It's All in the Frijoles

 

 

From: Oxsan
Date: 16 Apr 2001
Time: 23:32:52

I am reading a new book , new to me, (you wouldn't believe it would you?} called It's All In The Frijoles by Yolanda Nava. Yolanda was born in Arizona of parents who immigrated to that state from Chihuahua. Her mother was born in 1909 in Chihuahua (a year younger than my mother). Shortly after reaching Arizona Yolanda's father deserted the family and left her mother to raise her - and raise her she did - with a tough love vengeance. Her mother took Yolanda to Los Angeles and her mother went to night school, got her high school diploma then became a counselor in the Los Angeles school system because she could speak Spanish. She did not have a college degree, so becoming a counselor then was different from today I suppose.

The book is an attempt to give the general public feeling of what is important and meaningful and great about the Latino culture and how Yolanda's mother imparted this cultural transition to her. Much of the book is written by Yolanda but a good part is also written by famous and successful Latino people in the U. S., who had experiences like Yolanda. Such as Laura Hernandes, artist; Amalia Mesa-Bains, artist; Phil Roman, animator and producer; Moctezuma Esparza,film producer; Hector Elizondo, actor; Cruz Bustamente, Lieutenant Governor of California; Edward James Olmos, actor (who gave one of the greatest performances I have ever seen in The Ballad of Gregorio Cortes; ) and many other successful Latino immigrants or persons of Spanish American heritage who have made their mark in the world.

Yolanda's mother's clock finally ran down and Yolanda took her mother from the nursing home and took her home and personally nursed her through the last six months of her life--putting her own career and family aside because she had been taught responsabilidad for the older members of the family. Her mother was in strong mental if not physical condition during this six months and it was during this six months that she got the material for her book - as well as the title. She asked her mother one day, "What makes you so strong?" And her mother answered, "It's all in the frijoles". Yolanda's mother did not mean that the food value of the beans made her strong but rather the care and concern she expressed for the proper preparation of the beans, the removal of unfit specimens so that the finished dish was as nearly perfect as possible that gave her a view of life that made her strong. The very fact that when beans were scarce she would discard the imperfect beans as she had been taught gave her a sense of pride and accomplishment.

I haven't read much of the book yet but it is one of those books that I keep saying to myself as I read, "Now why didn't I say that to my kids?" There is a large collection of dichos (proverbs, sayings} that are in both Spanish and English in the book and that Yolanda's mother endlessly repeated to her. I have included a few of those below and will cover some of the other stuff later. The other stuff is more important but it is 1 AM and I am tired. So here are a few dichos:

1. Del dicho al hecho hay mucho trecho. (From saying to doing it is a long way).

2. Dime con quien andas y te dire quien eres. (Tell me with whom you travel and I will tell you who you are.)

3. El arbol se conoce por su fruta. ( A tree is known by its fruit)

4. El consejo de la mujer es poco y el que no lo agarra es loco. (The advice of a woman is very scarce and the person who does not heed it is a fool.

5. El que entre los lobos anda, a aullar se ensena. (He who walks among the wolves learns to howl)

The second "n" of ensena is supposed to have a tilde but I don't know how to make a tilde on the computer.

6. El hombre debe ser feo, fuerte, y formal . ( A man should be homely, hardy and honorable)

More from this book which has many , many facets when I have read a bit more. Angela, I will send you this book after I have digested it.

LOVE

dad,granpa ,ami