As intoxicating as the traditional music of Cuba, and as delicious as picadillo and plantains, storytelling is alive and well on the beautiful island of Cuba. Cuban folklore is particularly rich, drawing from both Hispanic and Afro-Cuban traditions. Elvia Perez, a practicing Cuban storyteller brings you 21 tales of delight and wonder-from engaging animal stories and tales of the fantastic to Afro-Cuban patakies and side-splitting tall tales from the Cuban countryside. All stories are presented in English and Spanish, making this a great resource for ESL and Spanish language classes. In addition, you'll find all the popular World Folklore series extras-a brief history of the island, traditional recipes, color photographs and drawings, even directions for Cuban children's games. A versatile book with many educational applications, this collection is a must for the library's folklore and children's collections, as well as for storytellers, teachers, and anyone else interested in learning about the traditions of Cuba. All levels.

This book is part of a book series called World Folklore .

There are 184 pages in this book. This book was published 2004 by ABC-CLIO .

MARGARET READ MACDONALD, award-winning author, editor, storyteller and former librarian. She also seves on the Libraries Unlimited World Folklore Series Advisory Board VICTOR HERNANDEZ MORA was born in 1964 in Habana, Cuba. Mora studied in both Habana and Santiago de Cuba. He graduated with a degree in Industrial Design from the Escuela of Diseno of Habana. He has had both collective and individual expositions in Habana at various cultural institutions and at the escuela de Altos Estudios de Hoteleria y Turismo. ELVIA PEREZ, a world-renowned storyteller, storytelling advocate, author, and journal editor who has served on the Cuban National Cultural Counsel for more than two decades and has worked extensively on storytelling programs for Cuban television. Elvia has received many distinctions for her contributions in the cultural arena, including the award Cuentacontigo, voted by the public has their favorite performance and also the award brocal given to her artistic trajectory by the Biennal de Oralidad. PAULA MARTIN, a teacher, writer and storyteller, who performs in schools and community centers in her native Argentina, and at festivals in Argentina, Cuba, and the United States.

This book has the following chapters: Acknowledgements Introduction by Margaret Read MacDonald Translator's Note by Paula Martin Cuban Folklore Our Island of Cuba Cuentos de Campesinos / Stories of Country Folk Cuentos Afrocubanos o Patakies / Afro-Cuban Tales or "Patakies" Cuentos de Animals / Stories of Animals Cuentos de Seres Fantasticos / Stories of Fantastic Beings Glossary Tale Notes and Sources About the Author About the Editor About the Translator About the Illustrator Index