Living in Spanglish: The Search for Latino Identity in America

by Ed Morales

Book Overview

Chicano. Cubano. Pachuco. Nuyorican. Puerto Rican. Boricua. Quisqueya. Tejano.

To be Latino in the United States in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries has meant to fierce identification with roots, with forbears, with the language, art and food your people came here with. America is a patchwork of Hispanic sensibilities-from Puerto Rican nationalists in New York to more newly arrived Mexicans in the Rio Grande valley-that has...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312310005
• ISBN13: 9780312310004
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

As an outsider, This was enlightening!!

As a fellow writer of books on ethnicity, I became curious of other viewpoints. Since Latinos/Hispanics are a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population, I felt a responsibility to examine some of the issues in the Latino community. I found many similarities between the Black and Latino communities when it comes to stereotypes and Race. 1. What do we call ourselves? 2. Stereotypical treatment in Hollywood. 3. Light skin vs. dark skin (Sammy Sosa) I just wish the book wasn't so long. I guess those who are interested in obscure history will love those parts. Thanks for opening my eyes to many things Ed Morales!! Plain Talk - Volume 1

The Spanglish Antidote to Brown

With the virtually simultaneous release of Rodriguez's Brown and Morales' Living in Spanglish one gets to see the virtues of Morales' urbane and grounded Latino odyssey compared to the self-indulgent vacuousness of Rodriguez's efforts to make Latinos acceptable to the American mainstream. Morales takes us into places where most don't normally see Latinos from the perspective of a generation forced to absorb a numbing sociocultural ambiguousness. Living in Spanglish is a refreshing tour of the current Latino moment he describes as "Spanglish." This is a book well worth reading.

Hard-Hitting Latino Truth...for once!!!

Ed Morales has done a wonderful job of helping the World understand the complexity and accomplishments of latinos. I love the chapter about Hollywood and pop music celebrities, and the stuff about California, Puerto Rico, and Cuba are hard-hitting and daring. This book rocks my world, and I hope to share it with my family and friends.

Seeking a Common Ground

This is a fascinating book that takes you on a journey into what it means to be Latino. While pointing out the many differences between Latinos and long-standing conflicts, Morales offers hope about the possibility of finding common ground. The book empowers Latinos by alllowing us to see how, historically, we have taken advantage of our mixed-race background, while painting a detailed picture about our presence in America for non-Latinos. The writing is first-rate--I highly recommend this book.