God calls Latinas to lives of influence. Sharing their own journeys as Latinas and leaders, these three women find mentorship in twelve inspirational women of the Bible who navigated challenges of brokenness and suffering, being bicultural, and crossing borders. As we deepen our spiritual and ethnic identities, we grow in intimacy with God and others and become better equipped to influence others for the kingdom.
In this historical study, Lara Medina examines the early development and continuing influence of Las Hermanas, a feminist organization established in 1971 to counter the patriarchy and Eurocentrism of the U.S. Catholic Church. Medina weaves archival research and oral interviews into a cohesive narrative that highlights the keen ethnic and political awareness among the movement's leaders and participants. Medina also illuminates the strides made by Las Hermanas in undermining and reorienting the male-dominated structure of both the Catholic ministry and the Chicano civil rights movement. By showing how the group has engaged such issues as moral authority, sexuality, and domestic abuse through its religiously informed efforts in grassroots community organizing and education, Medina showcases the crucial role played by Las Hermanas in the articulation of a spiritually and politically grounded Latina/Chicana identity.
Sisters in Blue tells the story of two young women--one Spanish, one Puebloan--meeting across space and time. Sor María de Jesús de Ágreda, New Mexico's famous Lady in Blue, is said to have traveled to New Mexico in the seventeenth century. Here Anna M. Nogar and Enrique R. Lamadrid bring her to life, imagining an encounter between a Pueblo woman and Sor María during the nun's mystical spiritual journeys. Tales of Sor María, who described traveling across the earth and the heavens, have traditionally presented her as an evangelist who helped bring Catholicism to the Pueblos. Instead this book, which includes an essay providing historical context, shows a connection between Sor María and her friend Paf Sheuri. The two women find more similarities than differences in their shared experiences, and what they learn from each other has an impact for centuries to come.
Told in both English and Spanish by a Newbery Honor winner, "Sisters/Hermanas" reveals the similarities of young women trapped in lives in which beauty and youth are priceless commodities--whether on the street or in a high school classroom.
Mexican painter Frida Kahlo life, work, and love are examined through the lens of her sister in this dramatic biographical novel. Frida Kahlo, painter and cultural icon, lived a life of extremes. The subject of an Academy Award(c)–nominated film starring Salma Hayek, Kahlo was crippled by polio and left barren by an accident when she was a teenager. And yet she went on to fall in love with and marry another star of the art world, muralist Diego Rivera. filled with passion, jealousy, and deceit, their story captured the world’s imagination. Told in the voice of Frida’s sister Cristina, who bears witness to Frida and Diego’s tumultuous marriage, this is a brilliantly vivid work of historical fiction. What unfolds is an intense tale of sibling rivalry, as both sisters vie for Rivera’s affection. Mujica imbues the lives and loves of these remarkable characters with sparkling drama and builds her tale to a shattering conclusion. Praise for Frida “A vivid creation. . . . This story burns with dramatic urgency.” —The New York Times “The best kind of fictionalized biography: rich, vibrant, and psychologically astute.” —Kirkus Reviews
Presenting 16 new essays addressing important issues, movements and personalities in Latino religions in America, this book aims to overthrow the stereotype that Latinos are politically passive and that their churches have supported the status quo, failing to engage in or support the struggle for civil rights and social justice.
