I'm happy to introduce you to my new book El Gusano de Tequila, the Spanish translation of my novel The Tequila Worm, which won the 2006 Pura Belpre and PEN USA Awards, has sold over 50,000 copies, and shares the beauty and magic and mystery of the Latino experience in America.
Here's the review of El Gusano de Tequila from REFORMA (the National Association to Promote Library & Information to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking):
“El Gusano de Tequila” is the Spanish translation of the award winning “The Tequila Worm.” The translation is as exiting and wonderful as the original English text. Told in a series of vignettes – sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous – it is the story of a young Sofia, a Mexican-American girl growing up in Texas, inventing for herself who and what she will become. Few other books in our time have touched so many readers. The positive role models in the book are a big part of the success of the story and the book in general. The Spanish version of The Tequila Worm (El Gusano de Tequila) is a great addition to any school library or public library with a Spanish speaking population.
For the full review:
http://reforma.membershipsoftware.org/article_content.asp?edition=2§ion=9&article=111
Please, if you have any comments or suggestions on what you'd like me to discuss or write or share with you on this blog, email me at violacanales@aol.com
Take Care & Buen Camino,
Viola Canales
On Thursday night I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning laughing and crying over the profoundly touching vignettes that make up Viola Canales's book, El Gusano de Tequila. Although California has been my adopted home for over two decades, these stories transported me back to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and to my hometown, just a stone's throw from McAllen, the setting of most of these vignettes. As I delved into the book, I could almost smell an olla of beans cooking int he kitchen. Childhood memories of siblings, cousins and neighbors chasing each other with Easter cascarones/confetti-filled eggshells came flooding back. And how can I ever forget the incomparably delectable aroma of tortillas de harina cooking on the comal?
ReplyDeleteSofia's family, neighbors, comadres and community, beautifully depicted in this gem of a book, are a testament to the powerfully loving and deeply supportive Mexican American community and culture in this part of the world. This book will resonate with both young and adult readers. I plan to give a copy to both my seventy-plus neighbor and to my ten year old niece--both will love it.