Written by Jeff M. Sellers. Foreword by Gary Soto. Illustrated by Annika Maria Nelson. First edition, 1994. Chronicle Books, San Francisco.
No hagas cosas buenas que parezcan malas.
Don't do good that could look bad.
Si quieres tu lumbre apagar, echa tortillas a calentar.
If you want your campfire under control, throw some tortillas on the coal.
El delito acusa.
The crime itself accuses.
La amistad sincera es un alma repartida en dos cuerpos.
True friendship is one soul shared by two bodies.
Front Flap:
"A delightful mixture of laughter and love, fatalism and faith, these proverbs capture the wisdom, spirit, and vibrancy that is Mexico.
"These sayings - or dichos - have their roots in Spain, but have evolved into distinctly Mexican adages. There's much here to enjoy and learn - about unexpected riches, bad luck, hard work, seductive music, luscious food, and almost every other aspect of life and the afterlife."
Award-winning Chicano author Gary Soto writes in the Foreword:
"The Mexican proverb is the verbal property of common people. It is a condensed saying, some pithy remark from a man leaning on his plow or a woman with her elbows up on a table as she listens to the chisme - gossip - of a neighbor. The Mexican proverb may inform and advise, or it may offer an arguable point to life. It is amusement and it is wisdom itself. It is the snappy scolding of a naughty child. It is the soothing remedy to loss and the loss of hope. It is the logic of unrequited love and the finger-wagging judgment on greed and gluttony. It is warning and conclusion. It is the unwritten literature and philosophy of the poor, particularly rural folk. While the wealthy and educated have Carlos Fuentes and Octavio Paz, the man or woman on the street has songs, limericks, folklore, chisme, and proverbs such as "Quien mas mira menos ve" (The more one looks, the less one sees)."
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Condition*: Fine/Near Fine. Green cover boards. Pages are clean, undamaged, and complete.
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Dec 7, 2023
The book came in beautifully wrapped and in excellent condition with a lovely handwritten note. The attention to detail made me immediately go back to the shop's page to shop some more.
Tara Ransleben