Synopses & Reviews
Growing up Latino in America means speaking two languages, living two lives, learning the rules of two cultures. Cool Salsa celebrates the tones, rhythms, sounds, and experiences of that double life. Here are poems about families and parties, insults and sad memories, hot dogs and mangos, the sweet syllables of Spanish and the snag-toothed traps of English. Here is the glory—and pain—of being Latino American.
Latino Americans hail from Cuba and California, Mexico and Michigan, Nicaragua and New York, and editor Lori M. Carlson has made sure to capture all of those accents. With poets such as Sandra Cisneros, Martín Espada, Gary Soto, and Ed Vega, and a very personal introduction by Oscar Hijuelos, this collection encompasses the voices of Latino America. By selecting poems about the experiences of teenagers, Carlson has given a focus to that rich diversity; by presenting the poems both in their original language and in translation, she has made them available to us all.
As you move from memories of red wagons to dreams of orange trees to fights with street gangs, you feel Cool Salsas musical and emotional cross rhythms. Here is a world of exciting poetry for you, y tú también.
Review
Mamiverse.com: Top 50 Latino Children's Books You Should Know
"This spirited, significant collection of poetry for young adults by poets of Latin American heritage is enlivened both by the considerable energy of the poems and by the juxtaposition--and sometimes intermingling--of English and Spanish. ... The collection is eminently successful in celebrating the particular experience of growing up Latino in the United States." --The Horn Book, starred review
Review
“This spirited, significant collection of poetry for young adults by poets of Latin American heritage is enlivened both by the considerable energy of the poems and by the juxtaposition—and sometimes intermingling—of English and Spanish. . . . The collection is eminently successful in celebrating the particular experience of growing up Latino in the United States.” —The Horn Book, starred review
“Whether discussing the immigrants frustration at not being able to speak English, the violence suffered both within and outside of the ethnic community, the familiar adolescent desire to belong, or celebrating the simple joys of life, these fine poems are incisive and photographic in their depiction of a moment. Some of the poets are well-known, others are not, but all contribute to the whole. The Spanish translations capture the sense of the English so well that without the translators byline one would be hard pressed to discern the original language. The same is true for those few poems translated from Spanish to English. This is . . . excellent enrichment material for literature courses.” —School Library Journal
“As hot as jalapenos and as cool as jazz, this collection serves up ‘ingles con chile and Spanish that ‘you feel in the blood of your soul. Lyrical, traditional poems share space with street-smart free verse, and works by the likes of Sandra Cisneros and Gary Soto are juxtaposed with entries from lesser-knowns. Illustrating the ‘beat and pulse of generations of U.S. writers of Latin American heritage, the poems are presented both in the original and in translation; poems making use of both languages are easily accessible to English-only readers by virtue of an appended glossary of Spanish terms. In his introduction, Hijuelos focuses on the ‘unrelenting, unending sense of second classness that his parents experienced as Cuban emigrants and explains how this ‘sense affected his uses of English and Spanish. The political agenda is not hidden, but the potency of the volume lies in Carlsons eclectic selection of voices—her volume approximates what one poet here calls ‘a Mixtec chant that touches la tierra and the heavens. ” —Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
A bilingual collection of poems celebrating all the themes and moods of teenage life, and all the mixed traditions, that come with growing up Hispanic in America. With contributing poets such as Oscar Hijuelos, Sandra Cisneros, Gary Soto, and Ed Vega, the collection includes many of the Hispanic communities in the U.S.
Synopsis
Growing up Latino in America means speaking two languages, living two lives, learning the rules of two cultures. Cool Salsa celebrates the tones, rhythms, sounds, and experiences of that double life. Here are poems about families and parties, insults and sad memories, hot dogs and mangos, the sweet syllables of Spanish and the snag-toothed traps of English. Here is the glory—and pain—of being Latino American.
Latino Americans hail from Cuba and California, Mexico and Michigan, Nicaragua and New York, and editor Lori M. Carlson has made sure to capture all of those accents. With poets such as Sandra Cisneros, Martín Espada, Gary Soto, and Ed Vega, and a very personal introduction by Oscar Hijuelos, this collection encompasses the voices of Latino America. By selecting poems about the experiences of teenagers, Carlson has given a focus to that rich diversity; by presenting the poems both in their original language and in translation, she has made them available to us all.
As you move from memories of red wagons to dreams of orange trees to fights with street gangs, you feel Cool Salsas musical and emotional cross rhythms. Here is a world of exciting poetry for you, y tú también.
Synopsis
Growing up Latino in America means speaking two languages, living two lives, learning the rules of two cultures.
Cool Salsa celebrates the tones, rhythms, sounds, and experiences of that double life. Here are poems about families and parties, insults and sad memories, hot dogs and mangos, the sweet syllables of Spanish and the snag-toothed traps of English. Here is the glory, and pain, of being Latino American.
Latino Americans hail from Cuba and California, Mexico and Michigan, Nicaragua and New York, and editor Lori M. Carlson has made sure to capture all of those accents. With poets such as Sandra Cisneros, Martín Espada, Gary Soto, and Ed Vega, and a very personal introduction by Oscar Hijuelos, this collection encompasses the voices of Latino America. By selecting poems about the experiences of teenagers, Carlson has given a focus to that rich diversity; by presenting the poems both in their original language and in translation, she has made them available to us all.
As you move from memories of red wagons, to dreams of orange trees, to fights with street gangs, you feel Cool Salsa's musical and emotional cross rhythms. Here is a world of exciting poetry for you, y tú también.
About the Author
Lori M. Carlson is an editor and translator who has concentrated on bringing Latino literature to American readers. As coeditor of
Where Angels Glide at Dawn, she introduced new Latin American authors to younger readers. She is also the editor of
American Eyes and
Barrio Streets Carnival Dreams: Three Generations of Latino Artistry (both Holt). Her most recent book is
Sol a Sol: Bilingual Poems. Ms. Carlson lives with her husband in New York City.
Table of Contents
Editor's Note by Lori M. Carlson
Introduction by Oscar Hijuelos
SCHOOL DAYS
English con Salsa by Gina Valdés
Translating Grandfather's House
Traduciendo la casa de mi abuelo
Good Hot Dogs by Sandra Cisneros
Buenos Hot Dogs
A Puerto Rican Girl's Sentimental Education by Johnna Vega
La educación sentimental de una niña puertorriqueña
Learning English by Luis Alberto Ambroggio
Aprender el ingles
HOME AND HOMELAND
Where You From? by Gina Valdés
Nothing More by Alfredo Chacón
Nada más
Brown Girl, Blond Okie by Gary Soto
Chica morena, campesina rubia
Why Do Men Wear Earrings on One Ear? by Trinidad Sanchez, Jr.
For Ray by Ana Castillo
Para Ray
Aquatic Show by Daniel Jácome Roca
Espectáculo acuático
A PROMISING FUTURE
Why Am I So Brown? by Trinidad Sanchez, Jr.
Solidarity by Amado Nervo
Solidaridad
We Would Like You to Know by Ana Castillo
Nos gustaría que sepan
Return by Berta G. Montalvo
Volver
Love Poem for My People by Pedro Pietri
Poema de amor para mi gente
The Calling by Luis J. Rodríguez
El llamado
Glossary
Biographical Notes