Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael Lopez (2017, Henry Holt and Co.; 48 pages) This book is an extraordinary work, both because of the writing and because of the art. Margarita Engle and Rafael López have created a collection of poems about amazing hispanics and about a great and varied and beautiful mixture of dreams. The poems are about a variety of amazing people who lived in geographic regions now included in the modern United States, people who faced life´s challenges in creative ways, who come from many different backgrounds, and, as the author says in a letter to the reader, some were celebrated in their lifetimes but have been forgotten by history, and others achieved lasting fame. Poems spotlight musicians, a botanist, a baseball player, a pilot, a writer, and more. The names of these amazing Hispanics are: Aída de Acosta, Arnold Rojas, Baruj Benacerraf, César Chávez, Fabiola Cabeza de Baca, Félix varela, George Meléndez Wright, José Martí, Juan de Miralles, Juana Briones, Julia de Burgos, Lous Agassiz Fuertes, Paulina Pedroso, Pura Belpré, Roberto Clemente, Tito Puente, Tomás Rivera and Ynés Mexía. Some of those names are well known in the U.S. But the book is not a book about famous Hispanics. Margarita Engle has listed modern names for regions of family ancestry before each poem rather than using historic names such as New Spain. She also ends the book with a chapter on more amazing Latinos, and with a chapter of notes about the lives the Hispanics that she features in her poems. The illustrations of Rafael López are incredible. This artist's work is a fusion of strong graphic style and magical symbolism, and he brings into it the rich cultural heritage and native color of street life in Mexico City, the place where he grew up. This is an incredibly beautiful and rich book, and anyone of any age with a love of art, poetry, or a desire to learn about the Hispanic world will be delighted. Find this title in our catalog: Bravo! Recommended by: Maite
0 Comments
|