My Brigadista Year

My Brigadista Year

Juvenile historical fiction
"'Ai-ee' In all my thirteen years, I hadn't heard a screech like
that since the time I accidentally stepped on the cat's tail. But now
it was my own mama's voice shrieking to high heaven.
My father, usually so quiet, wasn't much better. He was shaking
his head and pacing like a caged lion. "No! No! No! Lora! Lora!
Lora! This is unheard of. What were you thinking?'"
After reading the first two paragraphs of Katherine Paterson's
My Brigadista Year, I'm sure you're wondering what Lora had done to
cause such collective parental panic. No, nothing to do with sex or
drugs. And in 1961 the Internet was not a presence in even the most
tech savvy of homes.
Rebels led by Castro have ousted the dictator Batista (who was
American backed--another instance of us intervening in matters we had
no business messing in). Castro has decided that Cuba will become
totally literate in one year. He's calling on young people with
reading and writing skills to join an army of literacy teachers. They
will live with illiterate families and help with daily work as well as
sharing skills.
Of course Lola's parents have wellbeing and safety concerns.
She's never spent a night away from home. Her potential hosts will
lack running water, indoor plumbing, and electricity. There are
people who will do whatever it takes to stop the project. Bandidos
have already killed one literacy worker.
They have other concerns also. The family is Catholic and very
traditional in their gender role expectations. From earliest
childhood Lora and her little brothers have been treated very
differently with the sons strongly favored. What kind of ideas will
she get? Her uniform will consist of trousers and shirt (men's
clothes) rather than a proper dress.
When Paterson heard of this successful campaign she wanted to
learn more. 250,000 volunteers instructed 700,000 fellow citizens.
In later years many considered the year to be the defining moment of
their lives. Read this fascinating narrative to learn about yet
another historical achievement United States schools feel free to
ignore.
Cuba is one of the nations I most want to visit. They have the
world's highest literacy rate. They could teach us a thing or two or
a hundred about urban farming. And they have universal health care,
something their wealthy neighbor to the north has yet to achieve.
In her author's note Paterson comments that "...It was an
adventure for me to see the world through the eyes of a young person
in a society quite different from my own. Through Lora's eyes, the
revolution was a new day for her family and for a country that had
long suffered under the corrupt dictatorship of Batista. She was
excited to be a part of that new day, and as I wrote about her, so was
I."
I believe that you, as a reader, will be too.
On a personal note, I have updates on two places where I've left you
hanging. The made-from-scratch bean soup was quite tasty. I have no
clue if it tasted the way it was supposed to. But Eugene served
himself to seconds which was a good sign. I put five more hours on my
shelf reading mission. I've finished picture, series, and chapter
books. Next time I'll be in the belly of the beast: juvenile
nonfiction.
A great big shout out goes to the fine librarians, fellow volunteers,
and patrons of the Orono Public Library.
jules hathaway


Sent from my iPod