The New Face of Small-Town America: Snapshots of Latino Life in Allentown, Pennsylvania

by Sandoval, Edgar

• ISBN13: 9780271036748
• ISBN10: 0271036745
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-09-30
• Publisher: Pennsylvania State Univ Pr

Summary

Allentown, Pennsylvania, is a small city located along the Lehigh River in the eastern part of the state. Once the hiding place of the Liberty Bell, Allentown has become a popular destination for Latino immigrants. These Latinos, mostly from Puerto Rico, now make up about a quarter of the city's population, and their numbers continue to grow. The thirty-one stories collected in The New Face of Small-Town America do not tell the story of Allentown alone. With U.S. Census figures showing the arrival of Latinos in more small American cities than ever before, Allentown will continue to serve as an example.Many small American cities have already experienced, or are about to experience, the transformation Allentown saw in this last decade. Few communities embrace such change. It is only when one becomes familiar with a foreign concept (or foreigners) that fear disappears and understanding begins. Sandoval's essays show that behind the accents, ethnic customs, and other cultural differences exists a common humanity with universal problems and dreams. The Latinos profiled here want what everybody else wants: to fit in, to prosper, to offer their children a better future, to be recognized as important members of society by the mainstream. They want to coexist. These stories are not just about Latinos in Allentown, after all; they are about Latinos everywhere.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. xi
The Ritual	p. 1
A Principal Duty	p. 9
Spanish Sound Bites	p. 13
Home Away from Home	p. 17
Little Hero	p. 23
Music to Their Ears	p. 25
Priceless	p. 29
The Fearful Side of Business	p. 33
Side by Side	p. 37
Blatinos	p. 41
Julio	p. 43
Colorful Pages	p. 47
ABCs	p. 51
Grading the Parents	p. 55
Latino Medicine	p. 59
Hooked on Telenovelas	p. 77
A Step Behind	p. 81
City Boys	p. 85
Spanglish	p. 89
The World Trade Connection	p. 93
Latinos Again	p. 95
One Man, One Mission	p. 99
Down to Business	p. 105
Airwave Wars	p. 109
Goooaaalll!!!	p. 113
Unfulfilled Dreams	p. 117
A Rich Life	p. 123
Liberty and Justice for All	p. 127
Man of the Cross	p. 131
Full Circle	p. 133
Finding the Inner Snowman	p. 139
Appendix	p. 143
Indext	p. 147
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