It is mid-March and there’s a slight panic building about my slack-ass ability to keep pace this summer with Maria’s phenomenal progress in learning Spanish. The espanola she hangs with all day is very proud of her and tells me so as she wrinkles her brow at me and my slack-ass-ness. She is gentle about [...]

Mami made an iMIX for Maria.We’re sharing.Be sure to listen to the bilingual Walkin’ the Dog by Dan ZanesEnjoy!

I imagine this weekend a whole lot of celebrity elite were sending gifts to the royal Latin blessings born to Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony. Her father told reporters they’d already bought azabaches for the sweet twins, which no Latino baby should be without. Or at least no Caribbean Latin baby. Must ward away the [...]

I cannot stop speaking like Ricky Ricardo since we got back from Miami. Sorry. Anyway, let me tell you what I learned in the last month Maria was not in school: There is good reason we blame Mother for everything. If this child does not grow up to speak fluent Spanish it is, indeed, my [...]

Me to waiter: “Y para la nina, leche. Pero cuando venga la comida.”Maria: “But, I would like my milk now.” Waiter to me: “Quiere leche blanca o de chocolate?”Me to waiter: “Blanca, por favor.”Maria: “They have chocolate milk? I want chocolate milk!” I used to be able to get away with a lot.Now, not so [...]

A couple of months ago as I was dressing Maria in her PJs, we came up with a silly game:“What if, you had toes for eyebrows?’’“What if, your hands were behind your knees?’’“What if, your eyes were on your tongue?’’And so on. And so on. It cracked her up to the point of not being [...]

Ask me what I want on any given day and the list, though often changing, is never long: A diamond ring from Shreve in San Francisco.Shoes from Goler in Santa Fe.A jugito de mamey from El Palacio de los Jugos in Miami.A wholesale Pollitos account with Barney’s New York.A private concert with this cubanito. What [...]

It’s been quiet here since the Abuelitos’ Boonie Visa expired. Too quiet sometimes. While Maria got a lot of good, loud attention during their visit and mucho español with the viejos, she held firm to her ingles. She continues to repeat what you ask her to and she will from time to time say something [...]

The Scene: Picky pre-schooler snubbing the perfectly good Christmas chili. Abuelita to Maria: “Oye, metele mano a la comida.”Maria to Abuelita: “Hey, we don’t put hands in our food!”

The Abuelitos’ Language Assessment: “Todo en ingles esta hablando esta niña.’’ Aye madre. We get the same assessment every time. We say the same thing in our defense every time: Yes, she speaks to you in English most of the time, but she understands everything in Spanish. You’ll see. Just keep speaking to her in [...]