Celebración:
Recipes & Traditions Celebrating
Latino Family Life
by Regina Cordova with Emma Carrasco for the National Council of La Raza
Main Street Books/Doubleday, 1996
Celebración es
una belleza de libro y me provocó mucha alegría al leerlo. Contiene relatos de las
varias celebraciones hispanas, como el quinceañero, las bodas, bautizos y otras por el
estilo. Incluye además, una bella explicación sobre los seis valores hispanos --
creencia en la familia, respeto a los seres mayores, relación estrecha entre los vecinos,
fortaleza en las convicciones espirituales, ética de trabajo y el idioma español. Las
recetas provienen de 16 diferentes países hispanoamericanos (Brasil incluido), y varias
contienen anécdotas familiares de las personas que contribuyeron con las recetas. El
libro es un tributo a la preparación y el consumo de las comidas latinas e ilumina la
importancia y belleza de nuestras costumbres y arte culinario.
Como muchas familias hispanas (yo soy panameña y mi esposo puertorriqueño), que
residen permanentemente en los Estados Unidos, en casa celebramos nuestras costumbres al
igual que las norteamericanas. Este libro ha sido una valiosa y sentimental aportación a
nuestra colección de hispanidades que pensamos compartir con nuestras dos hijas.
La fotos e ilustraciones son excelentes. Incluso, no puedo evitar que la boca se me
haga agua al contemplar la del ceviche panameño de almejas y la cazuela de calabaza y
patata dulce en leche de coco ¡Buen provecho e inolvidables celebraciones, amigos!
-- Maritza Estenoz Ascorbe
Springfield, Virginia
Monica's Story
by Andrew Morton
Though it's a legal document, the Starr Report,
published in late 1998, reads like a racy novel about the most powerful man in the world,
President Bill Clinton, and a young intern, Monica Lewinsky, who's portrayed as a spoiled
Beverly Hills brat performing oral sex on the president while he talked to colleagues on
the telephone.
Andrew Morton, the author of Diana: Her True Story, spent several months interviewing
Lewinsky after the scandal broke; the result is Monica's Story, which asserts that the
picture the Starr Report paints of Lewinsky is totally incorrect. Morton believes she and
the president had an emotional, mutually satisfying relationship, which, if circumstances
had been different, would probably have remained secret. Although he covers much of the
same territory as the Starr Report, he adds details of conversations Lewinsky and Clinton
had in an attempt to show the depth of the relationship. In chapters with titles like
"Grunge, Granola, and Andy" and "Terror in Room 1012," he paints a
portrait of a "child-woman" who is sexually liberated but also intelligent,
loving, and well mannered. "[She] could be anybody's sister," he insists,
"anybody's daughter."
The book is most interesting, however, in its descriptions of the political intrigue,
lies, and deception resulting from Kenneth Starr's investigation. Leading the evil band is
Linda Tripp, described as a black-hearted, shameless manipulator who betrayed Lewinsky and
spurred the scandal for her own personal gain (she was planning to write a book about
Clinton). He also examines the media's hatred for Lewinsky--particularly that of women
writers who became obsessed with her weight and body shape. "Just as the O.J. Simpson
trial exposed the racial fault line running through American society," he argues,
"so the Monica Lewinsky saga has spotlighted the underlying misogyny that still
permeates American life." Monica's Story is gripping stuff--porn, fantasy, farce,
political commentary, and tragedy all rolled into one.
--Dale
Kneen, Amazon.co.uk
| About the Author: |
| Andrew Morton, who lives in London with
his wife and two daughters, is the author of the worldwide bestseller Diana: Her True
Story. He as won numerous awards, including Author of the Year and a special prize for
services to journalism. |
|
