No More Bingo, Comadre!
Stories
Published by: University of New Mexico Press
200 Pages, 5.50 x 8.00 in
It takes all kinds to populate Northern New Mexico, and this book has every one: from gypsies and gamblers to ranchers and criminals. Noted author Nasario García introduces us to some of these people and the challenges they face. The title character, Adelfa, flirts with the glamour of casinos and finds herself addicted to gambling. Sam "Spam" Austin, an inmate serving a long sentence for murder, is paroled, attends medical school, and becomes a doctor. The affable grandfather in "Yo Quiero Hacer un Lie 'Way," a hard-working and honorable rancher, stuns the proprietor of a mortuary with his request to put a coffin on layaway.
Folklorist and native New Mexican Nasario García has published numerous books about Hispanic folklore and the oral history of northern New Mexico, including Grandma's Santo on Its Head / El santo patas arriba de mi abuelita: Stories of Days Gone By in Hispanic Villages of New Mexico / Cuentos de días gloriosos en pueblitos hispanos de Nuevo México and Grandpa Lolo's Navajo Saddle Blanket: La tilma de Abuelito Lolo (UNM Press). He currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
"In these layered multicultural stories [García] draws from his life experience to create folktales that both teach and amuse. . . . Five stars!"--Phaedra Greenwood, enchantment
"A terrific read."--Albuquerque Journal
"Suffused with Hispanic wisdom, tall tales, and slang, the stories enchanted us."--New Mexico Magazine
"García provides the reader with insights often overlooked. . . . The many aspects of life in New Mexico are portrayed with joy and genuine care."--Roundup
"No More Bingo, Comadre! is more than just a good-humored anthology. An important underlining theme to these tales is about younger generations of Hispanic New Mexicans losing touch with their culture. . . . As with traditional folktales, each story has a moral meant to convey universal themes."--The Taos News
"A sensitive, humorous Northern New Mexico folkloric treasure. It is a view of the evolving world of New Mexico Hispanics by a master storyteller who experienced all of the losses, gains, and compromises made to accommodate that transition."--Esther V. Córdova-May, author of Antes: Stories from the Past in Cuba, New Mexico, 1769-1949
Death Came and Went Away
Grandpa Lolo's Gay Rooster
Beyond the Bridge
Don Remigio Visits a Doctor
Grandpa Lolo's Spooky Candle
Yo Quiero Hacer un Lie 'Way
Hey, Sis!
A Halloween Prank That Failed
The Gypsy World
Charlie "Iglesias" Church
A Weekend Pass in Derby Land
Teaching behind Prison Walls
No More Bingo, Comadre!