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Culture

Celebrating Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros with author Lupe Ruiz-Flores

0 · Apr 10, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Alicia's Fruity Drinks / Las aguas frescas de Alicia, a bilingual children's book by Lupe Ruiz-Flores

Today, I’m participating in Latinas for Latino Literature’s Día Blog Hop. Over 24 days, 24 Latina bloggers are paired with 24 authors and illustrators. This initiative, started in 2013 in the United States by poet Pat Mora, is in honor of Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros which is celebrated on April 30. All of the guest writers were asked to share an original story or illustration in support of Latino children’s literacy. The Other Side of The Tortilla is the fifth stop on the hop.

I’m thrilled to have been matched with Lupe Ruiz-Flores, the author of one of my favorite bilingual children’s books, Las Aguas Frescas de Alicia.

The story is about a little girl who attends a Mexican Independence Day festival with her parents and discovers agues frescas for the first time. She loves the fruit juices so much, she wants to make them at home with her mami, and soon is creating her own recipes to share with her soccer teammates.

It’s no secret that we’re huge agua fresca fans here at The Other Side of The Tortilla, and I believe teaching your kids about their family roots through food is a beautiful and meaningful way to instill culture and identity, as well as create lifetime memories. Books are another excellent way to teach kids about culture, and we couldn’t do that without Latino authors writing books filled with characters our children can identify with. As such, I’m proud to have my site serve as a vehicle to spread the word about the deep ties between literacy and culture and what they can do for our community.

Lupe Ruiz-Flores has shared an original essay for our readers as part of the L4LL blog hop. You can find the full schedule for all stops on the Día blog hop on the L4LL website. 

—Maura…

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Culture books, Las Aguas Frescas de Alicia, Lupe Ruiz-Flores

Agua de tuna roja

7 · Sep 30, 2010 · 27 Comments

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/15416696[/vimeo]

I still remember the first time I saw tunas growing wild – José and I were visiting Mexico City one warm week at the end of the summer several years ago. One afternoon we were bored, so my suegra suggested that José take me on an official tour of Ciudad Universitaria. Also referred to as CU, it is home to the main campus of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (la UNAM or in English, the National Autonomous University of Mexico), the largest university in Latin America and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2007.

This year on September 22, UNAM celebrated 100 years since its founding as the National University of Mexico as it was conceptualized by Secretary and Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts, Justo Sierra, and inaugurated in 1910 by President Porfirio Díaz. The university is also the successor to the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, founded by Spanish Royal Decree in 1551 – technically making UNAM one of the oldest universities in the Americas.

On the campus grounds, besides the historic buildings designed by some of Mexico’s most well-known architects, murals and sculptures by famous Mexican artists, an Olympic stadium that has hosted a Summer Olympic Games (1968) and a World Cup (1986), and an impressive number of students, faculty and staff, there exists a serene, green space that is as close to the original land’s flora and fauna as it might have grown freely during the height of the Aztec empire….

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Aguas frescas, Culture, drinks, How To, Mexico City, Recipe, Video aguas frescas, Aztecs, cactus fruit, cactus paddle, lime, limón, Mexica, nopales, prickly pear, receta vegetariana, Tenochtitlán, Toltec, tunas, UNAM, UNESCO

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¡Bienvenidos!

Hi, I'm Maura Hernández. Welcome to my kitchen! I'm an award-winning food and travel blogger, recipe developer, and former journalist sharing my passion for all things Mexico. Married to a Chilango, I've traveled Mexico extensively over the last 14 years. Here, you'll find a mix of traditional and modern Mexican cooking, along with my advice on where to eat, stay and play on your visit to Mexico! READ MORE

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