Cruzita and the Mariacheros
by Ashley Granillo (Author)
Cruzita is going to be a pop star. All she has to do is win a singing contest at her favorite theme park and get famous.
But she can't go to the theme park this summer. Instead, she has to help out at her family's bakery, which has been struggling ever since Tío Chuy died. Cruzita's great-uncle poured his heart into the bakery--the family legacy--and now that he's gone, nothing is the same.
When Cruzita's not rolling uneven tortillas or trying to salvage rock-hard conchas, she has to take mariachi lessons, even though she doesn't know how to play her great-grandpa's violin and she's not fluent in Spanish. At first, she's convinced her whole summer will be a disaster. But as she discovers the heart and soul of mariachi music, she realizes that there's more than one way to be a star―and more than one way to carry on a legacy.
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Publishers Weekly
A Mexican American seventh grader's dream leads to her embracing her heritage with vigor in Granillo's tender debut. In Pacomina, Calif., Cruzita Tayahua aspires to become a singer. Her plans to enter a singing contest--and hopefully win the prize money--go awry when her beloved great-uncle Chuy dies, leaving the Tayahuas scrambling to keep their family-owned bakery afloat. To curb Cruzita's upset surrounding her parents' inability to take her to the contest and the neglect she feels over their increased workload, her grandmother gives her an old family violin and enrolls her in mariachi lessons, hoping that Cruzita can find comfort through her love of music. But Cruzita worries that her not speaking Spanish will result in ridicule from fellow bandmates ("I never feel like I'm Mexican enough"). As she makes new friends and learns to embrace Latin music, however, she devises a way to win the contest and help save the bakery. Granillo gently tempers the Tayahuas' grief over Tio Chuy's death by focusing on the characters' lighthearted developing relationships and relates the feeling of being disconnected from one's heritage via Cruzita's learning more about her roots. An author's note concludes. Ages 11-14. Agent: Hannah Andrade, Bradford Literary. (Apr.)
Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
" voice that sparkles!"-Jennifer Torres, author of Stef Soto, Taco Queen and The Do-Over
JUV031040 - Juvenile Fiction | Performing Arts | Music
JUV011030 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Hispanic & Latino
Schools
Contests
Mexican Americans
JUVENILE FICTION / Performing Arts / Music
Mariachi
