Module 9: Cool Salsa

Summary:
A collection of poetry written by Latinos. It touches on many issues faced by Latinos growing up in the United States.


Citation:
Carlson, Lori M. Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing up Latino in the United States. New York: H. Holt and, 1994. Print.


Impressions:
The poetry is moving and inspiring. Living in Texas, I am not Latino, but I recognize the struggle identified in the poems.


Reviews:


The founder of the bilingual children's magazine Azul offers a collection of poetry by Gary Soto, Oscar Hijuelos (who also contributes an introduction) and other contemporary Latino writers from both the edges and the heartland of our country. Most, but not all, of the poems were written in English first; they appear here in the original, and also in translations: sometimes literal, sometimes free, sometimes by the poet, generally by another. Gathered by theme--``School Days,'' ``Hard Times,'' ``Time To Party,'' etc.--they express a wide range of experience and feeling in direct ways, from Gina Vald‚s's ironic ``English con Salsa'' (``Welcome to ESL 100, English Surely Latinized'') or Pat Mora's ``Mango Juice'' (``Eating mangoes/on a stick/is laughing/as gold juice/slides down/your chin...'') to Luis J. Rodr¡guez's account of being beaten upon venturing into a white neighborhood to buy groceries (`` `Race' Politics''). Six of the poems here are truly bilingual, mixing languages in intriguing ways. In ``Why Do Men Wear Earrings on One Ear?'' Trinidad Sanchez Jr. exclaims: ``Sepa yo!/Maybe por costumbre, maybe porque es la moda/or they have made promesas...because la chica selling them was sooooo mamacita...'' Carlson assumes that most of her readers will be more comfortable in English; the English version of each poem comes first, and Spanish phrases are translated (``Sepa yo: How should I know?'') in an appended glossary. Poetry with a distinct flavor: a skillfully mixed appetizer for After Aztlan: Latino Poets of the Nineties (1992) and other larger collections. Biographical sketches. (Poetry. 10-up) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.






Gr. 7-12. "Welcome to ESL 100, English Surely Latinized, / ingl{‚}es con chile y cilantro, English as American / as Benito Ju{ }arez. Welcome, muchachos from Xochicalco, / learn the language of d{¢}olares [dollars] and dolores [pains], of kings / and queens, of Donald Duck and Batman. Holy Toluca!" Gina Vald{‚}es' "English con Salsa" leads off this anthology, setting the stage, as it were, for a wonderful assortment of poems that express Latino culture and the concerns of growing up in the U.S. Some of the poems are presented bilingually, translated from the original English or vice versa; others are a telling mix of both languages--"not necessarily Spanglish," according to Carlson. And although the poems are quite diverse stylistically and in subject matter, they all speak to the teenage experience, and the central sense that emerges from the whole is that the very mingling of the two languages is important in assimilating the two cultures and in maintaining an awareness of yourself and your heritage. Hence, slang and fractured grammar slip into both languages here, but at times the Spanish rendition is awkward. (For example, why call the living room el living, rather than la sala?) Some of the pieces express the pain of facing prejudice or brutality; others celebrate the beat of Latino life--the joys of good hot dogs, parties, mangoes, dancing, love. Sally Estes, Booklist


Use in Library Setting:
The poems in this book could be used in a library setting to encourage Latino patrons to read poetry. It could also be used to assist non Latinos in understanding the difficulties and struggles that Latinos often face in this country.