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Latino USA, Revised Edition: A Cartoon History
Latino USA represents the culmination of Ilan Stavans's lifelong determination to meet the challenges of capturing the joys, nuances, and multiple dimensions of Latino culture within the context of the English language. In this cartoon history of Latinos, Stavans seeks to combine the solemnity of so-called "serious literature" and history with the inherently theatrical and humorous nature of the comics. The range of topics includes Columbus, Manifest Destiny, the Alamo, William Carlos Williams, Desi Arnaz, West Side Story, Castro, Guevera, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Neruda, GarcÃMáuez, the Mariel Boatlift, and Selena. Stavans represents Hispanic civilization as a fiesta of types, archetypes, and stereotypes. These "clichéigurines" include a toucan (displayed regularly in books by GarcÃMáuez, Allende, and others), the beloved Latino comedian Cantinflas (known as "the Hispanic Charlie Chaplin"), a masked wrestler, and Captain America. These multiple, at times contradictory voices, each narrating various episodes of Latino history from a unique perspective, combine to create a carnivalesque rhythm, democratic and impartial. For, as Stavans states, "History, of course, is a kaleidoscope where nothing is absolute." Latino USA , like the history it so entertainingly relates, is a dazzling kaleidoscope of irreverence, wit, subversion, anarchy, politics, humanism, celebration, and serious and responsible history.
240 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2000
12 people are currently reading
352 people want to read
About the author
Ilan Stavans
240 books133 followersIlan Stavans is the Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College. An award-winning writer and public television host, his books include Growing Up Latino and Spanglish. A native of Mexico City, he lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 55 reviews
January 1, 2013
In the inroduction, the discussion of the relative value of "pop art" vs. "pure art" was very compelling as Stavans takes us through his own life and history and exposure to art, including popular "comic book" art, and waxes nigh poetic in a near-stream-of-consciousness manner about where art, history, literature, politics, and personal, national, and international reality meet.
The book doesn't entirely live up to what I hoped for though, and I feel that it is in need of serious revision. As a teacher who works with a student population that is 80% Latino, I care deeply about this history, and I want a book I can highly recommend. Unfortunately, it is neither systematic or accurate enough to truly earn an unconditional recommendation.
His characterization of De Las Casas, for example, focuses on the priest's crime of proposing that Africans be used instead of Indians as slaves in the Caribbean (a position he later recanted and repented of), while Stavans says nothing about De Las Casas' heroism in standing up against the truly genocidal brutality of the Spaniards in Hispaniola, where the Arawak Indians who once numbered perhaps 8 million at the time of Columbus' arrival in 1492, were extinct by 1550. De Las Casas cataloged Spanish brutality against the Arawak, and was truly courageous in fighting in their defense, but Stavans, when dealing with this most important point of contact in history, perhaps one of the most important in the history of the last 500 years, goes off on tangents that confuse the reader who doesn't already know a considerable amount of history. And this is often how the book is structured--random tangents that are most often only marginally interesting or educational.
There needs to be more editing and research as well. When discussing the Battle of the Alamo, for example, Stavans writes "The Mexican army, with more than 6,000 men, showed up in San Antonio on February 23, 1863, and laid siege to the Alamo, a mission that had been converted into a fortress." (29) Now, obviously, the Battle of the Alamo did not take place during the third year of the American Civil War, but how such a basic, important date remains in error in a fifteen year edition of a cartoon history is beyond me. If one was critical of Latino history and wanted to argue against the claims of the author, etc., this kind of error could undermine one's credibility, and that bothers me, as I believe that this historical perspective is very, very important--now, more than ever.
I also found Stavans own knowledge of the early years of the UFW, founded less than two hours drive south of the central California city of Fresno where I live, to be woefully inadequate. He writes, "The same yar [1965], Cesar Chavez began organizing his fellow farmworkers, not only Chicanos, but also Filipinos" (116). This characterization of farmworker organizing in the '60's is a mischaracterization of the reality that Filipino farm workers were not only independently organized in organization that already had a long history, but that they were also more militant and forced Chavez to take action in those early years when the UFW was formed--largely in support of already striking Filipino workers. Has he ever read of the vice-president in those formative years of the UFW--Larry Itliong? Perhaps he should watch the documentary, "Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the UFW" by filmmaker Marissa Aroy, or do some real research worthy of a book that one would assume is trying to give voice to working class and marginalized peoples.
These criticisms aside, there is much of worth in the text. The portions on Caesar Chavez and the Chicano movement of '60's are well-done and essential history that should be taught, as is the portion on the "selling-out" of the movement in the late '70's: "Because middle-class Latinos, mcuh like everybody else in that segment of society became infaturated with money and success, especially during the Reagan years, they forgot their class roots. The only dream they had was 'to make it'" (138). There are nuggets of insight like this throughout the text, but I honestly believe it can be improved greatly. I like the epilogue, and recognize how monumental and problematic an undertaking it is to write something as audacious as such a history book, be it cartoon or not.
The book doesn't entirely live up to what I hoped for though, and I feel that it is in need of serious revision. As a teacher who works with a student population that is 80% Latino, I care deeply about this history, and I want a book I can highly recommend. Unfortunately, it is neither systematic or accurate enough to truly earn an unconditional recommendation.
His characterization of De Las Casas, for example, focuses on the priest's crime of proposing that Africans be used instead of Indians as slaves in the Caribbean (a position he later recanted and repented of), while Stavans says nothing about De Las Casas' heroism in standing up against the truly genocidal brutality of the Spaniards in Hispaniola, where the Arawak Indians who once numbered perhaps 8 million at the time of Columbus' arrival in 1492, were extinct by 1550. De Las Casas cataloged Spanish brutality against the Arawak, and was truly courageous in fighting in their defense, but Stavans, when dealing with this most important point of contact in history, perhaps one of the most important in the history of the last 500 years, goes off on tangents that confuse the reader who doesn't already know a considerable amount of history. And this is often how the book is structured--random tangents that are most often only marginally interesting or educational.
There needs to be more editing and research as well. When discussing the Battle of the Alamo, for example, Stavans writes "The Mexican army, with more than 6,000 men, showed up in San Antonio on February 23, 1863, and laid siege to the Alamo, a mission that had been converted into a fortress." (29) Now, obviously, the Battle of the Alamo did not take place during the third year of the American Civil War, but how such a basic, important date remains in error in a fifteen year edition of a cartoon history is beyond me. If one was critical of Latino history and wanted to argue against the claims of the author, etc., this kind of error could undermine one's credibility, and that bothers me, as I believe that this historical perspective is very, very important--now, more than ever.
I also found Stavans own knowledge of the early years of the UFW, founded less than two hours drive south of the central California city of Fresno where I live, to be woefully inadequate. He writes, "The same yar [1965], Cesar Chavez began organizing his fellow farmworkers, not only Chicanos, but also Filipinos" (116). This characterization of farmworker organizing in the '60's is a mischaracterization of the reality that Filipino farm workers were not only independently organized in organization that already had a long history, but that they were also more militant and forced Chavez to take action in those early years when the UFW was formed--largely in support of already striking Filipino workers. Has he ever read of the vice-president in those formative years of the UFW--Larry Itliong? Perhaps he should watch the documentary, "Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the UFW" by filmmaker Marissa Aroy, or do some real research worthy of a book that one would assume is trying to give voice to working class and marginalized peoples.
These criticisms aside, there is much of worth in the text. The portions on Caesar Chavez and the Chicano movement of '60's are well-done and essential history that should be taught, as is the portion on the "selling-out" of the movement in the late '70's: "Because middle-class Latinos, mcuh like everybody else in that segment of society became infaturated with money and success, especially during the Reagan years, they forgot their class roots. The only dream they had was 'to make it'" (138). There are nuggets of insight like this throughout the text, but I honestly believe it can be improved greatly. I like the epilogue, and recognize how monumental and problematic an undertaking it is to write something as audacious as such a history book, be it cartoon or not.
February 16, 2016
I can't recommend this book highly enough. Seriously, 500 years of history that mostly gets left out of the curriculum in American schools, in a fun but thought-provoking graphic format. Since Latinos are 18 per cent of our population and have been with us since long before there was even a United States, this is a pretty darned significant part of American culture that we all should know about.
September 30, 2019
Latino USA: A Cartoon History is a graphic novel written by Ilan Stavans and illustrated by Lalo Alcaraz, which chronicles Latino history in the United States and done in a graphic novel manner.
Stavans focuses on creating a historical narrative that draws heavily from popular culture and celebrates the mixture of backgrounds that find expression in present-day spanglish. He develops a cast of speakers that includes a conventional teacher, a toucan, the actor Cantinflas, and himself – a typically bespectacled college professor.
These three emphasize the basic facts of recent history: the growing Latin presence north of Mexico, the seventy or so different ethnicities and languages south of the border, and the troubled legacy of American imperialism.
Latino USA: A Cartoon History is written and constructed rather well. Stavans gives voice to the unspoken crucial factor in Latin history: the mix of racial types that influences the course of events. He also highlights legendary Latin figures from the popular bandit Joaquin Murrieta to the saintly missionary Junipero Serra. Along the way, he and Alcaraz provide an alternate view of events familiar to most North Americans: the siege of the Alamo, the Spanish-American War, and American intervention in modern revolutionary struggles.
All in all, Latino USA: A Cartoon History, despite some odd byways, and the occasional clumsy sentence, it is a wonderful historical graphic novel fit for anyone and done in a painless, witty, and inviting manner.
Stavans focuses on creating a historical narrative that draws heavily from popular culture and celebrates the mixture of backgrounds that find expression in present-day spanglish. He develops a cast of speakers that includes a conventional teacher, a toucan, the actor Cantinflas, and himself – a typically bespectacled college professor.
These three emphasize the basic facts of recent history: the growing Latin presence north of Mexico, the seventy or so different ethnicities and languages south of the border, and the troubled legacy of American imperialism.
Latino USA: A Cartoon History is written and constructed rather well. Stavans gives voice to the unspoken crucial factor in Latin history: the mix of racial types that influences the course of events. He also highlights legendary Latin figures from the popular bandit Joaquin Murrieta to the saintly missionary Junipero Serra. Along the way, he and Alcaraz provide an alternate view of events familiar to most North Americans: the siege of the Alamo, the Spanish-American War, and American intervention in modern revolutionary struggles.
All in all, Latino USA: A Cartoon History, despite some odd byways, and the occasional clumsy sentence, it is a wonderful historical graphic novel fit for anyone and done in a painless, witty, and inviting manner.
December 27, 2017
Earlier this year, I read another book by Ilan StavansSpanglish: The Making of a New American Language. As with that book, Stavans' essays preceding the main part of the book are insightful and worldview-expanding. By reading the cartoons, I can build bridges between the bits of information I have. I have these bits of information because I attended one of the universities that Stavans may have had in mind when he indicated that some--but too few--universities have hispanic/Latin American studies. The study is sketchy at best. At my university, we mainly focused on the local Hispanic culture and those who studied at that university who have played larger roles beyond Texas.
With Stavans book I see how much I need to learn of I wanted to be knowledgeable in a basic way. I have discovered that I want to know more about Castro and Cuba, Simon Bolivar and his dream of Hispanic unification. Just a couple of places to continue my studies the next time I cycle through an year of Hispanic studies. I see plenty of other opportunities of developing my file of information. In further years yet.
What I wish Stavans had included: The Chicano (performing and visual) Art Movement, LULAC, GI Forum. So a deduction of a star for those missing pieces.
Good place to make connections, for discovery of infkrmation to seek.
With Stavans book I see how much I need to learn of I wanted to be knowledgeable in a basic way. I have discovered that I want to know more about Castro and Cuba, Simon Bolivar and his dream of Hispanic unification. Just a couple of places to continue my studies the next time I cycle through an year of Hispanic studies. I see plenty of other opportunities of developing my file of information. In further years yet.
What I wish Stavans had included: The Chicano (performing and visual) Art Movement, LULAC, GI Forum. So a deduction of a star for those missing pieces.
Good place to make connections, for discovery of infkrmation to seek.
October 15, 2022
Conservative slant with a WS lean on the reading. The author is aware trying to tell US-Latino history is impossible, so what we get is a superficial tour of random highlights. By design the endeavor was impossible, and unlike other attempts at capturing these type of complex and intersectional histories, the text fails and it fails shamelessly. It doesn’t present a critical analysis of history to the reader nor even an accurate depiction of it. Art is ok.
March 9, 2020
Author Ilan Stavans and Illustrator Lalo Alcaraz (2000). In this graphic novel, Stavans covers a range of topics and uses clever humor to convey a history that has been hidden and dismissed. “Latino history is like a river dividing the United States and Mexico. It is shared by several different cultures and called by many different names. In other words there isn’t a single Latino history, but many.” The text starts with four popular Latin narrators: a Mexican skull, a toucan, famous Mexican comedian Cantiflas and a masked wrestler. Alcaraz, a figure of the Chicano Movement, purposely sketches black and white caricatures as a way of creating Latin representation. He takes stereotypical characters and draws them as a focal point for pride. The pages are all black and white, super busy and full of dialogue. Some may not like it, may perceive it as absurd, but the illustrations are a great reflection of the culture: lively, celebratory and fun. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn a bit of Latin history; it is a must read. In a clever and humorous manner, Stavans provides a glimpse of over 500 years of history including Christopher Columbus and the “discovery” of America, the Spanish American War, the American contribution made by Latinos from all parts of Latin America and so on. Being that the Latin experience gets little to zero mention in American schools and curriculum, this is a great find. Target audience: 16 +
July 18, 2017
I'm such a sucker for historical graphic novels, so was very predisposed toward liking this. And I did like it, but I also am very much a novice of Latin American culture so can't attest to the accuracy here. I appreciated that the author used the cast of characters to present opposing viewpoints and seemed to be making a genuine effort at being un-biased. Or rather, at admitting that everyone is biased, and then presenting many of the biases in the various speakers.
My primary nit was the tendency toward presenting history as a string of battles and Great Men (something the author himself made fun of). I would have liked to see more women mentioned. In the older history when sexism prevented women almost entirely from having a public voice I can make allowances, but in the parts of the book which focused on more recent history it seemed strange not to see more women.
My primary nit was the tendency toward presenting history as a string of battles and Great Men (something the author himself made fun of). I would have liked to see more women mentioned. In the older history when sexism prevented women almost entirely from having a public voice I can make allowances, but in the parts of the book which focused on more recent history it seemed strange not to see more women.
May 16, 2019
I am actually glad about reading this book because at first I really didn’t want to because I thought it was going to be really boring. I learned more about my history and I really enjoyed how the author changed up the mood from joking around to being serious
January 19, 2020
“The great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do” wrote James Baldwin. I always want to learn more history that was often left out in school so I can better understand our current society, so I was excited to read Latino USA: A Cartoon History. It’s fun to read history as a graphic novel and I enjoyed the jokes mixed in. I learned so much in this book, starting with the fact that the Rio Grande river has many names. I didn’t know that Day of the Dead is the most important holiday for many Chican@s, that baseball is more popular than soccer in some Latin American countries, or that burritos are a Tex-Mex invention. I’m glad to better understand the impact of U.S. racism and imperialism and the history behind current situations in Cuba and Puerto Rico. I liked how the book raises interesting questions about the role of history and whose stories are being told. Thank you Caro and Julio for telling book club about this book. I encourage people to read it.
February 28, 2022
I read the 15th anniversary edition and am completely blown away. What an important book. It should be a part of every high school’s library. The amount of research that the author conducted is evident on every page. And, the concise and fun way that it is written, makes it easy to retain information from.
I feel wiser and able to look around and see Latinx influence in different ways. Awesome.
I greatly admire the teamwork and activism the author and illustrator put into this. Quite the feat!
I took my time with it because I wanted to. It’s one of those books that made me speak out loud to anyone around me. “Wow”, “that explains why….”
I feel wiser and able to look around and see Latinx influence in different ways. Awesome.
I greatly admire the teamwork and activism the author and illustrator put into this. Quite the feat!
I took my time with it because I wanted to. It’s one of those books that made me speak out loud to anyone around me. “Wow”, “that explains why….”
August 20, 2017
I want to rate this higher. The book has a lot of good information, but it is extremely disjointed; leaping from subject to subject with very little flow. Also, it is not very well organized.
For example: the first page or Part 2 "Into the cauldron 1891-1957" talks about FDR's Good Neighbor Policy and Disney's "Three Caballeros". After that it jumps back to the 19th century. But why does that section start there?
For example: the first page or Part 2 "Into the cauldron 1891-1957" talks about FDR's Good Neighbor Policy and Disney's "Three Caballeros". After that it jumps back to the 19th century. But why does that section start there?
August 23, 2019
I learned more about Latino history in a couple hours than I have in a couple years. Certainly there's more thorough ways to learn this information, but I found the approach by Stavans to be quite enthralling, and very much encouraging of questions and multiple perspectives. Happy to have read this as a way to enrich my understanding of our complex Western Hemisphere, and will encourage it to many others.
October 13, 2021
A great start if you’re looking for a visual survey. I wish the words were printed in font rather than handwritten. Nevertheless, the format is excellent in this survey of history. I’ve taken note of people and events that I want to learn more about, which I believe that is exactly how this book should be taken. Rough ideas and concepts that beg for you to read and explore more about in other books and avenues.
December 16, 2021
Probably more Latino history in one place than the average American has seen in a lifetime. Lalo's black-and-white art aligns well with the text and the various cast of characters relating the history. There's a biting humor behind it all that seems absolutely appropriate and makes this work a gem.
June 21, 2022
Great graphic novel that explains the history of the Americas with a focus on the Latino people. It starts with the beginning of the American natives and goes all the way to the 2000s, showing the ups and downs that Latinos have faced in America. Even knowing some of the information beforehand, it was still very eye opening and an important read!
July 10, 2023
Awesome. That pretty much sums it up. I love the tongue in cheek satireness of the text. The characters that lead us through a history lesson. An important and oft overlooked history that is central to mainstream US history. Reminds me of Our America A Hispanic History of the United States by Felipe Fernández-Armesto, which was also a great read!
June 26, 2024
there is a revised edition of this published, so take this review w/a grain of salt. the reason i gave on the book was a sentence on p. 40, "Less than a year later Abraham Lincoln's daughter asks the Texas governor for clemency." Lincoln didn't have a daughter.
the book is well written and illustrated but... Lincoln didn't have a daughter. i hope this was eliminated in the revised edition
the book is well written and illustrated but... Lincoln didn't have a daughter. i hope this was eliminated in the revised edition
March 4, 2018
So much pop culture stuff in the update for the second edition! Ah well. Reads like a very abbreviated textbook for sure, but some of the illustrations are great, funny and with a sort of historical gravity at the same time.
April 10, 2018
Most of the information on this book are already tackled on our social class but i also learned it in a more in depth way. The narration of the history if funny and full of facts here and there. A good read i suppose.
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September 8, 2019Parts 1 and 2 were better than 3 and 4. I agree with other reviews that a lot was missing. It was well done as a comic format though. Overall I enjoyed and it pushed me to want to learn more about various histories. Of course all couldn't be covered in an in depth meaningful way.
March 27, 2024
Incredibly well-researched and informative, while being funny enough to be engaging even when the history bits being covered aren’t inherently interesting. Would be a great book to use to teach in a K-12 history class.
September 5, 2018
Wow I'm going to need a re-re-release NOW in this new era of Latino culture. This graphic novel is amazing and makes me proud to be Latino!
April 1, 2019
I wish it was more pan-Latinx (it leaned heavily Mexican history) but still done very well.
March 28, 2020
Extremely informative!
June 30, 2020
A really fun read.
March 15, 2022
The characters in it make the book worth reading. The historical facts are humorously given and very informative.
January 1, 2023
Loved <3
January 30, 2024
A lot of information in a small package
October 15, 2024
Super accesible and different than most history books I've read. Very readable and gave me tons of sources to look to next.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 55 reviews