Nonfiction

Somos Xicanas | Edited by Luz Schweig
Somos Xicanas, edited by Luz Schweig and published by Riot of Roses Publishing House, is a rich and resonant anthology that seeks to answer the question: What does it really mean to be a Xicana? The answer, it seems, is not an easy one. The Xicana/Chicana Continue reading... 5/4/25
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Emiliano Zapata: Testimonia de la Revolución del Sur
​​Edgar Castro Zapata, historian and great-grandson of Emiliano Zapata, delivers an evocative and meticulously researched masterpiece on one of Mexico's most iconic revolutionary heroes in Emiliano Zapata: Testimonios de la Revolución del Sur. Drawing on Continue reading... 2/15/25

Desde los zulos | Dahlia de la Cerda
In her five-chapter hybrid essay, Desde los zulos, author Dahlia de la Cerda uses language skillfully, free of euphemisms or embellishments, to set the tone for a deep and critical analysis of hegemonic feminisms in which she reflects on the condition Continue reading... 11/14/24

Forget the Alamo | Burrough Et al.
​Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth, written by Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and Jason Stanford, dismantles the longstanding romanticized narrative of the Battle of the Alamo and its place in American history. Continue reading... 7/22/24
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New Mexico's Stolen Land | Ray John De Aragón
"New Mexico’s Stolen Lands: A History of Racism, Fraud & Deceit" by Ray John de Aragon is a captivating narrative that unveils the dark history of New Mexico, tainted by a relentless onslaught of fraud, deceit, and systemic land theft from Hispanic and Native Continue reading... 3/24/24

Allende el mar | Óscar Osorio
Óscar Osorio’s book Allende el mar is a collection of ten chronicles of real-life experiences of Colombians who have immigrated to the United States. Even those who may consider themselves experts on the subject of Colombian immigration to this country Continue reading... 1/18/24

Voyager: Constellations of Memory | Nona Fernández
When her mother begins suffering fainting spells, losing consciousness and waking moments later with no memory of what occurred, Nona Fernández takes her to the hospital for an electroencephalogram test. There, the author observes her mother’s brain on a Continue reading... 4/8/23

The Cuban Sandwhich | Huse, Cruz & Houck
As Fernando Ortiz studies the Cuban culture in the colonial era through ajiaco, the Cuban sandwich, in this manuscript, becomes a condensing symbol in modern Cuba. The Cuban Sandwich: A History in Layers (Huse et al.) studies a national Cuban meal in the political, Continue reading... 7/2/22
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For Brown Girls | Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodriguez
For nearly a decade Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez has stood at the forefront of a cultural shift—the reckoning of the colonial project through the veil of Latinidad. Establishing a platform in 2013 via social media, Mojica Rodríguez bucked popular continue reading... 3/4/22

Boyle Heights | George J. Sánchez
In the annals of Chicanx history, only a few historians stand heads and shoulders above the rest. One of those is George J. Sánchez whose recent publication, Boyle Heights: How a Los Angeles Neighborhood Became the Future of Democracy, leaves off where Continue reading 7/27/21
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Las homicidas | Alia Trabucco Zerán
A thoughtful interdisciplinary study on the relationship between criminal law, gender, and femininity, Las homicidas traces the murders committed by four Chilean women — Corina Rojas, Rosa Faúndez, María Carolina Geel, and María Teresa Alfaro Continue reading... 5/18/21
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Pedro's Theory | Marcos Gonsalez
Rural New Jersey and NYC provide the canvas for the haunting, introspective ruminations of Marcos Gonsalez's memoir Pedro's Theory. Marcos grew up in rural New Jersey with a boricua mother and undocumented father originally from Mexico. Marcos Continue reading...4/9/21

The Book of Rossy:  A Mother's Story of Separation at the Border | Rosayra Pablo Cruz & Julie  Schwietert Collazo
The Book of Rosy is the story of Rosayra Pablo Cruz, a mother of four from Guatemala who fled to the U.S. seeking asylum, co-written by Julie Schwietert Collazo, the co-founder of Continue Reading... 2/25/21

Grieving | Cristina Rivera Garza
Written by MacArthur Foundation fellow Cristina Rivera Garza, Grieving is a riveting collection of essays lamenting the longstanding history of femicide in Mexico, notably in the Golden Quadrilateral--Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Sonora, and Durango. The harrowing Continue reading... 11/16/20

City of Inmates | Kelly Lytle Hernández
UCLA history and African American studies professor and Mac Arthur fellow Kelly Lytle Hernandez’s City of Inmates is a phenomenal book on Los Angeles’s ugly history of incarceration spanning two centuries. In this path-breaking study, the author Continue reading... 9/21/20
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Jaquira Díaz | Ordinary Girls
Jaquira Díaz’s Ordinary Girls is a memoir of the author’s tumultuous life battling some pretty strong inner and outer demons. Having survived these ordeals, Díaz extends her extraordinary, individual experiences growing up to include both commonplace Continue reading... 7/23/20

​A Silent Fury: The El Bordo Mine Fire | Yuri Herrera
In the early morning of March 10, 1920 in the Mexican city of Pachuca, a fire tore through the subterranean shafts of the massive El Bordo mine. Four hundred men were below ground when the fire was discovered, and the evacuation was slow, chaotic Continue reading... 7/3/20

Defending Latina/o Immigrant Communities
Dr. Álvaro Huerta has crafted an impressive and valuable book that speaks directly and poignantly to the long-lived biases against Latinos in the United States. His collection of carefully selected essays and their key sources proffers a strong testimonial about the Continue reading... 6/24/20
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In the Dream House | Carmen Maria Machado
In this fragmented memoir of her relationship with an abusive long-term partner, Machado imbues her own personal story with exposition of the “archival silence” on the topic of abuse in the queer community. It starts with a fervent crush on a beautiful, Continue reading... 1/7/20

Feminism for the Americas | Katherine M. Marino
Katherine M. Marino charts an alternative history of international feminism between the World Wars, a period often viewed as relatively stagnant in feminist history, by shifting our attention to the work of six major activists from across the Americas. Continue reading... 11/2/19
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Visión de los vencidos | Miguel León-Portilla 
Up until 1959, the only published testimonies about the “Spanish conquest” were chronicles by Spaniards. Miguel Leon-Portilla in his book, Visión de los vencidos: relaciones indígenas de la conquista, gives a voice to those who were silenced Continue reading... 9/17/19
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Native Country of the Heart | Cherríe Moraga
From the beloved queer Chicana feminist writer Cherríe Moraga, Native Country of the Heart is a memoir told in parallel with the memoir of her Mexican mother, Elvira. Elvira is the foundational stone on which Moraga builds her own Chicana feminism Continue reading... 6/24/19

You Have the Right to Remain Fat | Virgie Tovar
For essayist and activist Virgie Tovar, society’s discrimination because of the size of her body has been far more detrimental to her well-being than “the lessons [she] received about [her] racial and gender inferiority” (36). Thus, in her collection of Continue reading... 4/2/19
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La gestación de un Universo | Apab'yan Tew
Everything contains life. Everything is interconnected, stars, plants, and people. So begins The Birth of a Universe, a profound exegesis by Apabyan Tew, a K’iche Maya midwife and daykeeper. We are bound to the ancient 260-day Maya calendar Continue reading... 1/12/19

From Santa Anna to Selena | Harriett Denise Joseph
Harriett Denise Joseph relates biographies of eleven notable Mexicanos and Tejanos, beginning with Santa Anna and the impact his actions had on Texas. She discusses the myriad contributions of Erasmo and Juan Seguín to Texas history Continue reading... 10/26/18
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Valeria Luiselli | Tell Me How It Ends
​An inspiring and necessary book by the renown Mexican author Valeria Luiselli. Tell Me How It Ends speaks boldly about the painful reality undocumented, and many times unaccompanied, children face in the U.S. immigration system as well as their Continue reading... 3/18/18

Paco Ignacio Taibo II | El Álamo: Una historia no apta para Hollywood
​After finding out about the immense and disproportionate amount of material there is about the Alamo in the United States as opposed to Mexico, Mexican author, Paco Ignacio  Taibo II gives us a breath of Continue reading... 7/5/2017

Cecilia Akers | The Inspiring Life of Héctor P. García
Doctor Hector P. García was a Mexican immigrant who changed the lives of millions of Americans and whose positive contributions will continue to be enjoyed generation after generation after generation. Cecilia García Akers gives us special access to Continue reading... 3/7/17
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Zaragosa Vargas | Crucible of Struggle
Crucible of Struggle: A History of Mexican Americans from Colonial Times to the Present Era, by Zaragosa Vargas, provides the reader a detailed chronological account of the Mexican American historical experience and how it takes its place in Continue reading... 2/17/17
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Ray Suarez | Latino Americans
George Santayana once said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Latino Americans by Suárez is an inspiring read, thoroughly documented, that enlightens the reader regarding our Latin American heritage and legacy Continue reading... 7/31/16
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Luis Alberto Ambroggio | Estados Unidos Hispano
Five hundred years of Hispanic/Latino presence in the United States is proudly celebrated in Luis Alberto Ambroggio's book Estados Unidos Hispano. This work is a homage to our heritage, language and literature which demonstrates, through Continue reading... 9/11/16

Mystical Moments & Magical Encounters | Carmen Baca
In Mystical Moments & Magical Encounters, Carmen Baca weaves a rich tapestry of prose and poetry that invites readers into a deeply spiritual and culturally resonant journey. Baca’s collection is a bridge between the ethereal and the tangible, a reflection on faith, family, Continue reading... 1/16/25

Entre Rusia y Cuba | Jorge Ferrer
Books that explore revolutions always offer something valuable, more so in these troubled times. Besides, when they include details about the author’s life, there is a certain voyeuristic pleasure in reading them, as they allow the reader to delve into Continue reading... 8/17/24

Louis Carlos Bernal: Monografía
In the vast tapestry of American art, few threads weave as richly or as vibrantly as those belonging to Louis Carlos Bernal, a pioneering figure whose photographs celebrate the Chicano community's indomitable spirit. Aperture, in collaboration with the Center Continue reading... 4/17/24

El Curso de la Raza | Aurelio Manuel Montemayor & Thomas Garcia
​El Curso de la Raza, is not just a narrative of personal experiences; it's a profound and inspiring pilgrimage of a life dedicated to activism, education, and concientización, within the Chicano movement Continue reading... 3/10/24

Finding American | Colin Boyd Shafer
Finding American: Stories of Immigration From All 50 States by award-winning documentary photographer Colin Boyd Shafer is a captivating visual journey that captures the essence of immigration across the United States. Through his lens, Shafer skillfully conveys Continue reading... 8/9/22

My Boy Will Die of Sorrow | Efrén C. Olivarez
​In this age of constant information and often disturbing political news it is easy to become numb to policy implications as they are felt in real time. Efrén Olivares’ My Son Will Die of Sorrow wakes readers from political overwhelm through his Continue reading... 10/30/22

Querencia | Melanie Márquez Adams
“Querencia describes a place where one feels safe, a place from which one’s strength of character is drawn, a place where one feels at home. For writers, that burning urge to write is our querencia. Writing is a way of finding and keeping our home.” Continue reading... 3/26/22

High-Risk Homosexual | Edgar Gomez
​A riotously funny and poignant debut by a quick-witted new voice, High-Risk Homosexual offers a powerful exploration of author Edgar Gomez’s adolescence and early adulthood, one that lays bare all the confusing, painful, messy, awkward, and hilarious Continue reading... 1/23/22
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Goodbye, My Havana | Anna Veltfort
Homosexuality’s confrontation with the revolutionary Cuban government has been the subject of numerous articles, books, and research. While the story of Goodbye, My Havana: The Life and Times of a Gringa in Revolutionary Cuba Continue reading... 7/5/21

Madness & Irrationality in Spanish & Latin American Literature & Culture | Lloyd Hughes Davies
In Madness and Irrationality in Spanish and Latin American Literature and Culture, Lloyd Hughes Davies focuses on the line between sanity and madness in the Spanish-speaking world. He discusses where Continue reading... 4/19/21

Ascent to Glory | Álvaro Santana-Acuña
Ascent to Glory  by Álvaro Santana-Acuña constitutes a provocative filigree analysis of the construction of a literary classic, a judicious tracing of the solidarities, powers and maneuvers that led to the "ascent to glory" of Gabriel García Márquez’s novel One Hundred Continue reading... 4/8/21
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The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop | Felicia Chavez
The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom is a groundbreaking approach to teaching a writing workshop by Colorado College educator Felicia Rose Chavez. This innovative book centers a new methodology Continue reading... 2/18/21

Once I Was You | Maria Hinojosa
Maria Hinojosa’s memoir tells the vulnerable story of becoming her truest, unapologetic self, deftly woven with decades of American history. From U.S.-funded conflicts throughout Central America, to 9/11, to Hurricane Katrina, to the ongoing humanitarian crisis Continue reading... 10/12/20

An American Language | Rosina Lozano​
An American Language is a political history that looks at the relationship between language and identity written by Princeton University historian Rosina Lozano. The book traces the use of Spanish in the various states and territories in the Southwest Continue reading... 7/28/20
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Spirit Run: A 6,000 Marathon through North America's Stolen Land | Noé Álvarez
Noé Álvarez was nineteen years old when he dropped out of college and bought a one-way ticket to Canada to embark on a 6,000-mile run across North America. As a young, first-generation Mexican-American Continue reading... 7/15/20

Forgotten Dead: Mob Violence Against Mexicans in the U.S. | Carrigan & Webb
“Two brothers-Filomeno Rios and Eifanio Rios-hung from one limb. The oldest of the men, Jorge Rodriguez, was found swinging from another branch of the same tree. Hanging nearby was the corpse of… Blas Continue ​reading... 7/1/20

​My Time Among the White | Jennine Capó Crucet
Growing up in Miami, Cuban-American author Jennine Capó Crucet saw her ethnicity represented in every facet of her community. Having never been singled out for her otherness, she experienced many of the privileges afforded to most white Americans. Continue reading... 4/15/20
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The Browning of the New South | Jennifer A. Jones
Our current political climate is one where conflict seems to trump cooperation. Jessica Jones’s The Browning of the New South invites us to see cooperative tendencies on the local and regional scale, in the face of louder national narratives of racial tension. Jones explores the Continue reading... 12/7/19

​'68: The Mexican Autumn of the Tlatelolco Massacre | Paco Ignacio Taibo II
The student movement of 1968 in Mexico City is not defined by “one day of death but by 123 days of heroic strike”. In his book, '68: The Mexican Autumn of the Tlatelolco Massacre, Paco Ignacio Taibo II Continue reading... 10/23/19

Villa bandolero | Jesús Vargas Valdés
Several books have been written about Pancho Villa's involvement in the Mexican Revolution, but few have been written about his formative years prior to becoming a legendary revolutionary fighter. Jesús Vargas Valdés, in Villa bandolero,  Continue reading... 8/14/19
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Eating NAFTA | Alyshia Gálvez
As Mexican food is being globally “elevated” and appropriated by the foodie elite, Mexico has seen a simultaneous rise in obesity and diabetes as access to traditional food is drastically hindered as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Eating NAFTA Continue reading... 5/5/19

American Like Me: Reflection on Life Between Cultures | America Ferrera
America Ferrera can write. Whatever you think of her performances in Real Women Have Curves or Ugly Betty, she is a storyteller. Feeling alone in her experience growing up as a minority Continue reading... 2/4/19 
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Vaqueros in Blue & Grey | Jerry D. Thompson
When  people talk about the United States Civil War, the participation of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans is often ignored. Jerry D. Thompson on, Vaqueros in Blue and Gray, sheds light on the role of Tejanos and Mexicanos who fought on both the Union Continue reading... 2/6/19

The Birth of a Universe (Introduction) | Apab'yan Tew
We are not what was left of a civilization; we are the current Maya civilization. We wrote the Popol Wuj. We keep writing and we continue to practice the wisdom inherited from our ancestors. This is a millennial knowledge. What is written here is Continue reading... 1/28/19
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US Latina & Latino Oral History Journal Vol. 2 - 2018
Thriving at the core of the University of Texas, the US Latina & Latino Oral History Journal has one main goal—to establish the significance of oral history as a way to document, explore, and investigate—as well as highlight the transformative effects of oral history. Continue reading... 11/20/18
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Texas Devils | Michael L. Collins
​​Michael L. Collins in his book, Texas Devils: Rangers and Regulars on the Lower Rio Grande, 1846-1861, moves away from the Texas Ranger in “popular fiction” and provides the reader with a more balanced perception of this controversial character. Continue reading... 8/19/18

Shuly Xóchitl Cawood | The Going and Goodbye
The first thing that stands out in Shuly Xóchitl Cawood’s absorbing The Going and Goodbye: A Memoir is how easily an everyday act can be mined for meaning. Cawood is an unsatisfied wanderer in the grip of Sehnsucht who travels relentlessly from place Continue reading... 10/21/17
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​​Sandra Cisneros | A House of My Own: Stories of My Life
​A profoundly intimate memoir by one of America's greatest writers. A House of My Own by Sandra Cisneros contains a compilation of never-before-published work, nonfiction writings, as well as family memories that explore and document her life from Continue reading... 3/16/17
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Arnoldo De Leon | They Called Them Greasers
They Called Them Greasers: Anglo Attitudes toward Mexicans in Texas, 1821 – 1900, by Arnoldo De Leon, is a must read book that seeks to analyze the racial attitudes by white Americans towards people of Mexican descent  in the nineteenth century, how those Continue reading... 2/23/17
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Álvaro Huerta | Reframing the Latino Immigration Debate
Reframing the Latino Immigration Debate serves two major purposes: first, to save us from ourselves and secondly, to save us from the anti-Latino crusade we have witnessed this past decade. In order to save us from ourselves we first need to acknowledge who Continue reading... 9/25/16