Mexican American Lives (Individual Life Stories)
(see also Mexican American History, Life & Values, Mexican American Movements)
Basics
On the Web: Articles
On the Web: Specialized Sites
In the Library: Articles
Bouvard, Marguerite Guzmán. "Juana Beatriz Gutiérrez & the Mothers of East Los Angeles (interview)," in her Women Reshaping Human Rights (Wilmington DE: Scholarly Resources, 1996), pp. 179-197. Community & environmental justice organizer.
Carrera, Mauricio. "Fulgor y muerte del Gran Bufalo Prieto," Revista de Universidad (México) 595 (8/00):32-36.
In the Library: Non-Fiction Books
Acosta, Oscar Zeta. The Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo (San Francisco: Straight Arrow, 1972).
Arraras, Maria Celeste. Selena's Secret: The Revealing Story behind her Tragic Death (NY: Simon & Schuster, 1997).
Chávez, Leo Jr. Shadowed Lives: Undocumented Migrants in American Society (Ft. Worth TX: Harcourt Brace, 1992).
Davis, Marilyn P. Mexican Voices, American Dreams: An Oral History of Mexican Immigration to the US (NY, 1990).
Ferriss, Susan & Ricardo Sandoval. The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez & the Farmworkers Movement (Orlando FL: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1997).
Fischer-West, Lucy. Child of Many Rivers: Journeys To & From the Rio Grande (Lubbock TX: Texas Tech U., 2005).
Galarza, Ernesto. Barrio Boy (Notre Dame IN: U. Notre Dame, 1971).
Gamio, Manuel. El inmigrante mexicano: la historia de su vida (The Life Story of the Mexican Immigrant) [1931] (México: UNAM, 1969; English trans. NY: Dover, 1971). Fascinating, widely diverse snippets from lives of male & female Mexican immigrants before 1930.
García, Mario T. Memories of Chicano History: The Life & Narrative of Bert Corona (Berkeley: U. California, 1994).
Guilbault, Rose Castillo. Farmworker's Daughter: Growing Up Mexican in America (?: Heyday, 2005).
Gutiérrez, José Angel. The Making of a Chicano Militant: Lessons from Cristal (Madison: U. Wisconsin, 1999).
Hinojosa, María. Raising Raúl: Adventures Raising Myself & My Son (NY: Viking, 1999).
Larralde, Carlos. Carlos Esparza: A Chicano Chronicle (San Francisco: R&E Research Associates, 1977).
__________. José Rangel Cantú: South Texas' Fiery Radio Warrior (Tucson: U. Arizona, 1995).
Lindborg, Kristina & Carlos J. Ovando. Five Mexican-American Women in Transition: A Case Study of Migrants in the Midwest (San Francisco, 1977).
Loya, Joe. The Man Who Outgrew His Prison Cell: Confessions of a Bank Robber (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2004).
Martín, Patricia Preciado. Songs My Mother Sang to Me: An Oral History of Mexican American Women (Tucson: U. of Arizona, 1992).
Nelson, Eugene (ed.) Pablo Cruz & the American Dream (Salt Lake City: Peregrine Smith, 1975).
Poggie, John J. Jr. Between Two Cultures (The Life of an American-Mexican) (Tucson: U. of Arizona, 1973). Story of "Ramón Gonzáles."
Rodríguez, Richard. Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodríguez (NY, 1982).
__________. Days of Obligation: An Argument with my Mexican Father (NY: Penguin, 1992).
__________. Brown: The Last Discovery of America (NY: Viking, 2002).
Ruiz, Vicki L. & Virginia Sánchez Korrol (eds.) Latina Legacies: Identity, Biography, & Community (NY: Oxford, 2005).
Topete, Jesús. Aventuras de un bracero (México: Gráfica Moderna,1961).
In the Library: Fiction
Rodriguez, Luis. Republic of East L.A.: Stories (NY: Rayo, 2003).
In the Library: For Young Readers
In the Library: Poetry
In the Library: Drama
In the Library: Photography
CD & Audio
Film & Video
"Ballad of an Unsung Hero" [1983], dir. Isaac Artenstein, 28m. From Cinema Guild. Pedro J. González, from early years as telegraph operator for Pancho Villa to career as radio & recording star in Los Angeles.
"Geronimo: His Story" [1997], dir. Flavyn Feller, 28m. From Filmakers' Library. Story of undocumented immigrant Gerónimo Mendoza Sánchez in California.
"La Bamba" [1987], dir. Luis Valdez, 109m. In video stores. Story of Richie Valens.
"Richard Rodríguez: Victim of Two Cultures" [1994], dir. Betsy McCarthy, 50m. From Films for the Humanities & Sciences.
"Selena" [1998], dir. Gregory Nava, 128m. In video stores.