Customer Reviews

Latino USA: A Cartoon History

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Deliciously left wing, and direct and powerful, Ilan Stavans is not afraid to stand and be counted and he knows that you might not like what he has to say. And what he has to say is " Look here. This is good. This is powerful."

He reaches out to inform -- and celebrate the culture-- with authority and panache. He speaks the truth about the oppressed and the oppressor and his book pulls no punches in a direct attack on any hint of a poor Latino self-image. No time for pity here because the time for ascendance is coming.

This book is a necessary shakeup. It's a primer, albeit uneven at times, to folks outside the Latino community and a step in reaching out to those who don't know the truth of their (varied) civilizations.

Rich and potent, this opinionated polemic stands out as a tool to understanding and pride.

My joy at hearing about a cartoon history of Latinos (not, you may notice, Latinas or even Latina/os) illustrated by Lalo Alcaraz was tempered only slightly by hearing the editor (not, I'm sorry Mr Stavans, the author) was self-styled Mexican kitsch authority Ilan Stavans. "A possible resource for teaching!" I thought. Reading the book, however, was such a great disappointment that I doubt it's going to make the cut for the classroom.

Without denigrating at all Lalo Alcaraz' art, the book fails on several levels, not the least of which is originality. The first question I asked myself was "Who was this written for?" The introduction to what could have been a revolutionary book seems to veer between being too clever for its own good and winking in the direction of academics, intimating somehow that "comics" are a kind of Latino cultural icon that is kitschy and therefore useful for transmitting ideas. Stavans hasn't done much work on cartoons or comics, or the notion that cartoonish comic art is more (or less) appropriate to represent Latino history would have been more informed. Alcaraz' talent rises above this rather mediocre beginning and keeps the reader amused, even while Stavans (as a cartoon Mini-Me) keeps popping up exclaiming the inevitability of historical bias, insisting on the futility of "truth" in history, and generally sounding defensive. Instead of acknowledging the real social and cultural impact of how history has been and gets transmitted, Stavans seems to want to exist in an academic, vague vacuum, which he may believe protects him or makes him appear to be unbiased-- it does neither. Even some of us academics know that.

More troubling, and the key to a two-star review of this text, the book cribs horribly its history from better texts, the most particular offenses being those against the Elizabeth Martinez-edited "500 Years of Chicano History". Several images (MANY images) are culled from that fine picture/word text-- somewhat surprisingly, since Alcaraz has talent galore. Martinez' book, far more complex in its use of images and commentary, should be read before this cartoon history. Also at stake is Stavans' perception of historical importance. We know from the text he loves Richard Rodriguez, but when we finally get to the real (non-idealized) Latinas, we get a few of them drawn on one page, and a digression all too brief of their importance. In what way was this book supposed to educate, inform, or revolutionize when it remakes history in the pattern of most history books before it? Reread Acuna's "Occupied America" and "500 Years" if you'd like to see history-as-usual turned on its head.

A book which perhaps would have been better if left to Alcaraz alone, Latino USA trips over itself and its editor's need to academize and, ironically, oversimplify in trying for an audience (ANY audience). Next time, aim for the Academy, Mr. Stavans-- it deserves the hit better than Latinas and Latinos who are still looking for the past to make sense of the present and prepare for the future. Meanwhile, I'll keep reading L.A. Cucaracha.

Ilan Stavans studies and teaches Latino and Latin American culture and most recently authored Spanglish: The Making Of A New American Language. Lalo Alcaraz reaches the public on a daily basis through his most excellent comic strip La Cucaracha. Together they have joined to take the reader on a trip through Latino USA: A Cartoon History. Biting and sweet, biased and fair, incomplete but thorough, Latino USA is a good way to introduce yourself to the history of the majority minority in the United States. The scholarship is tight and Alcaraz's art makes it go down easy. I can't wait to get my copy into the school library, where I hope some of my not very cosmopolitan anglo students and not as self-aware as they could be latino students get pulled in by the drawings and learn a little history. I highly recommend this book!

The mezcla of the cartoons of Lalo Alcaraz (of the comic strip La Cucaracha) and the scholarship of Ilan Stavans creates a lively and informative overview of the history of US Latinos, cleverly incorporating traditional Latino theatrical characters and symbols as the storytellers. The book is great fun to read; its format makes it accessible to readers of all ages, and anyone fuzzy about the role Latinos have played in US history and culture during the past 500 years or so should RUSH to buy it.

I heard about this book on the radio in Washington, DC. I went and bought it. It is very funny, thought-provoking, and really worth the time. I highly recommend it.

Este libro esta bien bueno. Es pa' toda nuestra gente. I highly recommend it.

This book made me laugh a lot. It is very witty! I loved the cartoons and the text and the way they are connected.

Amusing, lightweight, good bathroom reading - in fact, I have no complaints about this cartoon history book if one expects only clever entertainment. One can quickly skim through if the content seems to politically biased, as it is, too leftwing. Unfortunately for such leftwing authors, whole groups of people, diverse in every way, are lumped together as victims of other very diverse individuals, which is a very, very cursory view of history indeed. However, the book does not make any claim to be a serious investigation of "Latino" history.

One serious omission about California: there was no mention of the Russian threat to Spanish claim to California, the basic reason Fr. Junipera Serra was commissioned from Majorca, already in his 50's, to leave his librarian work and lead a group of brothers/priests on small donkeys through treacherous territories. The Russians were in Nova Espana as fur traders in greater numbers than any Spanish until the 1700's! What about the idea of kicking out the Jesuits in Baja Calfornia, for mismanaging their missions, and getting Mexican artisans to come up and build the adobe missions? None of the real details, what a true inquirer should ask, ever comes up - no, just the story of exploitation, as if it had no purpose except cruelty for its own sake.

And the omission of the women! Was the author unconsciously adapting to Machismo? Not even discussing the sorry state most women are reduced to in traditional Latin households!!! Not mentioning the abuse! (Boring....women don't count for him...)

Right off the bat, even the author has to admit that the topic of "Latino" is too complicated, with all the Indios, Mestizos, Criollos, Zambas, and Blancos in a huge continent, the Carribbean and Central America. That racism is rampant in all nations of the world is a given to any peoples-observer, but in leftwing history books, "Blancos" (nonminorities???) are always to blame for any nonblanco's troubles. When I work with Spanish-speaking visitors, my tourbus passengers in San Francisco, they are primarily the rich of Central and South America. They will not deign to speak to a waiter/clerk in Spanish. They'll force the poor immigrant worker to speak in poor English. Yet to me, as a "blanca", they insist I speak Spanish, or that I ought to, for some unclear and unspoken reason. I answer in German, "I lived in Germany, speak good German and never learned Espagnol, but I do know some French and Finnish, if that could help." This seems to satisfy them, that at least I speak MORE than English. Their hypocrisy incites anger, then pity. Their pride, their amor propre, is their downfall throughout all class levels. Their disdain for work makes them see all those serving them as LOW. Why doesn't the author explain the Spanish heritage that brought such ruinous ideas?

The reader can learn about some of the great male figures in Hispanic history, writers and leaders of Cuba and Mexico, most of whose names are familiar to California literary types. The spotty use of bilingual explanations is sometimes good, sometimes funny, but mostly too extraneous for those who don't know any Spanish. With my cursory reading knowledge of Spanish, it was satisfying to compare the English vs. Spanish, but it would be prudent for a North American writer to consider his/her audience: will Latinos who speak no English pick this book up, or only nonLatinos curious about the Southern Hemisphere? Best to pick one audience and go for that, which seems to be in this case: English-readers of any background, e.g. in South Africa, New Zealand, US, Canada, England, Scancadanavia, Australia and so on.

My nonspanish-speaking tourists from around the world, regardless of mother tongue, are indeed interested in the "Spanish" around them. They ask questions about California's history, its place names, etc. I could recommend Stavans' book for a very simple introduction to some of the conflicts within USA, but it would exclude many of the basic reasons for the tensions: it is not the language and skincolor which forces so much tension, but the obvious and everyday palpable differences in the cultures, down to the most visible: street behavior (esp. male Hispanic harassment of women), crime rates, and apathy towards education and assimilation. Mind you, I point this out but IN COMPARISON to other new groups, e.g. Vietnamese farmers, Chinese peasants, Laotian fishermen, Mongolian factory workers, etc. who are learning English and assimilating at an astounding rate. The European guests quickly see that it is comparable not to all immigrants in their nations, but to those who resist the culture of their chosen migration: Turks in Germany, North Africans in France, various Muslim/Arab groups in Sweden.

I read the book with enjoyment but wondered why this enlightened author did not consider to present such considerations on behalf of these "oppressed peoples". Furthermore, to omit the gross mishandling for centuries of Negroes, Mestizos and Sambas in Latino countries is downright disingenuous.

Well, folks, it's zippy-de-doo-dah leftwing cartoon history. Enjoy it for what it is, read it quickly and pass it on... or back to the library.

SEEDS OF CHANGE by Hodgson is a much better book about New World wealth distribution and inequities resulting for cash crops introduced to the Old World.

Este libro vale su precio. Hace falta buena literatura latina. Los autores hablan sobre temas de la historia que son importantes para nuestra comunidad. Creo que a los adolescentes en especial les gustaran mucho las caricaturas del Sr. Alcaraz. Yo lei el libro de jalon y me quede muy satisfecha.

I am pleased with the condition of the book and how fast it was delivered.