Mexico Books

This is a wonderful gift for any child or cat lover or both. In fact this is just a great gift no matter what. The pictures are just fantastic and The story just warms your heart. I am looking forward to reading and buying more books by this author.

This book really lends itself to parent-child quality time. Written in ryhme with sweet pictures of kitties, this amazing book provides an interesting easy-flowing story with a purpose. Although focused on Christmas, this heart-warming poem is wonderful for any time of the year.

Before I retired to Mexico from teaching in Texas I used this book as a guide to classroom activities for a self-contained classroom of boys with severe behavioral problems. The response was far beyond my expectations.

In both Spanish and English Sr. Ancona tells the interesting story of Don Ricardo, an elderly pinata maker in a small Mexican village. He also includes complete instructions which allow the reader to construct his or her own pinata.

Using the construction process as a reward I was able to involve my elementary level students in a number of academic activities they had earlier resisted, as well as expanding the learning process into a number of new areas. In addition, behavior related problems decreased dramatically because participation in the reading, discussion, and pinata design and construction were based upon the completion of other academic work as well as classroom behavior and all wanted to engage in the interesting activities and discussions suggested by the book.

The ways in which this book can be used by creative teachers are many. I strongly suggest that teachers consider using this book as inspiration for a number of enjoyable and effective learning activities.

The charming little book follows Don Ricardo as he designs, makes and delivers his pinatas in a small Mexican town. Don is 77 years old and started making Pinatas 15 years ago. You are not only taken through every step of making a creative yet traditionally made pinata, but you also get the feel for the ruralness of the town and it's people through the photographs. I recommend this as great book to read to your kids, or to use to get help with making Pinatas. The bi-lingual text, helps it work for both spanish and english speaking children.

Living in Las Vegas, my water concious conversion from grass
to drought tolerant plants and landscape had to be well
thought out. It also had to be an efficient, long lasting,
and effective action.
This book helped in all of those areas.

Judith Phillips books are a godsend to those of us who garden in the high desert. She understands our highly varied zones and which plants thrive in each area. The illustrations and codes are very helpful. I am a public librarian and have bought many copies of her three books for our library and to use at home. Rather than hitting your head against the wall and wasting precious water trying to make something grow that does not belong in your area, Judith helps you create a great garden that will thrive and be relatively low maintenance. Her suggestions on plant combinations are particularly useful. The only criticism I have is one that happened at the printers: the pages in the back of Plants for Native Gardens which lists a chart of adaptive plants are not numbered. I highly recommend all three of Phillips' fine books.

Having read the three other books focusing on the carnage at the New Mexico State Penitentiary in 1980 ("The Devil's Butcher Shop", "Descent into Madness" and "The Hate Factory"), Saenz' book offers a much-needed perspective of the horrific event ... the political side.

Saenz effectively gives the reader a birds-eye view of the horrific events unfolding those days in February 1980. From the gruesome, cruel and inhuman behavior occuring behind the prison walls to the dumb-founded ineptitude exhibited by government officials, who were completely helpless and pathetic in their actions prior to, during and following the riot.

You can't finish reading the book without shaking your head in anger ... at the corruption, nepotism, ignorance and arrogance of those in control of the prison system ... from low-level prison personnel to the governor. 33 men lose their lives in a horrific manner and, as usual, the only response from officials is finger-pointing and cover-ups ... only a handful of men responsible for the violence are prosecuted and relatively few lessons were learned by administrators ... it was "business as usual".

Saenz really makes your realize how fragile our prison system truly is and you end up hoping that his book is required reading by the governors of all fifty states.

I have read everything about the Santa Fe prison riot, and many other books about prisons. This is by far the best I have read. Why? Because Dolph Saenz was there, and because he puts effectiveness ahead of ideology. Unlike the politicians and idealogues, Mr. Saenz put his [rear end] on the line to help end the riot peacufully.
The Santa Fe prison riot is one of the most fascinating events in American penal history. Unlike Attica, which involved deaths only in the re-taking of the prison, this involved inmate on inmate and inmate on guard violence throughout the entire seige. I've visited the prison and received a tour by guards who were there. It is truly mind-boggling in the scope of the violence that occured.
My film production company has optioned the rights to Mr. Saenz' life story. As a former policeman in Albuquerque and Latin America, Mr. Saenz has seen many exciting historical events unfold. He has always confronted threats to public safety with bravery, humor and patriotism. This book is his true account of the grisly results of what happens when an apathetic public, opportunistic politicians, and negligent security combine to allow an explosion of epic proportions. Do not for a minute think it won't happen again, if we remain ignorant of the conditions that exist in prisons all across America. Read this book to gain a greater understanding of the tragic miscalculations that are still taking place today.

This is a tale of an incredible journey which helps to explain the passion and durablilty of Jewish families from around the world. It is both inspiring and, at times, chilling.

POMEGRANATE SEEDS. LATIN AMERICAN JEWISH TALES
by Nadia Grosser Nagarajan
Introduction by Ilan Stavens
University of Mexico Press ©2005
Reviewed by Cherie Karo Schwartz
*In full disclosure, I am mentioned in the acknowledgements of this book.

POMEGRANATE SEEDS. LATIN AMERICAN JEWISH TALES is unique and amazing in its scope and depth, uncovering and recovering lost fragments of Latin America's Jewish culture's stories which have almost been forgotten. Taking tiny pomegranate seeds of tales she lovingly gathered in person all over Latin America, and adding tales from the Israel Folktale Archives in Israel, Nadia recreates a whole richly tapestried world. As she states in her introduction,
"I was touched by the generosity with which most of the people opened their hearts to me and shared their memories, anecdotes, and life experiences. I have retold the stories--that at times were only fragments, scraps of real incidents mingled with perhaps some fantasy, or sketchy and detached-- creating a background when necessary so that the tales come to life as distinct entities."
Nadia knows this world. Her family had escaped from Europe to Ecuador during WWII. Nadia speaks fluent Spanish. She is immersed in Jewish folk tales, history, and cultures. She is a consummate researcher, which is also abundantly evident from her beautiful and meaningful first book JEWISH TALES FROM EASTERN EUROPE. And most of all, she is a deep story listener. Upon hearing the stories firsthand, she has woven these story fragments into full evocations of various times and places, people and circumstances.
From this point, Nadia adds a magical ingredient that sets her work above and beyond: her fine, melodic, poetic writing. Her words are at once incisive and evocative; they draw us into the scene, the world, and the spirit of each particular tale.
Take this example: the fanciful beginning of "Icarus the Frog" (from a Brazilian tale from the Israel Folktale Archives in Haifa)
"In the old days when animals were still able to talk, Rana Icarus the frog, looked different from the way she appears today. She was round and fat and,
although small and not very prominent among the other creatures, was pleased
with herself and proud of her intense green coloring...."
Nadia has drawn broadly to gather and retell these tales from many Latin and Caribbean countries. The stories are from Sephardic, Oriental, and Ashkenazic sources, family stories, history, folk tales, personal tales, immigration stories, and more. The reflect the diverse cultural range of this area's relatively small and proud Jewish populations.
Each story is one seed, one piece of the Jewish Latin puzzle, as she says. One of the most intriguing stories is a misty childhood immigration memory from Argentina via Warsaw, "Sea Monsters". Before relating the immigration story, Nadia leaps forward to tell of us of a future time:
"...Years later, when Malvina had already lived in Buenos Aires for a long time, she could never forget Warsaw, the way it used to be, and neither did all the other Polish Jews there who felt the same attachment and had many memories
of the old country."
In the middle of a seemingly realistic family immigration tale, this fantastic image develops, reflecting perhaps the monstrous situation that was growing for the Jews in Europe:
"Looking at the blue, placid surface of the ocean, she should have known that the monsters were figments of her imagination created by the difficulties of her
voyage, yet in her heart she believed they did exist.... Somewhere far down, in the
remote depths of the seas, those mythical creatures were not extinct but in search
of victims, and she had been fortunate enough to escape that ordeal."
This is a book that shines with a brilliance of poetry and purpose, bringing honor to those whose tales have been shared in its pages. It is a treasure for those of Latin descent, lovers of folk tales and folklore, for Klal Israel (all Jews), and for anyone who loves story. Nadia has brought these tales and this many-faceted culture to life for us, to share and learn and retell..... and to remember. Her accomplishment in this important volume is summed up in one of her stories: the ending of "Albertito" (from Buenos Aires):
"Zaideh died at the age of seventy,and his family has missed him terribly since then.His "Albertito Tales"--and there were many of them-- live on, though, and will be told and retold from one generation to another. He might even be listening to the new renditions, assuming, of course, that he is not too busy playing soccer in the heavenly fields, chasing two stubborn cows that will not stay in one place and wait patiently till the game is ended."
May we all listen, read, and remember generation to generation. And may we soon have more tales retold by Nadia Grosser Nagarajan.

Si se interesan en cultura pre-colombiana, es un libro que es obligatorio leer para poder entender por lo menos un poco, la forma de ver el mundo, de esta magnifica gente del pueblo de los Mayas.

Maravilloso libro que explica la mitologia maya. La historia de un pueblo, la creacion del hombre. Realmente imperdible para aquellos estudiosos del tema, y para aquellos curiosos, como yo.

The words and images of this beautiful book evoke feelings of love and gratitude. To God, to Nature, to the people, places and things in harmony with their surroundings. The photographer, author, and poet show true understanding of the meaning of life. Of simpler ways and of times past; while giving hope for the future, and times to come.

Lee Marmon is a Laguna Pueblo Indian who has been taking photographs of Laguna with professional cameras since 1946.
If you've seen the poster of the elderly Indian man wearing Converse All Stars (the image on this book's cover), you've seen Marmon's work.

This collection of his work since 1946 would be worthwhile if it simply documented the ceremonies, buildings, landscapes, faces and figures-what had changed and what did not---over more than a half century. But this volume is so much more. These are beautiful photographs, mostly in black and white. The stark magic of the Southwestern landscape was captured in the abstract paintings of artists like Georgia O'Keefe and Max Ernst. But black and white photos are inherently abstract, since they turn the world of color into shades and grains. Put a master photographer who knows his subject so intimately together with this landscape and you get one astonishing image after another.

There are wonderful faces, dramatic landscapes, close-ups that let you feel the grain of old wood. There's a different feeling in every photo, indescribable in words. And the feelings can be surprising, like the strange joy in "Girls at a clothesline," with white clothes flying against a wisp of cloud, yet in the foreground is a harsh and radiant edge of stone.

There are a smaller number of color photos, just as accomplished and evocative. There's some prose by Marmon's daughter, writer Leslie Marmon Silko, as well as by writers Joy Harjo and Simon Ortiz. But it's the photographs that are important here. They draw you in, and your eyes and heart expand. If you know someone who loves the mystery and bare majesty of the Southwest, or relishes authentic and beautiful images of American Indian life, this book makes an elegant gift for Christmas or any other occasion. If that person is you, do yourself a favor. You won't have any trouble entering these images. The secrets are there.

This book is definitely a MUST for those studying the Puerto Rican diaspora, the Puerto Rican socio-political condition in the US and the economical condition of many Puerto Ricans who have been living in the US for decades. It explains in a balanced and fair way how and why Puerto Ricans have been moving to the US since the 1940's and why they ended up settling in certain parts of the US. I highly recommend it because it clearly shows the effects of US colonialism/imperialism on the economy of Puerto Rico as well as the economic situation of Puerto Ricans residing in the US.

Two thumbs up!

An outstanding collection of stories covering an incredible spectrum of
Boricua life throughout the Continent bolstered by no nonsense research.
A must for every boricua writer, student, or researcher. Kudos to Carmen
Whalen.

As a bilingual elementary teacher, I have used this book for the purpose of helping children become more self-reliant, confident and knowledgable about how to handle every-day, common problems and issues. I used the topics presented as Journal Topics each day, and these always elicited in-depth discussions, among first and second graders, up to fifth graders. This book is extremely beneficial on so many levels. Try it out, as a teacher or a parent, in either language!

As a bilingual elementary teacher, I have used this book for the purpose of helping children become more self-reliant, confident and knowledgable about how to handle every-day, common problems and issues. I used the topics presented as Journal Topics each day, and these always elicited in-depth discussions, among first and second graders, up to fifth graders. This book is extremely beneficial on so many levels. Try it out, as a teacher or a parent, in either language!

"Querido Alberto" is the authorized biography of the legendary Mexican singer/songwriter Juan Gabriel. Written by Gabriel's longtime friend and musical arranger Eduardo Magallanes, the book gives the reader a view into the life of the kid who grew up in the streets of Chihuahua, Mexico as Alberto Aguilera Valadez through the 1995 publication date.

Magallanes absorbs the reader immediately by opening the biography with a description of Gabriel's benefit performance at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City in 1990, the concert that became famous through audio and video sales. Magallanes then covers the life of Gabriel in short segments relating more to significance than chronology.

Magallanes addresses Gabriel's early life: the mysterious disappearance of his father three months after Gabriel's birth on January 7, 1950; the mother for whom he wrote "Amor Eterno"; the sister who lies in a coma, a state she has been in for many years; the various people who took him in off the streets and how they influenced him and his music; in essence, the steps through which Alberto Aguilera Valadez become the international pop singer known as Juan (named after a teacher) Gabriel (named after his father).

The book also includes a few chapters on Gabriel's personal life as an adult, a subject about which Gabriel is intensely private, particularly his near-30-year relationship with Laura Salas Campa and their four sons.

The book is written in Spanish but at such a level that people with a limited Spanish reading ability would be able to understand the main ideas. It includes extensive quotes by Gabriel, lyrics to many of his songs and tributes to Gabriel by Lola Beltran, Lucha Villa and other Gabriel contemporaries.

The photographs are perhaps the most intriguing part of the book. More than 100 captioned pictures show the singer's transformation from Alberto Aguilera Valadez, the poor street kid, to Juan Gabriel, the superstar. All the photos are black and white. No matter. Some allow a glimpse into Gabriel's private life. There are several pictures of his houses, his sons as young children, his partner Laura Salas and there's even one of his German shepherd dog, the breed he still keeps today.

This is a professionally written book that doesn't waste the reader's time on smutty tabloid material. It is a worthy purchase.

"Querido Alberto" is the authorized biography of the legendary Mexican singer/songwriter Juan Gabriel. Written by Gabriel's longtime friend and musical arranger Eduardo Magallanes, the book gives the reader a view into the life of the kid who grew up in the streets of Chihuahua, Mexico as Alberto Aguilera Valadez through the 1995 publication date.

Magallanes absorbs the reader immediately by opening the biography with a description of Gabriel's benefit performance at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City in 1990, the concert that became famous through audio and video sales. Magallanes then covers the life of Gabriel in short segments relating more to significance than chronology.

Magallanes addresses Gabriel's early life: the mysterious disappearance of his father three months after Gabriel's birth on January 7, 1950; the mother for whom he wrote "Amor Eterno"; the sister who lies in a coma, a state she has been in for many years; the various people who took him in off the streets and how they influenced him and his music; in essence, the steps through which Alberto Aguilera Valadez become the international pop singer known as Juan (named after a teacher) Gabriel (named after his father).

The book also includes a few chapters on Gabriel's personal life as an adult, a subject about which Gabriel is intensely private, particularly his near-30-year relationship with Laura Salas Campa and their four sons.

The book is written in Spanish but at such a level that people with a limited Spanish reading ability would be able to understand the main ideas. It includes extensive quotes by Gabriel, lyrics to many of his songs and tributes to Gabriel by Lola Beltran, Lucha Villa and other Gabriel contemporaries.

The photographs are perhaps the most intriguing part of the book. More than 100 captioned pictures show the singer's transformation from Alberto Aguilera Valadez, the poor street kid, to Juan Gabriel, the superstar. All the photos are black and white. No matter. Some allow a glimpse into Gabriel's private life. There are several pictures of his houses, his sons as young children, his partner Laura Salas and there's even one of his German shepherd dog, the breed he still keeps today.

This is a professionally written book that doesn't waste the reader's time on smutty tabloid material. It is a worthy purchase.