Mis Crismes 1956, Christmas in La Puente, New Mexico, makes an important contribution to the rich and diverse history of the Southwest through the author’s personal narrative which documents both her childhood experiences and her family’s cultural heritage. It is of utmost importance to include this text in the literary canon of the Southwest. Mora’s unique bilingual text treats us to both Spanish and English readers, and to a taste of the colloquial regional dialect of northern New Mexico with its hybrid roots based in Colonial Spanish and old-world Nahuatl, one of the prime Uto-Aztecan languages of the indigenous peoples of North America.
Author Gloria Mora has rewarded us with a rare glimpse into a multi-generational family’s Christmas tradition steep in a centuries-old way of life, rich in unique traditions and culture… we will warm our hands in the stove, smell the aroma of the bollitos Grandma has baked, and we will cringe in fearful anticipation when the abuelitos come knocking on the door to visit the children for nine nights ending on Christmas Eve.
And on Christmas morning we will celebrate Mis Crismes.
Review by
David Anthony Martin, author
