Going Back to El Salvador ~ by René Colato Laínez

Part 3 of 3 (Read Part 1 “The War in El Salvador” here and Part 2 “My Life in the United States” here)

In the winter of 2010, I received a call from Salvadoran children’s book author Jorge Argueta. He and his wife Holly Ayala were organizing a children’s poetry festival in El Salvador and he was inviting me to present at the festival. For one reason or another, I had not gone back to El Salvador since my father and I had left the country and moved to the USA. I did my math: 2010 – 1985= 25. Twenty-five years away from El Salvador! It was time to go back.  I was returning to my homeland as a teacher and as an author.

My country was still beautiful. But in 25 years, there had been many changes. I saw new roads, big shopping centers and new tourist places. The war torn El Salvador had evolved into a peaceful place. Salvadorans are working hard to have a better El Salvador for the new generations.

For three days, November 8-10, more than 600 children visited the National Library Francisco Gavidia. They came from more than 25 neighborhoods around the country.  Children were excited to meet authors and poets. Some authors live in El Salvador such as Ana Ferrufino and Manlio Argueta. The rest of the authors came from others countries such as  Jorge Argueta, Francisco X Alarcón and Margarita Robleda, Jeannette Martinez Cornejo,  Jackie Méndez and myself.

Most of my books are about Salvadoran children such us René Has Two Last Names/ René tiene dos apellidos and My Shoes and I. Children were connected to these books because they could see their faces, culture and country. I told them that dreams come true. When I was a kid in El Salvador, I had two dreams: to become a teacher and to be an author. Now my dreams are a reality because I believed in myself, did my best and did not give up. Children looked at me with sparkles of hope in their eyes. They told me that they will also reach for their dreams and they were so proud to meet me a “famous Salvadoran author”.

Children were amazed to discover that a Tooth Fairy collect children’s teeth in the United States. They were interested in that “pretty princess” on the cover of The Tooth Fairy Meets El Ratón Pérez. “But she will not find any tooth here. All the teeth belongs to El Ratón,” a boy said. I told them that in the United States it was that pretty princess, the Tooth Fairy, who collects children’s teeth. They enjoyed the story and the adventure where their beloved Ratón Perez met their new hero the Tooth Fairy.

The Second Children’s Book Festival took place last November. Salvadoran authors Maria Guadalupe Castellanos, Silvia Elena Regalado, Jorgelina Cerritos and Manlio Argueta joined Jorge Argueta, Francisco X Alarcón, Margarita Robleda and myself. We had an incredible time reading to children. Children had fun writing their own poems and stories and you can watch a video of the festival here.

I am eager to go back to El Salvador for the Third Children’s Poetry Festival which will take place November 14 – 16, 2012. In this short video authors Jorge Argueta and Manlio Argueta talk about the next Children’s Poetry Festival.

In the meantime, we need to raise money for the next festival. We have an online fundraising campaign (click here to donate) and on Sept. 15, 2012 we will have the first Children’s Flor y Canto Festival at the Brava Theater in San Francisco. Come and visit authors Francisco X Alarcón, Lucha Corpi, Maya Christina Gonzalez, Jorge Argueta and more! Lots of surprises are in store and we guarantee a fun time for all! We need your support to have another great children’s poetry festival in El Salvador. Visit the Talleres de Poesia Facebook page to learn more!

René Colato Laínez is the Salvadoran award-winning author of many multicultural children’s books including  The Tooth Fairy Meets El Ratón Pérez, From North to South, René Has Two Last Names, I Am René, the Boy, Playing Lotería and My Shoes and I. He is a graduate of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children & Young Adults. René is “the teacher full of stories” at Fernangeles Elementary School. In his books, you can find culture, fun and hope for the future. Visit him at www.renecolatolainez.com and read our 2006 interview with him here.

We are thrilled to have René  join us as PaperTigers’ Global Voices Guest Blogger for the month of July. Part 1 of his series “The War in El Salvador” was posted here. Part 2 “My Life in the United States” was posted here.

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre will be joining us as our Global Voices Guest Blogger in August.

Mother Earth is not only a source of life in Talking with Mother Earth/Hablando con Madre Tierra, a profound collection of poems by renowned Salvadoran poet Jorge Argueta (Groundwood Books/Libros Tigrillo, 2006), but she also provides the young native boy Tetl, in whose voice the poems are written, with joy, a connection with his land and heritage, and, most importantly, a comforting stability in the face of racist jeering from his peers.

Argueta’s poems are written in succinct free verse, presented in both Spanish and English with smatterings of Nahuatl, the language of the Nahua people passed down from the Aztecs and that Argueta grew up with.  From the first poem in which Tetl presents Mother Earth, or “Ne Nunan Tal” in Nahuatl, readers are welcomed into Tetl’s life.  His joy in the creations of Mother Nature is contagious, from poems such as “Walking and Whistling”, “The Wind” and “Water”; and I love the wordplay in both languages in “Suenos Días/Gourd Morning.”

These poems alone would represent a lively collection that provides insight into Nahuatl culture – and this impression is enhanced by Lucía Angela Pérez’ vibrant illustrations that leap out from the pages.  What makes this book outstanding, however, is the way it draws young readers in to think about how they themselves might have behaved, whether deliberately or thoughtlessly, towards their peers from a different cultural background.  The first indication that Tetl has to deal with such abuse comes in the fiercely upright poem “Yo/I”:

 […] Sometimes I feel like yelling

From my toes to my head.
Yes, I am a Pipil Nahua Indian.
[…]
I wear feathers of beautiful birds to protect me
from the bad words and the looks
that come my way from some people
because I am Indian.

Immediately after “Yo/I”, the poem “Tetl” rings with the boy’s name, Tetl: “It is the name my grandmother gave me”.  The name Tetl runs in counterpoint to “But everybody knows me as Jorge” – a clue to the autobiographical nature of the poems.

A little further on, the poem “Indio/Indian” addresses the verbal abuse head on: and the illustration shows Tetl rising above it, proud of his identity, even if some people don’t understand or respect it.  Indeed, what makes this collection work so well, and makes it an excellent resource for young children discussing issues of racism and bullying, is that it presents a complete view of Tetl’s life so that the cruel behaviour of his peers towards him fails to define him.

To find out more, read our PaperTigers review of this beautiful book.  When I first opened it, I was expecting to be transported to another culture.  I got that and so much more.

Today’s Poetry Friday is hosted by Mary Lee at A Year of Reading.  Head on over!

The 2nd Children’s Poetry Festival was celebrated in El Salvador, November 16 – 18, 2011. Talleres de Poesia hosted the event at the National Library in San Salvador where a number off well-known poets including Jorge Tetl Argueta, Francisco X. Alarcon,  Maria Guadalupe Castellanos, Jorgelina Cerritos and Manlio Argueta worked with Salvadoran children, youth and teachers in a blend of poetry readings and workshop presentations. The  theme of the workshops this year was the importance of reading and significance of peace for Salvadoran children and youth. The event was a resounding success; check out the smiles on the participants’ faces and the video of the event.

Jorge Argueta, illustrations by Fernando Vilela,
Arroz con Leche: Un poema para cocinar / Rice Pudding: A Cooking Poem
Groundwood Books, 2010.

Ages 4-7

Rice is an important staple all over the planet, but each cuisine that features rice often makes it seem as if the simple grain belongs to that tradition alone. The young boy at the center of Jorge Argueta’s latest bilingual cooking poem is aware of rice’s versatility, however, and he likes “all kinds of rice”:

I like white rice,
brown rice,
fried rice,
stewed rice,
watery rice,
chicken and rice,
beans and rice.
I guess I like rice with anything.

“But what I like best and love the most” he goes on to say “is rice pudding.” And, just as his counterpart in Argueta’s 2009 poem Sopa de Frijoles/Bean Soup did, this child wastes no time showing the reader how to make this simple yet special Latin dish.

Listing utensils and ingredients as he gathers them together in the playful illustrations by award-winning Brazilian illustrator Fernando Vilela, the boy gets to work while his mother, a silhouette in the background, watches from a distance.

Each step is more joyful and poetic than the last. Filling the pot with water “makes me feel like/ there is a creek flowing through the kitchen.” “The flames heating the pot/ are rainbow hands…hugging the pot.” Boiling water makes “maraca music,” and “Foamy waves and clouds turn the pot into sea and sky.” When he pours the milk, “there is a white waterfall in the kitchen” to which the child adds “salt stars and sugar snow.” The excitement of creating is equaled only by the anticipation of the delicious arroz con leche the boy looks forward to serving his family.

Like Bean Soup, Rice Pudding celebrates traditional foods—and the values they embody: family, warmth, sharing—along with a child’s growing independence. Vilela’s illustrations contrast the cool grey-green-blue of the creative kitchen with the warm comfort of gold and orange in the rest of the home. When the whole family joins hands around the table to “slurp up” this delicious treat, readers will wish they could actually be there. This sweet, joyful poem about a sweet, comforting food will surely inspire new cooks and perhaps some new poets as well.

Abigail Sawyer
April 2011

Children’s Day/Book Day (El día de los niños/El día de los libros), also known as Día is a celebration of children, families, and reading. Held annually in the USA on April 30, Día celebrations emphasize the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Founded by author Pat Mora in 1996, Día is now hosted by the Association for Library Service for Children (ALSC) along with founding partner REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking.

2011 marks the 15th anniversary of  Día and there are plenty of great events planned! Visit the ALSC’s  Día Celebrations page to find out all the details. Use the interactive map to search for events in your area and find out how others across the country celebrate literature, culture, and family! Let the ALSC know what’s going on in your community and they’ll send your library 100 Día stickers. Use the 2011 Día Media Kit to download logos and brochures and read the #dia11alsc Twitter feed.

The Arthur F. Turner Community Library in Sacramento, CA,  has an exciting Día event planned for this Saturday, April 16th. Author Jorge Argueta and author/illustrator Maya Christina Gonzalez will be on hand to read and sign their books, there will be bilingual stories, crafts, free book giveaways and more! Click on the poster image above to enlarge and get all the details.

On April 30th the national kick-off for Día takes place at the Pima County Library System (Valencia branch) in Tucson, AZ.  There, Pat Mora, ALSC members, and the general public can join the Pima County librarians in an afternoon filled with children’s reading events and a discussion on the history of Día.

“I am thrilled to have this opportunity to visit the site of one of the first libraries in the nation to embrace El día de los niños/El día de los libros,” said Mora. “Libraries play such a key role in supporting family literacy within diverse communities. From bilingual story hours for children to adult literacy and English as a Second language programs – libraries are truly part of the American Dream and are an important key to lifelong learning.”

Mora is the author of many children’s books including the Pula Belpre award-winning book Book Fiesta!: Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day : Celebremos El día de los niños/El día de los libros. Read PaperTigers’ interview with Pat Mora here and click here to watch ¡Colorín Colorado!’s video interview with Pat about Día’s 15th Anniversary.

Last November in San Salvador, El Salvador, Talleres de Poesia hosted the hugely successful First Children’s Poetry Festival. Award winning Salvadorian poet and children’s book author Jorge Tetl Argueta (who now resides in San Francisco, CA, USA) co-organized the event with Manlio Argueta, Director of the National Library of El Salvador, and two committees of volunteers from the San Francisco and San Salvador areas. The festival featured a number of well-known poets including Francisco X. Alarcon, Margarita Robleda, and Rene Colato Lainez who, for three days, participated in this unique and wonderful event giving the Salvadoran children, youth and teachers a blend of poetry readings and workshop presentations. Stay tuned as event organizers hope to make the Children’s Poetry Festival in El Salvador an annual event.

Not long ago, Corinne did a post on a children’s poetry festival in El Salvador.  The post piqued my interest in one of the hosts of the event,  poet Jorge Argueta,  whose books I immediately requested from the library.  As is my usual custom, I take out several books by the same author — as many as are available — and as a result, my daughter and I enjoyed a wonderful night of Argueta’s poetry and stories.  The two poetry books of Argueta’s I was able to read were:  Trees are Hanging from the Sky (illustrated by Rafael Yockteng, published by Groundwood, 2003) and A Movie in My Pillow (illustrated by Elizabeth Gomez, Children’s Book Press, 2001).   The first book was a little hard for my daughter to understand conceptually.  How was it that trees could hang from the sky?  She queried.   And their roots be like snakes?  But once she saw the illustrations, she understood.  I liked the ideas as sheer poetic inversion — it seemed marvelous to me, the idea of trees being rooted in the sky, rather than on earth!

A Movie in My Pillow is a bilingual book and contains short poems in Spanish and English.  In this book, the poems are more straightforward contemplations of the life of an El Salvadoran boy in San Francisco.   My daughter enjoyed this book very much and in fact, wanted to read the poems in English while I read the Spanish (which unfortunately I don’t know very well, but had fun trying to read aloud!)  After the book was done, she said she liked this poetry book a lot.  It was one of the few poetry books I’ve read that she was truly engaged in.

PaperTigers has done an interview with Jorge Argueta.  You might check it out along with his books for a wonderful treat of words!  I do hope his endeavours with the first ever children’s poetry festival in El Salvador go well.

Poetry Friday this week is hosted by Susan Taylor Brown at Susan Writes.

An exciting event is being planned in San Salvador this coming November and celebrated Salvadorian poet and children’s author Jorge Argueta has kindly sent us the following details:

From November 8 -10, Talleres de Poesia and the National Library of El Salvador will be presenting the 1st Annual Children’s Poetry Festival at the National Library in San Salvador.

The theme of the festival will be the importance of reading and significance of peace for Salvadoran children and youth. Renowned poets will be conducting writing workshops to Salvadoran children and youth. Attendees will  also have the opportunity to enhance their writing skills and learn techniques on how to write their experiences through poetry. Confirmed poets include Jorge as well as Francisco X. Alarcon, Margarita Robleda, Rene Colato Lainez, Ana Ferrufino, Jackie Mendez, and Jeannette “Lil Milagro” Martinez-Cornejo

Jorge is co-organizing this wonderful project with Manlio Argueta, Director of the National Library of El Salvador, and two committees of volunteers from the San Francisco, USA and San Salvador areas. When I asked Jorge how the idea  for a children’s poetry festival in El Salvador came about, he replied:

I’ve been coming frequently to El Salvador for the last 2 years…I began to do school presentations as well as adult poetry readings where I had the opportunity to meet teachers, librarians and other writers. Having worked many Poetry Festivals in the USA, it occurred to me that a festival would be a positive, creative opportunity for the children in El Salvador. It is also my way to contribute back to my country. I was thrilled when many of my old and new friends supported this idea and project.

Producing a children’s poetry festival in El Salvador  has always been in my heart and mind. I grew up without books in El Salvador, however I always understood the beauty and the great success that comes from reading. Today, unfortunately there is a lot of violence in El Salvador – our hopes are that this festival will give children and young adults the opportunity to express themselves creatively on the issue of living in peace and their dreams for a positive future.

As you can imagine this is a huge undertaking and organizers are asking for help in making this event a success. Donations are greatly appreciated and can be made directly to:

Talleres de Poesia
Account # 0006696
Mission Federal Credit Union
3269 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA, USA 94110

or you can mail a check to:
Talleres de Poesia
90 Bepler St.
Daly City, CA, USA 94014

Fundraising events are underway in cities throughout the USA and well-known artists and children’s book authors have donated some amazing items to be used to raise funds.

For more information you can e-mail  talleresdepoesia(a)yahoo(dot)com or “friend” Talleres de Poesia on Facebook!

For our current issue on How Children Play Around the World, we asked several authors and illustrators to tell us about their Memories of Playtimes Past. Together, they paint a vivid picture of childhood around the world and reveal the power of imagination – something that still plays such an important role in all their lives as adults, and in the lives of kids today. Illustrator Mandana Sadat, whose own contribution is just wonderful, was struck after reading the whole article by the similarities in the different experiences of play – do read Aline’s post discussing this.

The first author up is Tanita Davis:

Growing up the youngest of three sisters (in Martinez, California) meant being left out of the older girls’ games. To placate me, I was named Mom’s “helper” and my playtimes combined chores and daydreaming. I would sit on the back porch and shuck corn from the garden, or weed the front yard – and then taking the silk from the corn, combine it with dirt and water, and make “pies” for the dog to eat (Our poor dog. She really did eat them.), or take the “milk” from the stems of the dandelions I was supposed to be eradicating from the front yard (after blowing all of the milkweed clocks and sufficiently re-seeding them throughout the lawn), and use it as glue to adhere dry weeds to the “head” of a cornhusk doll.

Because I was a quiet kid, I got away with a lot – climbing the tree next to my father’s shed, and making a tree-house of sorts on the roof, complete with its own chamber pot (Oh, I got in trouble when my mother found out about THAT) and store of slightly mildew books scavenged from a teacher’s throw-away pile. One summer I played with the hose and made carefully dried adobe “moccasins” that were no more than ten or twelve layers of clay mud I wore on the bottom of my feet as shoes. They lasted for a surprisingly long time before they cracked. As the layers dried, I would lie on my back in the yard and listen to the drone of the planes going to and from the Air Force base, and imagine they were taking people to adventures, just like I would have someday.

And Belle Yang brings the article to a flourishing close:

I was born on the subtropical island of Taiwan. The front yard was the rice paddies, alive with tadpoles like music notes on sheet music. The Sleeping Dragon Mountain, exploding with firecracker red azaleas, was my backyard. Rivulets, home to small fish and crustaceans, came rushing down the hills. My barefoot friends and I looked for tiny crabs as they crawled among the stones, dappled by sunlight and the motion of wind in the acacia.

New Online Cheap Shoes Sale New Best Running Shoes Sale Reef Sandals Sale Sandals Resorts Sale Shoes Sandals Sale New Sneakers Shoes Sale

We caught the crabs and tied white sewing thread to one of their many legs. We took them for walks on the paved paths of the schoolyard, where my parents taught high school. I was delighted with my pet that could only walk sideways.

Do read the rest of the Memories of Playtimes Past – between them, Alan Gratz, Mandana Sadat, Jorge Argueta, Neni Sta Romana Cruz, Chris Cheng, Demi and Larry Loyie, along with Tanita and Belle quoted above, will evoke a smile, or even a laugh out loud – and certainly memories of one’s own childhood… And if you’d care to share some of those with us, we’d love to hear them!

Established in 1978, Groundwood Books is a small children’s book publisher, associated with House of Anansi Press, that specializes in Canadian authored books (with a special interest in books by First Nations authors), bilingual books in English and Spanish, translations from around the world, and a non-fiction line aimed at young adults. Their catalog features a long list of award-winning titles that reflect individual experiences and are of universal interest.

Patricia (Patsy) Aldana, founder and publisher of Groundwood Books (and president of IBBY, the International Board on Book for Young Readers, since 1997), answered our questions about My Little Round Rouse, one of the seven titles selected for inclusion in our Spirit of PaperTigers Book Set Donation Project; her commitment to publishing books by First Nations authors; the multicultural titles on their Fall list, and more.

In our series of interviews with the publishers of the books selected for our Spirit of PaperTigers project, I normally start by asking how the book in question came about as a project for the publisher. Since we already know the answer to this question in relation to My Little Round House, both from our interview with author Bolormaa Baasansuren and from translator Helen Mixter’s article, My Little Round House: The Journey of a Picture Book from Mongolia to Canada, we’ll start by asking…

PT: What in particular attracted you to My Little Round House?

PA: I thought it was a really special book about people whose lives are very different from ours. I also thought it was a very unique look at a baby’s life, a life that despite being nomadic seemed wonderfully cosy and safe.

PT: The books you publish often tell the stories of people whose voices are underrepresented. What first motivated you to start on this path and how do you manage to stay true to your mission?

PA: Being a Guatemalan, I guess that seeing the world through the eyes of the marginal has always come naturally to me. There are so many books published from and for the mainstream that, for me, focusing on underrepresented authors and illustrators was one way to justify being a publisher. As a small Canadian house, this focus has also been a way for us to distinguish ourselves from the huge multi-nationals with whom we have to compete.

PT: How did the decision to stop selling rights to the American market and to start publishing your books in the US come about?

PA: As US publishing changed from the editor-driven houses that I first came to know (Margaret K McElderry, Dorothy Briley, Susan Hirschman, Phyllis Fogelman, etc.), it became harder and harder to sell rights to our books in the US. At the same time Canada began to cut funding to school libraries and as a result (more…)