Naty's Parade

February 28, 2000
Naty, a Mexican girl, can't wait to wear her pointy-toed boots and mouse costume in Oaxaca's Guelaguetza festival, a midsummer carnival of musicians, food vendors and dancers in elaborate disguises. "The pi a girls have come from the north to do the pineapple dance. And sunflower girls from the south smile like butterflies." Disoriented by the kaleidoscopic sights and sounds, Naty gets lost in the side streets. Yet she soon notices local landmarks and gets back to the center of town: "The shop where they make the pi atas. And the Frog Burger sign. / S , s , s ! Yes, yes, yes!/ First turn right and then turn left." Freschet (The Lute's Tune) adds a few Spanish words to this accessible travelogue, and she paints the chaotic scenery in fiesta colors of jalape o green, hot-pepper red and tortilla golden yellow, under an azure sky. Ordinary cars and buildings appear alongside surreal organic shapes and transparent portraits of angels, mimicking the vibrant confusion of the village celebration. The dreamlike, folk-art-inspired imagery may remind art lovers of Chagall, with a tropical vivacity. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) FYI: A simultaneous Mirasol Spanish edition, La procesi n de Naty, is also available ($16 -36136-3).