Culture 3 - Canto Familiar

A. Bibliography
Soto, Gary. 1995. Canto Familiar. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 01520000674.

B. Plot Summary
Canto Familiar is a collections of songs/poems from Gary Soto that touch on many day to day experiences that we have. Whether you are Hispanic American or not, Soto reaches beyond cultural barriers and invites readers to share in the experiences. The settings for this collection takes place inside houses, at the supermarket, at school, and outside. All of these settings are places that children can identify with and are a part of their everyday lives. The characters who share these poems with readers are three children from one family. Though there are a wide variety of many different songs/poems, my favorite poem is "My Teacher in the Market." Soto captures the innocence and wonder of a little girl seeing her teacher in the market on a Saturday. I can relate to this on two levels. One, I remember when I was young and I saw my second grade teacher at a store. I thought it was so strange to see him outside school and I wondered if he bought food at the store like we did. I can also see it from a teacher's standpoint. When I see children when I am at the store and they have the same look in their eyes like I did when I was a child. You can see the wonder and astonishment in their face when they come up and say, "Hi." I sure they are wondering if I eat real food they like do. Soto states in this poem, "I've never seen my teacher in jeans and a T-shirt, and tennies with a hole where the little toe rubs." Reading this, I can envision the curiosity of this child and the excitement of seeing her teacher outside of school on a Saturday.

C. Critical Analysis
Canto Familiar encompasses many cultural markers and recurring themes that are important to Hispanic American literature. He uses holidays/celebrations in the poem "Christmas Angel." Food is also a recurring theme and cultural marker in this book in the poems "Papi's Menudo, Tortillas Like Africa, Nopales." Food is also mentioned in a few other poems, foods such as "chicken mole, avocados, tomatoes, chilies, frijoles, arroz, and papas."

The use of kinship terms also know as forms of address is also prevalent throughout the book. These terms are used in the Latino culture to capture and convey emotional closeness (Fox and Short, 2003, p.250). The following terms are used in several of the songs/ poems: Papi, Abuela, Abuelo, Mami, and Mama. This use of kinship also contributes to the importance of family in the Latino culture and Canto Familiar is focused around the family.

Other Latino culture markers in the text that contribute to the cultural authenticity to Canto Familiar are language and names of characters. In the poem "Spanish" Soto states, "Spanish is a matter of rolling rrrrrs, Clicking the tongue, And placing your hands On your hips When your little brother Pours cereals Into you Fishbowl. Spanish is a matter of yelling, "Abuela, Telefono Una vendedora De TV Guide." This natural use of Spanish throughout the book does not confuse, but enhances the cultural authenticity of the song/poems. Names of characters and pets also contribute to the authenticity of the text. The names of the two family cats are Chato, in "Music for Fun and Profit," and Pelitos, in the self-titled poem. Also characters names throughout the book, personal names and names of address such as Enrique, Senor, Senora Cisneros, Angel, Maria, and Hector lend themselves to the authenticity of the text.

The illustrations also have cultural markers that contribute to the book. The skin tones Annika Nelson uses are warm browns and chestnuts. The homes are full of color and have a combined modern and traditional feel. Canto Familiar is and enjoyable book for any age and any culture.

D. Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: "Who could imagine that such joyous rhythm could be found in the familiar moments of life, such as washing dishes or spotting a teacher in the market? In this companion volume to Neighborhood Odes (Harcourt 1992), Soto not only imagines the musical beat, but also captures the energy and transposes it into poetic song."

Booklist: "This collection of simple free verse captures common childhood moments at home, at school, and in the street. many of the experiences are Mexican American ("Spanish is seeing double"), and occasional Spanish words are part of the easy, colloquial, short lines. The first person voices are immediate, physical, and joyful, celebrating music, dancing, cats, friends, family."

E. Connections
For more enjoyable Gary Soto experiences please check out the following books:

Soto, Gary. Neighborhood Odes. ISBN 0152053646.
Soto, Gary. Help Wanted. ISBN 0152056637.
Soto, Gary, Taking Sides. ISBN 0152046941.
Soto, Gary. A Fire in My Hands. ISBN 0152055649.