Caramelo

I'm a little behind on a couple blogs Iv been wanting to post due to the birthday party and Easter. Both of which I will post about and put pictures but first this one. This is a book review of sorts. Thanks to Alice who writes the blog http://wagamamawonderings.blogspot.com/, I have some new books to read. I enjoy being sent books from people that I don't pick out because I often get ones that I would never choose but then I love them. One of the books she sent is titled Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros and is a National bestseller. This book is about a young Mexican girl who is raised in the US and visits Mexico city to see her grandmother every year. Mainly I just want to say it was nice to see in writing the differences yet similarities in the countries. Also it helped me to better understand my husbands side of the family. Mind you in this book her grandmother is a hateful old lady and non of my family here is quite so hateful. But I did get to see inside some of their prejudice against Americans and their love for their own people. Also she sometimes puts her words in Spanish when there is just not an English word to describe what she wants to say. I feel I broadened my vocabulary by reading this book. She so well explains herself in both languages and it is at times poetic. She refers to historic events be it war or popular issues helping me to get to know the country I live in. When the only Mexican history you know is the Alamo it can dampen you in certain conversations. I feel that now I can join in on some of those issues. Because of this particular issue and the widening of my Spanish vocabulary I actually plan to almost study this book. For me to learn I need things put in an every day sense and this book does so very well. I suggest it to my blog readers even if you don't live here, this may help you get a look inside some of the issues of being from both countries.
I just want to put a small portion of one of my favorite example where her writing can become so poetic yet so real.
"As soon as we cross the bridge (into Mexico) everything switches to another language. Toc says the light switch in this country, at home it says click. Honk, says the cars at home, here they say tán-tán-ta´n. The scrip-scrape-scrip of high heels across saltillo floor tiles. The angry lion growl of the corrugated curtains when the shopkeepers roll them open each morning and the lazy lion roar at night when they pull them shut. The pic, pic, pic of sombody's faraway hammer. Church bells over and over all day even when its not o'clock. Roosters. The hollow echo of a dog barking. Bells from skinny horses pulling tourists in a carriage, clip-clop on cobblestones and big chuncks of horse caquita tumbling out of them like shredded wheat.
Sweets sweeter, colors brighter, the bitter more bitter,. A cage of parrots all the rainbow colors of Lul'u sodas. Pushing a window out to open it instead of pulling it up. A cold slash of door latch in your hand instead of the dull round doorknob. Tin sugar spoon and how surprised the hand feels because its so light. Children walking to school in the morning with their hair still wet from the morning bath. "


She goes on like this for two pages and I hope you get the book and read more. I also think the above paragraph helps to describe some of the things I don't want to loose. For example here chicks say pia pia instead of chirp chirp and the other day I couldn't remember the chirp chirp part. May sound silly but this was a big deal to me.