Chicano & Latino Literature

BARRIO-LOGOS: Space and Place in Urban Chicano Literature and Culture
by Raul Homero Villa. Condition: NEW 2000 University of Texas Press hardcover (no jacket - was there one?), first printing. Forest green boards with "pink" gilt lettering. Interior perfect. Bottom edges stamped "hurt books" and that only means remainder. Content: Struggles over space and resistance to geographic displacement gave birth to much of Chicano history and culture. In this pathfinding book, Raúl Villa explores how California Chicano/a activists, journalists, writers, artists, and musicians have used expressive culture to oppose the community-destroying forces of urban renewal programs and massive freeway development and to create and defend a sense of Chicano place-identity. Villa opens with a historical overview that shows how Chicano communities and culture have grown in response to conflicts over space ever since the United States' annexation of Mexican territory in the 1840s. Then, turning to the work of contemporary members of the Chicano intelligentsia such as Helena Maria Viramontes, Ron Arias, and Lorna Dee Cervantes, Villa demonstrates how their expressive practices re-imagine and re-create the dominant urban space as a community enabling place. In doing so, he illuminates the endless interplay in which cultural texts and practices are shaped by and act upon their social and political contexts. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 21.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE DEVIL IN TEXAS (Western States Book Award for Fiction)
by Aristeo Brito. Condition: UNREAD 1997 Anchor Trade paperback, first printing. Moderate tanning to page edges. Winner Western States Book Award for Fiction in 1990. Content: From the cover: "Skillfully combining mysticism and history, [this book] brings to life the plight of the residents of Presidio, a village on the border between Texas and Mexico that neither side truly wants to claim as its own. Beginning in 1883 and continuing through 1970, the lost souls of Presidio - both living and dead - tell their own stories, revealing the history of their town to be one of desolation and poverty, where the Devil is the only visitor, and the original occupants and their ancestors have lost their land and consequently the right to rule their own lives. narrated by the villagers' voices - including a lawyer, a renegade, and even an unborn child - the residents of the town strongly evoke through their own words the troubled life of the displaced Mexican. Brito's powerful imagery and passionate writing bring us to a clearer undersanding of these people and their lives than is likely to be found anywehre else." Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 8.50 + $ 2.94 media shipping.

FLAMING IGUANAS: An Illustrated All-Girl Road Novel Thing
by Erika Lopez. B&W illustrations. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1997 Simon & Schuster hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. The only problem is a couple of pale smudges front cover at spine. Can't get them out. The DJ and the interior pages look like (and have the same texture) as groceery store brown paper bags. Neat! Content: Tomato Rodriguez hops on her motorcycle and embarks on the ultimate sea-to-shining-sea all-girl adventure -- a story in that combines all the best parts of Alice in Wonderland and Easy Rider as Tomato crosses the country in search of the meaning of life, love, and the perfect post office. This is an hilarious novel that combines text, line drawings, rubber stamp art, and a serious dose of attitude. The result is a wild and wonderful ride unlike any you you've ever taken before. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 9.59 + $ 3.39 media shipping.

GROWING UP CHICANA / O
edited by Tiffany Ana Lopez. Forward by Rudolfo Anaya. Condition: NEW 1995 Avon Books Trade Paperback, 4th printing. Remainder mark bottom edges and tiny edgewear. Content: Stories of joys, pains, frustrations and triumphs of a Mexican-American childhood - 20 Chicana/o writers explore their search for identity in America. [1 copy available]
$ 4.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE IGUANA KILLER: Twelve Stories of the Heart (Winner Western States Book Award in Fiction)
by Alberto Alvaro Rios. B&W photos & etchings. Condition: NEW 1998 UNM Press first thus Trade PB with wonderful B&W etchings by Pazos. Content: Set along the Southwestern border, these stories explore growing up Hispanic and weaving together three distinct worlds--Mexico, the United States, and childhood. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 11.49 + $ 3.09 media shipping.

LATINO LITERATURE
by Prentice Hall Literature Library. Condition: NEW 1999 Prentice Hall hardcover (pictorial boards - library binding), 3rd printing. Content: Stories from Julia Alvarez, Sandra Cisneros, Judith Cofer, Hugo Serros, Rudolfo Anaya, et al. [1 copy available]
$ 5.50 + $ 3.09 media shipping.

LAS CHRISTMAS: Favorite Latino Authors Share Their Hoiday Memories
edited by Esmeralda Santiago and Joie Davidow. B&W illustrations by Jose Ortega. Condition: NEW 1998 Knopf hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. Content: Twenty-five celebrated Latino writers delight and move us with their recollections of Christmas in this splendid holiday extravaganza. From Julia Alvarez's tale of how Santicló delivered a beloved uncle from political oppression to Junot Díaz's story of his own uneasy assimilation on his first Christmas in America, to Sandra Cisneros's poignant memories of her late father's holiday dinners, Las Christmas gives us true stories from writers of many traditions--memories of Christmas and Hanukkah that vividly capture the pride and pain, joy and heartbreak, that so often accompany the holidays in the Americas. Richly illustrated and embellished with songs and poems, along with recipes for an unforgettable Christmas dinner--from traditional sweet tamales to Puerto Rican asopao (stew) and coquito (coconut eggnog)--this is an enduring treasury of Latino writing to read again and again. Contributing authors: Julia Alvarez, Liz Balmaseda, Gioconda Belli, Denise Chavez, Sandra Cisneros, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Mandalit del Barco, Junot Diaz, Martin Espada, Francisco Goldman, Estela Herrera, Jaime Manrique, Victor Martinez, Aurora Levine Morales, Rosario Morales, Michael Nava, Gustavo Perez Firmat, Luis Rodriguez, Esmeralda Santiago, Mayra Santos-Febres, Gary Soto, Ilan Stavans, Ray Suarez, Piri Thomas, and Judy Basquez. 20 recipes for a comple holiday dinner. A heartwarming holiday gift. [1 copy available]
$ 9.49 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

THE MAMBO KINGS PLAY SONGS OF LOVE
by Oscar Hijuelos. Cathleen Toelke cover art. Condition NEW 1989 HarperPerennial Trade Paperback, first printing. Perfect but for remainder mark. Content: Inspired by their heroes Xavier Cugat and Desi Arnaz, brothers Cesar and Nestor Castillo come to New York City from Cuba in 1949 with designs on becoming mambo stars. Eventually they do--performing with Arnaz on "I Love Lucy" in 1955 and recording 78s with their own band, the Mambo Kings. Hijuelos traces the lives of the flashy, guitar-strumming Cesar and the timid, lovelorn Nestor as they cruise the East Coast club circuit in a flamingo-pink bus. Enriching the story are the brothers' friends and family members--all driven by their own private dreams. The book won a Pulitzer Prize in 1990. Beautiful book and haunting movie. The 1992 movie was directed by Arne Glimcher and starred Armand Assante, Antonio Banderas, Cathy Moriarty, Maruschka Detmers, Pablo Calogero, & Desi Arnaz, Jr. [1 copy available]
$ 3.79 + $ 3.09 media shipping

MEXICAN-AMERICAN FOLKLORE: Legends, Songs, Festivals, Proverbs, Crafts, Tales of Saints, of Revolutionaries, and More
by John O. West. B&W drawings & photos illustrate. Cover art by Jose Cisneros. Condition: Gently pre-read (to page 31 & abandoned) 1988 August House hardcover (pictorial boards - no DJ), first edition. After page 31, the book is unread. Clean & tight. Content: Reviewer: "The final chapter of this book is subtitled "A Little bit of Everything." That would also make a good subtitle for this entire volume of folklore that reflects Mexican heritage in America. The book has good folktales and legends from Mexican-American culture, but these texts comprise only a small portion of the interesting volume. There are good chapters on Mexican-American folk speech, proverbs, riddles, ballads and folksong, and folk poetry. The book moves beyond many compilations to include good chapters on folk drama, dance, traditional games, foodways, folk art, and vernacular architecture. The presentation of these forms of folklore is interesting, and West also includes good discussions that place the genres and folk expressions within cultural and historical contexts. It's a good source for general readers who wish to learn a bit about Mexican-American culture, and the supplemental materials and extensive bibliography will appeal to those who wish to delve into a more in-depth understanding of the subject." [1 copy available]
$ 12.49 + $ 3.29 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

MEXICO AND THE HISPANIC SOUTHWEST IN AMERICAN LITERATURE (New & revised from With the Ears of Strangers)
by Cecil Robinson. B&W drawings by H. Beaumont Williams. Condition: NEW 1977 University of Arizona Press Trade Paperback, new & revised edition. Light shelfwear rubbings back cover. Content: Robinson has added an engrossing chapter on Chicano literature to make this book even more relevant for Chicano studies: Two Cultures Meet in the Borderlands; Mexican Traits - An Early Portrait; A Discourse on Race, on Sex, on Death; A Gragment of the Medieval World; The Passing of Enriquez; Mexican Traits - A Later Look; Children of the Earth; Love, Fate and Death; Idols and Altars; Chicano Literature; The Southwest as a Literary Region: Local Color of Belles Lettres?; Epiloge; Notes & Bibliography. [1 copy available]
$ 7.50 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

NOT BY THE SWORD
by Nash Candelaria. Cover art by Christopher Bidlack. Condition: UNREAD 1982 Bilingual Press Trade Paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear. Content: This is the story of Don Francisco Rafa and his family beginning shortly before the Mexican War in 1846. This is the story of the survival of a dynasty and how it accepts inevitable defeat with grace and courage. Questions welcome [1 copy available]
$ 7.50 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

THE SHATTERED MIRROR: Representations of Women in Mexican Literature
by Maria Elena de Valdes. Condition: NEW 1998 Univ. of Texas Trade Paperback, no printing given. Content: Popular images of women in Mexico--conveyed through literature and, more recently, film and television--were long restricted to either the stereotypically submissive wife and mother or the demonized fallen woman. But new representations of women and their roles in Mexican society have shattered the ideological mirrors that reflected these images. This book explores this major change in the literary representation of women in Mexico. Maria Elena de Valdes enters into a selective and hard-hitting examination of literary representation in its social context and a contestatory engagement of both the literary text and its place in the social reality of Mexico. Some of the topics she considers are Carlos Fuentes and the subversion of the social codes for women; the poetic ties between Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz and Octavio Paz; questions of female identity in the writings of Rosario Castellanos, Luisa Josefina Hernandez, Maria Luisa Puga, and Elena Poniatowska; the Chicana writing of Sandra Cisneros; and the postmodern celebration--without reprobation--of being a woman in Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 3.29 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

THE TRUTH ABOUT THEM (Pioneers of Modern U.S. Hispanic Literature series)
by Jose Yglesias. James Brisson cover art. Condition: UNREAD 1999 Arte Publico Press (Houston) Trade Paperback, reprint edition. Content: First published in 1971, this is the saga of the Cuban-American Morejon family's experiences in both New York City (and various progressive and ``revolutionary'' organizations) and Tampas Ybor City, the town created for families of immigrants employed in a prosperous local cigar factory. The Morejons' story is reconstructed by Yglesias's narrator Pini, a left-wing journalist who patiently collects ``tales borne by sentimental conversations'' among (and involving such improbably heroic figures as his family's matriarchal grandmother, the first of them to reach America, in 1890), Pini's outrageously beautiful sister Eloisa, and ``laughable unfortunates,'' (cousins) Chucha and Leandro, whose huge brood creates Olympian burdens that somehow never weaken their blissful union. The bountiful cast of vivid characters, episodic momentum, and bittersweet comic warmth make the whole irresistibly appealing. This is Yglesias's best novel. [1 copy available]
$ 8.50 + $ 2.94 media shipping.