Juan the Bear and the Water of Life: La Acequia de Juan del Oso

by Enrique R. Lamadrid, Amy Córdova (Illustrator), Juan Arellano

Overview

La Acequia del Rito y la Sierra in the Mora Valley is the highest and most famous traditional irrigation system in New Mexico. It carries water up and over a mountain ridge and across a sub-continental divide, from the tributaries of the Río Grande to the immense watershed of the Mora, Canadian, Arkansas, and Mississippi Rivers. The names and stories of those who created this acequia to sustain their communities have mostly been lost and replaced by myths and legends. Now, when children ask, some parents attribute the task of moving mountains and changing the course of rivers to Juan del Oso, the stouthearted man whose father was a bear.

From the mountains of northern Spain to the Andes in South America, Spanish-speaking people have told ancient legends of Juan del Oso and his friends. In this children's tale, agriculturalist Juan Estevan Arellano and folklorist Enrique Lamadrid share a unique version of a celebrated story that has been told in northern New Mexico for centuries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826345448
Publisher:	University of New Mexico Press
Publication date:	01/01/2013
Series:	Pasó por Aquí Series on the Nuevomexicano Literary Heritage
Edition description:	Bilingual
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Enrique R. Lamadrid is a literary folklorist and cultural historian in the University of New Mexico's Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

Amy Córdova of Taos, New Mexico, is an artist, arts educator, and activist, renowned for her highly contextualized depictions of Latino cultures. She has illustrated over seventeen children's books and has been awarded the prestigious American Library Association Pura Belpré Award twice, in 2008 and 2010.

Juan Estevan Arellano, a native of Embudo, New Mexico, is a poet, artist, writer, and agronomist. He is an expert in traditional Spanish/Moorish agriculture and the sustaining of traditional crops originally brought to New Mexico from Europe and Central Mexico.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 3-5

According to New Mexican folklore, the region's acequias , or irrigation canals, were created by Juan del Oso, the product of an unusual union between a woman and a curious, gentle bear. Their son's supernatural strength let him move mountains and redirect rivers so the Southwestern deserts could blossom. The English and Spanish versions of this engaging tall tale sit side by side. Córdova's bold colors and brushstrokes evoke the rustic folk-art styles of the Southwest. Insets on some pages of text highlight an image from the narrative and the illustrations opposite, giving readers visual cues about important ideas in the story. This book may resonate most strongly among Latino families with roots in Mexico and the American Southwest. However, children of all ethnic backgrounds will enjoy this story about animals with human characteristics. A prologue explains the region's unique history and legends. The glossary is especially noteworthy because it identifies certain expressions in the text as Southwestern regionalisms. A good choice for public libraries that serve bicultural families, and for school libraries where folklore is part of the curriculum.-Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY

School Library Journal