The First Tortilla: A Bilingual Story
English
By (author): Rudolfo A. Anaya Rudolfo Anaya
Translated by: Enrique R. Lamadrid
Illustrated by: Amy Cordova
Jade is a young girl who lives in a village next to a towering volcano. On its peak lives a Mountain Spirit who makes his presence known by rumbling the earth, filling the sky with smoke, and pouring lava down the mountainside. Angered by those who forget to honor him for providing their harvest, the Mountain Spirit has stopped sending rain to Jades village and the people are faced with the possibility of having to abandon their homes and land.
As Jade collects water from the near-dry lake, a blue hummingbirda messenger from the Mountain Spirittells Jade she must take a gift to the Mountain Spirit and ask for rain. Guided by the hummingbird, Jade presents her food offering to the Mountain Spirit. Pleased, the spirit offers the brave girl corn kernels that she takes back to her village and uses to create the first tortilla.