Customer Reviews

Stories from Puerto Rico

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a compilation of 18 legends, true-life experiences, and mysteries, "Stories from Puerto Rico," provides that reader with a wide array of stories all relating to the island's folklore and supernatural occurrences. The book's bilingual text, allowing both English and Spanish-language readers to enjoy these tales and accounts. The chronological order of these stories also is beneficial to classify which legends/accounts are recent and which are from the Spanish-colonial era. The tales in this book goes as follows:

(1) Creation {Pre-Colombian tale}: Discusses the Taino Indians (original island inhabitants) belief on how their gods created the Antilles.

(2) The Death of Salcedo {1511}: True-life tale of the murder of a Spanish conquistador by the Tainos, who wanted to determine whether or not he was a god. The drowning of this man in an island river helped the natives realize that the Spaniards were not from heaven.

(3) Guanina {1511}: A legend similar to a Puerto Rican version of Romeo & Juliet. Spanish conquistador-Taina love story ending in tragedy.

(4) The Miracles of Our Lady of Monserrate {1600}: The apparition of the Virgin in the town of Hormigueros caused many to build a shrine in her honor. Similar to the apparition of the Virgin in Lourdes and Fatima, this one was different because it involved the image of the Virgin of Monserrate, the black virgin who is the patron saint of Catalonia (Spain).

(5) The Snake's Curve {1700}: a legend involving a witch's curse that turned a woman from the town of Guayama into a snake.

(6) The Devil's Sentry Box {1790}: A legend that took place in San Juan involving the disappearances of several Spanish soldiers guarding the city from a Sentry House near San Cristobal Castle.

(7) & (8) Cofresi, Parts I & II {1824}: A tale of a Puerto Rican "Robin Hood". The tale is divided into two chapters.

(9) Carabali {1830}: An account of a slave fleeing from Spanish slavery.

(10) Lola de America {1858}: The life of Lola Rodriguez de Tio, one of Puerto Rico's most famous poets, and the author of the island's national anthem..

(11) Elena of the Holy Mountain (1900): The apparition of this ghostly figure in the town of San Lorenzo uses warns people of an impending storm.

(12) Esperanza (1910): The legend revolving a statue of a dog on a San Juan beach.

(13) Guayama, Witch City (1940): A report on witchcraft activities in the town of Guayama.

(14) The Miraculous Well (1953): The reported sighting of the Virgin Mary in the town of Sabana Grande, who appeared to a group of schoolchildren to tell them that the water from a well would have miraculous healing powers.

(15) The Specter (1970): The reported sightings of a ghost in the town of Patillas.

(16) Extraterrestrials (1975): Actual accounts of alien and UFO encounters throughout the island.

The final section of the book contains the popular folklore tales of Foolish Jack" ("Juan Bobo) and "Friend Rabbit" ("Compadre Conejillo"), which are well-known throughout the island. The author also includes a brief history of the island's original inhabitants, the Tainos, as well as a bilingual Spanish-English dictionary for reference. This book makes an excellent book for anyone interested in Puerto Rican culture and/or who wants to learn either Spanish or English using side-by-side texts. The author has done a great job of capturing most of the island's tales all in one book!

As a compilation of 18 legends, true-life experiences, and mysteries, "Stories from Puerto Rico," provides that reader with a wide array of stories all relating to the island's folklore and supernatural occurrences. The book's bilingual text, allowing both English and Spanish-language readers to enjoy these tales and accounts. The chronological order of these stories also is beneficial to classify which legends/accounts are recent and which are from the Spanish-colonial era. The tales in this book goes as follows:

(1) Creation {Pre-Colombian tale}: Discusses the Taino Indians (original island inhabitants) belief on how their gods created the Antilles.

(2) The Death of Salcedo {1511}: True-life tale of the murder of a Spanish conquistador by the Tainos, who wanted to determine whether or not he was a god. The drowning of this man in an island river helped the natives realize that the Spaniards were not from heaven.

(3) Guanina {1511}: A legend similar to a Puerto Rican version of Romeo & Juliet. Spanish conquistador-Taina love story ending in tragedy.

(4) The Miracles of Our Lady of Monserrate {1600}: The apparition of the Virgin in the town of Hormigueros caused many to build a shrine in her honor. Similar to the apparition of the Virgin in Lourdes and Fatima, this one was different because it involved the image of the Virgin of Monserrate, the black virgin who is the patron saint of Catalonia (Spain).

(5) The Snake's Curve {1700}: a legend involving a witch's curse that turned a woman from the town of Guayama into a snake.

(6) The Devil's Sentry Box {1790}: A legend that took place in San Juan involving the disappearances of several Spanish soldiers guarding the city from a Sentry House near San Cristobal Castle.

(7) & (8) Cofresi, Parts I & II {1824}: A tale of a Puerto Rican "Robin Hood". The tale is divided into two chapters.

(9) Carabali {1830}: An account of a slave fleeing from Spanish slavery.

(10) Lola de America {1858}: The life of Lola Rodriguez de Tio, one of Puerto Rico's most famous poets, and the author of the island's national anthem..

(11) Elena of the Holy Mountain (1900): The apparition of this ghostly figure in the town of San Lorenzo uses warns people of an impending storm.

(12) Esperanza (1910): The legend revolving a statue of a dog on a San Juan beach.

(13) Guayama, Witch City (1940): A report on witchcraft activities in the town of Guayama.

(14) The Miraculous Well (1953): The reported sighting of the Virgin Mary in the town of Sabana Grande, who appeared to a group of schoolchildren to tell them that the water from a well would have miraculous healing powers.

(15) The Specter (1970): The reported sightings of a ghost in the town of Patillas.

(16) Extraterrestrials (1975): Actual accounts of alien and UFO encounters throughout the island.

The final section of the book contains the popular folklore tales of Foolish Jack" ("Juan Bobo) and "Friend Rabbit" ("Compadre Conejillo"), which are well-known throughout the island. The author also includes a brief history of the island's original inhabitants, the Tainos, as well as a bilingual Spanish-English dictionary for reference. This book makes an excellent book for anyone interested in Puerto Rican culture and/or who wants to learn either Spanish or English using side-by-side texts. The author has done a great job of capturing most of the island's tales all in one book!

I found this book to be very helpful in two important ways: widening my perspective of Latin culture, and bettering my Spanish reading comprehension. The 18 stories are each short enough to keep the reader interested in the story, but filled with enough vocabulary to keep him or her constantly learning. Plus, the reader that is a little shaky can use the opposite page in English as a crutch, and there is also an index of vocabulary in the back of the book if one would prefer that approach. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to further their vocabulary, while at the same time broaden their cultural perspective.

I recommend this book to all people, especially the Puerto Ricans, because it talks about our roots, our culture and our different ethnic origins. After you read this book you will understand our Spanish people more, know about our needs and be more understandable of Puerto Rican people.

My best regards to Robert L. Muckley and Adela Martínez-Santiago for their great job in this wonderful book.

This is the second "Side-by-Side" book I have read.
I prefer the first, "Stories from Latin America,"
because the editors of that volume better understood
their purpose -- which is to present side-by-side versions
of the same story, such that a reader conversant in one
language but not the other, may learn new vocabulary, verify
verb tense, etc. If one looks at the back cover of "Stories
from Puerto Rico," one sees that it says there that "we've
placed the Spanish and English stories side by side -- lado a
lado -- so you can practice and improve your reading skills in your
new language while enjoying the support of your native language.
That way, you'll avoid the inconvenience of constantly having to
look up unfamiliar words and expressions in a dictionary."
Well, you had better have a dictionary handy if you plan to
learn from this book. I have been exasperated time and again by
English translations that are too loose to be useful. If one is
translating for the purpose of conveying the sense and spirit of
a story, then a precise word-for-word translation is unnecessary.
However, this book is designed for language students who are trying
to learn a foreign language. A precise translation is just what's
needed, and I think it's what was promised on that back cover. Yet,
this is not what the book delivers. Let me give an example. There
are many to choose from. This one appears on page 117. Here's the
Spanish version:

"No sabemos si existió, ni dónde, ni cuándo, pero sus desventuras
han hecho reír a generaciones de puertoriquenos. A continuación
encontrará una versión de una historia de Juan Bobo." [I've omitted
the diacritical mark on the "n" in puertoriquenos, but it's there in
the text.]

Now here's the English version of the same sentences:

"We don't know if he really existed, or where, or when, but his
misadventures have entertained generations of Puerto Ricans. The
following is one version of a story about Foolish Jack."

Here now is my problem with the English translation. First, the
word "entertained." The Spanish word translated is "reír." The
Spanish word means "to laugh." Why didn't the translator give us
the precise translation? The clause should read, "his adventures have made generations of
Puerto Ricans laugh." What's wrong with this more precise translation?
Had I not recognized that the Spanish verb is similar to the French
for "laugh" (which I know already), then I might not have bothered
to look the word up. I might have assumed that "reír" means "to
entertain." It does not. My second problem with the English translation
has to do with the last sentence. The Spanish verb "encontrará" is
simply not translated. As though that weren't bad enough, the tense
has been changed from future to present. As a person trying to learn
Spanish (that's why I bought this book), I want to know the meaning and
tense of "encontrará." The Spanish sentence should have been translated
as follows: "Following, you will find a version of one story about Juan
Bobo." Is that so hard? What did the translator think he was doing?
What did he think his purpose was?

This book still has value, and that's why I give it three stars. The
English translation helps convey the general sense of a sentence, and
that is usually enough to help the reader fill in the gaps. However,
a dictionary is still required -- especially since some of the Spanish
vocabulary in not included in the glossary.

A very sloppy job of editing. "Stories from Latin America" is better
done.

As a teacher in PR, we always talk about these stories and most of the students are familiar with them in Spanish. These are great teaching tools to use in the English classroom. This also could be said for those trying to learn or teach Spanish in the States (or PR). These stories are commmon legends here on the island. Anyone you meet has a different tale or twist to it. It was nice to read, easy too, and there is an insight to island lore and culture that for outsiders you can get just anywhere. Enjoy!

Gave this as a gift and the person that received it loved it. She loves history and so does her spouse who doesn't speak spanish so the fact that the book is in both spanish and english makes it a great gift for them.

This book is a very good reading through the eyes of people who are interested in the history. It give the reader a good understanding of Puerto Ricans and the way they lived.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a wonderful refresher for your spanish skills and quite enlightening for anyone curious about Puerto Rican culture/stories. It is not expensive at all and a good read.

I love this book. Not only do you have the comfort of English translations, but there is also a mini dictionary in the back of the book. It's great! I would definitely recommend it.