Book Review of How Hollyhocks Came to New Mexico by Rudolfo Anaya, Nasario Garcia, Nicolas Otero

Hollyhocks belong in the same taxonomic family as:

• Cacao;
• Cotton;
• Okra.

They can be recognized by:

• Alternate, hairy, lobed, veined leaves;
• Bright flowers with five petals and five sepals each;
• Mucous-filled, wand-like stems.

They claim healthily perennial lifespans when:

• Cultivated in sunny, warm, wind-sheltered locations;
• Distanced respectively 18 inches (45.72 centimeters) and 3 feet (0.92 meters) within and between rows;
• Grown in moist, well-drained soils with pH levels of 6.0 – 8.0;
• Propagated from garden-dropped seeds;
• Trimmed to the base after flowers fade.

They exist throughout the United States of America because of inter-continental introductions from their Asian and European homelands. One such injection goes back over 2,000 years ago, thanks to:

• An irate king;
• A near-sighted angel.

January 14 commemorates the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt. It evokes images of Jesus (6 B.C. – A.D. 29), Joseph (died July 20, A.D. 18?), and Mary (18 B.C.? – A.D. 41?) fleeing Bethlehem after:

• Visits by Wise Men Balthazar, Casper, and Melchior;
• Warnings of royal wrath.

But what happens if near-sighted savior angel Sueño (Sleep) confuses the turn for New Mexico as that for Egypt? The mistake leads to:

• Consuming beans, chile, squashes under cottonwood trees;
• Experiencing Thanksgiving;
• Gathering herbal remedies;
• Following the Rio Grande to Belen, Pueblo sites, and White Sands;
• Harvesting piñones (pine nuts);
• Observing dances.

The Holy Trio make a ladder into heaven. Hollyhocks surface from:

• Joseph’s shepherd staff anchored at the base;
• Summer rains.

Rio Grande Books appears as an imprint of LPD Press in Los Ranchos de ABQ, New Mexico, since 2006. The book line centers upon regional art, culture, and history within the southwestern United States of America. The list of publications for 2012 includes How Hollyhocks Came to New Mexico in bilingual format.  The charming story looks to local folklore to explain the pervasive existence of the summer to fall-blooming herbs flourishing outside native homelands westward -- across the vast Pacific Ocean -- in Asia and Europe. It merges the Spanish culture-influenced talents of:

• Rudolfo Anaya, as author of the English storyline;
• Nasario García, as interpreter of the Spanish text;
• Nicolás Otero, as painter of the santero-inspired artwork.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Two New Mexico icons, Georgia O'Keeffe and hollyhocks, come together.
"Black Hollyhock Blue Larkspur 1930"; oil on canvas by one of New Mexico's most famous resident artists, Georgia O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986)
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, 217 Johnson Street, downtown Santa Fe, north central New Mexico: jaygannett, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/45493331575/

In "How Hollyhocks Came to New Mexico," because of a near-sighted angel's confusion of New Mexico for Egypt, the Holy Family journey through the spectacular landscape of New Mexico's white sand dunes.
White Sands National Monument, south central New Mexico: snowpeak, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:White_sands_moon_&_clouds.jpg; John Fowler (snowpeak), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/snowpeak/4315626457/

Because of Sueño's near-sightedness, the Holy Family take a wrong turn in their Flight into Egypt, ending up in New Mexico's enchanting landscape, including iconic cottonwood trees.
"Pedernal"; 1941-1942 oil on canvas by Georgia O'Keefe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986)
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, north central New Mexico: Ron Cogswell, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/10212289645/

Joseph's floral epiphanies include flowers blooming from his staff during marriage petition to high priest according to apocryphal sources and hollyhocks surfacing from ladder to Heaven anchored at base by his staff in "How Hollyhocks Came to New Mexico."
Latin American portrayal of St. Joseph as a young man, with flower-blooming staff
Oratory of the Hospital Universitario Austral, Pilar Partido, northern Greater Buenos Aires, southeastern Argentina: Gabriel Sozzi, CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Joseph,_portrayed_as_a_young_man.JPG

Anaya, Rudolfo. 2012. How Hollyhocks Came to New Mexico. Illustrated by Nicolás Otero. Translated into Spanish by Nasario García. Rio Grande Books.

"The Artist: About Nicolás Otero." Nick Otero Studios.com. Retrieved December 20, 2014.

• Available at: http://www.nickoterostudios.com/about/

Nasario Garcia, Ph.D.com. Retrieved December 20, 2014.

• http://www.nasariogarciaphd.com/