My Land Sings: Stories from the Rio Grande

by Rudolfo Anaya, Amy Córdova (Illustrator)

A young Spanish man named Rolando journeys to the New World to find the legendary Fountain of Youth. But at what price will Rolando taste the waters of eternal life? On a dare, Lupe goes down to the river one night to search for la Llorona, a ghostly woman who walks in search of her drowned baby. Abel, a shepherd, saves a snake from a fire and in return is given the ability to understand the speech of animals. In these ten stories, Rudolfo Anaya, author of Bless Me, Ultima, draws on a rich Hispanic and Native American folklore tradition, capturing the rhythm of life along New Mexico's Río Grande valley.

Genres: Fiction, Retellings, Short Stories, Middle Grade, Fairy Tales, Anthologies, Childrens

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

Rudolfo Anaya lives and breathes the landscape of the Southwest. It is a powerful force, full of magic and myth, integral to his writings. Anaya, however, is a native Hispanic fascinated by cultural crossings unique to the Southwest, a combination of oldSpain and New Spain, of Mexico with Mesoamerica and the anglicizing forces of the twentieth century. Rudolfo Anaya is widely acclaimed as the founder of modern Chicano literature. According to the New York Times, he is the most widely read author in Hispanic communities, and sales of his classic Bless Me, Ultima (1972) have surpassed 360,000, despite the fact that none of his books have been published originally by New York publishing houses. His works are standard texts in Chicano studies and literature courses around the world, and he has done more than perhaps any other single person to promote publication of books by Hispanic authors in this country. With the publication of his novel, Albuquerque (1992),Newsweek has proclaimed him a front-runner in "what is better called not the new multicultural writing, but the new American writing." His most recent volume, published in 1995, is Zia Summer.

"I've always used the technique of the cuento. I am an oral storyteller, but now I do it on the printed page. I think if we were very wise we would use that same tradition in video cassettes, in movies, and on radio."

from
http://www.unm.edu/~wrtgsw/anaya.html
and
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_reso...

Reviews

[Jalilah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely delightful collection of tales from hispanic New Mexico. Rudolfo Anaya retells various oral folktales from his childhood. With New Mexico being a mixture of Spanish, Mexican, Native American and Anglo it comes as no surprise that the tales in My Land Sings reflect this mixture of cultures. Many of the tales seem similar to European ones with a Mexican/Southwest flavour. For example the Virgin Mary appears in many of the tales where there would be a Fairy Godmother. Other tales definitely have their roots in the Indigenous Nations of the South West and the Llorona legend can be traced back to the Aztecs. I would recommend this for everyone interested in folk and fairy tales as well as Hispanic New Mexican culture!

[Esmeralda Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: My Land Sings
Stories from el Rio Grande

Author: Rudolfo Anaya
Illustrated by: Amy Cordova

In this book there is no set Character there are multiple stories. These stories tend to have a plot twist in which the Author takes these old Hispanic tales and turns them into a story of where he adds characters and a new setting. Basically, it he adds another fictional story to the one that exist. Every chapter tells a different story. The author did plot twist the story of, La Llorona as well as, The Lost Camel, there was ten stories in all and it is pretty enjoyable in all. The only thing is that you have to know a little bit of the Mexican culture to understand it. As well as it being based on the Catholic religion. So I think if the reader is not Catholic, it will be a little hard to understand. Either way he has a Preface chapter where he describes and explains everything, which made it a better book. Also the book has a little bit of Spanish dialog and the author added a glossary for reference as well so I liked that. The setting is not in Mexico most of the time it is in New Mexico which gives it a bigger plot twist.
Overall I did enjoy the stories and it was easy to follow the author did a great job describing everything and he also gave a lot of suspense during the stories. One other factor of the book is that there are happy endings and I like that. Some of the books I read I can't even understand the ending. Even though they were happy endings most of the time I actually enjoyed how he added an after story. Like for example, in the story of, The Shepherd Who Knew The Language of Animals, it gave us what had happened in the couples later life and I enjoyed that it is like a relieve to me.

[Laurie Gracia-Alikhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of old stories every New Mexican knows and has a great forward that explains how special the differences and retellings are as they evolve over time and throughout generations.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have an autographed copy of the illustrator, Amy Cordova, in our library!

Here is a collection of 10 stories rich in Mexican and Native American culture that will both delight and thrill young readers! Rich in folklore and tradition, I love reading these aloud to the students in the library during Halloween time. It is also very interesting to ask them who has heard of these stories before and who has not. Some SWEAR themselves that they have also had an encounter with La Llorona, as Lupe and Carlos do in the first story of the book. Anaya does an excellent job using rich descriptive language to pull in readers (while staying on thier reading level) and keep them wondering..."what is going to happen next!?"

Now all I need is Rudolfo Anaya's autograph! That one may be a little harder to come by...

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a New Mexican, born and raised, I have heard many versions of some of these stories. This is a rich collection of old and new, mixed up stories containing monsters I grew up knowing. All of which hold a moral, as Aesop's fables do, yet containing places I know.
I loved this collection. Rudolpho Anaya is a New Mexican treasure.

[Brace1737 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every culture has its folktales. In the hands of a master storyteller like Rudolfo Anaya folktales become gateways to the inner workings of a culture. Mr. Anaya spent is writing career promoting reading and upholding the Latino culture of his beloved New Mexico. Open this book and enjoy!

[Michael Wojciehoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blend

Easy read, good quick stories. Anyone interested in Southwestern myths with a twist of modern, this is the book for you.

[Cecilia]

collectio of popular myths from Mexican-American roots. Some very dull, some very interesting. Strong religious themes.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more we learn to think like other people, the better we understand them.

Cute stories. I read this ebook as part of my library's One Book One Phoenix program.

Stories help us understand and appreciate other people, and they hold many valuable lessons.

[Brenda Fuentes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The novel "My Land Sings," is full with different types of novels that take place in the beautiful Land of Enchantment, New Mexico. Legends such as "La Llorona", "The Fountain Youth" and much more. "La Llorona is originally a legend that took place in Mexican land, but now has been brought to New Mexico with a little twist making it seem more believable. What better place then New Mexico to recreate such legends and myths all wrapped up in a book full of suspense that will keep you reading pages through pages until you finish the whole book. This is not that typical boring book of crazy lenguage and hard to understand quotes, this book keeps its simple, readable and best of all entertaining. This book is perfect for all spanish speaking people because this book offers "spanglish" lenguage which I know makes it more comfortable to read and also more fluently.