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  • A Companion to U.S. Latino Literatures
  • Crescencio López
A Companion to U.S. Latino Literatures Tamesis, 2007 Edited by Carlota Caulfield and Darién J. Davis

The list of erudite essayists contributing to the compilation of this 235 page volume, A Companion to U.S. Latino Literatures, offers diverse literary and filmic commentary on contemporary Latino culture. As stated in the introduction, "Pluralism in U.S. Latino Literature: A Historical Perspective," the editors Carlota Caulfield and Darién J. Davis have created a book for nonspecialist readers who wish to study important and significant writings of Latinos in the United States. The twelve essays contributed by Elizabeth Coonrod Martínez, Eva Paulino Bueno, Patricia M. Montilla, Jorge Febles, Armando González Pérez, Vincent Spina, Antonio Luciano De Andrade Tosta, Sergio Waisman, Lydia M. Gil, Carlota Caulfield, and Darién J. Davis emphasize the dynamic effects of cultural hybridization and the Diaspora of Latinos.

A critical analysis of Mexican-American literature as transcultural and transnational, as well as 'native,' by writers of Mexican descent born in the U.S. is presented in Chapters 1 and 2. In Chapter 1, Elizabeth Coonrod Martínez offers a brief and concise overview of the history of Mestizo/ Mexican-American/Chicano culture ranging from the 14th century Pre-Columbian period to the present day. Rather than being Diaspora literature as noted in the subsequent 10 chapters, its point of reference is the people living in America before the Spanish Conquistadores arrived in the New World. Chapter 2, "The Importance of Being Sandra (Cisneros)" by Eva Paulino Bueno contextualizes the significance of her literary work by framing it against major U.S. social movements of the 20th century, such as the Feminist, the African-American, and Chicana movements. Bueno says Cisneros's writings are important because they recognize the constant change in border dynamics and that these dynamic forces affect the characters and voices of the people in her books, The House on Mango Street and Women Hollering Creek, including the characters personified in her collection of short stories.

A Caribbean Diaspora perspective is offered in Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6. In Chapter 3, Patricia M. Montilla examines prominent Puerto Rican authors from the past twenty-five years and their contribution to poetry, fiction, and autobiographical literature in the U.S., placing a particular emphasis on female writers. The purpose of this chapter, according to Montilla, is to recognize the island of Puerto Rico as Mainland and the back-and-forth migration, referred to as a 'Revolving Door,' as significant themes in the writings of authors from Puerto Rico. [End Page 247]

U.S. Cuban literature is the focus of chapter 4 by Jorge Febles. His essay attempts to characterize the pursuit of identity among Cuban American critics who write about Cubanness and who see themselves as part of a transnational community while at the same time questioning their own identity. Febles questions the validity of the critic s's work portraying their arguments as being self-centered and lacking subjectivity.

Cuban Diasporic literature is further analyzed in Chapter 5 written by Armando González-Pérez. His analysis includes the texts of numerous Cuban playwrights and artists who write about the African influence in the daily life and culture of Cubans and which are presented through various artistic forms such as theater, plays, performances, and visual images.

In Chapter 6 Elizabeth Coonrod Martínez discusses the significant contributions of Dominican-American novelists, poets, visual artists, and storytellers to the body of Diaspora literature from the 1800's until the present. The focus of her essay is however on the past 15 years, where a new generation of Dominican-American writers has been published in English and Spanish to much acclaim.

The Diaspora experience from Central and South America is presented in Chapters 7, 8, and 9. In Chapter 7, "Three Central American Writers: Alone Between Two Cultures" Vincent Spina reviews the literary contributions of poet Conny Palacios (Nicaragua), novelist Rima de Vallbona (Costa Rica), and short story writer Omar Castañeda (Guatemala). According to Spina, their work represents not only three different genres in literature, but three...

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