Curse of the ChupaCabra [Hardcover]

Rudolfo Anaya (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2006

Is the ChupaCabra mythical or real? Stories of the creature abound in Latino communities. The illusive creature is said to suck the blood of goats. Thus, its name, goatsucker. Whenever a backyard goat or chicken is mysteriously killed, the story spreads in the barrio that the ChupaCabra struck.

When Professor Rosa Medina began to research the folklore of the ChupaCabra, she never expected to tangle face-to-face with the monster. Rosa journeys to Mexico to examine a ChupaCabra incident. The creature has killed a campesino in the jungle. And the drug traffickers who have captured the ChupaCabra also control a large drug shipment destined for Los Angeles.

The monster is set loose on the streets; so is the meth that is destroying the brains of the young and vulnerable. This fast-paced story moves from Mexico to Los Angeles to New Mexico. Danger lurks at every corner as Rosa fights to protect her students from the forces of evil.

Written for young adults, the story has a universal message. Only Rudolfo Anaya can combine the excitement of a thriller and the wisdom of traditional healings to create a page-turner that has lessons to teach us all.

"Rudolfo Anaya is a pioneer of Chicano letters, revitalizing the ground of literature with every new work. Now with The Curse of the ChupaCabra, Anaya enters the realm of pop culture with social-political urgency. The scourge of drugs striking at the heart of all our barrios and the ChupaCabra legend blend and converge in a story that awakens us to the real horrors in our midst. Gracias a dios que tenemos Rudy Anaya."--Luis J. Rodriguez, author of Always Running and Music of the Mill

Ages 14 years and up.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The legendary ChupaCabra, the goatsucker, is set loose in the streets, like the meth that is destroying its young victims' minds.

About the Author

Rudolfo Anaya, widely acclaimed as one of the founders of modern Chicano literature, is professor emeritus of English at the University of New Mexico. Anaya was presented with the National Medal of Arts for literature in 2001 and his novel Alburquerque (the city's original Spanish spelling) won the PEN Center West Award for Fiction. He has also received the Premio Quinto Sol, the national Chicano literary award, the American Book Award from The Before Columbus Foundation, the Mexican Medal of Friendship from the Mexican Consulate, and the Western Literature Association's Distinguished Achievement Award. He is best known for the classic Bless Me Ultima.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 174 pages
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826341144
• ISBN-13: 978-0826341143
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,067,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rudolfo Anaya is professor emeritus of English at the University of New Mexico. He was one of the first winners of the Premio Quinto Sol National Chicano literary award. Winner of the PEN Center USA West Award for Fiction for his novel Alburquerque, he is best-loved for his classic bestseller Bless Me, Ultima. His other works include Zia Summer, Rio Grande Fall, Jalamanta, Tortuga, Heart of Aztlan , and The Anaya Reader. He has also written numerous short stories, essays, and children's books, including The Farolitos of Christmas and Maya's Children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Chupacabra or Drug Wars?, December 7, 2011

By 

Troy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Curse of the ChupaCabra (Hardcover)

The Curse of The Chupacabra by Rudolfo Anayais about a young woman named Rosa Medina. Rosa is a folklorist and a professor in pursuit of the mythological "Chupacabra". Rosa finds herself in Mexico hunting down what the locals call the "goat sucker" the native Mexicans have claimed sightings of the beast attacking and killing their farm animals. For Rosa the goat sucker is easy to track down, as she finds out the chupacabra has a specific diet and that is the brains of it's prey, "He examined th goat carefully. 'Let's see if there is any blood'. He took the knife and cut the goats throat. 'No, the goats blood was not drained'. 'So what killed the goat?' Rosa asked. 'I don't know.' Herminio replied, examining the goat again. 'Ah, look at this.' He pointed to the top of the goats skull. 'Looks like two holes,' Rosa said, peering at the puncture wounds. 'Something bore into the skull?' Herminio nodded. He took a saw and cut into the goat's head. When he was done he pried thhe halves apart. The gray matter was mush. 'Dios mío!' h cried. 'Chupacabra is not drinking the blood of animals; the monster destroys their brains." (page fifteen) Rosa later comes to find out that the beast has been captured by major drug traffickers. The drug traffickers are using chupacabra against their clients.
I give the book two out of five stars because I think that the book was suspenseful at some parts but it was mostly a boring read that dragged along at slow pace. I think that Anaya focused more on the dangerous drug traffickers in Mexico rather than writing a story about a curse of a mythological monster. The book has frequent Spanish vocabulary wich defiantly helps set the tone for the book but considering I'm a spanish one student I had moments where I became confused because of the Spanish dialect. I think Anaya should've added translations to the bottom of each page to help his non spanish speaking readers. I gave the book two stars one for the creative and misleading plot twists and another for the intresting Mexican culture inbeded in the book, also i could read some of the Spanish and it was pretty cool to use my Spanish out of the class room. Over all I rate it 2/5 stars.