Already being heralded in the literary world as a new voice that deserves to be heard, Luis Lspez's Warrior-Poet of the Fifth Sun leaps from its pages. Lspez has compiled a daring group of poems that explore culture and humanity in a voice both refreshing and honest. Lspez shines through as a next generation poet/intellectual with rare insight into the two worlds that we have come to call The Mexican American Experience. Warrior-Poet of the Fifth Sun is a relevant, joyful read for anyone of any background and race interested in the search for meaning and identity in this paradox we call home. The power of his expression weaves the ancient and contemporary, unifying the worlds that divide and unite America.
The words of her father echo in a young girl's head: Never want what you can never have. Born on the day of the Mexican Goddess of Grass, Malinalli, she takes that name until 1519 when she begins her new Christian life as Marina, one of twenty slaves given to Conquistador Hernán Cortés after he defeats the natives of Tabasco. Having been sold into slavery by a wicked stepfather, Malinalli has learned Mayan as well as her native tongue Nahuatl. When Cortés discovers she can speak two languages, he makes her his interpreter and keeps her constantly at his side. His soldiers admire her and give her the respectful title of Don?a Marina (Lady Marina). Later, as she learns Spanish and becomes trilingual, she helps Cortés form alliances among Nahuatl speakers who hate Moctezuma II, a tyrant who has waged wars on neighboring tribes to obtain captives for human sacrifice. Cortés and his coalition of Spanish conquistadors and Tlaxcalan warriors lead a fierce attack upon the Aztec empire, conquer Moctezuma II, and thus change the fate of Mexico and Spain forever. Although Cortés comes to love Marina, and she brings out his best qualities, he allows her to marry a hidalgo lover for her future protection. Yet Cortés and Malinalli (also called La Malinche) become a team that rebuilds a devastated nation, shapes its Christian destiny, and leaves a proud legacy for two nations that enriched each other even as they tried to destroy each other.
Fifth Sun offers a comprehensive history of the Aztecs, spanning the period before conquest to a century after the conquest, based on rarely-used Nahuatl-language sources written by the indigenous people.
Describes daily life in the Aztec world, including coverage of geography, foods, trades, arts, games, wars, political systems, class structure, religious practices, trading networks, writings, architecture and science.
In The Purpose Gap, Patrick Reyes reflects on a family member's death after a long struggle with incarceration and homelessness. As he asks himself why his cousin's life had turned out so differently from his own, he realizes that it was a matter of conditions. While they both grew up in the same marginalized Chicano community in central California, Patrick found himself surrounded by a host of family, friends, and supporters. They created a different narrative for him than the one the rest of the world had succeeded in imposing on his cousin. In short, they created the conditions in which Patrick could not only survive but thrive. Far too much of the literature on leadership tells the story of heroic individuals creating their success by their own efforts. Such stories fail to recognize the structural obstacles to thriving faced by those in marginalized communities. If young people in these communities are to grow up to lives of purpose, others must help create the conditions to make that happen. Pastors, organizational leaders, educators, family, and friends must all perceive their calling to create new stories and new conditions of thriving for those most marginalized. This book offers both inspiration and practical guidance for how to do that. It offers advice on creating safe space for failure, nurturing networks that support young people of color, and professional guidance for how to implement these strategies in one's congregation, school, or community organization.
Learn the unbelievable true history of the great warrior tribes of Mexico. More than thirteen centuries of incredible spellbinding history are detailed in this intriguing study of the rulers and warriors of Mexico. Dozens of these charismatic leaders of nations and armies are brought to life by the deep research and entertaining storytelling of Peter Tsouras. Tsouras introduces the reader to the colossal personalities of the period: Smoking Frog, the Mexican Machiavelli, the Poet Warlord, the Lion of Anahuac, and others . . . all of them warlords who shaped one of the most significant regions in world history, men who influenced the civilization of half a continent. The warlords of Mexico, for all their fascinating lives and momentous acts, have been largely ignored by writers and historians, but here that disappointing record is put right by a range of detailed biographies that entertain as they inform. Students of the area, historians working in American history, and long-term visitors and tourists to the region will gain a much clearer understanding of the background history of these territories and the men who formed and reformed them. Lavishly illustrated with dozens of photographs and color paintings, Warlords of Ancient Mexico is essential reading for anyone interested in this tumultuous, endlessly captivating period of Central American history. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
In the very near future, an American fetus named Alexander Jackson Rett becomes self-aware. He sees that the world out there is where everything bad happens, but inside, in the womb, it's safe. It's the safest place to be. So he decides to never come out. And because he's self-aware, and because he's smart and reasonably witty, his Mom and Ernie the next door neighbor make a video. They ask Little Alex questions and he answers from within the womb. And he gets most of them right (although he's not that good at math). And the next day, Ernie posts the video on YouTube and it goes viral. And before ya know it, Little Alex, the world's first and only "Amazing Talking Fetus," is interviewed on Dr. Phyllis: "What's it like in there?" she asks. "It's dark," he replies. "Who's your favorite President?" "Richard Nixon." "Get a load of this kid!" Dr. Phyllis says. "So what's the thing you'd most like to do, Alex?" "I want to run for President!" And the world is amazed. Including an ultra-secret group of billionaire king makers known as "The Florists." To keep their party in office, they need someone who's bullet-proof to run against Mallory Blitzen. And who better than Little Alex? He's already world-famous. He's scandal-proof. He's the ultimate single-issue candidate! And according to the latest poll, Americans will vote for a white male fetus over a woman for President seven out of ten times, and those odds are pretty good. So Alexander Jackson Rett becomes the President of the United States. But he discovers that life on the inside may not be all it's cracked up to be.
