Holiday Memories and Traditions
Holiday Memories
December 17, 2009
Over the years,
Latino USA has aired many holiday stories. From tamale-making traditions within the Mexican-American communities, to
parrandas in the Puerto Rican communities, to the making of the
lechón in the Cuban and Cuban-American communities.
One of our most popular holiday shows, however, was originally produced in 1999 called “Las Christmas” and was based on a book of the same title by Vintage Books. It’s actually a collection of holiday memories by Latino writers.
We turned some of the stories from the book into an award-winning radio show. But by far, our favorite story is author Denise Chavez’s story titled, “Big Calzones.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
No Santa in Vieques
Courtesy coolclips.com.
was the first Latino superintendent of schools in New York. Now he is an elderly, retired gentleman who lives in Sanibel Island, Florida. But as a native Nuyorican, he grew up bilingual. And one of his earliest childhood memories was a holiday trip to his mother’s native town on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques.
It was on that trip that Pacheco experienced holiday parrandas first-hand. But, as a youth, he was surprised that Santa Claus didn’t make it to the island every Christmas Day. Instead, Tres Reyes Magos brought presents on January 6th.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Charro Claus
Santa Claus, of course, is known for his holiday gift-giving. But he is known by different names in different cultures around the world. Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Papa Noellë, are some examples of Santa’s names. Also, many regional “Santa’s helpers” can be found that are more culturally specific to the communities.
Lessor known than his famous cousin, Charro Claus speaks both English and Spanish, wears a big Mexican sombrero, and helps his cousin from the North Pole. San Antonio writer Xavier Garza captured his story in a children’s book titled Charro Claus and the Tejas Kid published by Cinco Puntos Press.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Latino USA now continues our special series in conjunction with StoryCorps Historias.
The Torres family actually came from San Francisco. Richard Torres was the eldest male in a family of 10 children. He has 3 daughters, 3 grandsons and 2 granddaughters. They live in San Francisco, New Mexico and Philadelphia. Not too long ago, at StoryCorp in Taos, New Mexico, Richard shared with his daughter Kathy Namba how the love and family commitment he has shown to his children and grandchildren actually came from his parents.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The Mascareñas family had been farming near Urraca, New Mexico for generations before Lucille married into the family in the 1960s. She recalled a time when she met the family matriarch, Candelaria Mascareñas. Since Candelaria did not speak English and Lucille did not understand Spanish well, it took some time for “acceptance” to set in.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
These audio segments were produced by Nadia Reiman. The Senior Producer for StoryCorps is Michael Garofalo. For more information about StoryCorps Historias, click on the graphic below.
Essay: Michele Serros
Michele Serros was a staff writer for the George Lopez Show in 2002.
With all the focus on a national health care bill, writer
Michele Serros recalls her excitement when, as a writer for a little known comedian for a new sitcom back in 2002, she worked her way to earning health insurance. But she eventually quit that job, she, says, for health reasons.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Denise Chavezhas written numerous plays and literary pieces about Chicanos, Native Americans and working-class Latino women. She is Executive Director of the Cultural Center de Mesilla in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Joseph Pacheco is a native Nuyorican, retired NYC school superintendent living on Sanibel Island, Florida. He began writing poetry at 70, and has published two books of poetry.
Xavier Garza is a prolific author, artist, and storyteller whose work focuses primarily on his experiences growing up in the small border town of Rio Grande City. Garza lives in San Antonio, Texas.
Nadia Reiman is a producer for StoryCorps and was the associate producer for the Washington-based Spanish language radio show Epicentro. She hails from San Jose, Costa Rica.
Michele Serros is the author of Honey Blonde Chica, Chicana Falsa, and How to Be a Chicana Role Model. Michele was a writer for The George Lopez Show. She is from Oxnard, California.
