Cecilia's Year

Cecilia’s Year
Author: Susan Gonzales Abram and Denise Gonzales Abram
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
ISBN-10: 1933693029
ISBN-13: 978-1933693026

Cecilia’s Year covers the life of a 14 year old Mexican-American girl who lives on a ranch in New Mexico during the Depression era.

Cecilia is smart, bookish and determined in her quiet way to follow her dreams. One of those dreams is going to high school instead of marrying and being a stay at home wife and mother as is expected of girls in that era. The book is set up with each chapter dedicated to a different month on the ranch with rich cultural details and a profound sense of community. The family and friends Cecilia has surrounding her are all very definite personalities and each feels real and true.

Cecilia’s Year has a down home feel to it with a strong Mexican flavor. Even though I grew up decades after Cecilia did and in the city, most of the core values, the family she lives with, the dichos (sayings) and food they eat is much like what I grew up with in my Mexican home. Some things always remain the same. The book really resonated with me for those reasons as well as being a great and engrossing story. You just have to love Cecilia and root for her. You hope she gets everything she dreams of and that’s the magic of reading a book like this – you end up really caring about the characters. They become real to you. Cecilia’s story is heartfelt and lovely.

The book is a tribute to the author’s mother and a note at the end tells what happened to the real Cecilia. Sepia toned photos are included as well as a glossary of Spanish dichos.

Goddess of the Americas by Ana Castillo

These essays by modern writers on the Virgen de Guadalupe are incredible. It is so wonderful to read these writers’ thoughts and feelings on the much beloved Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico.

Since La Lupita is such a cultural icon both here in the US and in Mexico, I feel this is an important book. La Lupita permeates the consciousness of the Mexican and Chicano people. Ana Castillo gives the reader, not a glimpse but a full sense of that consciousness. This book is an education and a joy to have.

The poems and stories contained within are a glimpse into the personal journeys and thoughts of important writes and how Tonantzin or Guadalupe plays her magical role in their lives. You will find private and personal reflections by Ana Castillo and Sandra Cisneros (Caramelo); there is a wonderful essay by the very talented writer and documentarian of gang life in L.A., Luis Rodriguez; a brilliant essay by Richard Rodriguez (Hunger of Memory) as well as contributions by writers like my personal favorite Elena Poniatowska, Pat Mora, the beloved Octavio Paz and many others. You will read it over and over again.

Every Night is Ladies Night by Michael Jaime-Becerra

This collection of short stories is wonderful and intriguing. Mr. Becerra's imagery is astounding and beautiful.

I loved how each of the ten stories interconnected and told different parts of each person's very interesting and sometimes sad life. I found myself eagerly turning pages and unwilling to put the book down as I became wrapped up in each story.

From the tired, old mariachi singer in "Media Vuelta" to the widow who drives an ice cream truck each character engaged me with their own personal anguish and memories.

A Cafecito Story by Julia Alvarez

A Cafecito Story is the story of Joe, a farmer’s son from Nebraska who finds himself in the Dominican Republic on holiday. Joe meets a family who are growing coffee in the traditional way, organically.

The book is charming in its simplicity and folkish look. Belkis Ramirez, one of the Dominican Republic’s most accomplished artists, does the woodcuts that so beautifully illustrate the pages. It is a bilingual book with the Spanish story in red and the English in black. Zapatista colors, I think to myself. A good sign.

This isn’t your typical Xicano book, not by any means. The author is Dominican, living in Vermont and married to an American. It is something we should read because it is about positive change, about going back to what we had, about Mother Nature. It is about the symbiosis between plants and animals. It is about songbirds singing happiness into the coffee beans. It is about giving back what we take. It is an attempt by the author to save her land from being raped by the huge coffee companies.

In the afterword by Bill Eichner, Ms. Alvarez’ husband, he talks about the “green deserts” of modern coffee farms eating up the land. He speaks of the future and of the choices we make. A Cafecito Story is a story about taking back the indigenous ways, of saving land, of working in a cooperative. Think about it while you’re drinking your Starbucks instead of Zapatista or Alta Gracia coffee.

There is a beautiful passage in the book as Joe is practicing his high school Spanish before leaving on his trip, three simple words that mean everything. Saber, sonar, surgir. To know, to dream, to rise.

Note: Julia Alvarez is the co-owner of a small, organic coffee farm called Alta Gracia. She is also author of In the Time of Butterflies, Before We Were Free and How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents.