Esperanza renace (Esperanza Rising)

A Mexican "Grapes of Wrath," based on a family story, from the award-winning author of Riding Freedom.

Esperanza Ortega tiene todos los tesoros que una chica pueda desear: hermosos vestidos, una linda casa llena de sirvientes en México, y la promesa de que un día llegará a presidir el Rancho como su mamá. Pero una tragedia inesperada destruye ese sueño, obligando a Esperanza y a su madre a escapar a California dónde tendrán que trabajar en una finca junto a otros mexicanos. Allí tendrá que olvidar su pasado y enfrentarse a las nuevas realidades de su vida: trabajo duro, aceptación y dificultades económicas. Esperanza descubrirá que la verdadera riqueza está en la familia y la comunidad.

Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.

Esperanza Ortega possesses all the treasures a young girl could want: fancy dresses; a beautiful home filled with servants in Aguascalientes, Mexico; and the promise of one day rising to Mama's position and presiding over all of Rancho de las Rosas.

But a sudden tragedy shatters that dream, forcing Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp.

There, Esperanza must relinquish her hold on the past as she confronts the challenges of hard labor, acceptance by her own people, and economic difficulties brought on by the Great Depression, and ultitmately discovers the riches of family and community.

Pam Munoz Ryan eloquently portrays the Mexican workers' plight in this abundant and passionate novel that gives voice to those who have historically been denied one.

"When I was a child, I always assumed my grandmother grew up in poverty because the stories she told were primarily about raising her children in farm labor camps in California in the 1930s. It wasn't until I was a young woman that she told me about her childhood in Mexico. I was so moved by her riches-to-rags fairytale that I felt compelled to share her story." -- Pam Munoz Ryan.

Esperanza Ortega tiene todos los tesoros que una chica pueda desear: hermosos vestidos, una linda casa llena de sirvientes en Aguascalientes, Mexico, y la promesa de que un dia llegara a presidir el Rancho de las Rosas como su mama. Pero una tragedia inesperada destruye ese sueno, obligando a Esperanza y a su madre a escapar a California donde tendran que trabajar en una finca junto a otros mexicanos. Alli, Esperanza tendra que olvidar su pasado y enfrentarse a las nuevasrealidades de su vida: trabajo duro, aceptacion y dificultades economicas. Esperanza descubrira que la verdadera riqueza esta en la familia y la comunidad. Pam Munoz Ryan nos presenta un retrato elocuente sobre la vida de los mexicanos en California en esta apasionada novela que le da voz a aquellos qu

Children's Literature

This exciting, well-written historical novel is based on the true-life experiences of the author's grandmother, Esperanza Ortega. Thirteen-year-old Esperanza and her newly widowed mother are forced to leave their fairytale existence at beautiful Rancho de las Rosas in Mexico, to live and work in a migrant worker camp in the San Joaquin Valley during the Great Depression. Adjustments to her new life are difficult for Esperanza the harsh living conditions and hard labor are so different from her earlier life of privilege and wealth, especially after Mama becomes seriously ill with valley fever. But like the phoenix in her beloved grandma's story, Esperanza endures, "Rising again, with a new life ahead..." The author does a very good job of portraying the caring and solidarity, as well as the hardships, of Mexican-American labor camps of the era. An author's note is included. This book would be a great choice for a multicultural collection. 2000, Scholastic, $15.95. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Gisela Jernigan