Tía Fortuna's New Home: A Jewish Cuban Journey

I was drawn to the Cuban Jewish aspect. I was curious. I used to have some reasons to believe I had some Sephardic heritage but according to 23andme I’m mostly Ashkenazi. I still like learning about the Sephardic culture though, and many other cultures.

It is a lovely though sparse story but I

could have done without a couple parts. The almost magical mezuzah, for instance. I probably would have liked that if I’d been in a different mood or the target age for this book.

It is a lovely family story, and I especially love the relationship between great aunt and great niece. As evidenced by this quote “We come from people who found hope wherever they went.” I think it’s supposed to be an uplifting and happy story but I found it to be sad and melancholy. Moving to an old age home does not feel like a welcome change to me. I do appreciate that the older woman seems perfectly content and finds home wherever she is, and that she immediately makes friends, and that her family still seems to stay involved in her life.

I enjoyed the melding of words from different languages, and several languages are included, although Spanish is the most common after the English that is used in the main part of the story.

There is good informational material at the end and I think that it is needed. Many people will not completely understand everything going on in the story proper. It helps to be familiar with Jewish customs. I do think that the story can be enjoyed by all readers/listeners though since the essence of it is a wonderful universal story about persisting, relationships, and having & cherishing memories.

The illustrations are fabulous. Beautiful! I love their colors and their details. There are many I’d be happy to have on display in my apartment. They are that special. They do a superb job helping to tell the story.

5 stars for the illustrations. 3-1/2 to 4 stars for the story & the extra information at the end. 4-1/2 stars

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In an Author’s Note, the author tells us that this story, while fictional, is based on her own aunt, who is a Sephardic Jew. Sephardic Jews once lived in Spain and were forced to leave in 1492. Some of them moved to Cuba, but after the revolution in 1959, they migrated to Miami. She

explains:

“Sephardic Jews never forgot their Spanish ancestry. Elders remain who speak the ancient Spanish from when they lived in Spain centuries ago, a language known as Ladino, or Judeo-Spanish, carried through many migrations.”

When the story begins, a little girl named Estrella is visiting her Tia Fortuna as she readies to move from the Seaway building in Miami; builders are coming to tear it down and put up a fancy hotel. Tia Fortuna explains that her home with be a memory just like the home she left in Havana, and that one can always make wonderful new memories.

Tia Fortuna then serves Estrella warm borekas - pastries filled with potatoes and cheese and “esperanza.” She explains why they are filled with hope:

“Because they are the food of your grandfathers’ grandfathers’ grandfathers and your grandmothers’ grandmothers’ grandmothers. They took them from Spain to Turkey to Cuba. Now we eat them here in Miami. . . . We come from people who found hope wherever they went.”

She also explains that she doesn’t need to pack much, because most of what she wants are the memories she carries in her head.

At her new home, which appears to be an assisted living facility, Tia Fortuna shares borekas and makes new friends right away.

Illustrator Devon Holzwarth created upbeat, kid-friendly colorful pictures in gouache, watercolors, and colored pencil.

Evaluation: This book for readers aged 5 and up shows a much-neglected view of the Sephardic Jewish community and culture (as opposed to the more widely-covered Ashkenazi Jewish heritage). The poignant story has good messaging for kids.

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