Angélica and La Güira

                   
(English language edition)                                                        (Spanish language edition)

Written by Angie Cruz, Illustrated by Luz Batista, Spanish translation by Kianny N. Antigua
Angélica and La Güira
(Kokila, July 2024)

 

Read the Publisher’s Weekly review
Read the starred School Library Journal review
Watch an interview with Angie Cruz on WPIX New York Living
See author Angie Cruz on WABC’s Tiempo

 

A young girl harnesses the power of music to bridge the distance between the Dominican Republic and Washington Heights in this jubilant picture book debut by Angie Cruz, bestselling and award-winning author of Dominicana.

Angélica has spent the summer in the Dominican Republic with her tías and primas, her grandparents, and their parrot, but soon she’ll have to say goodbye. The end of summer means returning home to start school on another shore. Before she leaves, her grandfather gives her the perfect gift. It’s something with the power to make people dance as fast as the wings of a hummingbird: a güira. Angélica falls in love with this musical instrument, though nobody shares her enthusiasm at first. “What is that sound,” they say, “pennies inside a tin cup?” But on a hot, sunny day, in the land of Washington Heights, where the frío frío woman scrapes ice for a long line of customers and the men on the corner plunk dominoes on a makeshift carboard table, Angélica shows her neighbors the power of la güira. 

Angélica and la Güira lovingly explores music and community, the wisdom and guidance of our elders, and the joy and freedom of dancing in the street. No matter where we are, music brings us closer to home.

 

Praise for Angelica and La Güira

“Batista’s digitally created art blends vivid, bright colors and fluid imagery that pairs well with Cruz’s uplifting text…” —Publisher’s Weekly

“This delightful and meaningful read offers young readers a powerful glimpse into cultural identity, family bonds, and the power of music to bring communal joy and connect to one’s heritage.” —Booklist, starred review

“Cruz’s lyrical and heartfelt words and Batista’s warm and emotive illustrations truly encapsulate intergenerational and transnational connections between Dominicans—aquí y allá (here and there).” —Sujei Lugo, School Library Journal

 

Angie Cruz is a novelist and editor. She is the author of How Not To Drown in A Glass of Water and Dominicana, which was the inaugural GMA Book Club Pick and the 2019-20 Wordup Uptown Reads selection. It was shortlisted for The Women’s Prize, longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Aspen Words Literary Prize, it was a RUSA Notable Book, and winner of the ALA/YALSA Alex Award. Cruz divides her time between Pittsburgh, New York, and Turin.

Luz Batista is a story artist and illustrator who grew up in New York City, New Jersey, and Atlanta and spent many summers longing for a visit to the Dominican Republic. Luz graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a BFA in animation, and she’s currently a story artist and creative consultant at Disney TVA. Angélica and la Güira is her first picture book. Learn more about Luz at luzbatista.com and follow her @johnnyoctopus on Instagram.

Kianny N. Antigua is a fiction writer, poet and translator. Currently, she is a Senior Lecturer of Spanish at Dartmouth College, and an independent translator and adapter for Pepsqually VO Sound & Design, Inc. Antigua has published twenty-four books of children’s literature, five of short stories, two collections of poems, an anthology in two languages, a book of microfiction, and a novel. She has won sixteen literary awards, and her texts have been included in multiple anthologies, literary magazines, newspapers, and textbooks. Antigua has translated the works of Angie Cruz, Elizabeth Acevedo, Ruth Behar, Lilliam Rivera, Lissette J. Norman & Lorgia García Peña.