Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul: Celebrating La Comunidad Latina [Paperback]

Jack Canfield (Author), Mark Victor Hansen (Author), Susan Sanchez-Casal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 2005

Inspiring, heartwarming and humorous, this special story collection celebrates Latino life and community across the country.

Whether your roots are in Mexico, Central or South America, the Caribbean or the Iberian Peninsula, the stories in this volume will remind you of the pride, hope and joy of being part of the Latino community in America. Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul showcases the storytelling traditions of Latino culture, articulating the joys, struggles and triumphs of the Latino experience:

• An abuela shares memories of encountering Pancho Villa and his army on hot, dusty summer morning while fetching water at the town square.
• A favorite tia explains her philosophy of life through the methodical preparation of enchiladas
• A young man learns an important lesson about life while trying to make his mother pronounce English "properly"
• A young woman recounts her family's successful struggle to survive the Great Depression in Spanish Harlem.

With stories that explore culture and identity, and that celebrate families and spirituality, living in two languages, crossing borders and overcoming life's challenges, each chapter focuses on the uniqueness of the Latino experience and tradition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul: Celebrating La Comunidad Latina is a collection of powerful stories and poems written by people from all over the country. They are stories about family, loyalty to our parents, the wisdom of our grandparents, the deep sense of faith in the community, and so much more.. The stories will make you laugh, they'll make you cry and if you're like me, you'll finish the book with an even greater sense of Latino strength and pride" -Catherine Anaya, Latino Perspectives Magazine

As with all of the Chicken Soup books, this one is a collection of short stories, poems, cartoons and quotations. The book is divided into chapters including Our Living Heritage, The Love of Family and Latino Identity. The 300 plus pages of text seem effortless to conquer in a single night since the stories are so short, yet so powerful. While many stories will make you laugh, the majority will leave you reaching for a tissue. Canfield, Hansen and Sánchez-Casal have successfully compiled a selection of stories that tug at your heartstrings and make you stop to appreciate your own family and roots. - Rebecca Burkeen, Latin Beat Magazine

About the Author

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen are the #1 New York Times and USA Today best-selling authors of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

Susan Sánchez-Casal holds a Ph.D. in Latin American and U.S. Latino literatures. She teaches Latin American and U.S. Latino literatures at a small liberal arts college in Clinton, NY.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: HCI (August 9, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0757303110
• ISBN-13: 978-0757303111
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #996,124 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jack Canfield, America's Success Coach, is the cocreator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, which includes 40 New York Times bestsellers, and coauthor with Gay Hendricks of You've GOT to Read This Book! An internationally renowned corporate trainer, keynote speaker, and popular radio and TV talk show guest, he lives in Santa Barbara, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Literary Treasure, September 24, 2005

By 

Bea Dias (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul: Celebrating La Comunidad Latina (Paperback)

Not having read a book from the Chicken Soup series before, I was not quite sure what to expect from Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul. However, knowing the great work of Susan Sánchez-Casal, I did not hesitate to purchase this literary treasure. I felt really involved in each story; the characters, their relationships with loved ones, and their emotional, spiritual and intellectual journeys. A few of my favorites were: "Things I Learned from my Mother," by Sylvia Rosa-Casanova, "Every First Friday," by Alejandro Díaz, and "Lavender Roses," by Caroline C. Sánchez. I also really enjoyed "Child of The Americas," by Aurora Levins Morales; she does a great job of deconstructing her identity as a Latina. This book is a treasure on my bookshelf, and I find myself going back to re-read certain stories, as their lessons prove to be invaluable in my own life's journey. I give many thanks to the contributing authors for sharing their experiences in such a powerful and moving way.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Standing Ovation!, September 23, 2005

By 

Suzanne Folgar (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul: Celebrating La Comunidad Latina (Paperback)

I want to give the book a standing ovation. I would give more than five stars if I could. Soup books are always great, but it's rare to find a book where every single story grabs your imagination and tweaks your heart. My favorite story is Hunger. I think I had that same kind of hunger when I was a kid, and reading that story finally satisfied it. Man, how I cried with tears of joy when I read it. And that was just one of the great stories in Latino Soul. I didn't read one that I didn't love. I have read this book cover to cover, TWICE. I have bought books and given them to everyone in my family, because I want people to read this book. Every story in this book has a special message that speaks straight to your heart and straight to your life. Not only that, the stories are all so beautiful, whether they make you laugh till you cry or just cry. There's definitely a special ingredient here: the latino soul. And it is beautiful.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars provoking emotion, September 13, 2005

By 

Tarus "Laura" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul: Celebrating La Comunidad Latina (Paperback)

It was a gift from all the talented writers that gave of themselves so that we, the reader could indulge in some nostalgia, emotion, gentle and sweet, while we were taken to some places in our minds, where memories lie dorment. And just as quick, our memories were awakened by the written word, twisting, to create simple pictures of days gone by. These were times of joy, tradgedies, accomplishments, strengths and hope. The latin soul was celebrated and I thank the wonderful writers from all the corners of the country who were published for us. A special thank you to my sister Angela V. R. for her story that reminded us that bilingual education is one means to reduce unecessary mental anguish upon those who enter the school system to learn the English languague, where one can develope and grow with their self esteem and confidence intact. Her story was a celebration of survival by those of us who endured the "only" English policy, which was taught to us in the schools and took us to life's paths that had to have built character in us as we learned to see the brighter side of humiliation.