Icons of Latino America [2 volumes]
Icons of Latino America [2 volumes]

Author: Roger Bruns

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2008-08-30

Total Pages: 640

ISBN-13: 1573567965

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Latinos have contributed a tremendous amount to American cultural heritage, injecting energy, a unique style, and piquant flavor. This set profiles the big names from this century and the last who represent the highest achievement in their field and who have inspired, led, educated, informed, and entertained us. A diverse representation from the world of sports, entertainment, education, music, journalism, literature, and labor is offered. Biographical essays engagingly tell the story behind the icon, with background including family and education, career trajectory and highlights, and contributions and circumstances that have led to icon status. Along with these famous figures, several essays on other types of Latino pop culture icons—iconic characters from cartoons and comics and film and even iconic Latino foods—are included. Entertaining side bars and classic photos complement the essays. Perfect for student reports and browsing, with more in-depth coverage than an encyclopedia entry but less than a full biography, there is something fascinating and informative here for everyone. Readers will find that that a number of the icons profiled were influenced by other icons profiled or have an important connection to one another. For example, Tito Puente and Celia Cruz performed together for many years. Actress Jennifer Lopez portrayed the singer Selena in a biopic. Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta made the United Farm Workers union a reality. Furthermore, in telling the story of these icons, each essay relates so much of the historical and social issues of the times. Thus, together, these essays offer a good sense of recent Latino and Latin American history and progress. Icons include Desi Arnaz; Ruben Blades; Fabiola Cabeza de Baca; Cesar Chavez; Chiles, Tortillas, and the Mexican Food Explosion; Sandra Cisneros; Roberto Clemente; Celia Cruz; Placido Domingo; Jaime Escalante; Gordo, Speedy Gonzales, Dora the Explorer, Bondo, and La Cucaracha; Dolores Huerta; Jennifer Lopez; Rita Moreno; Edward James Olmos; Tito Puente; Ruben Salazar; Carlos Santana; Cristina Saralegui; Selena; Lee Trevino; Luis Valdez; Ritchie Valens; and Zorro.

Latin American Icons
Latin American Icons

Author: Dianna C. Niebylski

Publisher: Vanderbilt University Press (TN)

Published: 2014-02-21

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 9780826519290

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The faces of Che, Frida, Evita, Carmen Miranda, and other icons represent Latin America both to a global public that sees these faces constantly reproduced, and to Latin Americans themselves. They enter the circulation machines of Hollywood, or work as nostalgic definitions of a nation, or define a post-national condition. They become stereotypes as they go global, and the often melodramatic stories that cling to them give them a different sort of power than the one they had in their original contexts. Latin American Icons, from critics both in the United States and in Latin America, ask these faces questions; they describe the technologies and propaganda machines, whether the newspapers of Revolutionary Mexico (or Paris and New York) or the movie studios of Argentina and Mexico, which gave them power in their local context; and they return their original histories to those faces that have become abstract symbols of The Rebel or The Spitfire or The Tortured Artist. In equal parts idolatry and iconoclasm, Latin American Icons recognizes and interrogates those Latin Americans who have become larger than life. In trying to understand the meaning of iconic figures in modern Latin America, this volume ranges across every realm of political and cultural life--populist politicos, jet-setting ambassador-playboys, soccer players and superstars--to examine the complex forces at work in the making and re-making of celebrities within and across national borders.

An American Icon in Puerto Rico
An American Icon in Puerto Rico

Author: Emily R. Aguiló-Pérez

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 2022-02-11

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 1800733879

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Focusing on multigenerational Puerto Rican women and girls, Emily R. Aguiló-Pérez masterfully illustrates how Barbie dolls impact femininity, body image, and cultural identity. Since her debut in 1959, Barbie has transcended boundaries and transformed into a global symbol of femininity, capturing the imaginations of girls all around the world. An American Icon in Puerto Rico offers a captivating study of that iconic influence by focusing on a group of multigenerational Puerto Rican women and girls. Through personal narratives and insights, author Emily R. Aguiló-Pérez unveils the emotional attachment that these women and girls have formed with the doll during their formative years. This connection serves as a powerful lens to explore the intricate relationships girls have with their Barbie dolls and the complex role Barbie plays in shaping their identities. Aguiló-Pérez boldly confronts the challenges and contradictions that arise, offering a compelling analysis of how playing with Barbie dolls can impact a girl's perception of femininity, body image, race, and even national identity. Through these nuanced explorations, she unearths the potential pitfalls of these influences, encouraging readers to reflect on their own relationships with the iconic doll. By weaving together personal anecdotes, historical context, and sociocultural analysis, Aguiló-Pérez masterfully illustrates how these women and girls navigate the diverse landscapes of femininity, body image, and cultural identity, with Barbie serving as both a facilitator and a reflection of their growth. In doing so, she redefines the significance of Barbie in the lives of Puerto Rican women and girls, prompting readers from all around the world to reevaluate their perceptions of femininity and embrace a more inclusive understanding of beauty, body image, and self-expression.

The Resilience of the Latin American Right
The Resilience of the Latin American Right

Author: Juan Pablo Luna

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2014-09

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 1421413906

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Students and scholars of both Latin American politics and comparative politics will find The Resilience of the Latin American Right of vital interest.

Latino Images in Film
Latino Images in Film

Author: Charles Ramírez Berg

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2009-09-15

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 0292783000

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The bandido, the harlot, the male buffoon, the female clown, the Latin lover, and the dark lady—these have been the defining, and demeaning, images of Latinos in U.S. cinema for more than a century. In this book, Charles Ramírez Berg develops an innovative theory of stereotyping that accounts for the persistence of such images in U.S. popular culture. He also explores how Latino actors and filmmakers have actively subverted and resisted such stereotyping. In the first part of the book, Berg sets forth his theory of stereotyping, defines the classic stereotypes, and investigates how actors such as Raúl Julia, Rosie Pérez, José Ferrer, Lupe Vélez, and Gilbert Roland have subverted stereotypical roles. In the second part, he analyzes Hollywood's portrayal of Latinos in three genres: social problem films, John Ford westerns, and science fiction films. In the concluding section, Berg looks at Latino self-representation and anti-stereotyping in Mexican American border documentaries and in the feature films of Robert Rodríguez. He also presents an exclusive interview in which Rodríguez talks about his entire career, from Bedhead to Spy Kids, and comments on the role of a Latino filmmaker in Hollywood and how he tries to subvert the system.

The Resurgence of the Latin American Left
The Resurgence of the Latin American Left

Author: Steven Levitsky

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2011-09-01

Total Pages: 498

ISBN-13: 1421401614

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Latin America experienced an unprecedented wave of left-leaning governments between 1998 and 2010. This volume examines the causes of this leftward turn and the consequences it carries for the region in the twenty-first century. The Resurgence of the Latin American Left asks three central questions: Why have left-wing parties and candidates flourished in Latin America? How have these leftist parties governed, particularly in terms of social and economic policy? What effects has the rise of the Left had on democracy and development in the region? The book addresses these questions through two sections. The first looks at several major themes regarding the contemporary Latin American Left, including whether Latin American public opinion actually shifted leftward in the 2000s, why the Left won in some countries but not in others, and how the left turn has affected market economies, social welfare, popular participation in politics, and citizenship rights. The second section examines social and economic policy and regime trajectories in eight cases: those of leftist governments in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, and Venezuela, as well as that of a historically populist party that governed on the right in Peru. Featuring a new typology of Left parties in Latin America, an original framework for identifying and categorizing variation among these governments, and contributions from prominent and influential scholars of Latin American politics, this historical-institutional approach to understanding the region’s left turn—and variation within it—is the most comprehensive explanation to date on the topic.

Inventing Latinos
Inventing Latinos

Author: Laura E. Gómez

Publisher: The New Press

Published: 2022-09-06

Total Pages: 137

ISBN-13: 1620977664

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Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR An NPR Best Book of the Year, exploring the impact of Latinos’ new collective racial identity on the way Americans understand race, with a new afterword by the author Who are Latinos and where do they fit in America’s racial order? In this “timely and important examination of Latinx identity” (Ms.), Laura E. Gómez, a leading critical race scholar, argues that it is only recently that Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, Central Americans, and others are seeing themselves (and being seen by others) under the banner of a cohesive racial identity. And the catalyst for this emergent identity, she argues, has been the ferocity of anti-Latino racism. In what Booklist calls “an incisive study of history, complex interrogation of racial construction, and sophisticated legal argument,” Gómez “packs a knockout punch” (Publishers Weekly), illuminating for readers the fascinating race-making, unmaking, and re-making processes that Latinos have undergone over time, indelibly changing the way race functions in this country. Building on the “insightful and well-researched” (Kirkus Reviews) material of the original, the paperback features a new afterword in which the author analyzes results of the 2020 Census, providing brilliant, timely insight about how Latinos have come to self-identify.

Icons & Symbols of the Borderland
Icons & Symbols of the Borderland

Author: Diana Molina

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780764358937

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Wall or no wall? View the US-Mexico borderland saga through the eyes of artists who've lived it, including some of the children held in detention camps. More than 100 artworks represent a variety of mediums, from large paintings to mixed-media collage, neon, photography, and sculpture. Based on a traveling exhibit by members of the El Paso-based Juntos Art Association, the images explore the region's animal and plant ecosystems, food and religious culture, and history. The artists reflect deep roots both north and south of the border and the inherent mestizaje, a blend of indigenous, Mexican, and American heritage across the length of the bicultural, binational landscape. Their work makes vibrant personal and political statements that speak constructively about how to move forward in this fraught region. Combined with accompanying essays, this book shares a rare, close-up view of the US-Mexico crossroads at a critical point in US history.

Political Bodies/Body Politic
Political Bodies/Body Politic

Author: Darlene M. Juschka

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-12-05

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 1317491149

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'Political Bodies/Body Politic' draws on feminism, gender studies, and queer theory to examine how myth, symbol and ritual express belief systems. The book explores the operation of gender in a variety of social and historical contexts, ranging from feminist speculative fiction and systems of belief to popular culture and ancient historical texts. 'Political Bodies/Body Politic' makes an original contribution to religious and feminist studies in its examination of gender in human communication and belief systems.

Placing Latin America
Placing Latin America

Author: Ed Jackiewicz

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9780742556430

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An innovative text for students, Placing Latin America takes a thematic approach to the study of the diverse human geographies of Latin America. The book includes a discussion of the current problems of border and migration between the United States, Mexico, and the rest of Latin America, as well as exciting chapters on themes not typically found in other textbooks on the region, such as geographic analysis of the drug trade, tourism landscapes, and Latin American cinema.