A Literary Renaissance

While the literature of the Hispanic peoples in the United States has flourished for well over two centuries, in the last thirty years a Hispanic literary renaissance has been taking place. This literature has evolved out of the historical situations of an oppressed minority whose writers are committed to eliminating the colonial status of their people. Thus, contemporary Hispanic literature is in essence a literature of resistance to economic, social and cultural oppression.

For the most part, Hispanic writers have attempted to create new literary models which make their work an exciting challenge to existing cultural norms. While a few write primarily in Spanish, the majority are writing in English, although some use of Spanish appears in almost all of their work. Their perspective is that of the bilingual, bicultural individual whose view of the world is at times ironic and always complex. Crossing boundaries has become the dominant metaphor for both the content and style of modern Hispanic literature with its emphasis on cultural identity.

By no means is this literature homogeneous. The Chicana writer from Los Angeles, the Puerto Rican essayist from New York, the Cuban-American playwright from Miami, the New Mexican poet, the Mexican-American fiction writer from Texas, the Chilean-American novelist from Washington, and the Nicaraguan-American satirist from San Francisco all add their individual contribution to the growing body of literature identifiable as Hispanic literature of the United States.

The Creation of an Audience

Along with writing and publishing these works, a great effort has been made to develop an audience. Numerous reviews/revistas have been created, readings have been organized, bookfairs and festivals have taken place, writers' workshops have been set up, and literary contests have all brought attention to new writers. Publishing houses for the dissemination of Hispanic literature have introduced important writers to the public. Some of these writers have gone on to be published by mainstream and university presses; others have remained with the Hispanic presses to continue the movement for Hispanic literary self-determination. With so much activity supporting such an array of creative effort, it is no wonder that Hispanic writing is projected to become the most vital, innovative literature of the United States in the 21st century.

The Literary Heritage

Since the early 17th century a rich and varied literature has been created in Hispanic communities in the United States. A wealth of oral literature flourished in what is the present day Southwest; theater, poetry, dichos (folk sayings) and songs were cultivated and passed on from generation to generation. In the Christmas season, Pastorelas--shepherd plays--have been enacted continuously for over four hundred years in southwestern churches and public spaces.

After the introduction of the printing press into the Southwest, the literary pages of Hispanic newspapers became outlets for literature by Spanish and Latin American writers. In the early 20th century, serialized novels were popular; the first and best-known novel of the Mexican Revolution, Los de abajo, appeared in 1915 in serialized form in El Paso prior to being published in Mexico.

Literary Awards

In recent years, prestigious literary prizes have been awarded to the work of Hispanic writers: The American Book Award, the National Book Award, the Casa de las Américas prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the MacArthur Fellowship, and numerous other awards have been garnered by different writers.

In the early 1970s the Quinto Sol literary prizes were given to Latino writers as a means of fomenting literary creativity. The tradition continued with the University of California at Irvine Literary Contest. The University of Texas at El Paso Literary Award and the Letras de Oro of Miami are given for works written in Spanish.

Growing an Audience

Awards are given also to works for young readers. In 1996, the Pura Belpré Award was established under auspices of the American Library Association to honor Latino writers and illustrators whose works best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children and youth. And in 1997, Victor Martínez became the first Latino to win First Place in the National Book Awards in the category of Literature for Adolescents for his book, Parrot in the Oven.

The Chicano Movement

In 1965 in Delano, California, César Chávez organized a strike among the farmworkers. This was the beginning of what came to be known as the Chicano Movement for Civil Rights. That same year, as a means of raising farmworkers' support for the strike, Luis Valdez founded the Teatro Campesino. Out of these two events grew the literary movement that identified with the movimiento and served as an instrument of social struggle. It was led by mestizos who created a mythology around the grandeur of the Indian past. The writers issued proclamations about Aztlán, the place of origin of the Aztecs, which came to signify the Chicano homeland or the Southwest. The Plan Espiritual de Aztlán espoused the concept of brotherhood or carnalismo, a spirit which characterized the literature of the movimiento with its heavy emphasis on male heroes as portrayed in the poem I Am Joaquín. Two other important inspirations for movement literature were the barrio and the Pachuco.

Legacies & the Tejano Writer

Texas has produced more Chicano writers than any other state in the country. Even when these writers live away from Texas, their subject matter tends to be linked to the heritage of mexicano culture in Texas, particularly South Texas.

As a whole, Tejano writers are closely identified with the area of the state in which they spent their youth, even though they may no longer reside there:

El Paso: Aristeo Brito, Arturo Islas, Pat Mora, Estela Portillo Trambley, Ricardo Sánchez

The Valley: Gloria Anzaldúa, Irene Beltrán Hernández, Lionel García, Genaro González, Rolando Hinojosa, Américo Paredes

Laredo: Norma Cantú, Roberta Fernández, Carlos Nicolás Flores, Montserrat Fontes

San Antonio: Rosemary Catacalos, Angela de Hoyos, Max Martínez, Tomás Rivera, Carmen Tafolla, Evangelina Vigil, and more recently, Sandra Cisneros

Austin area: Raul Salinas, Juan Rodríguez, Tino Villanueva, Beatriz de la Garza

Houston draws many Hispanic writers to readings, book fairs and conferences, and a number of writers now call Houston home, including Spanish poet Revueltas Gutiérrez and Costa Rican novelist Rima Vallbona.

Literary reviews have played an important role in disseminating Tejano writings, and Chicano-owned bookstores (Raúl Salinas's in Austin and Ricardo Sánchez's in San Antonio) sponsor cultural events.

Southern California Writers

With its great population of Latinos from every country in Central and South America, Los Angeles is home to many of our best writers of Latino heritage. La Plaza de la Raza and the Instituto Cultural Mexicano in Los Angeles, and the Centro Cultural Chicano of San Diego are cultural centers of great vitality. The Chicano Studies Centers at the University of California in Los Angeles, Irvine, Riverside and San Diego have nurtured and published Latino writers.

In the late 1960s, a group of writers in San Diego flourished around the poet Alurista, who is credited with the re-creation of the modern-day myth of Aztlán. They promoted the values inherent to Chicano literature: bilingualism, homage to the barrio and carnalismo, and a commitment to bettering social conditions of la gente (the people).

Other literary activities revolved around the Chicana activist and scholar Rosaura Sánchez and her circle which published the work of women writers in Requisa treinta y dos. Many writers have participated in the readings offered by Beyond Baroque in Venice, Ca. Throughout Southern California numerous Latino literary activities take place on a continuous basis.

East Coast Writers

Puerto Ricans, the largest Latino group in the Northeastern coast of the US, tend to focus on the elimination of their colonial status both in the mainland and in the island. Their perspective is ironic, their expression is bilingual, and their content at times is linked to the themes of immigrant literature, that is, to the question of finding one's identity in a new homeland.

The first work of a U.S. Puerto Rican to receive acclaim was Piri Thomas's Down These Mean Streets, with its close links to the urban crisis of Black youth. The NY publishing world thought Nicholasa Mohr would be a female counterpart to Thomas, but she insisted on representing the sensibilities of adolescent women in the barrio. Her book, Nilda, became a best-seller on its own terms.

Latino writers from other national groups are quite active in the East Coast. Some of the best known are Marjorie Agosín (Chilean-American), Julia Alvarez (Dominican-American), Elena Castedo (Chilean-American), Oscar Hijuelos (Cuban-American), Laura Riesco (Peruvian-American), and Rhina Espaillet (Dominican-American), Sandra María Esteves (Puerto Rican and Dominican-American), and Cristina García (Cuban American).

San Francisco: Literary Boom

Allen Ginsberg and the Beat poets introduced the drama of performance art into poetry readings in San Francisco in the late 1950s. By the early 1970s, literary readings had achieved a highly creative level. To this flourishing public activity, Latino writers added their own rhythm and energy.

Writers with roots in numerous Latin American countries contributed greatly to the San Francisco literary scene. The Pocho Che collective, a loose coalition of writers, published some of the first books of the contemporary renaissance. By the early 1970s, the group joined efforts with other writers to form the Third World Collective, which published the first anthology of literature written by women of color in the United States. By mid-1970 the group had established the Mission Cultural Center, which branched out to promote all aspects of the Latino arts: the visual arts, movement arts, theater and literature.

By the mid-1980s, new writers began to emerge from amongst the Central American community in San Francisco. This cycle of energy continues as new and younger writers add their creative efforts to the active literary scene.

East Bay & Central California

Californians think nothing of traveling for two hours to attend an art opening or a play. Writers in Oakland and Berkeley in the 1970s might drive north to Sacramento to attend a poetry reading or south to San Jose to see a performance of the Teatro de la Gente. In turn, artists from other parts of the state came to events in the East Bay.

In Berkeley, Octavio Romano's Tonatiuh-Quinto Sol Publications published El espejo (1967), the first anthology of modern Chicano literature. In 1970, Tonatiuh-Quinto Sol Publications began an annual contest for the best collection of fiction, resulting in the publication of several works still considered among the best of Chicano literature: . . . y no se lo tragó la tierra/ . . .and the earth did not part, by Tomás Rivera, and Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya.

Literary Activity in New Mexico

Hispanic culture in New Mexico, dating back to the late 16th century, is the second oldest continuous culture in the present-day area of the United States, after that of Native American peoples. Santa Fe, one of the administrative centers of the extensive Spanish colonies in the New World, early developed its own literature, as can be seen in various histories, colonial dramas, and pastorelas. Oral traditions and Spanish-language newspapers dating back to 1834, served as vehicles of cultural transmission.

With the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848, New Mexicans became the colonized subjects of the United States and suffered many indignities. Writers of the 19th and early 20th centuries express their sorrow over a disappearing way of life.

Contemporary New Mexico writers, having grown up in a strongly Hispanic society and in constant contact with Native American cultures, show a great respect for the land; this can be seen in the poetry of Jimmy Santiago Baca and Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima, to date the most widely read novel written by a Hispanic in the United States.

Cuban American Literature

Silvia Burunat and Ofelia García, the editors of Veinte años de literatura cubanoamericana (1988), emphasize the fact that Cuban-American literature differs from that of Mexican-Americans and Nuyoricans. While the literature of the latter groups is generally one of resistance to the majority culture, Cuban-American literature tends to focus on a nostalgia for Cuba.

Burunat and García attribute the distinction between their literature and that of the other Hispanic groups mainly to class: Unlike the great majority of Mexican and Puerto Rican immigrants, the first wave of Cubans to arrive in this country (1959-1962 and 1965-1968) came from the middle class and/or the professional class. While they have refrained from assimilating linguistically and culturally to mainstream America, they have had the skills to achieve a high degree of economic success. Thus, they do not feel confrontational towards the Anglo culture and their literature, written in Spanish, lacks an activist tone.

A large percentage of the next wave of Cuban immigrants (1980), the Marielitos, were non-white and poor. They have experienced racial and class prejudice and, generally, have more in common with other Hispanic groups in the United States. Burunat and García project that the literature of this second group soon will be written in English and will have an activist tone.

A third component of the Cuban-American community are children of the first immigrants who do not share their parents' enthusiasm for a literature written in a purist's Spanish. They have no memories of the Cuban natural setting, nor do they experience nostalgia for the Cuba of their parents youth. Yet, their parents have nurtured an appreciation for their Cuban heritage.

Thematically, the literature of this group is in flux, for some authors write about assimilation, while others stories are steeped in memories of Cuba and center on the effect of the revolution on several generations of exiles.

Latino Theatre

Spanish-speaking people maintain a sense of identity and community through theater, a tradition that began in the sixteenth century with Spanish missionaries. Pastorelas --shepherds plays--were handed down from generation to generation for over 400 years.

Contemporary Chicano theater looks back to two progenitors from the 1960s and 1970s, that continue their activities into the 1990s: Luis Valdez's Teatro Campesino, based in San Juan Bautista; and the Teatro de la Esperanza, founded in Santa Barbara by Jorge Duarte and later directed by Rodrigo Duarte. Luis Valdez's Zoot Suit had its debut at the Mark Taper Forum in 1978, and until a few years ago, other Latino plays had their first run at the Los Angeles Theater Center. Theater also flourishes in many Nuyorican and Cuban-American communities up and down the East Coast.

Literary Reviews

Literary reviews, such as The Americas Review (formerly Revista Chicano Riqueña), have created an audience for Hispanic writers, and they have given writers an opportunity to publish their work when other outlets were closed to them. Since the late 1960s many reviews have appeared throughout the country. Even though most have been short-lived, all must be credited with developing an audience for the literature of Hispanic writers. In many instances, the Hispanic little reviews were the only outlet for writers intent on creating their own aesthetic principles.

Opening New Directions

In the 1960s Chicano writers opened up new directions by insisting that bilinguality and the perspective of the working class were legitimate characteristics of their literature.

In the mid-1970s, women writers began to introduce a new concept of resistance: feminism, or intracultural resistance. In 1981, the publication of This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa, marked an important milestone in American women's literature. A younger generation of writers has written about gender issues and questions of sexuality. With its anthology, Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About, Third Woman Press opened up new literary paths.

In the last five years, noting the ever-expanding potential of a new market in the United States, that of the Spanish reader, mainstream publishing houses have been issuing Spanish translations of highly successful books in English.

A Worldwide Reception

The literature of Hispanic peoples of the United States has gained not only attention in Europe but also a substantial academic following. International conferences have brought European and American scholars together to celebrate and discuss the aesthetics, history and contributions of literature produced by Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and other Hispanics in the United States, and several European scholars have published extensively on this subject. The Mexican government is presently expressing great interest in the cultural creations of Mexican-Americans, and various literary conferences have been held along the border.

For the moment it is clear that a Hispanic literary renaissance has been taking place in the world of letters in the final decades of the 20th century. As more writers move into the mainstream and yet hold on to a cultural intergrity, their literature promises to become the most exciting and innovative literature of the 21st century in the United States.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Citations--The Creation of an Audience

Chis-Mé-Arte (Los Angeles). Vol. I, no. 3, 1977.

Guadalupe Review (San Antonio). Number 1, October 1991.

Hispanic Books Bulletin. The Voice of Hispanic Books Distributors (Tucson). 10th Anniversary Catalog, 1990-1991.

Kanellos, Nicolás. Short Fiction by Hispanic Writers of the United States. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1993.

Metamorfosis (Seattle). Volume III, no.1, Spring/Summer 1980.

Para Gente Magazín/Magazine for People (San Antonio). Vol. I, no. 4, April 1972.

Poey, Delia, and Virgil Suárez, eds. Iguana Dreams: New Latino Fiction. With a preface by Oscar Hijuelos. New York: HarperPerennial, 1992.

Tun-Ta-Ca-Tun: More Stories and Poems in English and Spanish for Children. Ed. Sylvia Cavazos Peña. Houston: Piñata Books, Arte Público Press, 1995.

Citations--Books for Family Reading

Delgado, María Isabel. Chave´s Memories/Los recuerdos de Chave. Houston: Piñata Books, Arte Público Press, 1996.

Delacre, Lulu. Arroz con leche: Popular Songs and Rhymes from Latin America. New York: Scholastic Books, 1989.

Garza, Carmen Lomas. In My Family/En mi familia. San Francisco: Children's Book Press, 1996.

González, Lucía M. The Bossy Gallito/El gallo de bodas. New York: Scholastic Books, 1994.

González, Ralfka, and Ana Ruiz. My First Book of Proverbs/Mi primer libro de dichos. Intro. by Sandra Cisneros. San Francisco: Children's Book Press, 1995.

Lachtman, Ofélia Dumas. Pepita Talks Twice/Pepita habla dos veces. Houston: Piñata Books, Arte Público Press, 1995.

Mora, Pat, and others. Confetti: Poems for Children. New York: Lee & Low Books, Inc., 1996.

Mora, Pat. The Desert Is My Mother/El desierto es mi madre. Houston: Piñata Books, Arte Público Press, 1994.

______. Uno, Dos, Tres/One, Two, Three. New York: Clarion Books, 1996.

Citations--Books for Independent Young Readers and Teens

Anzaldúa, Gloria. Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del otro lado. San Francisco: Children's Book Press, 1993.

Belpré, Pura. Firefly Summer. Houston: Piñata Books, Arte Público Press, 1996.

Beltrán Hernández, Irene. The Secret of Two Brothers. Houston: Piñata Books, Arte Público Press, 1995.

Carlson, Lori M. and Cynthia L. Ventura, eds. Where Angels Glide at Dawn: New Stories from Latin America. Intro. by Isabel Allende. New York: HarperCollins, 1990.

Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States. Lori M. Carlson, ed. New York: Fawcett Juniper, 1994.

Delacre, Lulu. Golden Tales: Myths Legends, and Folktales from Latin America. New York: Scholastic Books, 1996.

Flor Ada, Alma. The Gold Coin. Trans. Bernice Randall. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1994.

Herrera, Juan Felipe. Calling the Doves/El canto de las palomas. San Francisco: Children's Book Press, 1995.

Lachtman, Ofélia Dumas. The Girl from Playa Blanca. Houston: Piñata Books, Arte Público Press, 1995.

Lasky, Kathryn. Days of the Dead. Photographs by Christopher G. Knight. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 1994.

Mohr, Nicholasa. Growing Up Inside the Sanctuary of My Imagination. New York: Julian Messner, 1994.

Paredes, Américo. George Washington Gómez: A Mexicotexan Novel. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1990.

Soto, Gary. Baseball in April and Other Stories. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company, An Odyssey Book, 1990.

______. Neighborhood Odes. San Diego: Harcourt-Brace-Jovanovich, 1992.

Villaseñor, Victor. Walking Stars: Stories of Magic and Power. Houston: Piñata Books, Arte Público Press, 1995.

Citations--Literary Awards

Aguilar, Ricardo, Armando Armengol, and Oscar U. Somoza, eds. Palabra nueva: Cuentos chicanos. El Paso: Texas Western Press, 1984 (The University of Texas at El Paso Literary Award for Fiction Written in Spanish).

Anaya, Rudolfo A. Bless Me, Ultima: A Novel. Berkeley: Tonatiuh-Quinto Sol Publications, 1972 (Second Quinto Sol Literary Award, 1971).

Arias, Ron. The Road to Tamazunchale: A Novel. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press, 1987 (University of California, Irvine, First Chicano Literary Contest for Short Fiction, 1975; for Chapter VII submitted as an independent short story).

Castedo, Elena. Paradise. New York: Warner Books, 1990 (National Book Award Finalist, 1990).

Castillo, Ana. The Mixquiahuala Letters. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press, 1986 (American Book Award for Fiction, 1987).

Cervantes, Lorna Dee. From the Cables of Genocide: Poems on Love and Hunger. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1991 (Patterson Poetry Prize, 1992).

Chavez, Denise. Face of an Angel. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1994 (American Book Award, 1995).

Christian, Karen, Ed. Irvine Chicano Literary Prize 1988-1990/1989-1990. Irvine, CA, 1991.

Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1985 (American Book Award for Fiction, 1986; recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, 1996).

Espinosa, María. Longing. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1995 (American Book Award, 1996).

García, Cristina. Dreaming in Cuban. New York: Ballantine Books, 1992 (Finalist for National Book Award, 1992).

Hijuelos, Oscar. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. New York: Farrar, Straus, Grious, 1989 (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 1990).

Hinojosa, Rolando R. Generaciones y semblanzas. Berkeley: Editorial Justa Publications, 1997 (Casa de las América Award, 1973).

Limón, Graciela. In Search of Bernabé. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1993 (American Book Award, 1994).

Martínez, Victor. Parrot in the Oven. New York: Joanna Cotler Books, HarperCollins, 1996 (First National Book Award for Juvenile Fiction, 1997).

Ortiz Cofer, Judith. An Island Like You: Stories from El Bárrio. New York: Orchard Books, 1995 (Winner of the First Pura Belpré Award, 1996).

Rivera, Tomás. . . . y no se lo tragó la tierra / . . . and the earth did not part. Berkeley: Quinto Sol Publications, 1971 (First Quinto Sol Literary Award, 1970).

Sagel, Jim. Tunomás Honey. Ypsilanti, MI: Bilingual Press, 1983 (Casa de las Américas Award, 1981).

Soto, Gary. The Elements of San Joaquín. Pittsburgh: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1977 (United States Award of the International Poetry Forum, 1976).

Citations--The Chicano Movement

Alurista. "must be the season of the witch" and "la casa de mi padre," in Floricanto en Aztlán. Los Angeles: Chicano Cultural Center, University of California, 1971.

Anaya, Rudolfo A., and Francisco A. Lomelí, eds. Aztlán: Essays on the Chicano Homeland. Albuquerque: Academia/El Norte Publications, 1989.

Barrio, Raymond. The Plum Plum Pickers. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press, 1984.

de Hoyos, Angela. "On the Dangers Encountered for the Sake of Society" and "Cuento de Hadas," in Revista Rio Bravo (Laredo, TX), 1988.

Delgado, Abelardo. "La Guadalupana," in Canto al Pueblo: An Anthology of Experiences. San Antonio: Penca Books, 1978.

El Grito: A Journal of Contemporary Mexican-American Thought. Berkeley, CA. Vol. III, no. 4 (Summer 1970).

"El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán," in Aztlán (Chicano Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles), Vol. I, no. 1, Spring 1970.

Elizondo, Sergio. "Antiperros," in El Grito (Berkeley). Vol. III, no. 4, Summer 1970.

Gonzales, Rodolfo. I am Joaquín: An Epic Poem. Denver: El Gallo Newspaper, 1967.

Rosales, F. Arturo. Chicano! The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1996.

Salinas, Raúl. "A Trip Through the Mind Jail," in Literatura Chicana: Textoy Contexto. Antonia Casteñeda, Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, and Joseph Sommers, eds. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1972.

Tafolla, Carmen. "Amarillo," in Festival Flor y Canto II: An Anthology of Chicano Literature from the Festival Held March 12-16, 1975, Austin, Texas. Albuquerque: Pajarito Publications, 1971(?).

Zeta Acosta, Oscar. The Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Books, 1972.

Citations--Texas Writers

Anzaldúa, Gloria. Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Books, 1987.

Beltrán Hernández, Irene. Heartbeat Drumbeat. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1992.

Brito, Aristeo. The Devil in Texas/El diablo en Texas. Trans. by David William Foster. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press, 1990.

Cantú, Norma Elia. Canícula: Snapshots of a Girlhood en la Frontera. Albuquerque: Univ. of New Mexico Press, 1995.

Catacalos, Rosemary. Again for the First Time. Santa Fe: Tooth of Time, 1984.

Cisneros, Sandra. Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. New York: Random House, 1991.

Cotera, Martha P. Diosa y Hembra: The History and Heritage of Chicanas in the U.S. Austin: Information systems Development, 1976.

de Hoyos, Angela. Woman, Woman. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1985.

de la Garza, Beatriz. The Candy Vendor's Boy and Other Stories. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1994.

Fontes, Montserrat. Dreams of the Centaur. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996.

Fernández, Roberta. Intaglio: A Novel in Six Stories. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1990.

García, Lionel G. Hardscrub. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1990.

Gaspar de Alba, Alicia. The Mystery of Survival and Other Stories. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press, 1993.

González, Genaro. Only Sons. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1991.

______. Rainbow's End. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1988.

Hinojosa, Rolando. Los amigos de Becky. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1991.

Islas, Arturo. The Rain God: A Desert Tale. Palo Alto: Alexandrian Press, 1984.

Martínez, Max. A Red Bikini Dream. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1990.

Mora, Pat. Communion. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1991.

Paredes, Américo. Between Two Worlds. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1991.

Portillo Trambley, Estela. Rain of Scorpions and Other Stories. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press, 1993.

Rivera, Tomás. Tomás Rivera: The Complete Works. Ed. Julián Olivares. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1991.

Salinas, Raúl R (raúlrsalinas). East of the Freeway: Reflections de Mi Pueblo. Austin, TX: Red Salmon Press, 1995.

Sánchez, Ricardo. Canto y grito mi liberación/The Liberation of a Chicano Mind. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1971.

Vigil, Evangelina. Thirty an' Seen a Lot. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1982.

Villanueva, Tino. Shaking Off the Dark. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1984.

Citations--Southern California Writers

Gutiérrez, Revuelta, Pedro. Del amor presente y de la ausencia de amor. San Diego: Atticus Press, 1982.

Limón, Graciela. Song of the Hummingbird. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1996.

Maize: Notebooks of Xicano Art and Literature (San Diego). Spring-Summer, 1981

Miguel Muñoz, Elías. The Greatest Performance. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1991.

Morales, Alejandro. The Rag Doll Plagues. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1992.

Ponce, Mary Helen. Hoyt Street/Calle Hoyt: Memories of a Chicana Childhood. New York: Anchor Books, Doubleday, 1993.

______. Taking Control. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1987.

Quiñónez, Naomi. Sueño de colibrí/Hummingbird Dream. Los Angeles: West End Press, 1985.

Rivera, Rick P. A Fabricated Mexican. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1995.

Sánchez, Marta Ester. Contemporary Chicana Poetry: A Critical Approach to an Emerging Literature. Berkeley, Univ. of California Press, 1985.

Sánchez, Rosaura, ed. Requisa treinta y dos. La Jolla: Univ. of California, San Diego, 1979.

Valdés, Gina. There Are No Madmen Here. San Diego: Maize Press, 1981.

Villaseñor, Victor. Rain of Gold. Arte Público Press, 1991.

Viramontes, Helena María. The Moths and Other Stories. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1985.

Xelina. "esterilización," in Literatura fronteriza: Antología del primer festival, San Diego-Tijuana, Mayo 1981. San Diego: Maize Press, 1982.

Citations--East Coast Writers

Agosín, Marjorie. Hogueras/Bonfires. Trans. by Naomi Lindstrom. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press, 1990.

Alvarez, Julia. How the García Girls Lost Their Accents. New York: Plume, 1992.

______. ¡Yo! Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 1997.

de Monteflores, Carmen. Singing Softly/Cantando Bajito. San Francisco: Spinsters/Aunt Lute, 1989.

Espada, Martín. Trumpets from the Islands of their Eviction. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press, 1987.

Espinosa, María. Dark Plums. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1995.

Esteves, Sandra Maria. Bluestown Mockingbird Mambo. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1990.

______. Tropical Rains: A Bilingual Downpour. The Bronx: African Caribbean Poetry Theater, 1984.

Fernández, Carole. Sleep of the Innocents. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1991.

Flores, Juan. Divided Borders. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1992.

Gómez, Alma, Cherríe Moraga, and Mariana Romo-Carmona, eds. Cuentos: Stories by Latinas. Latham, NY: Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, 1983.

Hernández Cruz, Victor. Rhythm, Content & Flavor. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1989.

Laviera, Tato. AmeRícan. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1985.

Levins Morales, Aurora, and Rosario Morales. Getting Home Alive. Ithaca, NY: Firebrand Books, 1986.

Mohr, Nicholasa. Nilda: A Novel. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1986.

Ortiz Cofer, Judith. The Line of the Sun: A Novel. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1989.

______. Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1990.

Pietri, Pedro. The Masses Are Asses. Maplewood, NJ: Waterfront Press, 1984.

Rodriguez, Victor. El Dorado in East Harlem. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1992.

Santiago, Esmeralda. When I Was Puerto Rican/Cuando era puertorriqueña. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.

Thomas, Piri. Down These Mean Streets. New York: Random House, 1974.

Vega, Ed. Casualty Report. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1991.

Vélez, Diana, trans. and ed. Reclaiming Medusa: Short Stories by Contemporary Puerto Rican Women. San Francisco: Spinster/Aunt Lute, 1988.

Citations--San Francisco Writers

Alarcón, Francisco X. "La Misión/The Mission," in Body in Flames/Cuerpo en Llamas. Trans. Francisco Aragón. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1990.

Alegría, Fernando. The Funhouse. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1986.

Burciaga, José Antonio, and Beatrice Zamora. Restless Serpents. Menlo Park, CA: Diseños Literarios, 1976.

Herrera, Juan Felipe. Exiles of Desire. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1985.

Lobos, Amílcar, and Leland Mellott. Quetzal. San Francisco: Glide Publications/Casa Editorial, 1973.

Moraga, Cherríe. The Last Generation: Prose & Poetry. Boston: South End Press, 1993.

______. Loving in the War Years: Lo Que Nunca Pasó por Sus Labios. Boston: South End press, 1983.

Murguía, Alejandro. Southern Front. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press, 1990.

Serrano, Nina. Heart Songs: The Collected Poems of Nina Serrano (1969-1979). San Francisco: Editorial Pocho-Che, 1980.

Third World Women. San Francisco: Third World Communications, 1972.

Vargas, Roberto. Nicaragua, yo te canto besos, balas, y sueños de libertad. San Francisco: Editorial Pocho-Che, 1980.

Citations--East Bay and Central California Writers

Brinson Curiel, Barbara. Speak to Me from Dreams. Berkeley: Third Woman Press, 1989.

Cervantes, Lorna Dee. Emplumada. Pittsburgh: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1981.

Corpi, Lucha. Cactus Blood: A Mystery Novel. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1995.

______. Eulogy for a Brown Angel: A Mystery Novel. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1992.

______. Palabras de Mediodía/Noon Words. Trans. Catherine Rodríguez-Nieto. Berkeley: El Fuego de Aztlán Publications, 1980.

Mango (San Jose, CA). Vol. II, Fall-Winter, 1979/80.

Rodriguez, Richard. Days of Obligation: An Argument with My Mexican Father. New York: Viking, 1992.

______. Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez. Boston: David R. Godine, 1981.

Romano, Octavio, ed. El espejo. Berkeley: Quinto Sol Publications, 1967.

Salas, Floyd. Buffalo Nickel: A Memoir. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1992.

Salinas, Luis Omar. Prelude to Darkness. San Jose, CA: Mango Publications, 1981.

Soto, Gary. Lesser Evils: Ten Quartets. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1988.

Trejo, Ernesto. Entering a Life. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1990.

Citations--New Mexico Writers

Alarcón, Justo S. Chulifeas fronteras: Cuentos. Albuquerque: Pajarito Publications, 1981.

Anaya, Rudolfo A., and Antonio Márquez, eds. Cuentos Chicanos: A Short Story Anthology. Albuquerque: New America, 1984.

Baca, Jimmy Santiago. Martín & Meditations on the South Valley. New York: New Directions, 1987.

______. Working in the Dark: Reflections of a Poet of the Barrio. Santa Fe: Red Crane Books, 1992.

Chávez, Denise. The Last of the Menu Girls. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1986.

Gonzales-Berry, Erlinda. Paletitas de Guayaba. Albuquerque: El Norte Publications, 1991.

González, Ray. From These Restless Roots. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1986.

La cosecha: Literatura y la mujer chicana. Special issue of De Colores: Journal of Emerging Raza Philosophies (Albuquerque). Vol. III, no. 3, 1977.

Méndez M., Miguel. Peregrinos de Aztlán: Literatura chicana (Novela). Tucson: Editorial Peregrinos, 1974.

Rebolledo, Tey Diana, Erlinda Gonzales-Berry, and Teresa Márquez, eds. Las Mujeres Hablan: An Anthology of Nuevo Mexicana Writers. Albuquerque: El Norte Publications, 1988.

Ulibarrí, Sabine R. Mi abuela fumaba puros y otros cuentos de la tierra amarilla/My Grandma Smoked Cigars and Other Stories of Tierra Amarilla. Berkeley: Quinto Sol Publications, 1977.

Citations--Cuban American Writers

Barreiro, José. The Indian Chronicles. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1993.

Burunat, Silvia, and Ofelia García, ed. Veinte años de literatura cubanoamericana: Antología 1962-1982. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press, 1988.

Fernández, Roberto G. Raining Backwards. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1988.

García, Cristina. The Agüero Sisters/Las hermanas Agüero. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997.

García, Cristina. Sueño en Cubano. New York: Ballantine Books, 1992.

Gómez-Vega, Ibis. Send My Roots Rain. San Francisco: Aunt Lute, 1991.

Hijuelos, Oscar. Our House in the Last World: A Novel. New York: Persea Books, 1983.

Hospital, Carolina, ed. Cuban American Writers: Los Atrevidos. Princeton, NJ: Ediciones Ellas/Linden Lane Press, 1988.

"Sención, the Indian Girl," a Cuban folktale in Golden Tales: Myths, Legends, and Folktales from Latin America, retold and illus. by Lulu Delacre. New York: Scholastic Books, 1996.

Suárez, Virgil, and Delia Poey, eds. Little Havana Blues: A Cuban-American Literature Anthology. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1996.

Suárez, Virgil. Welcome to the Oasis and Other Stories. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1992.

Torres, Omar. Fallen Angels Sing. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1991.

Citations--Literary Reviews

The Americas Review/Revista Chicano-Riqueña. A quarterly publication of Arte Público Press (Houston).

Chismearte: A Quarterly Publication of the Concilio de Arte Popular (Los Angeles). Vol. I, no. 4, Fall/Winter [1977?].

Guadalupe Review (San Antonio). No. 1, 1991.

El Grito (Berkeley). Vol. III, no. 4, Summer 1970.

Mango (San Jose, CA). Vol. I, nos. 3 & 4, 1977.

Metamorfosis (Seattle). Vol. III, No. 1, Spring/Summer, 1980.

Para Gente Magazín/Magazine for People (San Antonio), Vol. I, no. 4, April 1972.

Prisma: A Multicultural, Multilingual Women's Literary Review (Oakland, CA). Vol. 3, Spring 1982.

Third Woman: Of Latinas in the Midwest (Bloomington, IN). Vol. I, no. 1, 1981.

Citations--Hispanic Theater

Acosta, Iván. El Super (Tragi-Comedy). Miami: Ediciones Universal, 1982.

______. Un cubiche en la luna: Tres obras teatrales. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1989.

Antush, John, ed. Recent Puerto Rican Theater: Five Plays from New York. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1991.

Huerta, Jorge, ed. Necessary Theater: Six Plays about the Chicano Experience. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1989.

Moraga, Cherríe. Giving Up the Ghost: Teatro in Two Acts. Los Angeles: West End Press, 1986.

Morton, Carlos. Johnny Tenorio and Other Plays. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1992.

Nicolás Kanellos. A History of Hispanic Theatre in the United States: Origins to 1940. Austin: Univ. of Texas Press, 1990.

Osborn, M. Elizabeth, ed. On New Ground: Contemporary Hispanic-American Plays. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 1987.

Piñero, Miguel. Short Eyes: A Play. New York: Noonday Press, 1985.

Portillo Trembley, Estela. Sor Juana and Other Plays. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Press, 1983.

Prida, Dolores. Beautiful Señoritas and Other Plays. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1991.

Valdez, Luis. Zoot Suit and Other Plays. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1992.

Citations--Opening New Directions

Acosta-Belén, Edna, ed. The Puerto Rican Woman: Perspectives on Culture, History, and Society. New York: Praeger, 1979.

Alarcón, Norma, Ana Castillo, and Cherríe Moraga, eds. Third Woman: The Sexuality of Latinas. Vol. IV. Berkeley: Third Woman Press, 1989.

Castillo-Speed, Lillian, ed. Latina: Women's Voices from the Borderlands. New York: A Touchstone Book, Simon & Schuster, 1995.

de Vallbona, Rima. Mundo, demonio y mujer. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1991.

Fernández, Roberta, ed. In Other Words: Literature by Latinas of the United States. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1994.

González, Ray. Without Discovery: A Native Response to Columbus. Seattle: Broken Moon Press, 1992.

Herrera-Sobek, María. The Mexican Corrido: A Feminist Analysis. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1990.

Pérez, Ramón. "Tianguis." Diary of an Undocumented Immigrant. Trans. Dick J. Reavin. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1991.

Rebolledo, Tey Diana, and Eliana S. Rivero, eds. Infinite divisions: An Anthology of Chicana Literature. Tucson: Univ. of Arizona Press, 1991.

Smorkaloff, Pamela María, ed. If I Could Write This in Fire: An Anthology of Literature from the Caribbean. New York: The New Press, 1994.

Tatum, Charles M. ed. New Chicano/Chicana Writing. Vol. II. Tucson: Univ. of Arizona Press, 1992.

Trujillo, Carla, ed. Chicana Lesbians: the Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About. Berkeley: Third Woman Press, 1991.

Velásquez, Gloria. Tommy Stands Alone. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1995.

Vigil, Evangelina, ed. Woman of Her Word: Hispanic Women Write. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1987.