La Cucarachita Mandinga

Mary Grueso Romero

Apidama Ediciones

Colombia

Children’s book

ISBN 978-958-8416-79-3

Guiomar Cuesta Escobar
gerencia.apidama@gmail.com 

Book written in Spanish
World rights available

The Mandinga Cockroach (La Cucarachita Mandinga) is traveling with her parents on a boat. Upon reaching the port of Buenaventura, a great storm comes and they fall into the water, so she has to swim and swim, to save herself and reach the port. Very tired and shivering with cold, she slips into a briefcase that she finds open. She stays there, until finally she reaches its owner’s house, and hides in the cupboard, where she finds warmth and food, and is able to rest. The next day she listens attentively to the conversation of some children, who studied letters and vowels, and are able to mix them until they form the words papa and mama. The Cucarachita wants to learn like all children, she wants to read and write!

Mary Grueso Romero was born in Guapi, Cauca and lives in Buenaventura. As an experienced poet, writer and oral narrator, she is considered today as one of the foremost Colombian poets and writers. She holds a degree in Teaching Literature from the University of Quindío (Armenia, 1999) and a degree in Play and Recreation for Social and Cultural Development from the Los Libertadores University of Bogotá (2003). She also did a Postgraduate degree in Literature Teaching, at the University of Quindío, Armenia (2000).

Mary Grueso Romero obtained a Diploma on Management of Cultural Projects, from the Interinstitutional Agreement between the School of Fine Arts and the Universidad del Pacífico in 2001, and the Diploma UNESCO Chair, Didactics of the Comprehension and Production of Written Texts, at the Universidad del Valle in 2004.

Since 1995 she has attended the Meeting of Colombian Women Poets at the Rayo Museum (Roldanillo, Valle del Cauca). She was designated in 2008 by the Director of this Encounter as Almanegra, the equivalent of Almadre, the highest recognition given to Colombian Women Poets who have achieved excellence in their poetic work. Since 2011, she has published five stories with Apidama Ediciones, in the Collection of Illustrated Stories of Afro-Colombian Children.

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