Books published by publisher Arte Publico Pr

Tomás Rivera's original Spanish-language novel plus a new translation into English by Evangelina Vigil-Piñón. ...y no se lo tragó la tierra won the first national award for Chicano literature in 1970 and has become the standard literary text for Hispanic literature classes throughout the country. It is now an award-winning, motion picture entitled And the Earth Did Not Swaloow Him.

Best Books of 2011 by The Hispanic ReaderBronze Award for Essays in ForeWord Review's Book of the Year AwardsSecond Place for Best Biography in English in the International Latino Book Awards"On good days I feel I am a bridge. On bad days I just feel alone," Sergio Troncoso writes in this riveting collection of sixteen personal essays in which he seeks to connect the humanity of his Mexican family to those he meets on the East Coast, including his wife's Jewish kin. Raised in a home steps from the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, Troncoso crossed what seemed an even more imposing border when he left home to attend Harvard College.Initially, "outsider status" was thrust upon him; later, he adopted it willingly, writing about the Southwest and Chicanos in an effort to communicate who he was and where he came from to those unfamiliar with his childhood world. He wrote to maintain his ties to his parents and his abuelita, and to fight against the elitism he experienced in the Ivy League. "I was torn," he writes, "between the people I loved at home and the ideas I devoured away from home."Troncoso writes to examine his life and to create meaning from the disparate worlds he inhabits and the borders he crosses. In his three-part essay entitled "Letter to My Young Sons," he documents the terror of his wife's breast cancer diagnosis and the ups and downs of her surgery and treatment. Other essays explore evolving gender roles and interfaith marriage as Troncoso becomes a father, he struggles with an uneasy relationship with his elderly father, and he understands the impact his wife's Jewish heritage and religion have on his Mexican-American identity.Crossing Borders: Personal Essays reveals a writer, father and husband who has crossed linguistic, cultural and intellectual borders to provoke debate about contemporary Mexican-American identity. Challenging assumptions about literature, the role of writers in America, fatherhood and family, these essays bridge the chasm between the poverty of the border region and the highest echelons of success in America. Troncoso writes with the deepest faith in humanity about sacrifice, commitment and honesty.

Growing up, young Hank Aguirre rose every morning long before school to make and deliver tortillas as part of a small family business. In his free time, the teen-aged Hank played Legion baseball and in neighborhood pick-up games. After graduation, he signed on with the Cleveland Indians organization. Hank Aguirre enjoyed a successful, award-winning major-league career as a pitcher. Then, instead of basking in his popularity, he went on to found Mexican Industries in the burned-out heart of crime-ridden urban Detroit. His firm gave employment to more than a thousand people, bringing hope where there had once been only despair. Hank Aguirre was a man who pushed beyond mere celebrity to become a genuine hero.

Meet the Silva kids, the Guerra boys, and the new Perez family who live on Ruiz Street. On a hot summer day, a new kid named David rides into the neighborhood. Gossip about the mysterious boy stretches longer than a wad of gum. The kids wonder why he rides a different bike everyday. Is he stealing them? He gets rough at the swimming pool, he scares the younger kids, and he spies over the fence. Why is he always so mean? Is it true that he eats a bee's nest for breakfast and sleeps on a bed of nails? What does he want from the kids who live on Ruiz Street and why in the world would they ever want to be friends with somebody like David? The young narrator, Joe Silva, introduces intermediate readers to both his friends and their common enemy on Ruiz Street. David doesn't have good people skills and doesn't know quite how to improve them. Can the other kids see beyond his faults and discover another side to the boy on the bike? Filled with humor and mystery, the Ruiz Street kids' adventures are sure to entertain as they try to understand the peculiar habits of the new boy named David. Like her previous books for intermediate readers, Alicia's Treasure and Upside Down and Backwards, Bertrand has written another book to get children talking about making new friends, sibling relationships, and the misconceptions of first impressions. Even the most reluctant readers will keep reading to discover what those Ruiz Street Kids plan to do about the newest kid on the block.