"Day of the Dead" Library Resources
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Other Hispanic Heritage Holidays
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Carnaval!
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ISBN: 0295984279Publication Date: 2004-10-01Carnaval, Fasnacht, Entroido, Carnival--the annual pre-Lenten festival most people in the United States know as Mardi Gras is celebrated in cities and rural villages throughout Europe and the Americas. With more than 300 dazzling photographs, this book offers an international look at Carnival in New Orleans and Basile, Louisiana; Laza, Spain; rural Bulgaria; Venice, Italy; Basel, Switzerland; Tlaxcala, Mexico; Oruro, Bolivia; Recife and Olinda, Brazil; Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Carnival takes similar shapes everywhere European Catholics carried their religion and its festivals. People disguise or adorn themselves in costumes and masks to parade through the streets, eating, drinking, and making music before the Lenten fast begins on Ash Wednesday. But as this book shows, indigenous customs with even deeper roots--and, in many places, customs that accompanied enslaved Africans in their diaspora--became integrated into the festival to give it distinctive local flavors. In the four rural sites (Laza, southeastern Bulgaria, Basile, and Tlaxcala) many festival rituals are meant to promote the fertility of crops, livestock, and people. In the urban Carnivals of Oruro, Recife and Olinda, Port of Spain, Port-au-Prince, and New Orleans, Carnival groups compete through ingenious masquerades and spectacular performances. Venice's Carnival--a late-twentieth-century revival--is modeled on elite urban celebrations of the Renaissance, and Basel's--one of very few Carnivals to survive among European Protestants after the Reformation--involves large, organized troupes who wear masquerades portraying themes of social and political satire. In Haiti, Mardi Gras celebrations are deeply politicized and have even played a role in overturning governments.The contributors to this book take readers on a colorful journey through Carnival in these eleven far-flung places, outlining the history of Carnival in each area and its present form. The major masquerades are introduced--from Venice's classic Harlequin and Pierrot to Bulgaria's "Kouker" and Port of Spain's "Midnight Robber"--along with the kinds of groups who participate, such as Recife and Olinda's African "nations" and Tlaxcala's charro dancers. The sequence of Carnival events in each location is described, from excited preparation to last-gasp revelry, with tastes of festival food and drink and the rhythm of music along the way. Whatever deeper religious or civic significance Carnival may hold for its participants, it is always a time of play, conviviality, and fantasy--a time when alternatives to the status quo can be imagined and people can feel unleashed from everyday restraints. This book is a joyous celebration of this many-faceted festival and a tribute to those who have kept their Carnival traditions alive. -
Carnival
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ISBN: 9781422241448Publication Date: 2018-08-15Of all the holidays celebrated across the modern world, Carnival might be the most boisterous, and possibly the most fun. In the Christian religion, from Eastern Europe to the Americas, Carnival offers revelers an opportunity to celebrate the pleasures of life. Carnival is known for its exuberance, color, creativity, and culture. In many countries people celebrate the holiday with lavish parades, jubilant dancing, and nonstop music. Parade participants create elaborate floats and march through the streets in glittering, colorful costumes. Musical groups face off in marathon competitions, and young men and women dress their best in the hope of being named the Carnival king and queen. This book examines the history and pre-Christian roots of the holiday, and details different customs unique to particular areas, including Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America. Each title in this series contains color photos and illustrations throughout, and back matter including: an index and further resource lists for books and online resources. Key Icons appear throughout the books in this series in an effort to encourage library readers to build knowledge, gain awareness, explore possibilities and expand their viewpoints through our content rich non-fiction books. Key Icons in this series are as follows: Words to Understand are shown at the front of each chapter with definitions. These words are set in boldfaced type in that chapter, so that readers are able to reference back to the definitions-building their vocabulary and enhancing their reading comprehension. Sidebars are highlighted graphics with content rich material within that allows readers to build knowledge and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Video features throughout have QR codes linked to online videos that provide supplemental interviews, documentaries, and historical clips. Text-Dependent Questions are placed at the end of each chapter. They challenge the reader's comprehension of the chapter they have just read, while sending the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there. Research Projects are provided at the end of each chapter as well and provide readers with suggestions for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. And a Series Glossary of Key Terms is included in the back matter containing terminology used throughout the series. Words found here broaden the reader's knowledge and understanding of terms used in this field. -
Carnival and Other Christian Festivals
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Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780292798632Publication Date: 2010-01-01With a riotous mix of saints and devils, street theater and dancing, and music and fireworks, Christian festivals are some of the most lively and colorful spectacles that occur in Spain and its former European and American possessions. That these folk celebrations, with roots reaching back to medieval times, remain vibrant in the high-tech culture of the twenty-first century strongly suggests that they also provide an indispensable vehicle for expressing hopes, fears, and desires that people can articulate in no other way. In this book, Max Harris explores and develops principles for understanding the folk theology underlying patronal saints' day festivals, feasts of Corpus Christi, and Carnivals through a series of vivid, first-hand accounts of these festivities throughout Spain and in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Peru, Trinidad, Bolivia, and Belgium. Paying close attention to the signs encoded in folk performances, he finds in these festivals a folk theology of social justice that--however obscured by official rhetoric, by distracting theories of archaic origin, or by the performers' own need to mask their resistance to authority--is often in articulate and complex dialogue with the power structures that surround it. This discovery sheds important new light on the meanings of religious festivals celebrated from Belgium to Peru and on the sophisticated theatrical performances they embody.
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Carnaval De Pueblo (Kanopy Streaming Film)Carnival time is big in this small Spanish town in Andalusia. Appropriately described by a local as a 'newspaper', the carnival is a time of dressing up and coming together. The men compose 'spicy' songs about local affairs and sing their social criticisms of national events.
This documentary films the composers and singers, as they get ready for the carnival, giving us a glimpse into the lives of the people, their homes and their families. When one composer names a parent of an illegitimate child, the townspeople debate the right of privacy and the difference between entertainment and insult during their irreverent festivities.
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Cinco de Mayo
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ISBN: 9781605969343Publication Date: 2010-07-15The American Holidays and Celebrations series explores some of the most important holidays and celebrations observed in the United States. This series highlights the historical, cultural, social, and political background of each holiday or celebration, while also showcasing the many ways in which it is commemorated across the country. -
Cinco de Mayo
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ISBN: 9780823421077Publication Date: 2008-01-07Every Cinco de Mayo, Rosa and her family cheer at a parade and enjoy delicious Mexican food. But what exactly is Cinco de Mayo? Although many people think May fifth marks Mexico's independence, the holiday is actually the anniversary of a decisive battle against foreign occupiers. Today, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated by many. Follow Rosa, a vivacious Mexican-American girl from California, as she learns about he heritage and celebrates the holiday with her family, friends, and community. -
Fiesta!
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ISBN: 0516388150Publication Date: 1986-04-01Shares the spirit of the Mexican national holiday, Cinco de Mayo, through the vivid photographs and descriptions of the festivities, with their traditional costumes, dances, and music. -
Holidays Around the World: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo
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ISBN: 9781426302152Publication Date: 2008-04-08Celebrate Cinco de Mayo continues National Geographic's spectacular Holidays Around the World series with this joyous feast of Mexican culture-an annual event in Mexico and an increasingly popular holiday in America as well. Many mistakenly assume that the fifth of May is Mexico's Independence Day. In fact, the date marks the anniversary of a famous 1862 battle in which the Mexicans defeated the French. Known as the Battle of Puebla, the victory marked a watershed in Mexican pride and unity that echoes down to the present day. With succinct text and dazzling photography, Celebrate Cinco de Mayo takes readers on a journey to discover the rich variety of celebrations across our country-from Texas to Minnesota to New York. This inviting book gives readers a flavor of the wide range of colorful holiday traditions- parades and pageants; races and rodeos; mariachi music and dancing; parties with pinatas and delicious Mexican foods. Children will learn how the largest Cinco de Mayo event in the world, the Fiesta Broadway, actually takes place in the United States, and attracts more than 600,000 revelers each year. Mexico is our closest neighbor and the birthplace of America's largest immigrant community; a knowledge of Mexican culture and history is increasingly relevant to students across the United States. National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources. Visitwww.natgeoed.org/commoncorefor more information.
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La Guera Rodriguez
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ISBN: 9780520383425Publication Date: 2021-09-28Fact is torn from fiction in this first biography of Mexico's famous independence heroine, which also traces her subsequent journey from history to myth. María Ignacia Rodríguez de Velasco y Osorio Barba (1778-1850) is an iconic figure in Mexican history. Known by the nickname "La Güera Rodríguez" because she was so fair, she is said to have possessed a remarkably sharp wit, a face fit for statuary, and a penchant for defying the status quo. Charming influential figures such as Simon Bolívar, Alexander von Humboldt, and Agustín de Iturbide, she utilized gold and guile in equal measure to support the independence movement--or so the stories say. In La Güera Rodríguez, Silvia Marina Arrom approaches the legends of Rodríguez de Velasco with a keen eye, seeking to disentangle the woman from the myth. Arrom uses a wide array of primary sources from the period to piece together an intimate portrait of this remarkable woman, followed by a review of her evolving representation in Mexican arts and letters that shows how the legends became ever more fanciful after her death. How much of the story is rooted in fact, and how much is fiction sculpted to fit the cultural sensibilities of a given moment in time? In our contemporary moment of unprecedented misinformation, it is particularly relevant to analyze how and why falsehoods become part of historical memory. La Güera Rodriguez will prove an indispensable resource for those searching to understand late-colonial Mexico, the role of women in the independence movement, and the use of historic figures in crafting national narratives. -
The Mexican War of Independence
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ISBN: 9781599350547Publication Date: 2007-08-01Since Hernando Cortes conquered the Aztec empire in the sixteenth century, Mexico had been ruled by the kingdom of Spain. They treated the once mighty land as a colony, exploiting its people and tightly controlling the affairs of the nation to keep it from growing strong. Any talk of freedom or revolution was strictly barred by law. But as the philosophical movement called the Enlightenment swept through Europe, and revolutions toppled oppressive monarchies in America and France, the people of Mexico began to think of driving out the Spanish and establishing their own country as a very real possibility. It was a priest from a distant and tiny parish named Father Manuel Hidalgo who started Mexico's War of Independence, leading an ever-growing army of Mexican people against the massive force of the Spanish army. It was Jose Maria Morelos, another priest and a onetime student of Hidalgo, who took up the reins of the revolution when Hidalgo could no longer lead the people. The Spanish were not about to give up their prized colony without a fight though, and they retaliated against the revolutionaries with brutal viciousness. Before long, all of Mexico was wrapped in a war that would decide the future of two nations. Book jacket. -
Stories of Mexico's Independence Days and Other Bilingual Children's Fables
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ISBN: 9780826338860Publication Date: 2005-09-15This collection of six bilingual children's stories takes a regional and historical emphases. Sixteen provides the background of September 16, Mexico's day of independence from Spain, and places it in a present-day context with which children can easily identify. "The Little General" teaches children about Cinco de Mayo through a young boy who helps save his village from the approaching French army. The remaining four stories are fables that impart important moral themes to young readers. In "Sweetie, the Lion that Thought He Was a Sheep," children learn to respect different backgrounds and abilities. "A Parrot for Christmas" demonstrates the friendship children can share with animals and "Orlando, the Circus Bear" emphasizes the importance of compassion toward animals. "A Horse Called 'Miracle'" teaches the value of helping others in need. Each story is followed with discussion questions to help children recall the story's key details and suggestions for classroom activities designed to stimulate curiosity and expand knowledge of historical events.
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'Twas Nochebuena
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ISBN: 9780670016341Publication Date: 2014-10-16'Twas Nochebuena and all through our casa,every creature was kneading tamale masa... It's Christmas Eve, and you're invited to a Nochebuena celebration! Follow a family as they prepare to host a night filled with laughter, love, and Latino tradition. Make tasty tamales and hang colorful adornos (decorations) on the walls. Gather to sing festive canciones (songs) while sipping champurrado (hot chocolate). After the midnight feast has been served and the last gifts have been unwrapped, it's time to cheer, "Feliz Navidad and to all a good night!" Savor the magic of Nochebuena with a holiday tale you'll want to read again and again. -
Arturo and the Navidad Birds
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ISBN: 9781455618019Publication Date: 2013-08-29INTERNATIONAL LATINO BOOK AWARD SECOND PLACE FOR BILINGUAL CHILDREN'S FICTION PICTURE BOOK It's time for Arturo and his Central American grandmother, Abue Rosa, to decorate their Christmas tree. Abue Rosa shares with him the family history of each ornament as it is hung. But what happens when Arturo plays with--and breaks--a glass bird? Young readers will find out in this touching, bilingual picture book. -
En Nombre de Dios Pedimos Posada
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ISBN: 0892436433Publication Date: 1995-09-01Comparta la alegria de la temporada navidena con sus vecinos, los miembros de su parroquia y los miembros de su comunidad recreando el viaje de Jose y Maria hacia Jerusalen. Esta edicion revisada de En nombre de Dios pedimos posada contiene una nueva introduccion en ingles y en espanol para que esta popular tradicion latinoamericana pueda ser celebrada en todas las parroquias con la oportunidad de incorporar a los feligreses que no hablan espanol. Encontrara guias con sugerencias para la organizacion de sus posadas y podra aprender el significado de esta novena para celebrar el nacimiento de Jesucristo. Cada dia incluye una lectura biblica, una reflexion, una oracion, los cantos de las posadas y otras canciones clasicas navidenas. In God's Name, We Seek Shelter This soft cover booklet includes Scripture readings, prayers, reflections, and songs for each day ot the beloved Advent celebration of Las Posadas. Perfect for every participant in your Posadas celebration. 48 paginas - Librito -
Feliz Navidad
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ISBN: 9780439517171Publication Date: 2003-10-01The popular bilingual Christmas song by José Feliciano is illustrated by Caldecott awardwinner David Diaz. Together, lyrics and art celebrate music, food, gifts, family, tradition... Christmas! "Rare is the presiding adult who will be able to resist singing along to this invigorating picture-book adaptation.... Diaz's compositions convey the joyous mood that holidays traditionally inspire." - Publishers Weekly -
La Navidad
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ISBN: 9780844272085Publication Date: 1984-08-01Traditional songs, poems, short plays, and other selections in Spanish and English provide opportunities to learn about and participate in the holiday customs of Hispanic lands. -
Las Christmas
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ISBN: 0375401512Publication Date: 1998-10-27Twenty-five celebrated Latino writers delight and move us with their recollections of Christmas in this splendid holiday extravaganza. From Julia Alvarez's tale of how Santicló delivered a beloved uncle from political oppression to Junot Díaz's story of his own uneasy assimilation on his first Christmas in America, to Sandra Cisneros's poignant memories of her late father's holiday dinners, Las Christmas gives us true stories from writers of many traditions--memories of Christmas and Hanukkah that vividly capture the pride and pain, joy and heartbreak, that so often accompany the holidays in the Americas. Richly illustrated and embellished with songs and poems, along with recipes for an unforgettable Christmas dinner--from traditional sweet tamales to Puerto Rican asopao (stew) and coquito (coconut eggnog)--this is an enduring treasury of Latino writing to read again and again. A heartwarming holiday gift. -
Navidad Latinoamericana
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ISBN: 0966069013Publication Date: 1999-01-01La navidad es una festividad maravillosa que despierta grandes emociones y los mejores sentimientos en quienes la celebran. En torno a esta fecha, a partir de una tradición de carácter universal, cada pueblo y comunidad ha ido enriqueciendo esta fiesta con sus particulares aportes y con su sensibilidad característica. Esta obra recoge la rica tradición navideña de 25 países latinoamericanos a través del vasto patrimonio que conforman las canciones, música, literatura, religiosidad y manifestaciones artísticas que tienen como motivo central la celebración del nacimiento de Jesús. De esta forma, las familias con raíces hispanoamericanas encontrarán aquí un espejo que reflejará aquellas tradiciones que están en el núcleo de su identidad, acercándolas a este valioso patrimonio mediante un conjunto de entretenidas actividades que pueden compartir y disfrutar en esta fecha con las personas que más quieren. -
The Night of las Posadas
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ISBN: 0399234004Publication Date: 1999-09-27Tomie dePaola's glorious paintings are as luminous as the farolitos that light up on the Plaza in Santa Fe for the procession of Las Posadas, the tradition in which Mary and Joseph go from door to door seeking shelter at the inn on Christmas Eve. This year Sister Angie, who is always in charge of the clebration, has to stay home with the flu, and Lupe and Roberto, who are to play Mary and Joseph, get caught in a snowstorm. But a man and a woman no one knows arrive in time to take their place in the procession and then mysteriously disappear at the end before they can be thanked. That night we witness a Christian miracle, for when Sister Angie goes to the cathedral and kneels before the statue of Mary and Jospeh, wet footprints from the snow lead up to the statue. -
Noche Buena
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ISBN: 0195135288Publication Date: 2000-11-16A family seated round the fireplaceSinging and making merry;A sprightly waltz played with graceNoche Buena brings us all the magic of the Christmas season as seen through the eyes of the Hispanic Americans who celebrate it. Christmas is at times a universal story, and many of the images here are recognizable across cultures. We hear and see proud, joyful singing; the adoration of the InfantJesus; and the peaceful strains of Adeste Fidelis. But here as well are the rich traditions and legends specific to the Hispanic culture, such as the celebration of the posadas for nine nights leading up to Christmas, with candy raining down from colorful swinging pinatas, egg shells filled withconfetti, and beautiful paper lanterns crafted to illuminate the town on Christmas Eve. There is the "Legend of the Poinsettia" where a poor child embarrassed by the modesty of his gift for the Christ Child sheds tears on the dull green leaves of the familiar plant, thereby miraculously transformingthem to a brilliant red. And here too are hopeful children singing "If You Give Me Meat Pies," asking for the reward of warm meat pies and rice pudding in return for their sweet caroling.Thirty-six inspiring literary selections comprise this enchanting collection of works from Mexican, Colombian, Cuban, and Puerto Rican writers--writers who represent the range of Hispanic minority groups in the United States. Through these stories, traditional tales, songs, and poetry, readersgain a true understanding of the importance of the Christmas holiday within the Hispanic community, and begin to grasp the issues that inform the Hispanic American creative process--issues such as communal identity, patriotism, poverty, assimilation, and religion. With vivid illustrations andoriginal Spanish text for all poetry, this fascinating anthology will inform readers of all cultural backgrounds, and give them the opportunity to celebrate this cherished time with a newly extended family. -
The Silver Cradle
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ISBN: 9780292776258Publication Date: 1955-01-01Originally published in 1955, The Silver Cradle is the story of a year in the life of the Mexican American people of San Antonio, Texas. During the 1950s, Julia Nott Waugh recorded the performances of such seasonal and religious traditions as Las Posadas, Los Pastores, Las Calaveras, the Blessing of the Animals, the liturgical observances of Holy Week, and festivities of el diez y seis de septiembre (Mexican Independence Day), among others. Although years have passed and many of the details of observances have changed, the festival calendar and the joy and sincerity of the Mexican American people in honoring its customs and obligations have not disappeared. Now, in fact, a much wider population shares and appreciates the pageantry preserved for us by people like Graciana Reyes, in whose prized silver cradle the Christ Child slept every year at Christmas, and like Doroteo Domínguez, whose annual devotion to presenting a thousand-year-old pastoral epic in his back yard was legendary. Waugh has done much more than just open a window onto a charming past. She has captured for us one of the true gifts of our Mexican American heritage--the willingness to ritually celebrate the passage of time and to embellish the occasions with sensitivity and fervor. This book will appeal to the general reader as well as to those interested in folk traditions and Mexican American culture.
