¡Hola a todos! I hope these resources are of use. I know with recent current events it may seem like the future of education is bleak, however, we must remain strong and stay in solidarity. Together we can get through these dark times!

– Check out why these librarians are protesting Trump’s executive orders on Reforma.

— Additionally, Reforma shared about Talk Story Together- Sharing Stories, Sharing Culture. This is a great joint literacy project from the American Indian Library Association and the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association that celebrates and explores the stories of children and their families. Story telling is embedded in culture, and it’s a meaningful way to learn about each other.

5 Latino/a Children’s and YA Books Honoring Immigrant Experiences in the Winter Season

 

Buenos días a todas y todos,

The Vamos a Leer theme for this month, as written in Keira’s Sobre Deciembre post, is focused on winter celebrations.  I was eager to explore children’s and YA literature around this topic in hopes of finding books that are reflective of the diverse familial celebrations, religious and spiritual practices, and cultural traditions throughout Latin America.  However, it would be disingenuous to state that this eagerness remained after learning the outcome of the election.  Rather, like many others, I began to reflect on the multiple uncertainties that our communities face.  More specifically, what will the future hold for those that are from other countries and living in the United States?  With everything that I read being filtered through this lens, I decided it was best to reframe the theme a bit.

¡Mira Look!: A Taste of the Mexican Market/ El gusto del mercado mexicano

Saludos todos! This week we are continuing our November themes of food, and specifically its cultural importance, with another great read, El gusto del Mercado Mexicano/ A Taste of the Mexican Market, written and illustrated by Nancy Maria Grande Tabor. This wonderfully interactive book is great for celebrating food, includingthe vibrant colors of fruits and vegetables, the textures of different nuts, and the distinct shapes of different meats and fishes. It also  engages kids in valuable exercises in counting, describing what they see, and learning new vocabulary on food and the different ways to prepare food. The book even won the Scientific American Young Readers Book Award for its variegated educational import.

The pages are structured as a type of interactive game. The first page, for example, shows the front wall of a market with words that read, “En una visita a Mexico se pueden comer muchas comidas diferentes. Ven conmigo al Mercado mexicano. Mi canasta esta vacia y aqui tengo  la lista de compras. Vamos!/ On a visit to Mexico you can eat many different foods. Come with me to the Mexican market. My basket is empty and here is the shopping list. Let’s go!” On the sides of the page readers see a long list of items to be found in the market. As the book progresses, the narration guides readers on an instructive journey through the Mexican market, addressing the young reader directly with a didactic and playful tone: “Vamos a encontrar las frutas que tenemos en nuestra lista/ Let’s find the fruits on our list.” The narration also engages readers by asking them direct questions, prompting dialogue and reflection between the reader and his/her peers, parent or teacher: “Hay frutas en el Mercado mexicano que nunca has visto?/ Does the Mexican market have any fruits you have never seen before?” Not only do these questions encourage readers to engage more with the text, they also stimulate intercultural observation, reflecting on what is new or foreign to them, what is different between the market in Mexico and the market that they are accustomed to.

10 Latinx Children’s Books on Food as Culture and Heritage

Buenos días a todas y todos,

I hope this day finds you each doing well!

As the holidays near, we are invited to reflect on the significance that such days play in our own lives and in the lives of others.  We are reminded that the way we experience holidays differs from those around us: from one family to the next, one culture to the next, and from one generation to the next.  Notwithstanding these differences, there remains a constant and a uniting force: food.

¡Mira Look!: The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred

Saludos todos and welcome to the start of our November-themed book reviews! Our themes for this month will focus on food and the cultural importance of food, topics that seem to fit well with the harvest season that is upon us and the subsequent winter holidays for which food plays such a significant role. Along with traditional practices, food is an important cultural element that can awaken the senses, harken back to fond memories and seasonal associations, and bring people together though collection, preparation, and shared enjoyment.

Our book to start this exploration is The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred, written by Samantha R. Vamos and illustrated by Rafael López. This fun and engaging book tells the story of a young farm maiden who, by enlisting the help of various farm animals and the farmer boy, makes a steamy, delicious pot of arroz con leche. The book has a lively, festive tone and the cooking process is described as a fun, unifying celebration, emphasizing the cultural and communal importance of food. In preparing the arroz con leche, everyone at the farm, including the anthropomorphized animals, must do their part and contribute. This not only exemplifies good team work, but also shows how everyone has a valuable skill or asset to contribute.

Sobre Noviembre: Resources for Teaching about Latinx Food as Culture and Heritage

Dear all,

We’re wrapping up our discussion of loss and resolution here at Vamos a Leer and turning our thoughts to November, when we’ll begin to tune in, as many of you likely will, to the upcoming holidays. And the thought of winter celebrations is prompting us to think deeply about the importance of food. In the next few weeks we’re going metaphorically to sink our teeth into the discussion of how food expresses and reinforces cultural practices. We hope you’ll relish these resources as much as we’ve enjoy gathering them.

As always, let us know if you have ideas and resources! We welcome your input.

Best,
Keira

p.s. I couldn’t resist the puns! Sorry! 🙂