Although my husband doesn’t get to read to our daughter as much as they’d both like to, a few nights ago he was home before her bedtime and she begged him to read her the new book we had just received to review for this month’s ReadMe: Mimí’s Parranda.
It was a great pairing because the book is about a parranda – an awesome, fun and musical tradition that takes place during Christmas in Puerto Rico, my husband’s homeland. So he immediately got into it and even interrupted his reading to tell Vanessa his own stories of parrandas. Needless to say, she was in heaven!
Gil tells the story of Mimí, a girl for whom Christmas is synonymous with traveling to Puerto Rico to go to the beach, eat pasteles and get a parranda. But this particular year, things are a bit different. Mimí has a baby sister and her mom informs her they can’t travel because she’s too little. Oh, the disappointment! By the end of the story, though, Mimí’s school friends, who originally made fun of her explanation of a parranda, actually bring one to her as a surprise when they find out she’s not going to Puerto Rico.
I had initially found Lydia Gil’s beautiful bilingual book, “Mimí’s Parranda/La parranda de Mimí,” at our local library at the beginning of the year. I remember being immediately drawn to it because we had just come back from Puerto Rico where we had the opportunity to experience a parranda. Several months later, as I was trying to figure out what book to review for December’s ReadMe, I came across the book again at the library and I had my answer.
I like the book for a lot of reasons but mostly because it deals with cultural differences – a topic much too important for all of us raising bilingual kids. And one Gil obviously understands.
“While pregnant, I began to think of the traditions my child would grow up with here in the US. As a child of immigrants myself–my family left Cuba for Puerto Rico shortly before I was born—I grew up with two sets of traditions: the Cuban inside the home and the Puerto Rican outside. The “parranda”, however, was one of the few instances in which both worlds mingled,” Gil explained in an interview via email. “I wanted to recreate that feeling of joyful cultural coexistence for my child and share the wonderful memories I had of parrandas while growing up Puerto Rico.”
One of the things that makes this bilingual book different than the others we’ve presented through ReadMe so far is that it was not translated from English to Spanish. Gil, who was raised speaking Spanish only, wrote it in both languages at the same time. I can’t even begin to fathom the complexity of this undertaking. Talk about the definition of being bilingual…
“It’s an interesting process because sometimes the English informed the Spanish and vice-versa. This is usually how I write creative prose. It poses some challenges, of course, because sometimes an expression that flows very well in one language has no equivalent in the other, so I have to rephrase in order for the translation to remain accurate,” Gil said about the process. “While literary translators can make aesthetic choices when books are published in translation, bilingual children’s books, in my opinion, need to be fastidiously accurate for the sake of reference, basically, so one who is not fluent in one language can find a working equivalent in the other as easily as possible.”
It’s difficult to find somebody who has the talent to do that. While reading the book the first time, I immediately noticed it didn’t really sound like a translation. In fact, I usually ask the authors featured in ReadMe to explain why the book was translated to Spanish. In Gil’s case, I actually asked if she’d written it in both. As a writer myself, I truly admire Gil’s ability to do this without compromising the story she is telling.
Read the rest of the interview and maybe you too will hope she writes another children’s book soon.
“I would recommend reading it all the way through in one language and then in the other, not alternating paragraph by paragraph. Kids don’t need to understand every word to get the gist of a story, so it’s important to maintain the flow of language. I also did an audio version of Mimí’s Parranda with a company that specializes in Spanish and bilingual audiobooks for children, Lorito Books. Audiobooks are a wonderful way for parents to reinforce the language that is not their dominant. However, they should be a companion to reading with their children, not a substitute.”
“Literacy is essential to the success of any community! Among the Latino communities, bilingual literacy should be a priority. I often see students of Latino heritage who can converse quite well in Spanish, but who lack the reading and writing skills necessary to function professionally as bilingual. I think that all communicative skills should be emphasized from childhood. This would help children become proficient in both languages and also facilitate the acquisition of other languages later on.”
What do you think about the concept of raising kids bilingual/bi-cultural?
“I think that if parents have the ability to raise their kids bilingual and bicultural they must do it. Before our daughter was born, we decided she would be raised bilingual. I spoke Spanish to her from the moment I held her and my husband spoke English, his native language. This became the norm for her: Spanish with mom and English with dad. It’s great to hear her teach dad how to say things in Spanish and to see her in the playground switching between languages to whatever language feels natural with her friends.”
“I grew up surrounded by books. My parents always said that while we didn’t have much money for leisurely things, there was always enough for books. Plus we borrowed and traded and, as kids, we wrote stories to embellish the ones we were reading… So I guess writing came as a natural extension of reading.”
“The Piñata Books imprint is a gem for parents, teachers and, of course, children! Their editorial vision is to create bilingual books for children that reflect an authentic Latino cultural experience. It differs from most other publishers that cater to Latino children in their insistence on cultural authenticity, bilingual accuracy, and accessibility. I felt honored that my book was published by Arte Público, and my experience with them could not have been more positive.”
LYDIA GIL: (Cuba/Puerto Rico) writer, teacher and journalist. She teaches Spanish language and Latin American literature at the University of Denver, and reports on cultural and literary news for the Hispanic News Services of EFE, Spain’s News Agency. Since 1998, she writes the weekly book-review column “Libros.” She is the author of “Mimí’s Parranda/La parranda de Mimí”, a bilingual children’s book.
The Giveaway:
As you probably know by now, part of ReadMe includes the opportunity to win a copy of the book being reviewed. This is another one you’ll definitely want to add to your kids’ library. To win, share with us what holiday tradition you have passed (or plan to pass) on to your children and why.
This giveaway ends at midnight EST on Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009. Entries/Comments that do not follow the submission guidelines will be invalid and automatically deleted. Sorry, just need to keep it fair. Good luck to all!
Definitely we will celebrate el dia de Los Tres Reyes Magos on January 6, getting grass the night before for the camels, looking us the sky to the three stars that we said are the Three Kings back home.
We eat tamales for Christmas. The entire family gets together to prepare the tamales. It is a great opportunity for my sons to spend time with their abuelos.
.-= Adriana Villalobos´s last blog ..Reading in English =-.
After getting home from midnight mass, my mom makes us some hot chocolate, which we eat with quesadilla de arroz (from Guatemala). My 4 siblings and I, along with our respective spouses and kids, are then allowed to open one gift before going to sleep. This has been a tradition in our family for as long as I can remember—and I am 32 years old now! My 4 kids range in age from 14 years to 4 months and they will not miss out on this tradition, which is a nice opportunity for them to create wonderful memories of times spent with our entire family.
Those last two made me hungry. I love the idea of a bilingual writer writing both parts at the same time. My kids are in dual immersion spanish school, and I think sometimes the translations miss the intent of the writing. I am amazed, however, at the skill of the translator of Dr. Suess’s One Fish Two Fish.
We light the menorah for at least the first few nights of Hannukah every year, exchange the first gifts, play with dreidels and eat latkes. I’m Jewish and even though we are not religious and my husband is not Jewish, I really want to pass on that part of my heritage. I never celebrated Christmas growing up, and I really enjoy it with the kids, but want to make sure they also experience what I did as a child.
We have a huge Nochebuena with Mexican food. I hope my kids continue this, since all of my siblings do it as well!
.-= Tati´s last blog ..Book Reviews and Discounts! =-.
We have panes con pavo (from El Salvador), and open presents at midnight my son loves this! We start with the youngest person in the room until we get to the oldest…which is usually grandma (and usually the one with the most gifts ). I hope they can continue our traditional menu and celebration when they are grown.
Noche Buena has always been a very big tradition with my family. When we were living in New York, all the family would come together, go to a special Noche Buena church service, and have a formal dinner, (as per my Puerto Rican grandmother’s request), and we would celebrate together en familia with traditional Puerto Rican (and Cuban for my father) holiday food.
Now, with my beloved grandparents gone and my family scattered across the country, getting together is very special. My parents are among the oldest in the family and have taken my grandparent’s Noche Buena mantle. With my mother’s ailing health, my family (and my 3 other sibilings’ families) are going to spend Christmas in Florida with my parents…that will include 14 grandchildren, including a set of toddler identical twin boys!
The majority of my siblings, including myself, are married to non-Latinos and we are raising our children bilingual. I know it is my desire for them to experience my Latino culture, the way I did while I was growing up. I want them to be accustomed to eating Turkey and Pernil…eating Apple Pie and Flan…eating Green Bean Casserole and Pinon. Its important that they stay connected to their Latino roots and the holidays are one of the best times to share those memories with them.
The book sounds wonderful. Thank you for the great interview.
As a Cuban-American, I’m about the Noche Buena! And as silly as it is the 12 grapes that must be eaten on Dec. 31. And I may teach her to follow the fun little wives tale that she must mop her house on the 31st and throw the dirty water out the door, so that all the cosas malas go with it.
Though I rarely do this, I just love the symbolism — and you end up with clean floors with which to start the Ano Nuevo!
Besos!
Carrie
.-= Carrie_in_TN´s last blog ..Some women inspire poetry, music, novelas. Me? Read on. =-.
We go to Midnight Mass and open our presents right afterward. I grew up in a French Catholic home and we’ve done un ” reveillon” every year of my life! My husband is Costa Rican so we eat tamales on Christmas day (and lots of days leading up to Christmas too LOL!) and waffles for Christmas morning. Every day of Advent we put up an ornament for the Jesse tree and put a piece of yarn in a manger for baby Jesus to have a soft bed on Christmas morning.
I like the recommendation to read bilingual books totally in one language and then to go back for a rereading in the other language.
please email me inf I win. Thank you.
.-= Julie´s last blog ..Stained Glass Ornaments =-.
We read stories and books every night in December which is a great way to learn about how others celebrate Christmas and what it is all about. This book sounds like a wonderful addition to our Christmas books.
.-= Gingerannbeck´s last blog ..Christmas Activities =-.
We’ve started a Jesse tree this year, and we do a Happy Birthday Jesus cake…
janemaritz at yahoo dot com
.-= Mozi Esmes Mommy´s last blog ..Fashion Friday =-.
Our family has our dinner on Noche Buena, plus this year, I plan on having my daughter make a basket for Tres Reyes Magos and pick out grass for the camels so we can celebrate it as I used to when I was a little girl.
This book would be great and I’m sure her abuelo and abuela would love to read it to her, as would I.
.-= Melanie (ModernMami)´s last blog ..Win an Evening Clutch from Dressbarn! =-.
This year the stockings are up and just like I did when I was a child, my children will see what goodies are inside on January 6th, el dia de los reyes magos.
This has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. Passed on from my grandparents. I know I loved it and my children will love it also.
By the way I just came across your site and I love it!
Thanks for sharing such a wonderful interview. I think it’s awesome everyone shared their own holiday experiences too!! How cool is that?! I look forward to reading this book.
Happy Holidays to all,
Laura