Latino History

Gustavo Arellano has compiled the best questions about Mexican Americans from readers of his ¡Ask a Mexican!column in California's OC Weekly and uses them to explore the clichés of lowriders, busboys, and housekeepers; drunks and scoundrels; heroes and celebrities; and most important, millions upon millions of law-abiding, patriotic American citizens and their illegal-immigrant cousins who represent some $600 billion in economic power.

When the San José mine collapsed outside of Copiapó, Chile, in August 2010, it trapped thirty-three miners beneath thousands of feet of rock for a record-breaking sixty-nine days. After the disaster, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Héctor Tobar received exclusive access to the miners and their tales, and in Deep Down Dark, he brings them to haunting, visceral life. We learn what it was like to be imprisoned inside a mountain, understand the horror of being slowly consumed by hunger, and experience the awe of working in such a place-underground passages filled with danger.

In this compelling, behind-the-scenes account, former top CIA officer and Cuba expert Brian Latell examines the extraordinary Castro brothers and the impending dynastic succession of Fidel's younger brother, Raul. Exploring the brothers' remarkable relationship, he reveals how Fidel and Raul have collaborated, divided responsibilities, and resolved disagreements for more than 46 years, a challenge to the notion that the little-known Raul has been an insignificant player.

The twenty-first century began optimistically in Latin America. Left-leaning leaders armed with programs to reduce poverty and reclaim national wealth were seeing results—but as the aughts gave way to the teens, they began to fall like dominos. Where did the dreams of this "pink tide" go? Look no further than the original culprits of Latin American disenfranchisement: resource-rich land and unscrupulous extraction.

Have you ever thought about visiting South America but just don’t know which country to choose first? Would you like to know more about the heart of South America, the country called Paraguay? The country of Paraguay, though small and often overlooked when considering South America, is a country that boasts of beautiful sights and indigenous people. With its location placing it at almost the centermost position within South America, Paraguay is often referred to by the locals as the “Heart of South America”.

"The Roots of Honduras: Tracing the History of a Nation" is a comprehensive historical account of Honduras, beginning with the indigenous peoples and spanning to modern times. The book delves into the country's rich pre-colonial history, including the Mayan civilization and its impact on Honduras' cultural heritage. It also explores the tumultuous period of the banana republics and the subsequent struggles for modernization. The book goes on to detail the social, economic, and political transformations that have occurred in Honduras' recent history.

On January 12, 2010, a major earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Hundreds of thousands of people died, and the greater part of the capital was demolished. Dr. Paul Farmer, U.N. deputy special envoy to Haiti, who had worked in the country for nearly thirty years treating infectious diseases like tuberculosis and AIDS, and former President Bill Clinton, the U.N. special envoy to Haiti, had just begun to work on an extensive development plan to improve living conditions in Haiti.

Around the world, certain drinks - especially those of the intoxicating kind - are synonymous with their peoples and cultures. For Mexico, this drink is tequila. For many, tequila can conjure up scenes of body shots on Cancún bars and coolly garnished margaritas on sandy beaches. Its power is equally strong within Mexico, though there the drink is more often sipped rather than shot, enjoyed casually among friends, and used to commemorate occasions from the everyday to the sacred.

In The Life of Cicero, Plutarch details the priceless contributions Cicero made to Roman society. He translated the works of Greek philosophers into Latin, gained acclaim as an orator and lawyer, and was elected to office. Politics ultimately got the better of him, however, and his life ended in assassination while in exile. Cicero’s ideas live on through his body of work, but to learn about the man himself, Plutarch’s biography is an excellent starting point.

Enslaved West Indian women had few opportunities to record their stories for posterity. Yet from their dusty footprints and the umpteen small clues they left for us to unravel, there's no question that they earned their place in history. Pick any Caribbean island and you'll find race, skin color, and rank interacting with gender in a unique and often volatile way. In A Kick in the Belly, Stella Dadzie follows the evidence and finds women played a distinctly female role in the development of a culture of slave resistance - a role that was not just central, but downright dynamic.

A coming-of-age story, based on a recent shocking chapter of Argentine history, about a young woman who makes a devastating discovery about her origins with the help of an enigmatic houseguest.

Lo perdió todo cuando derribaron a sus dioses y arrasaron su ciudad, ahora tendrá que encontrar cómo recuperar lo que más ama El deseo de venganza aún late con fuerza en el corazón de aquellos que —en alianza con los españoles— derrocaron a los aztecas y no se detendrán hasta acabar con todos. Opochtli es uno de los pocos guerreros águila que sobrevivieron al sofocamiento de la rebelión mexica. Tras la derrota, lo único que desea es reencontrarse con su amada Zayetzi, pero para regresar a casa tendrá que atravesar las distintas regiones que ahora controlan sus enemigos, quienes no dudarán un segundo en aniquilarlo.

Con el propósito de que públicos amplios se acerquen a aspectos fundamentales de las luchas por los derechos de las mujeres, este libro narra el largo periplo de las feministas en América Latina. En un extraordinario esfuerzo de síntesis, se revisan propuestas y acciones emprendidas por una variedad de colectivos de mujeres: desde la formulación de los primeros feminismos hasta la experiencia inédita de nuestros días, cuando los reclamos de las mujeres nutren masivas expresiones populares, como nunca antes había ocurrido.

El Greco visits the Sistine Chapel and is appalled by Michelangelo's bodies. The mystery of Rothko's refusal to finish murals for the Seagram Building in New York is blended with the story of a hospital in which a prostitute walks the halls while the narrator's husband receives chemotherapy. Alfred de Dreux visits Gericault's workshop; Gustave Courbet's devilish seascapes incite viewers "to have sex, or to eat an apple"; Picasso organizes a cruel banquet in Rousseau's honor.... All of these fascinating episodes in art history interact with the narrator's life in Buenos Aires.

The bloody story of the rise of paramilitaries in Colombia, told through three characters—a fearless activist, a dogged journalist, and a relentless investigator—whose lives intersected in the midst of unspeakable terror.

An inspiring tribute to Hispanic Americans who have made a positive impact on the world. This stunning book showcases 20 Hispanic and Latino American men and women who have made outstanding contributions to the arts, politics, science, humanitarianism, and athletics. Featured are sparkling biographies of Cesar Chavez, Sonia Sotomayor, Ellen Ochoa, Roberto Clemente, and many more.

A major work on the history of Mexicans in Texas and the relations between Mexicans and Anglos.

One of Argentina's 30,000 "disappeared", Alicia Partnoy was abducted from her home by secret police and taken to a concentration camp where she was tortured, and where most of the other prisoners were killed. Her writings were smuggled out of prison and published anonymously in human rights journals. The Little School is Alicia Partnoy's memoir of her disappearance and imprisonment in Argentina in the 1970s.

El indeleble recuento del Che de la guerra revolucionaria cubana.

The Tango War by Mary Jo McConahay fills an important gap in World War II history. Beginning in the '30s, both sides were well aware of the need to control not just the hearts and minds but also the resources of Latin America. The fight was often dirty: Residents were captured to exchange for US prisoners of war and rival spy networks shadowed each other across the continent. At all times, it was a Tango War, in which each side closely shadowed the other's steps.