Category: Parenting

Family, Parenting

Tamales and Traditions

Mona Alvarado Frazier
Wrapped in Tradition-David Kadlubowski for The New York Times
Wrapped in Tradition-David Kadlubowski for The New York Times

Christmas just isn’t Christmas without making tamales. Tamale making or the tamalada (tamale making session which turns into a gossip fest and/or party) took place at my mom’s house for at least 40 years. Ten years ago the location moved to my house. This year it’s back to my mom’s home.

Holiday traditions rarely follow a straight line. From our past to our present the traditions branch out as we add children, relatives, and present life to the mix. Whether your celebrations of the holidays are uniquely your own, or passed down from great grandmothers to you, they are worth sharing.

This year our family traditions will branch a little more. Just like on Thanksgiving, I’ll be away from my mother and siblings, and with my adult kids in Colorado on Christmas Eve. They are making their own life while we (the vast majority of the extended family) are here in Southern California. And that’s okay, more than okay, it’s good.

In our family, Mexican American/Chicano, we make Mexican style tamales and champurrado as well as sugar cookies, fudge, and ham. We celebrate the Mexican and the American because that is who we are.

Mexican Champurrado-thick hot chocolate drink
Mexican Champurrado-thick hot chocolate drink

I’m eager to share Christmas with my kids because the activities of the day will provide touchstones to remember our past holidays. The tamalada gives us an opportunity to share stories of the past:

“When I (nana) was a child, we got oranges and candies as presents…the firemen distributed gifts to the poor- us…’member when tia put the sevo (fat) into the tamales accidentally instead of the meat, I didn’t eat tamales for five years… when I was a kid we had to attend midnight mass or else…’member when your tio tied the Christmas tree with a rope to keep it straight…”

We’ve shared hundreds of stories at the tamale table while spreading masa, sprinkling cheese, and spooning chile into corn husks.

In my kids case, we’ll make our tamales and champurrado vegan style. This is not what nana envisioned would occur with her recipe but continuing with the traditional foods will pass on my mother’s culinary knowledge, and her mothers knowledge, to my son and daughter. And we’ll share all of the above stories and then some. 

Holiday traditions may branch out, but they pass on our heritage, and in doing so create a canopy for our children and grandchildren to pass on to subsequent generations. Happy Holidays!

If you’re interested in making tamales you might want to read my Tactical Tamale Plan. 

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Books, Latino Literature, Parenting

10 Reasons for Kids To Read Multicultural Books

Mona Alvarado Frazier
Reading the World
Reading the World

Now that Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Book Friday is over I can get back to the Multicultural Middle Grade and YA books I promised to list (just in time for Cyber Monday).

But first, let’s discuss the term Multicultural Literature.

A single book can be a mirror for some readers and a window for others”
—Rudine Sims Bishop, Ginny Moore Kruse

MC Lit is written by and about people of color. MC books are not only for “minorities” but for all people. The value you receive, or give, when buying MC books are many. 

  1. MC Lit reflects the diversity that already exists in society and your community.
  2. Presents people of different ethnicities which provides a more realistic picture to a child or teen.
  3. Readers gain an understanding of other cultures which enhance our interactions with others and can help kids develop empathy towards their peers.
  4. MC Lit opens the world to others by stimulating conversations about traditions, heritage, food and language. One of my favorites in this area is Gary Soto’s holiday classic :

    Too Many Tamales
    Too Many Tamales.
  5. Stories with a cultural backdrop (especially Picture Books) often use words in other languages with an English equivalent
  6. MC Lit can heighten a child’s global awareness especially when the books include historical or geographic details. 
  7. When kids grow up exposed to diverse cultures, people, and places they become more open to exploring.
  8. MC Lit can take us on global trips which enrich our experiences and understanding.
  9. Educator  Jaclyn DeForge, M.S states:
  • Students should have the opportunity to be exposed to both classic and contemporary literature as well as  nonfiction texts.
  • All students should have the opportunity to see themselves reflected back, as well as to be exposed to cultures and experiences that may differ from their own, in the literature and nonfiction texts we study.
  1. 10. For children from mainstream culture, multicultural books assist in teaching understanding which leads to cultural sensitivity. For children who are culturally diverse, the use of multicultural books assists in building a positive self-concept.

“MC Books Every Teen Should Know” comes from the School of Education-University of Wisconsin.

Lee and Low (formerly Children’s Book Press) is dedicated to multicultural literature for kids and teens.

For award winning books on African American, American Indian, Middle Eastern literature please see this list.

Happy shopping.

 

A book is a gift you can open again and again-Garrison Keillor