Books in The Great Hispanic Heritage series

Born the only son in a family of six daughters, Oscar de la Renta was pressured early on by his father to take over the family's insurance business in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. But the young man was more interested in the world of art than in the world of finance. Nevertheless, his father's business savvy was not lost on Oscar de la Renta. When, as an art student in Madrid, Spain, de la Renta found that he was short on funds, he took a job sketching designs for a fashion company. Within 10 years, he was designing clothing with his own label and gaining a loyal clientele of wealthy socialite women as well as working women. He is the designer who dresses corporate businesswomen as well as first ladies. Today, the Oscar de la Renta name is a virtual empire, one that resonates far beyond the fashion world.Oscar de la Renta describes this fashion designer's life, how he came to dress some of the most visible women in the world, and how his father's business acumen helped him on and off the runway.

Antonio de Padua Maria Severino Lopez de Santa Anna was a man of many titles—general in the Mexican army, president, dictator, landowner and administrator, husband, and father. Santa Anna is well known for his part in the infamous Battle of the Alamo during the U.S.-Mexican War and is considered by many to be a bloodthirsty tyrant. However, there were many sides to this icon of Mexican history. During his long life, Santa Anna rose to the pinnacle of power, yet he died nearly penniless and forgotten. This new biography traces his path from middle-class beginnings to the halls of the capital in Mexico City to exile in Cuba to his final days.

Roberto Clemente's life represents the ultimate rags-to-riches story. Growing up in poverty in Puerto Rico, the young Clemente never imagined that through baseball, he would have the ability to make a difference in the lives of his family and thousands of others. Within a few years, Clemente went from playing baseball in the barrio in Puerto Rico with a tree branch for a bat and a ball of string for a ball to playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. Though the journey to America was filled with obstacles, such as racism and discrimination, Clemente succeeded in winning the hearts and minds of the Pittsburgh fans, as well as Americans everywhere, with his tremendous playing ability and his humanitarian spirit. After he died in a tragic plane crash in 1972, Clemente would be remembered as a hero with a powerful throwing arm and a heart of gold. For his contributions to baseball, Clemente was later inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame, becoming the first Latin American player to receive the honor.

In just a few short years, America Ferrera has gone from being an unknown struggling actress to America's sweetheart, winning awards and accolades from critics and audiences alike. But there's more to her than her best-known role, television's Ugly Betty. In films such as Real Women Have Curves and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, she has not only redefined the role of Latinas in television and film, she has helped redefine what it means to be beautiful in Hollywood. In a short amount of time, this daughter of Honduran immigrants quickly rose from indie actress to mainstream star without compromising herself or becoming a Hollywood standard. In this new biography, readers will uncover the fascinating story of this actress living the American dream.