The Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award: Planting Seeds of Love in Dark Times

Books have the power to inspire, affirm and transform a reader. Books that reflect the authentic experiences of subjugated peoples contribute to the development of strong cultural and linguistic identities for those readers who see themselves in the experiences, characters, authors and illustrators. This has been painfully absent in all books, and especially in children's literature.

“My papi has a motorcycle. From him I’ve learned words like carburetor and cariño, drill and dedication.” This is the opening line of the book My Papi has a Motorcycle written by Isabel Quintero and illustrated by Zeke Peña, the 2020 winners of the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award. Isabel Quintero wrote this book as a love letter and tribute to her father and the city of Corona, California.

The word cariño in this particular passage melts on my tongue and fills my heart with warm memories of my childhood, la casa de mis abuelos, and the love of familia. I grew up in a home and in a community where code-switching was the norm, where we seamlessly meshed Spanish and English —oftentimes in the same sentence— much like the way the author does here. As I read this book, I feel full of pride to see, hear, and feel my experiences reflected in the pages. However, I was only able to experience this later in life and as an adult— I never had this experience reading as a child.

When the main character of the story, Daisy Ramona, goes cruising around her neighborhood on the back of her father’s motorcycle, she not only gets to see all the places she knows and loves, but also a community that is constantly changing around her. Daisy comes to reflect on the history of her town and realizes that some things, like the love and support of her family and her community, will never change.

 Much like Daisy’s town, my city has gone through a wave of gentrification. Families have moved away from historically Mexican and Mexican American neighborhoods and familiar businesses have been forced to shut-down as a direct result of gentrification. The places I recall in my mind float suspended in time… they no longer exist. A too-common occurrence  all across our country today. What happens to the people who were here? Do their stories live on?

As I witness parts of Mexican and Mexican American history vanish as my city continues to change, I want to make sure I honor the communities that helped build this place and that helped nurture me. Much like the character of Daisy reflects on the history of her city and the changes brought on by time, I have come to realize the need for marginalized communities to tell their own stories of resilience and resistance.

For the past 25 years, the Tomás Rivera Children’s Book Award has honored exceptional children’s literature depicting the Mexican American and Mexican experience. The Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s book award is a nationally-recognized award housed at Texas State University. The award hopes to convey the spirit of Dr. Tomás Rivera and his vision of Chicanx literature as a catalyst for developing strong identities and healthy communities. 

Tomás Rivera is, without a doubt, one of the most influential writers of Chicano literature.

Born in 1935 in Crystal City, Texas, as a child Tomás worked in the fields alongside his family during the summer, and often missed school because of the overlapping work season. Like most migrant children (including my own parents), Dr. Rivera faced struggles in school as a result of  systemic racism and oppression. He would later draw on his experiences to write his most famous literary work Y no se lo tragó la tierra (And the Earth Did Not Devour Him).

In his work as an author, poet, teacher and administrator, Dr. Tomás Rivera was always committed to the struggle for equality and social justice and believed in the power of stories to challenge and transform social injustice. His works can be seen as counter-narratives that serve as an act of resistance by conserving those aspects of life that Mexican Americans hold as their own, while attempting to destroy the inventions of others that perpetuate stereotypes and continue to do harm.

Like Tomás Rivera’s literary works, this year’s winning book, My Papi has a Motorcycle also serves as a counter-narrative. In this act of resistance, the story’s plot has overlapping themes such as remembering (the author’s cultural and linguistic heritage); the veneration of the working class (honoring those who support our economy and build our towns and cities—many of whom are immigrants); and the importance of community (love and pride in the places we are from and the people who support us).

When children hear the president of the United States say that “When Mexico sends their people, they are not sending their best… they are bringing drugs, they  are bringing crime, they are rapists,” what they receive is violent and destructive messages borne out of intolerance and hate and that dehumanize our community. These messages are most certainly born from a place of darkness.

The disparaging of subjugated peoples throughout history has led to a history ridden with pain and trauma. Bartolo, an itinerant poet who appears in the work of Tomás Rivera, refers to stories from the community (e.g. Chicanx literature) as a “seed of love in the darkness,” because to hear your name is affirming and gives you the strength needed to navigate an unjust world. Much in the same way, the books represented by the award that carry Dr. Rivera’s name sow seeds of love in dark times.

I can testify first-hand about the importance of this award and what it means to the youth who engage with the awarding of winning titles in this collection. They enter into new realms of possibility when they read works from authors and poets who look and sound like them. They can now say “I’ve met the Poet Laureate of Texas, and the Poet Laureate of the United States… maybe I’ll be the next one.” Most importantly, the children know that, just like Tomás Rivera, they too can use their voice to speak up for change in a society that continues to be filled with injustice.

Congratulations to Isabel Quintero and Zeke Peña, this year’s winners of the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award! ¡Enhorabuena!