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The abandoned settlement of El Coruco in Northern New Mexico is said to be haunted by witches, ghosts and the sound of rattling chains. People claim to have seen lights in the long-empty homes. So one night, when Natividad sees lights in the houses, he decides to go see for himself. Do witches really exist? As he reaches the haunted area, his horse begins to act strange, and he feels spooked too. Soon he hears a scary voice say: “Ah, silly man, how could you be so stupid to come here? Don’t you know who I am?” And before he knows it, he and his terrified horse are racing home with a ball of fire nipping at their heels.
In this bilingual collection of stories for intermediate readers, native New Mexican Nasario García writes the stories he heard as a child while gathered around the potbelly stove on cold winter nights, at campfires during cattle roundups, or while working in the fields at his family’s ranch.
Narrated by a young boy named Junie López, the stories will send shivers up kids’ spines while capturing the essence of New Mexican folklore. In the Land of Enchantment, santos—carved wooden saints like the Holy Child of Atocha—talk to people and express their desires. Witches disguised as small birds known as coquimbo owls fly around the countryside in the deepest, darkest night. And if you should encounter Maruja la bruja, beware! She might want to make a deal with you.
Based on the oral tradition and superstitions of a previous generation, these stories in English and Spanish will both entertain and provide insight to a time when people lived a more rural life and winged creatures flitted over the countryside.
Praise for Rattling Chains and Other Stories for Children / Rudio de cadenas y otros cuentos para ninos:
"Rattling Chains/Ruido de Cadenas is Nasario García's new and endearing bilingual collection of tales that will be sure to interest young readers in the run-up to Halloween. Depending on how dramatically you read these six stories, they can have the result of being scary or simply engrossing.
The long title story is in two parts. Part one is about a man named Natividad who rides a horse to the ghost town of El Coruco near the Rio Puerco. He wants to find out for himself about a light in an abandoned house and to see if Bruja Maruja meets with other witches there. Natividad encounters the light that transforms itself into a ball of fire that madly chases the galloping horse and rider. The story connects the fireball and the witch in the resolution.
The second part of the title story introduces a rattling chain, a deal-making witch and a protagonist named Juan Algodones, who rides a burro named Achaque. Juan gets off and makes a circle in the dirt. He places his T-shirt, turned inside out, in the middle of the circle to attract the light. At that point, the light reappears in the sky and, now in the form of a witch, heads toward the circle. Around her waist, the witch wears a rattling chain that resembles a lengthy rosary. Read the rest of the story to learn the surprise finish.
In another story titled "No More Bogeyman!" there's a four-line poem that carries a stronger flavor and rhyme in the translated Spanish. "Who is it? /Old man Inés/Who's with him?/A tattered old man." Now the Spanish. "Quién es?/El viejo Inés./Quién es el otro?/El viejo roto."
These stories lend themselves to reading aloud. A bonus is the opportunity to learn a second language. Young, fictional Junie Lopez is the principal narrator of these stories set in the Rio Puerco Valley. García, a Santa Fe resident, grew up in the town of Ojo de Padre/Guadalupe in the valley, about 45 miles northwest of Albuquerque. He is a professor emeritus at New Mexico Highlands University."
—Albuquerque Journal
"Striking black-and-white illustrations accompany the energetic, down-to-earth narrative that takes readers through the stories while delineating relationships among different family members and neighbors. García’s Spanish version of these stories is rich in expressions and added details that enhance its charm."
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