CLAS K-12 Book Box 2: Black/Afro-Latinx identity

Wosiyol Cultural Analysis

In Mama's Nightingale, Saya is given the nickname wosiyol by her mother throughout the story. We know this nickname is a translation to the word nightingale in English. However, we also learn that wosiyol is a character in a Haitian Creole children's song called Ti Zwazo, or Little Bird in English. Saya's mother also shares in the book that the wasiyol loves the taste of a fruit called soursop. Soursop is known to be "a sweet cottony fruit" according to the book. Interestingly, the folklore also tells about a supernatural creature which Saya's mother refers to "mean old witches [who eat] little children". In the song, they are known as lalo, a female equivalent of the Bogeyman in Haitian folklore who eats children.   

The Mother and Daughter Dynamics of Mama's Nightingale

One of the prevalent themes of Mama's Nightingale is the love shared between Saya and her mother. This is shown throughout the story such as:

• In the book, Saya and her father would visit her mother weekly. It was heartbreaking for Saya each time they left because she is forced away from her mother's arms.
• Saya constantly looked forward to her mother's cassettes while she was incarcerated. These cassettes would include Saya's mother singing lullabies or sharing folkloric stories. This would provide Saya a great deal of comfort especially since her mom is not physically present at home.
• There is also another powerful dynamic shown towards the end of the story, where Saya shares her mother's story with a television reporter who visits her home after reading about her article in the newspaper of the situation.

During these parts of the book is when the reader truly sees the love between the mother and her daughter. A real life connection from this deep love we see with Saya and her mother is the mission of Proyecto Mariposas. This is a non-profit organization located in Columbus, OH. Their goal is to "provide an environment of learning, sharing, and support for Latina girls and their mothers" as mentioned on their front page. 

The Impact of Immigration in Mama's Nightingale

One of the most important lessons to take away from Mama's Nightingale is the showcase of the lives of many children who arrive to their homes or know someone who has had to be separated from their loved ones due to their legal status. What this book achieves however is a sense of hope, and shows the reader the strength of unconditional love even within families who are apart. 

This is a challenging hardship and reality for many families who live in the United States. But, there are valuable resources to help with this type of situation. CAP4kids provides resources for all immigrant and refugee families facing challenges of immigration. Additionally, there is contact information on the website specifically for Columbus, OH. 

U.S. Detention Centers in Mama's Nightingale

In Mama's Nightingale, there is only small mentions and details regarding U.S. detention centers. All we know as readers are:

• Saya's mother during the events of Mama's Nightingale was in the Sunshine Correctional, which is a prison for women without papers. 
• The book also shares the mention of a guard who reminds Saya and her father when it is time to leave when they visit her mother. 

Even though there was not a lot of information about U.S. detention centers themselves in the story, there is an interesting statement made in the Author's Note section. At the time of publication, which was in 2015, there has been a reported "70,000 parents of American-born children have been jailed and deported in recent years".

It is worth discussing about Torn Apart. The purpose of Torn Apart is that it is meant to be a resources which provides data to visualize the geography of Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policy in 2018 as well as immigration incarceration within the United States.