If you’re looking for simple recipes with ground beef, you may want to give this carne molida recipe a try. Carne molida is a Puerto Rican ground beef recipe that is similar to picadillo (a name that might be more familiar). However, Puerto Rican carne molida is slighty different than Cuban picadillo and is cooked with potatoes and carrots. They’re both delicious dishes, though!

I grew up eating carne molida and it’s still a regular part of my weekly menu plan. It’s such an easy ground beef recipe and it’s pretty versatile too, since you can use it as a filling for other foods. I love to eat it served over white rice as does my husband. Something I often do is substitute the ground beef with ground turkey to make my carne molida recipe a bit healthier. If you want to learn how to make the real deal, here’s my family’s recipe for carne molida!

Puerto Rican Carne Molida (Ground Beef) Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 lbs ground beef
• 1 Tbsp adobo
• 3/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 Tbsp meat tenderizer
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Sazón, 1 packet
• 1 1/2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 1/2 Tbsp tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp sofrito (or recaito)
• 10-11 green olives (Spanish salad olives) + 1-2 tsp of olive liquid
• 2-3 small potatoes, peeled, rinsed, and cubed
• about 10 baby carrots, rinsed and chopped

Note: To see pictures and links for some of the ingredients used, read 5 Must-Have Ingredients for Cooking Puerto Rican Food.

Directions

1. Season ground beef with adobo, black pepper, and meat tenderizer.
2. Heat a large pan to low-medium heat and add seasoned ground beef.
3. Add olive oil, sazón, tomato paste, tomato sauce, sofrito, green olives, cubed potatoes, and chopped carrots.
4. Cover pan and cook on low-medium heat until ground beef is browned, stirring occasionally.
5. Turn heat down to low and continue cooking until potatoes are tender and ground beef is well cooked. Stir occasionally.

Serve your carne molida with a side of white rice (or right on top of the rice as I prefer). Here’s an easy white rice recipe using a rice cooker!

What is your favorite recipe for ground beef? Have you ever tried carne molida or picadillo?

All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami™

We love to read in our house and thankfully, this has helped encourage a love of reading for our children. Being a multicultural household means we often seek books with characters our children can relate to and “see” themselves in. That’s why I’m loving the latest effort by my friends at Latinas 4 Latino Literature, in which they are celebrating Latino authors and literature. This month, they’re specifically honoring Latino children’s literature through the Día Blog Hop and a major giveaway! Read on for a piece written by Puerto Rican children’s book author and illustrator, Lulu Delacre, on the state of Latino children’s literature. Be sure to scroll down for details on the giveaway – it’s a great one!

“Qué linda manita
que tiene el bebé
que linda que mona
que bonita es…”

Recently I attended a baby shower where I happened to be the only Latina present. As I watched the mother-to-be opening gifts I counted about twenty children’s books. Being a children’s book author and illustrator myself, I immediately noticed the prevalence of Dr. Seuss’ titles and the absence of Mother Goose Rhymes volumes. I wondered, why aren’t babies being sung traditional folklore these days?

I certainly remembered that 27 years ago I felt the urge to run to the public library in search of a book for my bebita, with the nursery rhymes of my childhood in Puerto Rico, illustrated with pictures of Latino kids. I had illustrated Mother Goose Rhymes myself and I envied the American mother who could choose from so many beautiful volumes to share with her child. Back then when 5,000 children’s books were published annually, I found not one book to fulfill my earnest desire. Hence, I created one, found a visionary editor from a major publishing house, and can say that if Arroz con leche: Popular Songs and Rhymes from Latin America is still in print for its 25th birthday next year, it will be because there are thousands of Latinas yearning for the same books now, like I did back then.

But suddenly, I got curious; had the amount of offerings for young Latino children increased in the past three decades? If you search “Mother Goose Rhymes,” under Books on amazon.com, you will find 2,346 titles. However, if you type in “Latino nursery rhymes,” this search yields 20 titles. Yes, just 20 titles. So, in a country in which the Pew Hispanic Center reports that 25% of the elementary public school students in 2011 were Hispanic, the ratio of books for the youngest of these children that reflect their parents’ heritage is less than 10 in one thousand. Does this make sense to you?

Since the publication of The New York Times article “For Latino Readers, an Image is Missing,” much has been discussed on listserves, blogs and in public forums about the paucity of children’s books by and about Latinos. Although I agree with this view, the truth is that not only Latino children need access to the books that connect them to their parents’ heritage, make their lives richer, and allow them to feel that they are a part of the American fabric. Their non-Latino friends need this literature as well. It is in learning about one another that the “otherness” fades. It is in learning of each other’s traditions, culture, and heritage, that the fear of the unknown dissipates and we encourage tolerance and acceptance.

I frequently share with school children of all ethnicities the game-songs and gentle games that our mothers and grandmothers handed down to us and that are featured in some of my books. The positive responses I receive from kids of ALL ethnicities never cease to surprise me. They are thrilled to come up front and have me tickle them at the end of “Este dedito compró un huevito” or “sube, sube la hormiguita.” They love to hold hands with me in a big circle to play the “Shake it, Morena!” and “Arroz con leche” game songs.

When I expressed my concern about the dearth of nursery rhyme books to the early childhood educator seated next to me at the baby shower, she confided, “Dr. Seuss is what little ones relate to, now. The content of Mother Goose Rhymes is old-fashioned.” Perhaps. But in the case of our Latin American nursery rhymes and games, I believe that their content, rhythm, and poetry is as relevant to today’s children as it was to kids a hundred years ago. The proof is in the faces and reactions of the scores of children that sing and dance with me at American public schools.

We should celebrate our language, heritage, and traditions. We should share them with our neighbors and friends. But especially when there is such a disparity between the Latino population in American public schools and the books that honor their culture, we should all hurry to buy a book that reflects the Latino experience. For if each one of us purchased just one book, the demand would prompt publishers to contract more Latino titles and we would begin to change the unbelievable ratio of 10 to 1,000!

En la unión está la fuerza.

Lulu Delacre is an award-winning bilingual author and illustrator of 34 books. Visit her at www.luludelacre.com. 

All illustrations and photos © Lulu Delacre.

The Giveaway

L4LL has put together a wonderful collection of Latino children’s literature to be given to a school or public library. Many of the books were donated by the authors and illustrators participating in this blog hop. You can read a complete list of titles (as well as the blog hop schedule) here on the L4LL website.

To enter your school library or local library in the giveaway, simply leave a comment below.

The deadline to enter is 11:59 pm EST, Monday, April 29, 2013. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and announced on the L4LL website on April 30th, Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros, and will be contacted via email – so be sure to leave a valid email address in your comment! (If we have no way to contact you, we’ll have to choose someone else!)

By entering this giveaway, you agree to the Official Sweepstakes Rules. No purchase required. Void where prohibited.

¡Buena suerte!

Happy Three Kings’ Day! Feliz Dí­a de los Tres Reyes Magos!

We did it. Last year, after not celebrating, I resolved to celebrate Three Kings’ Day this year. And, though it’s a normal work day and baby girl is at preschool today, she did get her gift this morning and participated in the traditional Three Kings’ Day celebration.

It’s nice for me to share this tradition with her and remember my own childhood memories of celebrating El Día de Los Reyes. I remember making my basket with my family, filling it with grass on La Víspera de Reyes (the Eve of Three Kings’ Day), and being excited the next morning when I found the grass had been replaced with candy and the kings had also left me a gift.

There was one particular year that I remember vividly because I did something that I regret to this day. I can remember that I wanted one of those Barbie motorcycles; I think they were a hot item back then. When I opened my gift, it was a Barbie scooter instead, or maybe it was a moped. What I know is that it wasn’t the motorcycle I wanted. And I said, in my little whiny voice too, “Esto no es lo que yo queria!” (This isn’t what I wanted!) I was of course quickly reprimanded and told to appreciate what the kings had brought me because other kids may not have gotten anything. But, I can still remember my mami‘s face right before she scolded me. When I was old enough and learned that my parents were the ones that actually provided the gifts and that it wasn’t actually Los Reyes, I felt horrible. I know that I apologized to my mom at one point or another, maybe even multiple times. I will probably apologize again today and we’ll laugh it off.

So, how do we celebrate Three Kings’ Day? I believe that each Latino culture has their own special way of celebrating Three Kings’ Day. I can only tell you how we personally celebrated Los Tres Reyes in Puerto Rico and what I am passing down to my children so they can learn about the tradition.

Traditions for Celebrating Three Kings’ Day (El Día de los Tres Reyes Magos)

1. First, you will need either a plain shoebox or a basket made from a shoebox. Here are the baskets my kids will be using this weekend, made by their abuela:
   
   The basket is normally decorated with bows made out of wax paper, but we’ve had trouble finding such paper. So, in the past, we’ve also used regular wrapping paper.
2. Then, the night before Three Kings’ Day, on La Vispera de Reyes – have your child collect some grass from your yard and put it in the basket. The grass is for the kings’ camels. This is analogous to setting out milk & cookies for Santa or carrots for his reindeer.
3. The basket then goes under the bed (or next to it if it doesn’t fit).
4. In the middle of the night, after your child is sleeping, throw out the grass and replace it with candy. Place a gift next to the basket.
5. The next morning, your child will be delighted to find the gift and candy that the Three Kings left behind!
6. Don’t forget to explain that Los Tres Reyes left a gift for him/her the same way they brought gifts for baby Jesus when he was born. That is the meaning behind all this and why we celebrate the holiday.

Los Tres Reyes (Three Kings’ Day) is a fun holiday and one I plan to continue celebrating each year so my kids can create their own memories and embrace this Latino tradition.

Have you ever celebrated El Día de Los Tres Reyes? Do you think you might next year?

Top photo: Cryo Mariena/Flickr

Yesterday on Twitter, the hashtag #101HispanicWaystoDie was trending and full of tweets poking fun at Latino culture. My friend Tracy alerted me to the hashtag and also wrote about it, and how she contributed with her own light-hearted tweets. Her Vicks VapoRub tweet brought back memories and had me laughing.

But, something I noticed as I initially took a peek at the hashtag and scrolled through the tweets, was the abundant commentary about Black people. It was something Tracy and I discussed a bit after reading various tweets. As Tracy mentioned in her post, one girl wrote “say you’re going out with a moreno” and countless more retweeted and favorited her tweet. Other similar tweets included, “Bringing a Black boyfriend home,” and “Changing your parents music in the car to ‘musica de negros’.” It seems that whether in English, Spanish, or even Spanglish, and regardless of the terminology (Black, moreno, negro), the sentiment of many was the same: their parents were not accepting of Black people or culture – or at least they felt this was true.

Now admittedly, many of the tweets came from young people (teens even?), judging solely by the tiny Twitter avatar. I know young kids can be overly dramatic, but were their words a sign of something bigger in Latino culture – something we should really discuss as a community?

I’ll be super honest and share that growing up, I did observe some of this behavior. Sadly, I heard comments similar to those tweeted and that included phrases like “esos morenos,” always from the older generation. It never sat right with me, even at a young age when I didn’t truly understand.

I’ve always wondered why comments and feelings like that existed, but then I would be called “negra linda” and complimented on my beautiful trigueño skin color. It didn’t, and still doesn’t, make sense. Of course, this was all part of my personal experience growing up. I cannot say this is a general occurrence in Latino culture, but do feel it’s worth exploring. Clearly, many in the newer generation still feel it’s a problem, even if they were jokingly tweeting out their feelings of #101HispanicWaystoDie.

Photo: John Steven Fernandez/Flickr

My daughter was excited to learn that it’s time for Hispanic Heritage Month again! She enjoyed “officially” celebrating our Latino culture during the nationally recognized month last year and wondered if I’d be coming in to her class to share with her classmates, something I did last year. We celebrate our culture at home every day, whether she realizes it or not, but National Hispanic Heritage Month gives us an extra opportunity to learn.

To celebrate the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, which goes from September 15 until October 15, let me share some of our past Hispanic Heritage Month activities, resources, and articles.

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and Latino Culture

• 29 Hispanic Heritage Month Articles with Activities, Recipes, and More!
• Hispanic Heritage Month Kid Activities
• Resources to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Your Kids

Will you be talking about Latino culture in your home this next month? How do you teach your children about your own culture or others’ cultures?

Image copyright ModernMami.com

Plantains are a staple ingredient in Puerto Rican food as well as other Caribbean and tropical cuisines. Most people know of sweet plantains, but you can eat and cook with either ripe plantains (sweet) or green plantains. Both are delicious.

I’ve wanted to share a recipe for pastelón, a dish akin to lasagna that I love, for a while now. Just about everyone I know that tries it also loves it. When provided the opportunity by Walmart to share information on Chiquita’s plantains, I immediately knew that this pastelón recipe would be perfect to accompany it!

First, let me share a quick explanation of plantains. Plantains are not bananas, but they are like cousins. There are green ones, yellow ones, and those that lean towards black. Green plantains are not sweet and are used in Puerto Rico to make dishes like tostones (fried green plantains) and mofongo. Yellow plantains are ripe and have a sweet taste. They are the ones used to make amarillos (or maduros in some countries), which are fried ripe plantains. The black-ish plantains are even more sweet and their texture is very soft. For pastelón, you want very ripe plantains, so try to pick out black plantains mostly when making this dish. Chiquita also offers the following advice for picking out plantains and what you can do with each type: if green, fry them; if yellow, grill them; if black, bake them. A quick note: not all Walmart stores carry plantains, but hopefully you can find some in your town since they’re so very delicious and I wouldn’t want you to miss out!

Now, let’s get to the recipe for pastelón, which I just know you’re going to love! Be sure and tell me if you try this, ok?

Pastelón (Plantain Lasagna) Recipe

Ingredients:

• Ground beef, about 2 lbs.
• Adobo
• Meat tenderizer
• 1 tbsp. white vinegar
• Sazón, 1 packet
• 3 tbsp. tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 tbsp. sofrito
• Spanish olives, 5-6 diced
• Salt, as needed
• Vegetable oil (for frying)
• Ripe plantains
• 3-4 eggs

Steps:

Cook Ground Beef

You will need to make a sofrito as a base for the ground beef. To see pictures and links for the basic ingredients used in Puerto Rican sofrito, click on over and read 5 Must-Have Ingredients for Cooking Puerto Rican Food. As with previous recipes I’ve posted, I apologize for the lack in detail with the ingredients and the steps, but it is true to how I and everyone in my family cooks. We do not measure and just go along pouring items into the pot.

1. Season ground beef with adobo and meat tenderizer.
2. Add vinegar, sazón, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sofrito, and olives.
3. Brown the beef and cook until well done.
4. Keep on low heat until ready to use.

Peel and Fry Plantains

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan.
2. Peel each plantain by cutting off the ends, then carefully slicing down the skin length-wise. Separate the plantain from the peel. (See image above for example.)
3. You will need to slice each plantain into layers by cutting length-wise across the plantain. Each layer should be thin, but thick enough to pan-fry. (See image below for details.)
4. Carefully place each plantain layer into your frying pan. You want the plantain to have a golden-brown color, turning each layer halfway-through so that both sides get a nice color.
5. Once both sides of the plantain are golden-brown, remove from oil and place on a paper towel covered plate so the oil is absorbed.
6. Repeat steps 4-5 until all your plantain layers are fried.

Assemble and Bake Pastelón

1. Using a lasagna dish, layer the fried plantains to cover the bottom of the dish.
2. Spread cooked ground beef on top to cover the length of the dish.
3. Repeat steps 1-2, creating alternating layers of plantains and ground beef.
4. Crack open your eggs into a bowl and beat as you would for scrambled eggs.
5. Pour the egg over the top of the pastelón, making sure to get some into the corners, sides, and middle. This helps seal the pastelón, so it doesn’t break apart as much when serving.
6. In a microwave oven, cook the pastelón on high heat for about 6-8 minutes. Check to be sure egg has cooked thoroughly. You could probably also bake the pastelón in a conventional oven, but my mother always uses the microwave when she makes pastelón, so it’s what I learned.

That’s it! You now have a delicious pastelón ready to serve and enjoy. This goes great with a side of white rice, but a salad would be good too if you prefer. I hope you try this recipe that is popular in Puerto Rico and love it as much as I do!

Have you ever cooked with plantains? What’s your favorite plantain dish?

Disclosure: ModernMami.com and its owner, Melanie Edwards, is a member of the Walmart Moms program, resulting in compensation for this post.

Last year I had the opportunity to host a Kellogg’s Love Your Cereal breakfast with friends and family. We learned more about Kellogg’s cereals and had a chance to ask questions directly from a Kellogg’s representative. This year, I’ve once again partnered with Kellogg’s and was part of the Ama Tu Cereal (Love Your Cereal) team they sponsored to the Blogalicious 2011 conference. I’m happy to partner with Kellogg’s again, as they’re a company that has been a part of my life since I can remember.

In Puerto Rico, and throughout much of the Caribbean and Latin America, we have a bad habit of calling things by the most popular name brand that makes it. So, for example, all pain killers are Tylenol, regardless of the actual brand. Likewise, for much of my childhood I heard my mami saying, “Quieres con fleik?” which translates to “Do you want some corn flakes?” It didn’t matter that she might have been talking about Frosted Flakes instead. Another way we referenced Frosted Flakes in our house was to simply call it “El Tigre” (The Tiger), due to Tony the Tiger of course! To this day, Frosted Flakes is still my brother’s favorite cereal and it’s probably my husband’s too.

As part of my work with the Kellogg’s Ama Tu Cereal team at Blogalicious, I helped provide information on how Latina moms responded to Kellogg’s Breakfast in America survey. The survey found that 9 out of 10 Latina moms want their kids to eat breakfast every day, but unfortunately, 40% said their kids did not. However, almost 40% did say they ensure their children have breakfast daily. Additionally, Latina moms are 20% more likely than moms overall to get up early to prepare their children’s breakfast. And, it was found that Latina moms are 17% more likely than moms overall to say their family brings breakfast to work or school.

I know that it gets hectic in the morning as the entire household works to get ready for school and work. I admit that my husband and I are not good about eating breakfast and most days skip it. However, we make sure baby girl eats breakfast every day. It’s not always fancy, and sometimes it is a bowl of cereal, but she always eats something in the morning.

What are some favorite breakfast foods for your family?

Disclosure: Kellogg’s was a sponsor for the Blogalicious 2011 conference and I was compensated for my work.

Cereal photo: Mike Johnson – TheBusyBrain.com

Hispanic (Latino) Heritage Month comes to an end in about a week, on October 15. This past week, we celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month and shared several posts on the topic, including a bilingual children’s show DVD giveaway. In case you missed any of our posts, here they all are:

Kid Activities for Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

My daughter and I learned more about Latino history and heritage through a Hispanic Heritage Month kid-friendly project.

Sharing Heritage By Keeping Memories Alive and Creating New Ones

I shared how my father’s memories of growing up in Puerto Rico are kept alive despite him having dementia and reflected on how this helps in sharing Latino heritage with a younger generation.

Bilingual Learning with El Perro y El Gato {Giveaway}

We enjoy the bilingual children’s cartoon, El Perro y El Gato, in our home and now you can enjoy this fun show with your family as well. Enter this giveaway for a 4-DVD set of El Perro y El Gato! (P.S. There are a low number of entries on this one, so your chances are good!)

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

Find out how this whole week of Latino heritage began and why I feel it’s important to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

In addition to the articles I’ve shared this week, plenty of other sites celebrate Latino heritage and share their own stories, tips, and ideas for celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. Through the links below, you can find lots of great information for more Hispanic Heritage Month fun!

Hispanic Heritage Month For Kids

Resources to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Your Kids

Kids TV Programming for Hispanic Heritage Month

Latino-Themed Children’s Books

Craft Activities for Hispanic Heritage Month

10 Ways to Educate Kids About Hispanic Heritage Month

Tradiciones latinas divertidas para tus hijos (Fun Latino Traditions for Kids) – Spanish Article

Cómo incentivar la cultura en nuestros niños (How to Encourage Culture with Kids) – Spanish Article

Latino-Inspired Recipes for Hispanic Heritage Month

Puerto Rican Carne Guisada Meal

Puerto Rican Arroz con Gandules

Tortilla Española – Egg and Potato Omelette

Mexican Chicken Pasilla Tamales

Mexican Rice and Bean Salad

Chicken and Vegan Cheese Enchiladas

Barbacoa Using Cachete de Res

Prickly Pear Margarita

General Information on Hispanic Heritage Month

Resources for Learning More About Hispanic Heritage Month

¿Celebras nuestra Herencia Hispana? (Do You Celebrate Your Hispanic Heritage?) – Spanish Article

Hispanic Heritage Month Facts

Photo: Jose Oquendo

Latino Arts, Culture, and Inspiration

What Does Being Latina Mean to Me?

Latino Quinceañero (Quinceañera) Tradition

Aprender la cultura Latina a través de la música (Learning About Latino Culture Through Music) – Spanish Article

Remembering a Revolutionary Writer: Gloria Anzaldúa

Interview with Guatemalan Artist Jessica Lagunas

Latino Heritage in the City

Campaign to Help Open A Book Store In El Barrio (East Harlem, NY)

Latinos Across the U.S.: City Guides with Best Latino Spots

I hope you enjoy some of these articles and take the time to learn a bit more about Latino culture and history, in order to celebrate Latino heritage. Do you have a Hispanic (Latino) Heritage story to share?

All photos © ModernMami.com, except where noted

This year, in order to expose my daughter to Latino heritage more in-depth, I decided to do a small Hispanic Heritage Month project with her. My idea was that it would be fun, informative, and would allow her to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and learn about different aspects of her Latino heritage. She has heard of Hispanic Heritage Month in past years, but it’s been a more casual approach of general awareness. With her being in Kindergarten now, I thought this would take it up a level and go beyond just knowing she is half Latina.

There are many ways you can expose your children to Latino history, música Latina (Latin music), Latino food, and of course, the Spanish language. I decided to explore famous Latinos in history, the various Latin American countries, and reinforce Spanish skills. With that in mind, I knew I could find a few supplies at Walmart, since our local store carries a lot of Hispanic food products, Spanish movies, música Latina, and even Spanish books. They used to carry a lot more children’s products in Spanish, as well, but seem to have cut back.

Below I share some ideas for you based on what my daughter and I did for our Latino heritage project.

Kid Activities for Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

Making Up Stories with Spanish Flashcards

You can find Spanish flashcards in many places; I bought these at Walmart. They include basic Spanish vocabulary, colors, numbers, and popular phrases. Using these flashcards, my daughter and I like to randomly pick out a couple of cards and make up stories using the words/phrases on the cards. For example, using the cards in the photo above, we can say, “Ella se puso la camisa, los pantalones y los zapatos antes de ir a la escuela.” (She put on her shirt, pants, and shoes before going to school.) Since making up stories is something many children love to do anyway, this is a fun game that helps with practicing Spanish words.

Exploring Latinos in History

Many Latinos have contributed to society in many areas, such as the arts, science, sports, politics, and entertainment. Since baby girl is only five years old and just starting Kindergarten, I didn’t want to overwhelm her with information. I found some great printables on the Nick Jr. website with information on famous Latinos in the arts, science, and sports. They had a coloring page packet and “Hispanic Hero” cards highlighting notable Latinos such as Tito Puente, Dara Torres, Ellen Ochoa, Celia Cruz, Rita Moreno, and Roberto Clemente, among others.

We took these printables, read the information on each person, and discussed their roles a bit. Baby girl wanted to know what each person looked like in “real life” as opposed to the drawings on the coloring pages so she could color them accurately. So, we looked each one up as well. The next day, she told her daddy and abuela all about Ellen Ochoa being the first Latina in space and said, “She’s my favorite. I liked her astronaut suit.”

Learning About Latin American Countries

In order to learn a bit more about the different countries that make up Latin America (actually, we sneaked Spain in, but I thought it was only fitting), baby girl and I decided to print out some flag coloring pages for her to color, cut out, and use to make posters. We picked a few countries, since doing them all would have been too much for her. As we did with the Latino historical figures, we looked up images of the flags for her to reference as she did her coloring. She was quite proud of her finished product!

I hope these ideas get you thinking of how you can talk about Latino history with your children, this Hispanic Heritage Month, or at any point.

What other kid activities help you to bring Latino heritage and history alive in your home?

Disclosure: Though this Hispanic Heritage project was an original idea, as a member of the Walmart Moms program, I was compensated for this post.

All photos © ModernMami.com

As I’ve mentioned before, my father has dementia. He was diagnosed with it about three years ago, but began to show symptoms close to six years now. His dementia manifests itself in many forms and shows in various things my dad says and does. Forgetting things is not all it’s about, but it does play a part, of course.

Two things my father holds on to very dearly are memories of Puerto Rico and music. He spends much of his day listening to the radio, old CDs and cassette tapes. He’s particularly fond of music he grew up with, especially boleros and other love songs sung by Trios Puertorriqueños, a popular grouping of three musicians. These songs remind him of his childhood in Puerto Rico, and those formative years we all cherish. He sings along and recounts memories that amazingly his mind refuses to let go.

Photo: Molly Stevens

These memories sometimes get mixed up, but overall, he has a vivid picture in his mind of Puerto Rico back then. The Puerto Rico he mostly remembers is that of his life in Aguadilla, the city he was born in, and the city he lived in until his late teenage years. His memory of Puerto Rico dates back to the late 1940s through right around 1960, before his family moved to New York City. Of course, this is not the same Puerto Rico he saw when we last visited in 2009. Though we tried to show him the areas where he grew up and played, it was not recognizable to him, since his vision of Aguadilla is not what it currently looks like.

When I received a complimentary copy of the DVD, Una Mirada a Puerto Rico, from Vme, a former sponsor of ModernMami.com, I knew right away that it was a documentary my father would enjoy. Sure enough, when I first showed him the film, he immediately began to say things like, “Mira que bella…mi isla.” (Look at how beautiful my island is.) He sang along to the background music used in the film, recognized many sights, and quizzed me on my knowledge of various historical facts. He also continually expressed his wish of wanting to go back to Puerto Rico and visit the area where he grew up, forgetting he saw much of it just two years ago. In fact, every time he watches this documentary, he has the same reactions, since to him, each time is the first time he’s seen it.

Documentaries like these help people like my father keep memories alive. But, they also help create new memories when shared with a new generation. This film will allow my children to see imagery of and hear music from La Isla del Encanto (The Island of Enchantment), the island their mother was born in and that makes up half of their heritage. For that, I thank Vme.

How do you share your heritage and keep memories alive?

Custom Hispanic Heritage Banner by Justin Edwards
and © ModernMami.com