Cocorí
Encyclopedia
Cocorí is Costa Rican author Joaquín Gutiérrez
's most popular children's book, perhaps only topped by La Hoja de Aire. Published in 1947, the short novel ranks among the most outstanding children's stories in Costa Rica, and is mandatory reading in all primary schools. It has been translated into ten languages, and adapted for the theater several times in Germany, Czech Republic, Mexico and seven other countries.
from the Caribbean
coast of Costa Rica
, who meets a blonde tourist girl
who gives him a rose
. In return, she asks for a squirrel monkey
. Smitten, he fulfils his promise by setting a trap
made out of rice
and a coconut
, but when he returns to where he had seen her, the boat she had come in was gone. When he returns, to his home, he finds that the rose she had given him had wilted. He asks his mother
, Drusila, why it had lived such a short time while other things last much, much longer. She doesn't know, so he ran around his village
, asking the neighbours the same question. None of them go, so he asks his friend, Doña Madorra the turtle
, his question. She doesn't know, so she brings him and the squirrel monkey around the jungle
, asking some old and wise animals including Don Torcuato the alligator
and Talamanca the Bocaracá the snake
. After the interrogations of the alligator and the Snake go disastrously, Cocorí returns hometo find that Drusila had planted the stem of the wilted rose and so grown a rose bush. Here the book ends.
Joaquín Gutiérrez
Joaquín Gutiérrez is an emblematic figure of Costa Rican literature, being one of the most internationally known of its authors. He was a member of the Academia Costarricense de la Lengua, and won the Premio Nacional de Cultura, the top literary award in his country...
's most popular children's book, perhaps only topped by La Hoja de Aire. Published in 1947, the short novel ranks among the most outstanding children's stories in Costa Rica, and is mandatory reading in all primary schools. It has been translated into ten languages, and adapted for the theater several times in Germany, Czech Republic, Mexico and seven other countries.
Plot
The story concerns a small native boyBoy
A boy is a young male human , as contrasted to its female counterpart, girl, or an adult male, a man.The term "boy" is primarily used to indicate biological sex distinctions, cultural gender role distinctions or both...
from the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
coast of Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, who meets a blonde tourist girl
Girl
A girl is any female human from birth through childhood and adolescence to attainment of adulthood. The term may also be used to mean a young woman.-Etymology:...
who gives him a rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
. In return, she asks for a squirrel monkey
Squirrel monkey
The squirrel monkeys are the New World monkeys of the genus Saimiri. They are the only genus in the subfamily Saimirinae.Squirrel monkeys live in the tropical forests of Central and South America in the canopy layer. Most species have parapatric or allopatric ranges in the Amazon, while S...
. Smitten, he fulfils his promise by setting a trap
Trap (tactic)
A trap is a device intended to catch an intruder or prey. "Trap" may also refer to the tactic of catching or harming an adversary. Conversely it may also mean a hindrance for change, being caught in a trap.-Device:*Animal trapping*Bird trapping...
made out of rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and a coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
, but when he returns to where he had seen her, the boat she had come in was gone. When he returns, to his home, he finds that the rose she had given him had wilted. He asks his mother
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
, Drusila, why it had lived such a short time while other things last much, much longer. She doesn't know, so he ran around his village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
, asking the neighbours the same question. None of them go, so he asks his friend, Doña Madorra the turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
, his question. She doesn't know, so she brings him and the squirrel monkey around the jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
, asking some old and wise animals including Don Torcuato the alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
and Talamanca the Bocaracá the snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
. After the interrogations of the alligator and the Snake go disastrously, Cocorí returns hometo find that Drusila had planted the stem of the wilted rose and so grown a rose bush. Here the book ends.