Years ago I read a book about the multicultural approach to education entitled Beyond Heroes and Holidays. When I first read the book, I found the title intriguing, but it has taken years of experience as an educator in various settings for me to understand the phrase in a deeper way. In many schools, diversity and culture are approached as a unit or lesson. Rather than embrace cultural diversity and use multiculturalism as a tool in both interdisciplinary and group discussion formats, it seems as though we only brush upon the surface of culture. The approach to understanding other cultures is often represented in a superficial way, rarely digging below the surface and seeing past generalizations. Novels such as Alvarez's Before We Were Free, for this reason, can be used as a tremendous tool in the classroom to expose students to world history, an appreciation of a culture other than their own, and exposure to well-written literature. In this piece, Alvarez has yet again exposed the struggle of people living in a politically corrupt and violent country in a way that is oddly relative for young readers. Through use of rich language and authentic character development, Alvarez is able to help young readers understand the world around them and get below the surface of multiculturalism. By allowing readers to experience the sights, sounds and tastes of her native country, Alvarez has succeeded in hurdling over the labels of a multicultural approach to education and rather used her lens of experience to, as she states, "pay testimonio" or accept her responsibility as a survivor through use of keeping the struggle of her people alive.