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Fronteras: Children's book 'Vitamina C for Cultura' inspires and empowers young Latinos to embrace their roots

Whether in school or at home, one of the first things a child learns is their ABCs.

For kids who grow up in bilingual or Spanish-speaking households, they not only learn their ABCs, but also their Ñ’s and their Chs.

In 2021, Jade Publishing released “Vitamina T for Tacos,” an alphabet book that encouraged young readers to embrace not only Spanglish, but also the people, places, and things that make up their unique Latino culture.

Vitamina C for Cultura” — the second installment of the series — aims to keep the theme going.

Taco journalist Mando Rayo once again co-wrote the book with Suzanne García-Mateus, an assistant professor at California State University, Monterey Bay.

From “A” for “¡Arriba! Con La Gente!” to “D” for “Dolores Huerta ¡Siempre Marchando!,” the cultural dictionary and guide weaves in elements of social justice.

Rayo, also the host of the Tacos of Texas podcast and a producer at IDENTITY Productions, spoke about why it was important to include these messages throughout the book.

“Cultura, and preserving your cultura, is a social justice movement because of how we have to represent ourselves,” Rayo said. “It’s been a struggle … to have not only Latino identity represented in media, but as well as in children’s books.”

The illustrations in the book were once again provided by Martha Samaniego Calderón, an art educator.

Calderón said each image is used to expand on the letter’s theme.

“The words are just amazing. But I think with the image, it elevated (it) a little bit more,” she said. “You can use each page to tell a single story.”

Norma Martinez can be reached at norma@tpr.org and on Twitter at @NormDog1