2Leaf Press is pleased to announce the publication of Puerto Rican Folktales/Cuentos folclóricos puertorriqueños by Lisa Sánchez González, the first collection in nearly 50 years of traditional Puerto Rican folktales and legends presented in a bilingual edition. Rendered as wonderful short stories for both children and adults alike, author Sánchez González researched these colonial stories and updated them from a contemporary perspective with the beauty, humor, and urgent honesty they deserve. With translations by Bayrex and beautiful illustrations by Teofilo Olivieri, Puerto Rican Folktales is 2Leaf Press’ first hardcover, 4-color book. (Learn more about illustrator Teofilo Oliveri)
With a history spanning millennia, Puerto Rico is steeped in a multicultural storytelling tradition that comes from its Taíno indigenous beginnings and is heavily influenced by the Spanish Conquest and African slavery. As a result there is an elaborate tapestry of tales that help shaped Boricua culture as we know it today. Some legends in Puerto Rican Folktales serve as warnings, while others are stories of love, but the primary purpose of these folktales is to help people grasp an understanding of where Boricuas come from. Says author Sánchez González; “Folklore teaches its readers about culture, history, and the world around them. In doing so, it also teaches ethics. So each storyteller will render a tale in a way that she or he thinks will be not only entertaining but instructive.” In Puerto Rican Folktales, readers discover the real story of Yuisa and Pedro Mejías, a tale of a girl who goes on an adventure and rides home triumphantly on a magical horse with a rainbow tail, and talking trees, plants and magical machetes.
Puerto Rican Folktales is being hailed by scholars, librarians and teachers as a “vibrant and imaginative retelling of tales” that “recovers and redresses astoundingly beautiful Puerto Rican folklore in the shape of these stories.” Isabel Espinal, past President of REFORMA, says; “Wepa! So much fun to read! These tales hail from Puerto Rican imagination and the Puerto Rican experience spreading from the island in the Caribbean to places such as Chicago and Connecticut and hopefully will land in your own library soon. Lisa Sánchez González completely brings old folktales to life, right up to our lives and our languages today, in a magical mix of street smart and folklore.” Puerto Rican Folktales will transport, transform, and translate to readers a whole new universe of a quintessentially Caribbean culture that’s alive and well in Puerto Rico and its diaspora. Check out a preview and pre-order. on Amazon.com today!
PUERTO RICAN FOLKTALES/CUENTOS FOLCLÓRICOS PUERTORRIQUEÑOS
Hardcover, $29.99 | 194 pp., 8.5” x 8.5”
ISBN: 978-1940939124 (hdc.)
Release date: October 1, 2014
Available for pre-order at Amazon.com.
