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A Message from Rosa
Experience the struggle of African warriors defending their village. Travel on the slave boat with African enslaved women. Feel the tension mounting in Yangas heart as he leads his Afro Mexican troops in confrontation with the Spanish colonial army. Live a vivid moment of the Afro-Colombian struggle for freedom. Sit on the corridor and listen to a conversation between cuban heroes Jose Marti and Mariana Grajales. Visit a Jamaican Maroon battle field. Be part of Palmaress Brazilian warriors. Witness the resistance of Afro German women during the Nazi rule. Share young Martin Luther Kings dilemma as he walks with his mother on the wrong side of town. Imagine yourself sitting in the bus, watching Rosa Parks as she refuses to move behind the line
- GenresFiction
215 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 17, 2014
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 31, 2025
Examining the affects of the African Diaspora on Costa Rica through short stories
When I took on the #readaroundtheworldchallege and #globalreadingchallenge , I didn't fully appreciate how challenging that would be, particularly as I am only fluent in English. This once again proved very difficult when I pursued literary examples from #costarica where I had recently vacationed and hoped to pick up a locally penned book. Sadly,while there were a few bookstores in #tamarindo where we were based, most books were oriented on the tourist trade, big English speaking, recently published American and English novels, ideal for a beacon read. The search might have been easier if we had visited the capital of #sanjose but this struggle seems to be commonplace when nations aren't encouraged to promote national literature. Upon returning to the United States, I searched for works from Costa Rica, trying very hard to avoid Amazon and, after no success in my local bookstores, carried out an exhaustive search through bookshop.org . That is where I finally discovered #quinceduncan . Don't let the name mislead you. His family came to Costa Rica from the Caribbean generations ago as part of the #africandiaspora, people brought to the Americas as slaves who fought for freedom and inclusion within the societies where they were forcibly brought by monied European immigrants to labor as lifelong, multigenerational property. Duncan's family emigrated to Costa Rica from #barbados and #jamaica, lured to Costa Rico's Gulf Coast to work in the expanding rail network that served the plantations of Central America. As an academic, Duncan had written some 40 books, primarily focused on the Diaspora, with Africans landing in Costa Rica in the 1600's.
A Message To Rosa is a series of short stories, told as narratives that begin in #africa and shift through multiple generations through the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States as each story gives a snapshot of the life of the subject. Most are short and concise stories, beautifully written and originally composed in English, as has been the request of Duncan's fans and accolades. In an era where the stories of minorities are being systematically stifled as being "woke" or "DEI" , A Message From Rosa demonstrates that, no matter how hard the majority may attempt to control the narrative, the minorities who survive those efforts have important stories to tell. Those messages deserve to be received.
#costaricaliterature #afrocaribbeanhistory
When I took on the #readaroundtheworldchallege and #globalreadingchallenge , I didn't fully appreciate how challenging that would be, particularly as I am only fluent in English. This once again proved very difficult when I pursued literary examples from #costarica where I had recently vacationed and hoped to pick up a locally penned book. Sadly,while there were a few bookstores in #tamarindo where we were based, most books were oriented on the tourist trade, big English speaking, recently published American and English novels, ideal for a beacon read. The search might have been easier if we had visited the capital of #sanjose but this struggle seems to be commonplace when nations aren't encouraged to promote national literature. Upon returning to the United States, I searched for works from Costa Rica, trying very hard to avoid Amazon and, after no success in my local bookstores, carried out an exhaustive search through bookshop.org . That is where I finally discovered #quinceduncan . Don't let the name mislead you. His family came to Costa Rica from the Caribbean generations ago as part of the #africandiaspora, people brought to the Americas as slaves who fought for freedom and inclusion within the societies where they were forcibly brought by monied European immigrants to labor as lifelong, multigenerational property. Duncan's family emigrated to Costa Rica from #barbados and #jamaica, lured to Costa Rico's Gulf Coast to work in the expanding rail network that served the plantations of Central America. As an academic, Duncan had written some 40 books, primarily focused on the Diaspora, with Africans landing in Costa Rica in the 1600's.
A Message To Rosa is a series of short stories, told as narratives that begin in #africa and shift through multiple generations through the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States as each story gives a snapshot of the life of the subject. Most are short and concise stories, beautifully written and originally composed in English, as has been the request of Duncan's fans and accolades. In an era where the stories of minorities are being systematically stifled as being "woke" or "DEI" , A Message From Rosa demonstrates that, no matter how hard the majority may attempt to control the narrative, the minorities who survive those efforts have important stories to tell. Those messages deserve to be received.
#costaricaliterature #afrocaribbeanhistory
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