Delicious Hullabaloo/ Pachanga deliciosa

Delicious Hullabaloo/ Pachanga deliciosa

By Pat Mora
Illustrated by Francisco X. Mora

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Mora, Pat. (1998). DELICIOUS HULLABALOO/PACHANGA DELICIOSA.
        Illustrated by Francisco X. Mora. Translated by Alba Nora Martinez and Pat Mora.
        Houston, Texas: Arte Publico Press. ISBN 1-55885-246-8.

PLOT SUMMARY:

Tonight, young and old
dance to moon and starlight too,
join in the fiesta,
the delicious hullabaloo.

This delightful, bilingual picture book is a roaring good time! The lizards, armadillos, bees, bird, and fish enjoy each other’s company along with good music and good food.  Some prepare the food, some play the music, some talk about plans for the future, and some reminisce about past times—but all enjoy the celebration of food, friends, and togetherness.

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

The desert southwest is portrayed in this colorful picture book with geometric designs on not only the pages and the table, but on the animals as well. The animals portrayed are the lizards, the armadillos, as well as bees, a bird, and a fish. The desert environment is evident in the light brown shade of the sand and the bright green of the cactus. The Hispanic flavor of the poem shows in the instruments the animals play during the party: the maracas and guitars. The choice of party foods is also indicative of the Hispanic culture: salsa made of chiles, tomatoes, and cilantro in a molcajete; a variety of pan dulce, sweet bread; the steaming hot chocolate is in an olla de barro para chocolate, a clay chocolate pot, and the molinillo used for frothing the chocolate is seen sticking out; and finally, the variety of fruits include mangoes, bananas, oranges, cherries, pears and apples.

The animals get together to play music, sing songs, dance, eat good food, and tell cuentos, stories. This is a great example of Hispanic get-togethers where family and friends spend the night talking, laughing, singing, and enjoy being with one another.

The text of the picture book has the poem first presented in English and then the Spanish translation at the bottom of the page. The English verse is interspersed with some Spanish words such as: amigos, lagartijas, musica, cerezas dulces, salsa, cuentos, and fiesta. There is no English translation for the above words, but the context of the poem and the accompanying pictures let the reader know what the words mean. For example, the word lagartijas means lizards. The picture on the opposite page clearly shows the lizards eating the delicious fruit. There is no glossary provided, but again, this is not a necessity since the pictures and the poem itself do a good job of helping the reader figure out the meaning of the Spanish words.

The alliteration is especially delightful in this poem. Some examples are: “pluck and play,” “soon start to sway,” “red roundness,” “plot and plan,” “sassy salsa splashing,” “birds bring blooms,” and “bees buzz”.

AWARDS:

Pat Mora’s Literary Awards:

Loretto Legacy Award for Arts and Literature, 200th Jubilee on the Border, Sisters of Loretto, El Paso, Texas, September, 2012

Con Tinta Achievement for Literary Activism, Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP), Chicago Il, March, 2012

Literary Legacy Award, El Paso Community College, 2010

Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Letters, University

            of California at Santa Barbara, 2008

The University of Southern Mississippi Medallion for Outstanding

           Contributions to Children's Literature, Hattiesburg,

           Mississippi, 2008 (photo at right)

Roberta Long Medal for Distinguished Contributions to Celebrating

             the Cultural Diversity of Children, University of Alabama at

             Birmingham, 2007

National Hispanic Cultural Center Literary Award, Albuquerque, NM, 2006

"Literary Lights for Children," Associates of the Boston Public

             Library, 2002

"100 Library Champions," Texas Library Association Centennial, 2002

Ohioana Award in Children's Literature, Ohioana Library Association, (for body of work and contributions to children's literature), 2000

Pellicer-Frost Bi-national Poetry Award, Ford Foundation, FEMAP Foundation, and Museo de Arte e Historia del INBA-Cd.  Juárez, 1999

Poetry Award, Conference of Cincinnati Women, 1990

Authors of the Pass: El Paso Herald-Post Writers Hall of Fame, 1988

Texas Institute of Letters, 1987 (Elected to)

Literary Award, Harvey L. Johnson Book Award, Southwest Council of Latin American Studies, 1984

Creative Writing Award, National Association for Chicano Studies, Ypsilanti, Michigan, 1983

Poetry Award, New America: Women Artists and Writers of the Southwest, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1982

 

REVIEW EXCERPTS:

Publishers Weekly: "Poetic Fiesta. Colorful Southwestern motifs add spice to the starlight feast of reveling lizards and armadillos … The fun, lilting text praises hot food, summer nights and good amigos."

Booklist: "Lime lizards and purple armadillos sashay to the music and rhyming text in this simple story of a desert dinner party. Presented bilingually with a Spanish translation  … this western frolic is winsomely illustrated  … Serve this one up with salsa and mariachi music."

Ohioana Quarterly: "Some lizards have a colorful fiesta eating fruit, making salsa, and drinking moonlight on a wonderful evening in this delightful English and Spanish poetic tale. So much fun you’ll wish you could join them."

San Antonio Express-News: "Lively and colorful illustrations of dancing armadillos and salsa making lizards abound in this savory book. Mora’s poetic language and the sun-washed colors of the character animals and their food make this book a delight for the senses—it’s hard not to cha-cha while reading it aloud."

Jacob Angel, first grader, review in the Albuquerque Journal: "I liked it when the armadillo said, "Quick! Call our amigos." Did you know amigos means friends in Spanish? This book was written in English and Spanish. My nana who lives with me read me this book. She speaks Spanish real good. The animals are having a party, the Spanish part is pachanga. The lagartijas (small lizards) like mangoes and the pajartias (little birds) ate sweet cherries. The armadillos ate salsa and the small lizards played música with guitarras. This book was fun to read. Bailaban after all the animals ate. That means they danced."

CONNECTIONS:

Author’s website: www.patmora.com

Curriculum activities: http://www.patmora.com/ideas.htm#hullabaloo

Study guide for the book:  http://www.latinoteca.com/code/artePublicoPress/Publications/arte-publico-press/educational-resources/teacher-guides/pinatabooks-for-children/Delicious%20Hullabaloo%20Study%20Guide.pdf/view