Dichos de mi Madre - a Treat for Mothers

Since we will be celebrating Grandparent’s Day this month, I’m hoping to post several reviews of books about our abuelitos/abuelitas and our relationships with them. Along these lines, I think that many mamis out there are wondering what in the world to get their mothers. And since this blog is to cover bilingual books for children and their mamás, I'd like to suggest a lovely little book by Victoria Killeen called Dichos de mi Madre, which would make a delightful gift.

Written completely in Spanish, the book is a collection of "sayings" or "dichos" that often are quoted to us by our mamás or our abuelitas. Some of the verses have English equivalents, such as "A caballo regalado no se le miran los dientes" which translates to "Never look a gift horse in the mouth" and "El amor es ciego" which means "Love is blind."

But some are uniquely original to Latin America such as "Gallo que no canta algo tiene en la garganta" which is one I distinctly remember my great-grandmother saying. It means "a rooster that doesn’t sing has something in his throat" – HA! And even better, "Échate en la cama y verás quién te ama" meaning "Throw yourself on the bed and you’ll see who loves you" gasp – MAMÁ!
I also like "Hombre casado, ni frito ni asado," which means "don’t bother with a married man, not even if he’s fried nor grilled."

There are SO MANY dichos in this book it is hard to pick out so few. I have to say that Victoria did a great job collecting them all. She is to be commended for all the effort that I am sure it took to remember and write them all down. She dedicates the book to her mother and is donating all the proceeds to charity in honor of her beloved mother.

Born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, Victoria completed her studies here in the States, and graduated with degrees in interior design and art history. After getting married, she moved to Atlanta where she and her husband became very involved in the arts community. They are founding members of the High Museum and Victoria has been on the board for many years. Thanks to her husband’s job, she has had the opportunity to travel to almost 100 countries which has made Victoria very aware of in the importance of culture and traditions and the pride that people take in theirs. She wrote Dichos as a way to celebrate both our Latino culture and our mothers who have taught them to us.

To purchase your copy of Dichos de mi Madre, click here.