My Land Sings: Stories from the Rio Grande - Softcover

Anaya, Rudolfo A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0380729024 ISBN 13: 9780380729029

Publisher: Trophy Pr, 2001

Synopsis

Stories as beautiful and mysterious as the Rio Grande itself...

A young Spanish man named Rolando journeys to the New World to find the legendary Fountain of Youth. But at what price will Rolando taste the waters of eternal life?

On a dare, Lupe goes down to the river one night to search for la Llorona, a ghostly woman who walks in search of her drowned baby.

Abel, a shepherd, saves a snake from a fire and in return is given the ability to understand the speech of animals.

In these ten stories, Rudolfo Anaya, author of Bless Me, Ultima, draws on a rich Hispanic and Native American folklore tradition, capturing the rhythm of life along New Mexico's Río Grande valley.

About this title

About the Author:

Rudolfo Anaya was born in the village of Pastura, New Mexico, and was raised in Santa Rosa and Albuquerque. Formerly a professor at the University of New Mexico, Mr. Anaya is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, the Prernio Quinto Sol national Chicano literary award for his novel Bless Me, Ultima, and the PEN Center West fiction award for his novel Albuquerque. He is the author of the children's picture books The Farolitos of Christmas and Maya's Children: The Story of Ia Llorona. Rudolfo Anaya lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Rudolfo Anaya is a recipient of the National Medal of Arts for 2001

Amy Cordova is a self-taught artist who lives in the mountains of northern New Mexico. About her work she says, "My art and writing come from a place inside me; I want to see what feelings look like, not just images. When I draw, my pictures tell stories. Through my writing, I make pictures." Ms. Cordova has written and illustrated a picture book, Abijelita's Heart, and she is the illustrator of My Night Forest, by Roy Owen.

From Publishers Weekly:

Haunting characters people Anaya's (The Farolitos of Christmas) collection of 10 tales in the R!o Grande valley of New Mexico. He combines five cuentos from Spanish and Native American folklore (previously published in a bilingual volume for adults) with original stories that incorporate inherited themes such as a respect for elders, the dangers of going against traditional mores and traces from an old world Roman Catholicism. In "Dulcinea," for instance, a beautiful, isolated 15-year-old from Llano Estacado sees a handsome stranger on a visit to the village and determines to meet him at a dance. Her father forbids it, saying, "Dark wind follows the stranger who has come to our village.... The devil rides the whirlwind," but she attends anyway, with life-altering results. And in "The Three Brothers," a youngest son is rewarded for his faith, while his two older brothers' selfishness is punished with eternal damnation. Anaya's preface describes sources and variations on his material, as well as the process in which he has used cuentos in his novels. While readers may be familiar with the outlines of "Lupe and la Llorona" (the crying woman), "The Shepherd Who Knew the Language of Animals" and "Coyote and Raven," a creation tale, these reworkings contain compelling twists that will keep the pages turning. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Trophy Pr
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0380729024
• ISBN 13: 9780380729029
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176
• Illustrator: Cordova Amy