Free Salsa Stories by Lulu Delacre

PAH-tah): What bad luck!
    Q UERIDA (keh-REE-dah): Darling or dear
    S ALSA (SAHL-sah): A style of Latin American music and dance; also, any kind of sauce
    Â¡SALUD, DINERO, AMOR, Y TIEMPO PARA DISFRUTARLOS! (sah-LOOD, dee-NEH-roh, ah-MORE, ee tee-EHM-poh pah-rah dis-froo-TAHR-lohs): Health, money, love, and time to enjoy it all
    S EÑOR (say-NYOR): Mister or sir
    E L SEÑOR DE LOS MILAGROS (el say-NYOR day los mee-LAH-gross): Lord of Miracles
    S EÑORA (say-NYOR-ah): Missus
    S Í (SEE): Yes
    Â¡SINVERGÜENZA! (sin-vair-GWEHN-zah): Little rascal!
    S OFRITO (soh-FREE-toh): A seasoning sauce
    S URULLITO DE MAÍZ (soo-roo-LYEE-toh day mah-YEES): Puerto Rican corn fritters
    T EMBLEQUE (tem-BLEH-kay): A sweet dessert made with coconut milk
    T ÍA (TEE-ah): Aunt
    T ÍO (TEE-oh): Uncle
    T ORREJAS (tor-RAY-hahs): Bread dipped in milk and egg that is pan-fried and served with homemade syrup
    T ORTILLA (tor-TEE-lyah): A thin round cake of cornmeal or wheat flour
    T ORTILLA ESPAÑOLA (tor-TEE-lyah ehs-pah-NYOH-lah): Potato omelet
    T URRÓN (too-RROHN): A nougat dessert
    Â¡VENDO YUCCA, PLÁTANOS, TOMATES! (VEH-doh YOO-kah PLAH-tah-nohs toh-MAH-tehs): Yuca, plaintains, tomatoes for sale!
    Â¡VIVA! (VEE-vah): Hurrah!
    Y UCA (YOO-kah): A fleshy rootstock plant; also called cassava

Many people inspired and guided me through the making of this book.
    I’m very grateful to Roger Alexander Sandoval and José Rodolfo Rosales for their generous insight into Guatemalan traditions. I owe the pictorial information of Holy Week in Guatemala to my good friend Germán Oliver.
    Rodolfo Perez and Lucía González shared their memories of growing up in Cuba. Olga Alonso shared not only her childhood anecdotes, but also her recipes. Thank you.
    I also thank Iris Brown for shedding light onto the daily life of Old San Juan in the 1940s.
    For her stories about her childhood in Buenos Aires, her constant encouragement, and for instilling in me a love of cooking, I must thank my mother, Marta Orzábel de Delacre. Nellie Carpio was a great help in the search for the perfect recipe for alfajores .
    I will not forget my Mexican friend Victoria, whose inner strength I so admire and with whom I learned how to make chiles rellenos and pico de gallo .
    It was Mayté Canto who introduced me to her Peruvian friend María Rosa Watson. María Rosa’s enthusiasm for the legend and traditions associated with El Señor de los Milagros was irresistible. To her I owe the recipe for turrón de Doña Pepa .
    I’m greatly indebted to Diana Oliver, who was so generous to share her wonderful recipes for tembleque , flan de coco , and natilla .
    I thank Priya Nair and Monique Stephens for their great assistance with back matter. I also appreciate the valuable art direction of Marijka Kostiw, Dave Caplan, and David Saylor. For her editorial direction, dedication, insight, and commitment to my work, I thank my editor Dianne Hess.
    Finally, for their unconditional love, I should thank my husband, Arturo Betancourt, and my two daughters Verónica and Alicia. Thank you, Verónica, for critiquing my stories.





This book was originally published in hardcover by Scholastic Press in 2000.
    Copyright © 2000 by Lulu Delacre. All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
    Cover illustration © 2000 by Lulu Delacre
Cover design by Marijka Kostiw
    e-ISBN 978-0-545-46962-3
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