Description

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The "chiste," the short funny little story, and the "cuento," the homespun little tale, are part of the great oral tradition of the Hispanic Southwest. As a little boy, the author heard many chistes and cuentos at the feet of his father, Don Pablo Gonzales. Soon after his retirement from the field of education, Felipe Gonzales started collecting "chistes" and "cuentos." He then realized that many pearls from his father's repertoire were lost forever. Thus, a twenty-five year commitment began to put this popular genre into print in Spanish and English. The sources include humorous tidbits of traditional and contemporary everyday life. These stories reflect the mores, the customs, the religion, and the language of a subgroup of Americans. Felipe Gonzales, a retired educator, published "Recess Is Not Forever" in 2000 and has been a frequent contributor to "La Herencia," a New Mexican literary publication. His other interests, which he shares with his wife Bersabe, are Catholic church ministries, fishing, gardening, and enjoying summers at their ranch in northern New Mexico.