Los Mariachis de Adela - by Denise Vega (Hardcover)

About the Book

Adela loves everything about her family's mariachi band, and wants to be in it--but when she tries the different instruments nothing seems right, so she has to find a different way to become part of the band. Includes notes on mariachi music and bands.

Book Synopsis

Adela ama todo sobre la banda mariachi de su familia, ¡excepto que ella no forma parte de la banda! Poniendo un foco de atención en la música mexicana, llena de instrumentos y bailes, ¡La banda de Adela seguramente será un éxito!

Adela loves everything about her family's mariachi band--except that she isn't in it! Shining a spotlight on Mexican music, full of instruments and dancing, Adela's Band is sure to be a hit!

Adela no desea nada más que ser parte de la banda mariachi de su familia, pero cuando intenta tocar los diferentes instrumentos, todo sale mal. La trompeta hace un ruido extraño, la vihuela emite un ruido agudo y desagradable, y cuando intenta bailar, Adela se cae al suelo. Observando a su familia, Adela sabe que la práctica hace al maestro, ¿pero podrá encontrar una manera de ser parte de la banda en el entretanto?

Contado en una estructura repetitiva y divertida, ¡este libro ilustrado rítmico incorpora divertidos sonidos de instrumentos y vocabulario en español!

Adela wants nothing more than to be a part of her family's mariachi band, but when she tries the different instruments, everything comes out wrong. La trompeta fizzles, la vihuela squeaks, and trying to dance makes Adela fall on her face. From watching her family, Adela knows that practice makes perfect, but can she find a way to be part of the band in the meantime?

A new go-to read-aloud favorite that comes complete with funny instrument sounds, a rythmic text, and Spanish vocabulary. Strike up the band!

Review Quotes

All Adela wants is to be part of the team, and rightfully so! She comes from a family of talented mariachi musicians and dancers, but she can't find where she fits best. She gives the trumpet a try, but the best sound she musters is "pffs." She tries the vihuela (a guitar-like instrument), but she only manages a scratchy sound that goes "iriiik." She tries doing a Mexican folk dance, but "splat!"--she lands on her face. Sweet Adela feels defeated until she gives one last thing a try: as the band approaches the end of their performance, she walks to the front of the stage and lets out a perfect grito, a distinctive, Mexican joyous yell. Lively Spanish text is joined with playful, expressive onomatopoeia, which is cleverly incorporated into the boldly colored, expressive artwork that evokes a warm, celebratory feel. This inviting story showcasing mariachi music and Mexican culture and emphasizing the triumph of finding one's own talent is simultaneously available in English as Adela's Mariachi Band.
--Booklist

For the English language edition:

♦ A child yearns to join her family's mariachi band in the colorful, jubilant picture book Adela's Mariachi Band by Denise Vega (If Your Monster Won't Go to Bed) and illustrated by Erika Rodriguez Medina (And J.J. Slept).
Adela, a broad-faced girl with winsome dark eyes, brown skin, and a middle-parted ponytail, "loves everything about her family's mariachi band--except the fact that she isn't in it." Papá's trompeta only makes a "small, fizzly" sound when Adela plays it. Her tío's vihuela only squeaks for her. Her graceful mamá and sisters can make their folklórico skirts "flow like rainbows," but Adela's dance ends in a face-plant: "SPLAT!" Each failure is announced by Adela with a tiny, plaintive "oy," "iiieee," or "ahh," copies of her tía Evelyn's massive, soulful gritos ("shouts"). Adela realizes as she sits mournfully amid crayon-scribble recollections of her attempts that every skill in the band will take a long time to perfect. Her exclusion seems certain until Adela realizes she can do one thing, after all. At the end of the next show, Evelyn stands back, Papá places his hat on Adela's head, and she joyously shouts los gritos.
Culture and tradition take center stage as Adela struggles to find her niche, always surrounded and supported by the warm circle of her family. Vega's punchy voice and Medina's lively digital illustrations combine for an affirming reminder that age and size needn't be a barrier to following a passion. Backmatter includes an author's note on Vega's family history of mariachi music and a shortlist of web resources for the intrigued reader.
--Shelf Awareness, starred review

Adela loves everything about her family's mariachi band ("how the music skips and bounces.... how her family dances and claps")--except "the fact that she isn't in it." But her early attempts at playing various instruments and joining the dancers quickly reveal that becoming proficient will take a long time ("When Papá plays la trompeta, big, beautiful sounds burst out.... When Adela tries it, a small, fizzly sound dribbles out," Vega writes). Frustrated with her attempts, Adela makes a drawing of beloved mariachi elements that presages her own participation. Rodriguez Medina's warm-toned digital illustrations offer texture and depth to a story that conveys one child's early attempts at being part of something she loves. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author's note and sources conclude. Ages 4-7.
--Publishers Weekly

This is a fun and colorful book about the art of mariachi music in Mexico. The pictures are very colorful pencil drawings that illustrate mariachi culture. This is written by Denise Vega whose father and grandfather were in a mariachi group. She grew up listening to them play this music. The book goes through many facets of playing in a mariachi band. Adela hears the trumpet play, the vihuela (Spanish string instrument similar to a guitar) sing, and the violin strings soar. She watches her mother and sisters dance to the music, their long colorful skirts twirling in the air. Written for young children, this is a great way to introduce the art form to them, and then pair it with a video of musicians and dancers playing and dancing to this music. Great book to use for Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations in September, and as part of a unit on Mexican culture any other time of the year as well.
--Children's Literature

About the Author

Denise Vega escribió e ilustró su primer libro cuando tenía alrededor de doce años, The Laziness of Peter Rabbit. Los maestros fueron una gran influencia en Denise y la alentaron en su búsqueda de la escritura. Hoy en día, ella encuentra inspiración en todas partes: desde sus sobrinas y sobrinos hasta las montañas y arroyos que adornan su vista, hasta su gran y hermoso cuenco tibetano.

Denise Vega wrote and illustrated her first book when she was around twelve years old, The Laziness of Peter Rabbit. Teachers were a huge influence on Denise and encouraged her pursuit of writing. Today she pulls inspiration from everywhere: from her nieces and nephews to the mountains and streams that grace her view to her large, gorgeous Tibetan bowl.

Erika Medina es una maestra de arte e ilustradora mexicana. Ella es la ilustradora de There Goes Patti McGee! y Margot and the Moon Landing. Erika trabaja con medios tradicionales y digitales y ama ilustrar personajes expresivos, niños gruñones y temas relacionados con plantas y la naturaleza. Actualmente, vive y trabaja en Vancouver, BC. www.erikaim.com

Erika Medina is a Mexican art teacher and illustrator. She is the illustrator of There Goes Patti McGee! and Margot and the Moon Landing. Erika works with both traditional and digital media and loves to illustrate expressive characters, grumpy children, and subjects related to plants and nature. She currently lives and works in Vancouver, BC. www.erikaim.com