Stories -

from the ':

spoon
Latin American stories about gastronomy
and history

Maria Cristina Aparicio

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Spoon Stories
Ma. Cristina

Stories of a spoon
Aparicio A.
Spoon Stories. Eight short and
fun stories inspired by Latin
American gastronomy and the
history of the region. The
narratives refer to the way
people live, love and cook in the
midst of war and political and
social conflicts. There are no
heroes; just person nas in their
neighborhoods, small
restaurants, a convent or an
anonymous bakery. They are of the regions, did experience
fluid and interesting stories them in one way or another and
about how people face now they are the result of them.
challenges and about the strength
of those who decide to care for
others and give them love
through every bed. rada of the
delicious dishes they offer.
Commentary on the Ibby Honor
List 2012 Catalog.

This book brings together

several stories from various parts
of Latin America. In them, the
idiosyncrasy of the continent, its
gastronomic exquisiteness and a
lot of political history come
together, through stories of
characters who, although they
were not protagonists of the
various political events of each
 Short fiction for
young people
As was Seven stories
predictable, the "about history and
collections of good eating", in
stories for young which traditional
people lost out and cuisine recipes are
had little inserted into plots
representation, set in dissimilar
less than that of historical spaces
children's stories, and moments:
in the catalogues. from a convent of
The reason - I nuns in Oaxaca in
suppose - must be the early days of
related to the the colonial period
argument so often and Montevideo of
put forward by the the Tupamara
commercial guerrilla, to the
departments of Santiago de Chile
publishers that "the of the military
story does not government of
sell." Apparently, Pinochet and the
for some strange Antioquia of the
reason the sales drug trafficker
figures do not Pablo Escobar.
correspond to the Due to the unusual
enthusiasm that nature of its
the short story themes, which turn
seems to arouse in its back on the
many teenagers. typical youth
But let's stick to narrative topics
the facts: this (there are no
narrative modality teenage
ratified its rareavis characters, no sex,
status. no anorexia, no
. An exception that bullying, nor
stood out for her narcotics, much
was Stories of the less creatures from
Spoon (Bogotá, beyond the grave),
Norma), by the this collection of
Colombian- stories reminds us
Ecuadorian María of another
Cristina Aparicio. published in 1998
by the same
publisher: Cambio
de voz, by the
Colombian Irene
Vasco, a title that,
fortunately, after
having remained
Discontinued for
several years,
Random House
Mondadori has just
recovered in
Bogotá. Link to the
full yearbook:
El Colombiano Newspaper
 Humor within
children's and
youth literature
Diario El Comercio, Ecuador newspaper recommendation

Humor is one of the most interesting and intertwines with perfect naturalness, the
powerful intellectual responses of the human dissimilar and the uneven.
species; It is assumed that it arises associated
with happiness or triviality. Sometimes, An expression of intelligence
however, it is the ideal response to express
pain, anger or indignation. It also constitutes a powerful reflective tool, as it
For youngsters allows us to find the deepest meanings in the
Between the ages of 11 and 13, they become most futile details. It is and will be a dangerous
more perceptive and humor helps them weapon capable of revealing to others what is
understand the changes they are going through. hidden; cunningly destabilizes any order, no
matter how serious or imposing it may be.
Some suggestions: 'The
metamorphosis' by Mau de Lino Solís, But humor also softens the hardness of life,
'Opposite worlds' by Viviana Cordero. giving a little lightness to the rigor of
helplessness, suffering or fear. Generate
The mind of adolescents becomes analytical
and critical. Complex forms of humor such as
irony and paradox are ideal, which help to
demystify authority through distortion and
simulation.

Other recommended works are:

'Tony', by Cecilia Velasco, 'Stories of the

Spoon', by Cristina Aparicio, and 'Mamá the sun
has already risen', by Lucrecia Maldonado.
It breaks with the everyday order conferred on
meanings, transgresses what our brain
considers predictable and allows us to see from
an unknown angle, which sometimes
 compassion and tolerance towards people and
situations, that is why Nietzsche said that: “Man
suffers the world so terribly that he has forced
himself to invent laughter.”
Depending on the intensity, the human being
gives off giggles, guffaws, smiles, loud laughter,
and other types of merriment, means that
humans use to free ourselves from our
emotional burdens. Behind laughter there
always lies an intention, which is why there are
mocking, contemptuous, nervous,
contemptuous, ironic laughs; and like tears and
crying, laughter of deep joy also arises.

We can laugh and joke about everything:

hunger, war, greed, corruption, authority, rules:
it all depends on who and how we do it,
because humor and laughter must be at the
service of magnanimity; Laughter must reveal
the silliness of the serious, the relativity of
things, and affirm that human dignity is above
any contingency.

Nowadays, laughter therapy has become

fashionable, as if it were a motor response.
Behind laughter there is a complex cognitive
and emotional activity that puts intellectual
operations and emotionality into action.

Humor, however, is a skill that can be

developed from a very early age; the adult or
teacher must provide experiences that allow
students to enjoy this resource in an authentic
way.

Humor, language and literature

In the first years of life, children approach

humor through the funny gestures that adults
make with their faces and bodies; Verbal games
where nonsense, inversion and absurdity reign
are also ideal for making children laugh. The
lines, the proclamations, the jokes, the riddles,
plays, mime, the puppets and the comic strips.

Between 3 and 5 years old they enjoy stories

associated with aspects that, due to their age,
they have not yet been able to overcome,
although they know they have to do it: peeing in
bed, confusing shadows with cuckoos. They
also laugh at puppet presentations where
human attitudes and actions are hyperbolized:
chases, falls, blows, etc.
 Stories of
the spoon Diary The world
Cultural
Recognition of the “Stories of the spoon” January
15, 2013

With her book “Stories of the “The protagonists are ordinary people
Spoon,” the writer María Cristina who are immersed in that political and
Aparicio was a finalist, in 2010, for the social reality, but who live it in their
Norma Fundalectura Award. own way. For example, in the
Colombian story the protagonist is
A series of stories where a bit of Latin Pablo Escobar's aunt, who is a very
American political history is mixed with naive woman from Antioquia in her
the typical food of several countries in vision of the world and who ends up
our region, that is what “Stories of the thinking, when she goes to her
Spoon” is about, the book by the nephew's zoo, that hippos are giant
Colombian-Ecuadorian writer María pigs and that She can make a super
Cristina Aparicio, who recently preparation of beans with the hooves
received the Certificate of Honor from of those giant pigs,” explains the
the International Organization for editor.
Children's and Young People's Books.
The stories in this book are completely
“In this book of short stories, fictional, and although they take place
characters from political and social in specific places and social contexts,
history appear, such as Pablo their intention is more narrative than
Escobar, for Colombia; the historical, showing a little of the culture
revolutionary group the Tupamaros, of each of the countries. And that was
from Uruguay; those disappeared by what made this work worthy of the
the Argentine dictatorship or the Certificate of Honor.
Ecuadorian president Abdalá
Bucaram. “The books to which the International
Organization for Children's and Young
But these stories mix in a very natural People's Books gives this recognition
way with the recipes for typical dishes become part
such as beans, empanadas, apple pie
or flour ball soup,” explains Jael Stella
Gómez, editor of “Stories of the
Spoon” in Colombia.

How did the writer manage to make

attractive stories for children and
young people with these characters?
The answer is simple: with humor.
of a global catalog that aims to bring
together and disseminate culture and
narrative between different countries,”
says Jael Stella Gómez.

The books that win this award are

selected for being the most
representative in aspects such as
narrative and illustration.

The author

Ma. Cristina
Aparicio A.
She was born in novel “A
Bogotá but spent monster ate my
her childhood in nose,” and has
Peru and, later, in been a finalist in
Ecuador, the the Fundalectura
country where she Ibero-American
is based. Children's
Literature Contest
He studied on two occasions.
literature and The organization
Spanish at the
Catholic The
University of International
Quito. He Organization
completed
for Children's
postgraduate
studies in and Young
screenwriting in People's
Spain. Books

His work is It is a group of

characterized by institutions that
the use of humor. seek to promote
He won the Darío children's and
Guevara Mayorga youth literature in
Prize with the various countries
around the world.
It was founded in
Switzerland in
1953.
Each country that
is part of the
Organization has
a representative
institution, this
institution being in
charge of
promoting reading
within its country
as well as
disseminating
local production
internationally.
The
representative of
Colombia in the
International
Organization for
Children's and
Young People's
Books is
Fundalectura.
The Organization,
which has held
international
conferences since
1998, is made up
of more than 60
institutions.
“Storie
were fires, storms
and earthquakes;
The
overflowed,
seasStories -
the
s to
taste”
sky darkened and
Quetzalcoatl, the
from the
spoon
enormous
feathered serpent,
was banished
I must clarify that forever from the
abode of the gods
before reading it, I
and had to live
Latin American stories about
misjudged this history and good eating at 1
book. Perhaps among men.
because of its
average length, Sister Isabel
because I found it heard this story
by chance or from the soldier
because I didn't who brought to
know the author's the Oaxaca
resume. María convent a jug of a
Christina Aparicio. dark, thick drink
This Colombian- made from a fruit
Ecuadorian living called xocolatl.
in Quito has a The soldier
degree in alerted the
Literature and
Spanish, a Spanish nuns that
teacher and oh! they should taste
Chef. With these it carefully
clarifications, it is because it had
no surprise to find chili, was bitter
seven stories that and stuck in the
are worth reading. mouth and throat,
I'm not going to like the suction
tell you what each cups of a leech
one is about, but I that slowly
can give you a descends through
hint of what you the body. In
will find: exchange, the
“XOCOLATL xocolatl allowed a
Quetzalcóatl man to go without
loved men so eating all day and
much that he stole awakened the
for them the most desire to live. The
precious plant of Aztecs valued the
the gods: the seeds of this plant
xocolatl. The so much that they
deities became used them as
angry and there coins.
Sister Isabel was
one of those in
charge of taking
care of the garden
and trying to
adapt European
legumes to that
strange land of so
many colors.
animals and historical moment
plants of and several
shameless fertility. characters - who
He was barely could perfectly be
sixteen years old candidates to be
and had arrived on a screen - that
nine months ago complete this
from Spain. book. When I
However, he still finished I was
felt in a constant convinced that
state of alert and there is nothing
unprotected. like love at
second sight. Not
Like the other only in books but
Spanish nuns, in recipes.
Isabel looked into
the jar of xocolatl; ( Story taken
She smiled like from the
the others and book “Stories
shared their of the Spoon”
mockery because by Ma.
the contents Cristina
seemed to her Aparicio.
nothing more than Bogota.
mud turned into Norma
drink. The mother Publishing.
superior, more 2011)
joking than
interested,
ordered Inés, the
youngest, to take
a sip. The poor
girl’s lips were
smeared with that
dark slime.”

All seven have as

their axis a
preparation, a
stories
Latin American stories about
gastronomy and history

Maria Cristina Aparicio

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