The Story of Colors / La Historia de los Colores : A Bilingual Folktale from the Jungles of Chiapas

Rating:
Summary: Pure in inception & form
Review: This beautifully written book captures the essence of Old man Antonio's retelling of "La historia de los colores". As you read the book you realize the wonder, joy, respect, & genuine love for nature that is transmitted through the story. The spanish version of the book is written in such a way that you can 'hear' Antonio speak. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone who has a true appreciation for word usage and the beauty of language.

Rating:
Summary: Pure in inception & form
Review: This beautifully written book captures the essence of Old man Antonio's retelling of "La historia de los colores". As you read the book you realize the wonder, joy, respect, & genuine love for nature that is transmitted through the story. The spanish version of the book is written in such a way that you can 'hear' Antonio speak. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone who has a true appreciation for word usage and the beauty of language.

Rating:
Summary: A Rhapsody of a Folktale
Review: This book is a wonderful folktale from the idigenous people of Chiapas, Mexico. The original text is taken from the communiqué dated October 27, 1994 from Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos to the Mexican People. Originally published in Mexico with illustrations by Domitila Domínguez as La Historia de los Colores © 1996 by Colectivo Callejero, Guadalajara.

The amazing thing about this book is the controversy it caused. On March 9, 1999, the National Endowment for the Arts revoked the funding for the book. This was a clear instance of the NEA revoking funding for issues dealing with cultural diversity. Cinco Puntos Press fought to publish and distribute this book. You can read more about Cinco Puntos' fight for this book by visiting their website:

http://www.cincopuntos.com/storyofcolors.ssd


Told by Subcommandante Marcos, who is the spokesperson for the indigenous army currently at war with the Mexican Government, The Story of Colors is a lovely little folktale written with such virtuosity, that you can imagine sitting at Don Antonio's feet and hear his voice as he tells how colors came to the world. Marcos is known for being a wonderful storyteller and he is at is best in this amazing story of the Colors. The illustrations by Domitilla Dominguez who is indigenous from Oaxaca are beautiful and quite stunning. They perfectly compliment the story and give a fantastic feel to the book. This book is a treasure in many ways. For me, the biggest pleasure of this book is knowing how it was almost kept from us by the NEA.