Cuentos: Authentic Puerto Rican Stories - Bilingual Book for Kids & Adults | Perfect for Cultural Learning, Bedtime Reading & Spanish Language Practice

Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States in the 1898 Spanish American War.Ironically Puerto Rico had been struggling for autonomy from Spain for decades and had received partial autonomy months before the American invasion. Some expected it to be a harbinger for independence.That historical projectory was not to be. Everything changed. In 1917 United States citizenship was granted, some say imposed, en masse on all island residents. Four hundred years of Spanish citizenship was wiped away.Most Puerto Ricans embraced the new relationship. There was from the very beginning a manifestation of extreme patriotism. Puerto Ricans enlisted in large numbers in the U.S. Armed Forces. It began in the First World War and continued through the Second World War, the Korean, Viet Nam, Gulf and Iran- Afghanistan wars.Tennessee is recognized as The Volunteer State, but Puerto Rico has surpassed Tennessee's record. Some on the island refer to that contribution as their "blood tax."Few countries have had such a challenging history as Puerto Rico. A neglected outpost of the Spanish empire, it remained much as it had been under Spanish rule for the first four decades of the 20th century: poor, rural and feudal with distinct class lines predicated on wealth.Life expectancy in 1940 was only 46 and thousands were weakened by parasites. Some farm hands were paid just six cents an hour, and only when coffee, sugar cane and tabacco harvests needed their labor. Once those tasks were completed field hands were summarily laid off sans any social welfare benefits. To complain would guarantee you would not be hired for the next harvest.After the Second World War, agriculture began to give way to industrialization. It brought opportunities to many, but hundreds of thousands sought to better their lives by migrating to the mainland. They struggled there and success was neither guaranteed nor easy.It is not surprising that the island's unique cultural and political conflicts emanating from that cauldron has provided fodder for literary expression. That literary outpouring flourished not only on the island but in the Puerto Rican enclaves on the mainland as well.These twelve stories, written in Spanish in the 1940s and 50s, capture those human experiences. Its six authors depict realities of conflict and adjustment in Puerto Rico and the USA.The book is bilingual so the reader can benefit from the richness of the original Spanish text. It's great to have both versions side by side. It helps one brush up on one?s Spanish or English as the case may be and absorb new vocabulary. In my case, I kept jumping between both languages, paragraph by paragraph, to test the translation. It led to slow reading especially since I at times had different translations in my mind.But the English translations are excellent and capture not only the story themes but the very essence of the characters and their experiences.The six well-known authors are: Emilio S. Belaval, Abelardo D. Alfaro, Emilio Valcel, Jose Luis Gonzalez, Rene Marques and Pedro Juan Soto.Their twelve stories capture such disparate scenes as the Spanish conquest and cruel treatment of the native Tainos in the 16th century, a disappearing rural agrarian Puerto Rico, urban living on the island and in a far away cold and alien country confronting linguistic and ethnic prejudice. The themes evoke emotions from sadness to laughter. But most of all what comes through is the indomitable human spirit of those who struggle not to abandon their innate values and customs.Whether its detailing a grandmother's wake, a blackout in a New York city barrio and its surprising happy outcome, or the frustration of learning English, these stories reveal the spirit of survivors, not always succeeding but never giving up.Their stories provide those present day stateside Puerto Ricans who do not read Spanish an insight into ethnic identity, a touchstone to face all the tomorrows ahead of them.In that search , they might reflect on Rene Marquez insightful comment, "This is really a schizophrenic society. Puerto Ricans have two languages, two citizenships, two basic philosophies of life, two flags, two anthems, two loyalties. It is very hard for human beings to deal with all this ambivalence."Kal Wagenheim compiled, edited this volume and translated several of the stories. He is a careful and erudite scholar of Puerto Rico?s changing realities. With a background in journalism and years of residence in Puerto Rico he is an astute observer and chronicler.Wagenheim?s eight page introduction of this book is a tour de force of literary currents on the island and stateside. His biographical sketches of the six authors enhances this book greatly. A brief bibliography of both Spanish and English sources provides rich resources for those who want to go beyond the pages of this book.******************Dr. Mellander established Latin American Studies Programs at three universities. Later he was a college president for 20 years. More recently he was a graduate school dean at George Mason University.