HALLOWEEN, EL DÍA DE LAS BRUJAS / HALLOWEEN, A DAY FOR WITCHES

By María L. Gutiérrez

Illustrations by Nicole Montenegro

 

ISBN:  978-1-55885-953-1

Publication Date:  October 31, 2022

Format:  Hardcover

Pages:  32

Imprint: Piñata Books

Ages: 4-8

 

 

Colorful illustrations enhance one boy’s excitement about the annual fall holiday

 

 

“Oh, what fun, it’s Halloween! / No witches or monsters can stop me / from having fun this Halloween!”

 

In this poetic ode to kids’ favorite fall holiday, a young boy eagerly anticipates the impending night. There are so many costumes to choose from that he can’t decide. But finally, “A fierce pirate that’s what I’ll be, / and no one will recognize me.” There are pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns, haunted houses and spooky front porches. And best of all, the treats!

 

Montenegro’s vibrant illustrations bring to life a neighborhood with children in elaborate costumes—a mummy, a princess, a cowboy, Dracula!—, going from door to door calling, “Trick or treat!” This bilingual picture book will encourage children ages 4-8 to write their own poems about Halloween—and of course begin imagining their costumes for a very special night! This bilingual picture book will encourage children ages 4-8 to write their own poems about Halloween—and of course begin imagining their costumes for a very special night!

 

María L. Gutiérrez, a former bilingual teacher who taught for almost 40 years, comes from a large immigrant family. She was born in Oxnard, California, but her family moved back to Mexico when she was four. A graduate of California State University, Fresno and California State University, Northridge, she lives in Santa Paula, California.

 

Nicole Montenegro, a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, is a children’s book illustrator based in North Carolina.  

Chicanonautica: Not Ready for Dead Daze 2017

by Ernest Hogan 

So here we are, hurtling toward the end of October in the Year of the Alien God 2017.

It’s also the first year of Trumptopia--wonder if we’ll eventually get a new calendar for that, or will mutilating the old one be all we have do? 

Mutilation . . .Transformation . . . The new realities always come with pain.

Sacrifices must be made.

Anyway, Dead Daze is just around the corner, and I’m not ready.

For those of you are wondering, “What the hell is Dead Daze?” It’s a stringing together of Halloween and the Days of the Dead (yes, that’s plural, there are two Dias de Los Muertos, cabrones!)  into a three-day celebration. It hasn't caught on yet, but sometimes these things take time.

There are those who don’t want to see electric jack-o-lanterns and plastic sugar skulls together, but for me Halloween has always been a Mexican kind of thing. One of my fondest East L.A. memories is of my first Halloween, back in the antediluvian nineteen fifties, with me in a Superman costume that my mother made, and the streets full Chicanos and Chicanas, towering over me, dressed as all kinds of monsters.

I introduced Dead Daze in my novel Smoking Mirror Blues. If you haven’t read it, Strange Particle Press has started work on a new edition. If you can't wait, copies of the first edition from Wordcraft of Oregon can still be had. My self-published ebook will also be available for a while.

It’s also the end of Hispanic/Latino culture month. The only thing I “did” was see copies of Latin@Rising used in a display in the library where I work. But then I celebrate and participate in La Culture every month of the year.

Like the story I’m finishing up where Aztlán has seceded from the U.S.A.--not that I think it should happen, but the thought experiment may stir up the sort of thinking that should come in handy as we build the future. El Presidente is trying to build his vision of a walled tomorrow, so why not suggest some alternatives?

It’s for a new Latinx SF/F anthology. Yes, another one.

No wonder I’m so busy. Recombocultural futurism is breaking out all over. Ideas are returning to science fiction, even in TV shows. Amid the global turmoil, new cultures are manifesting.

It's a lot better than back when the Book of Revelations and the zombie apocalypse were America's most popular visions of the future.

There's a lot for a humble Chicano sci-fi writer to do.

I don't have time to celebrate holidays. Or even remember them.

So there's no ofrendas for dead loved ones at my house. I'll have to remember them as my wife and I watch our favorite horror movies . . . if we can find the time.

Ernest Hogan wrote Smoking Mirror Blues after Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec warrior/trickster god, whispered the idea into his ear. Has Tezcatlipoca been whispering into El Presidente's ear?

Anti-Gravity Drills and Halloween in New Orleans

Melinda Palacio

Month 4 of my broken leg. Not quite healed, but getting better (this is an old X-ray).

            For the past couple of weeks, I've been receiving treatment for my broken leg at the Southern Orthopedic Specialists in New Orleans. Although a friend recommended Tulane for physical therapy, the place where team members of the Saints are treated, the same institution that operated on my leg suggested that I stay within their network. Since my insurance covered the physical therapy treatment, I was happy to oblige.

 

Physical Therapist, Marsh, manipulates my foot.

            When I tell most people that I am undergoing physical therapy, they look at me with extreme pity, as if the doctors were water boarding me for days on end. I actually enjoy physical therapy, probably because I enjoy exercising in general. I spend most of my day in front of a computer and often feel the need to engage in some sort of exercise, preferably yoga. In fact, although I couldn't walk for the first three months of my accident, I was able to keep up my yoga practice in bed. Special thanks to my teacher, Julie Nail who emailed me non-weight bearing poses. She helped me remain, positive, strong, and flexible during those early months of infirmity and not being able to walk .

Julie Nail from Divinitree Yoga in Santa Barbara (photo by Lerina Winters)

            At the Southern Orthopedic Specialists (S.O.S.), I experienced a very fun type of weightless therapy, the Alter G, Anti-Gravity Treadmill. This doesn't mean I have the training to go for a spacewalk. However, walking in the bubble of air, allowed me to feel a type of weightlessness and I was able to improve my gait. With a neoprene pair of shorts, I zipped myself into the Alter G machine, while air filled the bottom of the cage with air, allowing me to eliminate much of my body weight. I felt like a baby being hoisted by the armpits as my legs re-learned how to walk. And then the fun part began, walking backwards in the Alter G treadmill.

The Alter G Anti-Gravity Treadmill

Clicking my heels for a speedier recovery

            I must admit, there are two things I highly dislike about physical therapy. After the stretches and exercises are done, the therapist manipulates your foot and uses a hands on approach to get a feel for how much your range of motion has improved. I could do without the pulling and twisting of my foot in ways that a broken ankle should not be moved. Each therapy session ended with an arctic blast of an ice cold pack wrapped around both of my feet for fifteen minutes. I don't even like ice in a glass of water, let alone, wrapped around my foot for what seems like hours. The therapists laughed at my pained facial expressions each time they applied the ice packs.

There's No Place Like Home

            One of the perks of physical therapy in New Orleans, during the month of October, meant I had the opportunity to participate in the city's Halloween Festivities. New Orleans is a spooky and haunted place on any given night, but the place to be on is Molly's bar in the French Quarter. The bar hosts a parade with a brass band, carriage riders, and marchers. The best part is anyone can join the parade.  Since I wanted to be in that number, I made sure to wear comfortable shoes. I glittered a pair of comfortable leather and transformed them into Ruby Slippers for my Dorothy costume. Thanks to the therapists at S.O.S. and my yoga teachers, I was ready to march, walk, and strut. 

In front of Molly's

Catching Throws from the Carriage Riders

Glittering Shoes is Fun

2014 Halloween / Día de los Muertos

Denver's dead trick-n-treatin'. Students dead/Mexico rising from the dead? Not-voting suicide. Latino/a Rising will live.

The two holiday observances ironically portray death from two opposing perspectives, as Flo Hernandez-Ramos explained yesterday. Today's post relates to different news bits about "death." It ends with good news.

Denver's dead trick-n-treatin'

We're such a nation of scared sheep, I'm not surprised. For over a month the Colorado press and media, politicians, police and fear-mongers have been sensationalizing a Non-threat: "Denver Police Warn Parents About Pot-Laced Candy During Trick-or-Treat Season." Give me a break, with more than a Snickers.

We're a richly self-medicated nation, abusing a lot of prescription drugs. For decades we've had bathroom shelves of Oxycodone and Hydrocodone, given out for pain, so much that some is usually left over. Those are cheap compared to what THC spray costs. Were warnings issued every year about codone-laced candy?

When Denverites complained about the police's fear-mongering, the cops made a video posted on Facebook! They got slammed for that, too, but it was too late. At least in some Denver neighborhoods, on a Halloween night warmer than many previous, we had the lowest turnout ever. I'm guessing why. People in other areas report similar low turnouts, though not everywhere.

What will we hear next year to make us keep kids "safe" and inside and not walk the neighborhoods? ISIS terrorist sympathizers giving out hand-grenade treats! Disgruntled African immigrants giving out Ebola-licked gummy bears! Listen in to your fave shock-brained radio jock to find out. And be scared. It's as American as apple pie laced with GMOs. Oh, that's right--that's a real threat.

43 Students dead / Mexico rising from the dead?

U.S. drug habits and drug laws, gun mania and shipments into Mexico are now responsible for the likely murders of 43 students from Ayotzinapa Normal teacher-training school, missing since Sept. 26th. Big deal. Drugs, drug lords, killings, kidnappings, decapitations, "disappearings", cartel-bribed politicians, police and soldiers are always in the news. That's the Mexico the U.S. helped create and we're not surprised to hear more. However, this time, more than mierda has hit the fan.

Here's what one U.S. correspondent based in Mexico wrote:

"Most of the students were in their teens, in their first semester, and from impoverished communities that a majority of Mexicans identify with. The voids in Mexico’s government are all too obvious now. The country seems to be trembling at the edge of a terrible cataclysm or, for the hopeful, an inspiring transformation.

Mexico City rally for the 43

"There will be a march in Mexico City on Oct. 31st, coinciding with the Day of the Dead, and a “mega march” is scheduled for Nov. 5th, the day Mexico’s universities and colleges are planning a national strike. How many universities, colleges, and institutes will stick with it, and for how long? Will it spread to other areas of society, to the high schools, for example, as recent student strikes in Chile did, bringing about significant changes in the country? When masses of students boycott classes, it fills a country with an air of emergency and danger.

"What many Mexicans have been telling me is this: It’s either now or never."

Chicanos, mexicanos, latinos from the U.S. will no doubt support as they can whatever arises from the probable deaths of the 43. A new Revolución, across the river from El Paso, San Diego and Brownsville? It wouldn't be sci-fi or fantasy to imagine how our government, politicians and military would react to that. Or the gun lobby and industry, anti-immigrant racists and radio shock-jocks. I can hear them now. But for the rest of the country, it would be a true gauge of a "commitment" to democracy. Maybe they'd be spared the agony of having to decide. Yo espero que no.

Not-voting suicide

Earlier this year, I was among those advocating NOT voting. I was wrong. "We" are not united enough for that to have an effect. A discussion about when that time might come doesn't matter at the moment.

In the meantime, I'm voting because the Koch brothers, the anti-science crazies, the pro-oil conglomerates and the anti-immigrant racists are trying to elect their kind. They're even going after judgeships so justifiable claims against corporations will be more frequently overturned by "their" judges in the future.

Wherever I look on the Internet, TV or the press, and whoever I talk to, I could almost believe Armageddon is here, and Dystopia is our only future. Many people (including me) are negative, bitter, even reverting to political hermits. For that reason, I have been Facebooking the points below--one per day--trying to answer typical reasons you hear about why somebody won't vote next week. Use them, elaborate and improve them, if you want.

Many idiots, but make sure they're yours

#1 - Why you don't have to vote: Because you don't believe in the lesser of 2 evils.

What! Satan's not worse than a demon?

Frostbitten's not worse than shivering?

The 1% has robbed us of plenty. Did they steal your vote yet?

#2 - Why you don't have to vote: Because you think corporate ads already bought yours.

What! You think the 1% can control and even predict the future?

Hiding your head in the sand is smarter than sticking it in a voting booth?

Yes, the 1% has bribed most politicians. But you go alone into the voting booth.

#3 - Why you don't have to vote: Because the polls already canceled out your vote.

What! You think pulling one lever matters less than 1,000 opinions?

Ask the condemned man who he fears more--the hangman or the mob out front.

No, you might not have much to pick from. But which end of the rope do you prefer?

#4 - Why you don't have to vote:  Because there's only a few hours left, and you've got too much to do.

What! You don't want to spend a few minutes to avoid years of suffering?

Only terminal cancer patients (my apologies) could say voting does them no good.

No, you never have enough time. But voting could make the future, worth living.

#5 - Why you DON'T have to vote: Because you only care about who the President is, not a bunch of politicians.

What! You think if your President is elected, he/she will take care of everything?

Congress or your state legislature make the laws. The Prez and governors sign them, or not.

Your vote next week adds or detracts from the next President's or governor's power; that's the math.

Latino/a Rising will live!

I apologize to everyone who this week received too many bits from me about funding and supporting the anthology, Latino/a Rising, the first collection of U.S. Latino/a science fiction, fantasy, and other speculative genres. I do believe it is worth supporting and buying copies of once it's published. And I did have a personal stake in it, since a story of mine might be included. Even if it's not, I expect it to be a precursor of latino contributions to come. Echando más salsa en la literature Americana.

The good news is that the Kickstarter campaign surpassed its $10,000 goal but there's still time, until midnight, for you to kick in and get some cool perks, like autographed copies, T-shirts and swag.

I was just one of many who participated in reaching that goal. At times, I felt ambivalent: Why do we Latinos have to ask for money for a first-ever anthology when so many are produced in the U.S. every year? That's a because that I won't get into. What made me feel better were the non-latinos who responded, sometimes directly, letting me know they had contributed. It made me remember that we're not alone. There are some progressive Anglos, and others, out there. We just need to re-educate more of them.

Es todo, hoy, ni un treat más,

RudyG, a.k.a. Rudy Ch. Garcia, Chicano spec author with too much left-over candy

Chicanonautica: Prelude to the Smoking Mirror Blues/Dead Daze Blast

by Ernest Hogan

So here we are. 2012, and the Mayan Calendar -- that may actually be the Olmec Calendar -- are coming to an end. October’s coming to an end too.  And you know what that means . . . Halloween . . . then los Días de los Muertos . . . put them together, and you’ve got Dead Daze!

And these are going to be extra special Dead Daze, because my novel, Smoking Mirror Blues, will be FREE from the Amazon Kindle store from October 31st to November 4th. That’s Halloween, both Days of the Dead, and an extra Saturday!

Sunday, it goes back up to $2.99. There are those who would say that continuing this to Sunday would be blasphemy. Then there are others who would relish the blasphemy of buying Smoking Mirror Blues on the Sunday after Dead Daze.

I’m also offering snippets from the novel and its reviews, as well as suggestions for music to read it by on Facebook, Twitter, and my blog. Come on down, and join the party!

Like I’ve said before, I think that Dead Daze is a good idea. Let's make it a real transborder event, taking it beyond the hipster holiday that it has become.

Can we remember our dead loved ones, celebrate our cultures, and let loose our imaginations all at the same time for three fantastic days? I think we can, and should.

Or as President Malcolm Jones says in Smoking Mirror Blues:

I think it's a very American phenomenon -- the creation of a new culture and new traditions out of those that are coming together in Southern California.

And we’re seeing interesting developments in Mexico with megaofrendas becoming larger than life walk-thru environments. What will happen when cyber and robotic technologies are plugged in? I can hardly wait!

Who knows? Maybe some recombocultural celebrating can help solve our border conflicts? 

Welcome to the Global Barrio! Next stop, the Galactic Barrio!

Ernest Hogan’s novels Smoking Mirror Blues and Cortez on Jupiter are back from limbo as ebooks. His recombocultural classic High Aztech will be ebookized soon. Tezcatlipoca whispers into his ear.

Hallowe'en Wishes from Michael Sedano

Magic Night, Noche Mágica

This is one of my new picture book manuscripts. I hope it would become a picture book in the future.

MAGIC NIGHT, NOCHE MÁGICA

Story Copyright © by René Colato Laínez

Once a year, I have a double delight.
Two nights in a row, I have tons of fun.
First I have a magic night and then I have una noche mágica.

My Mamá and Papá help me carve a big pumpkin.
Triangles, circles, goggled eyes, knives going up and down and around and around.
We light the candle inside and the jack-o’-lantern casts a giant shadow.
Magic night, Halloween, here I come!


When the moon smiles and the stars twinkle, I make holes in a blanket and become a mean ghost.
“Boooo!” I holler and dash to the door. My friends are waiting for me.
Magic night, Halloween, here I come!

We knock at our neighbors’ doors.
“Trick or treat,” I say and smile from ear to ear.
Big, round, colorful, tasty candies fill my bag.
Magic night, Halloween, here I come!

Spooky music starts, children parade, everyone claps.
A little mermaid shakes her tail. A pirate carries a treasure chest.
I moan and move my arms, “Boo!”
Magic night, Halloween, here I come!

In the haunted house, bats fly in the ceiling. Spider’s webs cover the doors. A mummy follows us.
Magic night, Halloween, here I come!

Back at home, we eat our candies and tell scary stories.
“Too bad Halloween is over,” my friends say.
“This is only the beginning. I invite all of you tomorrow to una noche mágica.”
¡Noche mágica, día de los muertos, aquí voy!


My friends help me spread a white tablecloth on our table. We put marigolds in vases and light the candles.
“Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco,” we say.
Then we put my abuelitos and tíos pictures on the table.
“¡Noche mágica, día de los muertos, aquí voy!”

My friends and I draw and cut bones. We put them together and make calacas.
We dress them with fancy hats, colorful skirts, and elegant suits.
“La Catrina and Señor Calavera!” we say, dancing with the skeletons.
“¡Noche mágica, día de los muertos, aquí voy!”

“The sugar skulls are here!” Papá says.
“Bravo!” we all cheer.
We decorate the skulls with beads, feathers and colored foils. We write our names on the skull’s foreheads.
“¡Noche mágica, día de los muertos, aquí voy!”


“It is time to bake pan de muerto,” Mamá says.
“We are ready to help,” I say as my friends and I roll up our sleeves.
We mix water, yeast and flour in a bowl. Then, we add eggs, milk, butter and sugar. We roll the dough to make bones.
“¡Noche mágica, día de los muertos, aquí voy!”

We carry the delicious dishes to the altar: abuelito’s favorite mole, abuelita’s yummy carne asada, and tíos’ special hot chocolate.
We lick our lips.
“¡Noche mágica, día de los muertos, aquí voy!”

Mamá and Papá tell us stories about my abuelitos and tíos. We dance to their favorite music, cha cha cha. The windows open and cool air touches my cheek. The breeze hugs and kisses me just like my abuelitos and tíos used to do.
“¡Noche mágica, día de los muertos, aquí voy!”

We eat the yummy food. Then we go outside and listen to the mariachi music, visit the cemetery, and have a great time.
Yeah! Once a year, I have a double delight.
A magic night and una noche mágica.
Next year, you are invited too!

Books in English and Spanish for Halloween or Día de las brujas

René Colato Laínez

It is time to look in the closet for some clothes and scissors. Taran! You can make a great outfit. But if there is no time for mending, you can go to any store and buy your disfraz.

Meanwhile, this is my list of books for October.


Los gatos black on Halloween by Marisa Montes. Illustrated by Yuyi Morales.

Easy to read, rhyming text about Halloween night incorporates Spanish words, from las brujas riding their broomsticks to los monstruos whose monstrous ball is interrupted by a true horror.




Celebra el Halloween y el Dia de Muertos con Cristina y su conejito azul por F. Isabel Campoy y Alma Flor Ada. Ilustrado por Ivanova Martinez.

Even though Cristina has lost her blue bunny, she can still enjoy Halloween and the Day of the Dead by thinking about her favorite toy. Includes facts about Halloween and the Day of the Dead.




The witch's face : a Mexican tale by Eric A. Kimmel. Illustrated by Fabricio Vanden Broeck.

Don Aurelio falls in love with a witch who has a beautiful face but fails to heed her special instructions.




La mujer chiquitita contado por Jill Bennett. Ilustrado por Tomie dePaola.

Retells the tale of the teeny-tiny woman who finds a teeny-tiny bone in a churchyard and puts it away in her cupboard before she goes to sleep.






Hallo-What? by Christel Desmoinaux

A young witch wonders why everyone is so busy with pumpkins until her grandmother tells her about Halloween and some of the traditions associated with it.






La viejecita que no le tenía miedo a nada por Linda Williams. Ilustrado por Megan Lloyd. Traducido por Yolanda Noda.

A little old lady who is not afraid of anything must deal with a pumpkin head, a tall black hat, and other spooky objects that follow her through the dark woods trying to scare her.




Where the Wild Things Are written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak.

A naughty little boy, sent to bed without his supper, sails to the land of the wild things where he becomes their king.





Jugando con fantasmas : el libro de los cuentos de miedo por W. Kienitz y Bettina Grabis. Ilustraciones de Silke Voigt. Traducción de J. A. Bravo.

Ghost stories, games, activities, recipes and crafts for having fun with ghosts, goblins, witches and other spooky and macabre events.