Adivinanzas Mexicanas: See Tosaasaaniltsiin, See Tosaasaaniltsiin. (Mexican Riddles)

Reviewed by Ann Welton, Grant Center for the Expressive Arts, Tacoma, WA -- Críticas, 2/1/2008

tr. by author and Refugio Nava Nava (tlaxcalteca), Wilf Plum (English), and Josep Cru (Catalan). illus. by Cleofas Ramirez Celestino. Mexico: Artes de Mexico/Ciesas. 2007. 32p. ISBN 978-970-683-288-7. $23.95.

Gr 3-Up–A professor at the University of Amsterdam, Flores Farfán works at compiling and preserving the oral tradition of the indigenous communities in South Central Mexico. These riddles, which are used to this day as an instructional device with children, are presented in five languages: Spanish, Oapan, Tlaxcala, English, and Catalan. Judging from the English and Spanish texts, the translations are not literal but do maintain, and quite beautifully, the sense and rhythm of the originals. On each spread, the verso presents a riddle in five boxes, one for each language with the answers upside down for each one, while the recto features a painting of the question and answer. The illustrations, done in a primitive style reminiscent of Carmen Lomas Garza’s Family Picture/Cuadros de familia (Children’s Book Press, 1999) and the Mixtec inspired drawings in John Pohl’s The Legend of Lord Eight Deer (Oxford University Press, 2002), are arrestingly detailed and colorful. The small figures and wealth of detail make them excellent for poring over, especially since the hidden answers are hard to find. At least one of the pictures may be a bit controversial. The correct response to “Maybe it will need a push!/Grab your leaf/And hide behind a bush!” is excrement, and sure enough, the picture shows six people caught in the act of relieving themselves. The native Mexican tongues are written as transliterated, and the author’s note makes clear that this cannot show the various intonations used in speaking; however, this is a laudable effort toward preserving the dying indigenous tongues. This title has a place in elementary school and public libraries, as well as in academic ones given its scholarly interest.

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