Angélica Y La Güira

Description

A young girl harnesses the power of music to bridge the distance between the Dominican Republic and Washington Heights in this jubilant picture book debut by Angie Cruz, bestselling and award-winning author of Dominicana.

Angélica has spent the summer in the Dominican Republic with her tías and primas, her grandparents, and their parrot, but soon she’ll have to say goodbye. The end of summer means returning home to start school on another shore. Before she leaves, her grandfather gives her the perfect gift. It's something with the power to make people dance as fast as the wings of a hummingbird: a güira. Angélica falls in love with this musical instrument, though nobody shares her enthusiasm at first. “What is that sound,” they say, “pennies inside a tin cup?” But on a hot, sunny day, in the land of Washington Heights, where the frío frío woman scrapes ice for a long line of customers and the men on the corner plunk dominoes on a makeshift carboard table, Angélica shows her neighbors the power of la güira.

Angélica and la Güira lovingly explores music and community, the wisdom and guidance of our elders, and the joy and freedom of dancing in the street. No matter where we are, music brings us closer to home. Available in English and Spanish.

About the Author

Angie Cruz was conceived in Dominican Republic and born in 1972 in New York City's Washington Heights. She continued to travel to and from, every summer, until she was sixteen years old. She went to La Guardia High School concentrating on Visual Arts and by default decided to follow a path in Fashion Design at Fashion Institute of Technology. During those four years of college, she worked as a salesperson, manager and then window designer in an upscale Madison Ave. boutique. In 1993, four of her children stories were featured on BET's Story Porch. Soon after, she gave up her fashionista lifestyle to become a full-time college student at SUNY Binghamton where her love affair with literature and history began. She graduated from the NYU, MFA program in 1999. Her passion for literature fueled her desire to be active in community. In 1997, she co-founded WILL: Women In Literature & Letters with Adelina Anthony and Marta Lucia, an organization that produced readings, workshops, and a conference using literature as a tool to build community and transform society. In 2000, WILL was put on hold due to lack of resources and the women's desire to make more time to write. Angie Cruz has contributed shorter works to numerous periodicals including Latina Magazine, Callaloo and New York Times. She has won awards for her writing and/or activist work such as The New York Foundation of The Arts Fellowship, Barbara Deming Award, Yaddo, and The Camargo Fellowship. She published two novels, Soledad and Let It Rain Coffee. She currently is working on the screenplay for Soledad, optioned by Nueva York Productions and working on her third novel.

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Also by the Same Author

Bestsellers in Children