Latino U. S. A. : A Cartoon History

by Stavans, Ilan

• ISBN13: 9780465082216
• ISBN10: 0465082211
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-09-04
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group

Summary

Latino USA represents the culmination of Ilan Stavans's lifelong determination to meet the challenges of capturing the joys, nuances, and multiple dimensions of Latino culture within the context of the English language. In this cartoon history of Latinos, Stavans seeks to combine the solemnity of so-called "serious literature" and history with the inherently theatrical and humorous nature of the comics. The range of topics includes Columbus, Manifest Destiny, the Alamo, William Carlos Williams, Desi Arnaz, West Side Story, Castro, Guevera, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Neruda, Garcia Marquez, the Mariel Boatlift, and Selena. Stavans represents Hispanic civilization as a fiesta of types, archetypes, and stereotypes. These "cliche figurines" include a toucan (displayed regularly in books by Garcia Marquez, Allende, and others), the beloved Latino comedian Cantinflas (known as "the Hispanic Charlie Chaplin"), a masked wrestler, and Captain America. These multiple, at times contradictory voices, each narrating various episodes of Latino history from a unique perspective, combine to create a carnivalesque rhythm, democratic and impartial. For, as Stavans states, "History, of course, is a kaleidoscope where nothing is absolute." Latino USA, like the history it so entertainingly relates, is a dazzling kaleidoscope of irreverence, wit, subversion, anarchy, politics, humanism, celebration, and serious and responsible history.

Author Biography

Ilan Stavans teaches at Amherst College. His books include The Hispanic Condition, The One-handed Pianist and Other Stories, and The Riddle of Cantinflas. He has been a National Books Critics Circle Award nominee and the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Latino Literature Prize, amongst many honors.Lalo Alcaraz is a LA-based, internationally renowned editorial cartoonist. He has contributed to the New York Times, the Village Voice, the Los Angeles Times, and Variety.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Introduction	1	(11)
PART 1: CONQUEST AND EXPLORATION: 1492-1890	12	(31)
Columbus Sails the Ocean Blue
Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca Gets Lost
La Nueva Espana is Found
Gaspar Perez De Villagra Rules New Mexico
The Cruelties of the Holy Church
Deconstructing the Indies
Missions and Misiones
Thank God for Fray Junipero Serra
The Doctrine of Manifest Destiny
The Westbound Expansion
Forget the Alamo
Who Won The Mexican-American War?
Los Ninos Heroes
The Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty
Anto Nio Lopez De Santa Anna Signs A Pact
Border By Laws And Outlaws
PART 2: INTO THE CAULDRON: 1891-1957	43	(53)
Lummis in the Land of Poco Tiempo
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Unparalleled Three Caballeros
Our Good Neighbor Policy
The Business of Slaves
Oh Yes, The Spanish-American War
Jose Marti: Between The Pen and The Sword
Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders
Cuba Libre
Puerto Rico's Either/or
Lancheros to Key West (Or Is It Luncheros?)
Miguel Antonio Otero Rules
¡Viva Zapata!
Pistols and Wetbacks: The Reed-Johnson Act
Diego Loves Frida
Jose Vasconcelos' Bronze Race
Who is Afraid of the Brothers Magon?
Unions in New York: Bernardo Vega
Jose De Diego Cries While Luis Munoz Marin Smiles
Herbert Eugene Bolton Reshapes History
Hispanophobia: The Movie
Puerto Rican Scholar Arthur A. Schomburg
William Carlos Williams
Pachucos in the Mist
The Sleepy Lagoon and Zoot Suit Riots
I Love Lucy, Don't You?
PART 3: UPHEAVAL: 1958-1977	96	(37)
Spicy Tacos
Julia De Burgos
I Once Met a Girl Named Maria
Here Comes Fidel Castro
The Appeal of El Che
Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis
Las Dos Cubas: Cubans Into Exile
Bilingual Education is Born
Jibaros in New York
El Movimiento
Reies Lopez Tijerina Makes A Point
The Students Revolt and Rejoice
The Crusade For Justice
Rodolfo ``Corky'' Gonzalez Also Raises the Myth of Aztlan
La Raza Unida Make A Party
Cesar Chavez's Hunger
Young Lords
Triumphs and Tribulations of the Chicano Movement
Ritchie Valens Sings La Bamba
The Brown Buffalo: Oscar ``Zeta'' Acosta
The Sympathies of Pablo Neruda
Ruben Salazar, Saint and Martyr
The National Chicano Moratorium
PART 4: IN SEARCH OF A MAINSTREAM: 1978-MANANA...	133	(25)
Does History Have A Meaning?
Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Thundering Voice
Tomas Rivera Devours the Earth
Welcome to Miami: The Mariel Boatlift
Central America on Fire!
The Affirmation of Richard Rodriguez
TV or Not TV
Soccer Fever
¿Comprende Espanol? The English only Movement
The Tragic Fate of Las Mirabal
Viva El Graffiti!
Bilingual Nation
EPILOGUE	158	(10)
Meet the Author, Then Run!
Welcome to the Future, Senor!	158	(10)
Acknowledgments	168	(2)
Index	170