María Cano-la flor del trabajo, by Adriana Ramírez

Excelente cuento biográfico de una heroína de Colombia.

We have always needed comprehensible readers like for language students. There are too few biographies about women who changed history. This is the life story of Maria Cano who led the labor movement in Colombia. The timeline overlaps with the United Fruit Company. There is so much in the historical background of this biography that can be taught in tandem with the book. It's fascinating start to finish. It's perfect as a classroom novel or could be added to a level 3/4 classroom library. Independent language learners will enjoy it, too.

Adriana Ramirez is a novelist, and is one of the authors responsible for establishing graded readers as real literature. In Maria Cano, La Flor del Trabajo, she writes serious nonfiction, and it is more gripping than any novel. It is a powerful true story that holds your attention in every sentence. It is also the clearest explanation I have read of the incredible greed and callousness of some corporations and governments and the damage they do.
Maria Cano, La Flor del Trabajo, is a graded reader, written for intermediate students of Spanish. My hope is that it will be read by thousands of students and that they will share it with others. My hope is that it will become a classic.
Maria Cano dedicated her life to informing victims of greed of their exploitation, letting them know what can be done about it, and telling the world about it.

This book continues Maria Cano’s mission and honors her memory. Unfortunately, it is still needed.
Available at: https://www.cpli.net/products/maria-cano-la-flor-del-trabajo-by-adriana-ramirez

I very much enjoyed reading this book about this remarkable woman. The language is very clear and the book is a good length for students to read (not too long). I look forward to future books that will be part of this series.

Adriana wrote a book that young adults and adults who are in their second or third year of Spanish. The story of Maria Cano will captivate them and they will be able to connect her life to the world today. This book would be excellent for our Latinx students as well. You forget that you are reading in Spanish because the content pulls at your heart as you learn how restricted Maria's life was just because she was a woman. Very relevant in today's world.