This collection of “calaveras,” folk poetry in the Mexican tradition of Day of the Dead celebrations, satirizes public figures, reminding them that their time on earth is limited despite their fame. In addition to the replicas of the “calaveras” originally published in newspapers and magazines, this volume includes background information about this particular poetic genre, biographical information and interviews with Don Moisés and analysis of the poetry. No one escaped Espino’s eye, including Richard Nixon, Fidel Castro and Muhammad Ali! Compiled and edited by University of Texas at San Antonio professor Ellen Clark, this ebook contains Espino’s complete collection.
DR. ELLEN RIOJAS CLARK is Professor Emerita in the Department of Bicultural Bilingual Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She received her BA in Elementary Education from Trinity University, an MA in Bicultural Bilingual Studies from UTSA, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a minor in Cultural Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She has written over ninety academic articles on the relationship between the constructs of self-concept, ethnic identity, gifted language minority students, self-efficacy and professional efficacy and on cultural topics. She has developed and presented many graduate summer institutes at UTSA that have focused on Latino literature and culture, multicultural education collaborative approaches, curriculum development, cooperative learning and restructuring schools for language minority students. She was awarded three National Endowment for the Humanities grants (1999-2003) entitled Derrumbando Fronteras/Breaking Boundaries: Institute for the Inclusion of Mexican American and Latino Literature and Culture in the Classroom. Invited visiting scholars and writers included Drs. Tomás Ybarra Frausto, María Sobek, Tey Diana Rebodello, Nicolás Kanellos, Carmen Tafolla, Sandra Cisneros, Cristina García, Rudy Añaya, Pat Mora, Denise Chávez and Martín Espada, among others. Dr. Clark is lead author for Multicultural Literature for Latino Bilingual Children: Their Words, Their Worlds (2015) and was 724 ELLEN RIOJAS CLARK co-editor for La clase mágica: Generating Transworld Pedagogy (2014) and for Teacher Preparation for Bilingual Student Populations: Educar para transformar (2011). Her popular book with Carmen Tafolla, Tamales, Comadres and the Meaning of Civilization: Secrets, Recipes, History, Anecdotes, and a Lot of Fun is in its 2nd edition and Our Daily Pan Dulce—The Cultural Poetics of Mexican Pastries is under review. Dr. Clark serves as the Research Coordinator for the UTSA Academy for Teacher Excellence and other US Department of Education projects. She has also served as the Co-PI for the Rockefeller Foundation Project Knowledge, Culture, and Construction of Identity in a Transnational Community: San Antonio, TX and was the Educational Content Director for the Scholastic Entertainment PBS children’s cartoon series, Maya and Miguel. Dr. Clark writes book reviews and travel articles for Perspectives, a publication of the NABE, and the San Antonio Express-News as a way of developing community literacy. Her recent cultural studies documentaries, The Artist Speaks: Exploring Who I Am, a prize-winning film, The Artist Speaks: Yo Soy/I am Elizabeth Rodriguez, and Exploring Who I am Adriana García have been selected for exhibition at renowned film festivals. A previous documentary, Huipiles: Fabric of Identity, has been shown on PBS channels.
