Tale · A way to begin
Cuentos de mi tía Panchita
Not translated into English
Carmen Lyra · 1920
Synopsis
Two families of tales. The first, with no common hero, are fairy tales: the olive tree flower, the Cucarachita Mandinga, the Ratón Pérez. The second follow tío Conejo, Uncle Rabbit, who plays truant, treats himself to a horse, goes after the cheeses or gets engaged, and always gets out of trouble by cunning. Motifs from universal folklore are rewritten there in the speech of Costa Rica, with its familiar objects and places.
Context
The book was announced on 1 April 1920 in San José's leading cultural magazine, whose editor handled its publication: fifteen tales, 159 pages, no illustrations. The tío Conejo stories had appeared as early as 1913 in San Selerín. Juan Manuel Sánchez illustrated the 1936 editions, and the posthumous 1956 edition contains twenty-three tales in two parts. Carlos Rubio links the fairy tales to Fernán Caballero and the tío Conejo tales to the Brer Rabbit stories collected by Joel Chandler Harris from African American slaves. Georges Pillement published a French translation in 1944.
Who it is for
Short tales, in Spanish, for children as well as adults; a French translation appeared in 1944.
Prizes and reception
The book that opens children's literature in Costa Rica, reissued without interruption for a century.