Chicago Author Spotlight: Diana Hinojosa
By Betsy Mikel in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 15, 2010 7:00PM
Faced with unemployment, Diana Hinojosa decided to do something worthwhile, so she wrote a children’s book. In both English and Spanish. And illustrated it. And got several jarocho bands, one from Veracuz and the others from Pilsen to record music that accompanied the story.
Pablos’ Fandango, or El Fandango de Pablo, is about a little boy named Pablo who is trying to keep son jarocho music alive. Jarocho music was born about 350 years ago in Veracuz. The genre developed as a way for people to express their discontent with the corrupt church. In the mid-‘90s, Sones de Mexico began playing son jarocho songs in Chicago, and soon other bands from Veracrux began playing in Chicago. This was the music Hinojosa, a Chicagoan who was raised in Marquette Park, fell in love with when she began to rediscover Pilsen as an adult several years ago. She said she had never heard music like it, and because the instruments are so particular to the genre, it was like tasting vanilla or chocolate for the first time.
Hinojosa wrote Pablo’s Fandango not only to celebrate son jarocho music, but also to serve as a learning tool. That’s why the book is multilingual, and that’s why Hinojosa reaches out to the children of Mexican American immigrants by offering them a hero who looks like them. In light of the new anti-immigration law in Arizona, Hinojosa also said she hopes Pablo’s Fandango can offer the children of immigrants an empowering story about their culture and heritage.
If you’d like to purchase a copy of Pablo’s Fandango, email Hinojosa at dhinojos7@gmail.com. Or, learn more about local jarocho groups at the Colibri Studio & Gallery, which hosts a monthly fandango, or musical gathering open to the public, every last Saturday of the month. If you’re listening to son jarocho music in Pilsen, Hinojosa will probably be closeby.
Chicagoist: How did your community and neighborhood influence you as a musician?
Diana Hinojosa: The first time I sang in public was when I rediscovered Pilsen as an adult. It was about seven years ago that I looked down at a tattered cancionero (song book) as I sang my first ranchera (Mexican country song) at a local bar/restaurant, La Decima Musa. A few months later, I was invited to a party in celebration of Mexico’s independence from Spain, and that is where I heard son jarocho music for the first time.
C: Are these the same influences you brought to writing, illustrating and recording Pablos’ Fandango?
DH: Most definitely. Many of the main character’s personality traits were inspired by some of Pilsen’s quirky tree-hugging characters I’ve met throughout the years. Also, my longing to perfect my technique and to learn authentic son jarocho took me Veracruz, Mexico. Memories filled with purple blossom trees, toucans and wild violets made their way onto the colorful pages of the book. I also learned a great deal about the genre’s origins and history and so bits and pieces were woven into the story as well as into the educational tracks on the CD. Although two tracks on the CD were recorded by the Cojolites, a jarocho band from Veracuz, the rest of them were recorded by members of Pilsen jarocho bands such as Son del Viento, Tarima Son, and Sones de Mexico. Because we are products of our environment, our jarocho sound here in Chicago tends to have its own signature.
C: Why did you decide to write and record Pablo’s Fandango in both English and Spanish?
DH: I wanted to write the book in both English and Spanish, and I took great care in the translation process, because I wanted to give the readers, both children and adults, the option to use the book as a language learning tool. I myself speak English, Spanish, French and Italian. I found that children’s books were extremely helpful when I was learning those languages because the language used is fairly simple and the sentences aren’t too complex. I think that when it comes to language we need to raise the bar in this country… We need language skills in order to survive in this constantly changing increasingly globalized labor market. And we should begin with our children who have a facility to learn languages and whose minds are like sponges.
C: How can art — such as a book, or music — help children understand their heritage better than a textbook might be able to?
DH: I think that it is difficult for children to relate to textbooks because the language is usually cut and dry. There is not poetry and no soul in the language used. Also, for some children, as in my case being the daughter of Mexican immigrants, it is difficult to relate the heroes portrayed in textbooks because they don’t look like us and we often times cannot identify with them… Because children from all backgrounds can enjoy the book, they can see for themselves that all cultures have contributed something wonderful to humanity, and this leads to the development of a truly enlightened child.
C: You were neither an author nor an illustrator, but succeeded in putting this book together. What advice do you have for other inexperienced authors who feel compelled to share an important message through a medium they have never tried before?
DH: I would have to quote the Honorable Charles D. Gill in saying “There are many wonderful things that will never get done if you do not do them." When you have a good idea, go for it. Explore your talents. You’ll never know which gifts you have if you never take them out of the box. My degree is in Political Science, which has nothing to do with the arts. If I hadn’t gone for it, I would never have known that I could paint or write with such poetic prose. What this book has shown me is an example of what I like to call "the wealth of poverty." Because it was only when I was penniless that I was forced to harness the riches I held inside.