Latin American Folktales: Stories from Hispanic and Indian Traditions (The Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library)

As a Mexican I can tell you these stories do give a good taste of what Latin American society is like. You find stories that capture various different aspects of Latino life; from the macho attitude of Latino men, to the deep Catholic roots, Indian sense of humor and wisdom, ancient native stories that are still told in Latino communities, struggles of mestizo daily life and so on. And the stories not only come from Mexico and South America; they also come from Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado where Mexicans/Spaniards have lived for centuries. The book does put more of a focus on the Indian side of Latin American culture. The classic horror stories like La Llorona or luz de mal you will not find. The general themes of the stories are ancient native stories, Catholic folktales, animal tales, native wisdom, and peasant life. The only complaint is that there is no artwork to bring the stories more to life.

Clean book with light wear. I love the library markings and that the call number is still there. It was packaged great and arrived quicker than expected!

I like the series as a whole, and this is a worthy contribution to it. I am not an expert in Latin American folktales, so I cannot challenge what some of the other reviews have written with regard to representation of era and specific peoples. That said, I thought this volume, like the others in the series, provides a fruitfull introduction to the topic. Over the years I have given these books as gifts and read extracts to my children. It is a fantastic way to engage with other cultures.

I got this to supplement the Latin American Culture and Spanish Language class teach to fifth graders. I had to glance over some of the dark endings to many of the stories, as is true with most fairy tales. I, however, have enjoyed reading it on my own, applaud the collection and translation, and feel like I have gotten a lot out of this book to supplement my own understanding of Latin American Folktales!

Bierhorst, a distinguished (elderly, to boot) scholar of the American Indian--both north and south of the Rio Grande--does not disappoint with this stunning addition to the Pantheon folklore series. The stories, which represent a comprehensive swath through Spanish-speaking Latin America (Brazil, Haiti, and such are conspicuously absent), exhibit the expected intermixture of Christian and autochthonous motifs, as well as a strong dose of European provenance (get out your Aarne-Thompson type catalogue!). The stories do not fall neatly into the taxonomy of etiologic/trickster/love, etc., as one sees in, e.g., the Erdoes & Ortiz collection under the Pantheon colophon: indeed, structuring the stories within a wake (!) seems quite artificial. But the material is quite entertaining for the armchair reader looking for something light and not objecting the casual uptake of an anthropologic lesson or two.

This is a great collection of Latin American myths and fairy tales. The stories are simply wonderful, very skillfully related and full of humour. My only disappointment was in the too modern translation, which can really break the spell once in awhile. Other than that, a very satisfying read.(The whole Pantheon Fairy Tale Library series is a treat, and for anyone who loves stories, I highly recommend the Norwegian Fairy Tales, probably the most wonderful piece of world folklore you'll ever encounter.)

Very disappointing when compared to the other books in Pantheon's Folktales series. Not organized in any way and most of the stories are incredibly short. Far too focused on the Spanish side of the stories, with not nearly enough attention paid to pre-colombian myths and legends. The fact that nothing from the Popol Vuh appears in this collection should tell you everything you need to know. Any collection of stories from Mexico and Central America that doesn't contain The Hero Twins stories is dreadfully incomplete. Take a cue from the Native American collection, it isn't nearly so focused on modern stories and gives a better insight into the cultures. There are plenty of collections if European and Christian stories if that's what you wanted. If you want Pre-Conquest stories this collection isn't it. Lastly it is very short, almost half as big a collection of stories as the Native American collection.

Such a wonderful resource for my classroom!