Chicano Manual on How to Handle Gringos

by José Ángel Gutiérrez

A tongue-in-cheek how to guide written by a hero of the Chicano movement for the education of grass-roots leaders Under this somewhat threatening title, the renowned civil rights leader Jose Angel... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1558853960
• ISBN13: 9781558853966
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Arte Publico Press
• Length: 206 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

A real American!

Gutierrez has been fighting for the rights of Chicanos since the age of 22. He founded the Mexican American Youth Organization (MAYO)in 1967. He was the co-founder of The Mexican American Unity Council. He led the group in founding La Raza Unida Party. As a judge and a professor, he has fought for equal treatment and accomplished so much. The real facts are that Aztlan was stolen from Mexico, The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was ratified on Feb. 2, 1848 & Mexico had no choice but to sign due to their bad government. Polk had wanted to steal more land than planned but Trist had somewhat of a heart and had sympathy for the mexicans. Trist was considered "contemptibly base" by Polk. People are so ignorant on here and are scared that the truth will come out, since we are lied to in grammar school about real American history and real Americans for that matter. Those of you that don't like Mexicans or Chicanos in our country, can go back to Europe or anywhere else you came from because we aren't going anywhere. As for the military fighting against us, we are half of the military!

If you read the book you would know

Gutierrez is not a racist. In fact he supports Chicanos (AMERICANS from Mexican heritage) in gaining equal footing to basic rights such as education, political rights, ect. There is nothing racist about this notion. In fact if you read the book you would find inspirational accounts of Hispanics who have successfully made a name for themselves which serve to inspire the young Latinos who read thier stories. Young Chicanos, such as myself, need the encouragement that Gutierrez offers in his book in order to realize our political power (which will only grow as we continue to grow in numbers and educate ourselves). Anyone who has misinterpreted Gutierrez's message as racist should reread the book anger and hate aside! :)

Uh, maybe someone's missing the point here...

I think the previous reviewer missed the fact that this book clearly belongs in the "humor" section, and humor, of course, is relative - one person's funny will always offend someone else. As a resident of New Mexico, I see the horrific results of discrimination and racism against Hispanics every day. I also see Hispanics rise above their ill treatment with humor, grace, and, of course, a few little "favors" returned in kind. Gutierrez's book is sharply written, wickedly funny, incisive, and relevant, as is its counterpart, "A Gringo Manual on How To Handle Mexicans", which could be construed as equally racist by a similarly misguided reviewer. I noticed recently that one of the graduate Spanish classes at the University of New Mexico here in Albuquerque is using Gutierrez's book in class. If it were truly as racist as some people seem to think, I doubt it would have made the reading list. I do wish Americans would stop assuming that all Hispanics are illegal immigrants who should "sign the guest book" or go home. This view is just as racist as anything Gutierrez might write about. Many Mexican immigrants are citizens or resident aliens with jobs, homes, and families. Many Hispanics (especially here in the southwest) have been here for generations. Albuquerque was a thriving Spanish settlement 300 years ago, long before most of the British colonies of the East Coast even existed. There were Hispanics in the Americas before any English-speaker ever dreamed of coming here, so get over yourselves!