Bandido: The Death and Resurrection of Oscar "Zeta" Acosta

Latino Voices

by Ilan Stavans

The Hispanic Malcolm X. Writer. Activist. Civil rights attorney. Obese, dark-skinned, and angry. Man with a surplus of personality. Man of vision. All the above describe Oscar "Zeta" Acosta. El Paso-born, Acosta became a leading figure in the Chicano rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s, winning landmark decisions in civil rights cases as an attorney. As a tireless writer and activist, he had a profound influence on his contemporaries. He seemed to be everywhere at once, knowing everyone in "el movimiento" and involving himself in many of its key moments. Tumultuous and prone to excess, he is the Samoan in Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. In 1974, after a last phone call to his son, Acosta disappeared in the Mexican state of Mazatlán.

Hailed as "a fine, learned homage" (Kirkus), "a kaleidoscopic portrait" (Booklist), and "a game of mirrors" (The Washington Post), Bandido is a veritable tour de force. Through interviews and Acosta's writings (published and unpublished), Ilan Stavans reconstructs—even reinvents—the man behind the myth. Part biographical appraisal, part reflection on the legacy of the Civil Rights era, Bandido is an opportunity to understand the challenges and pitfalls Latinos face in finding a place of their own in America.

Genres: Nonfiction

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Ilan 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.

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great read, and provided a lot of great insights into Zeta, but as a non-latino I can't help but wish there was some greater cultural context around it. I understand his relationship with Hunter S Thompson was strained, but he's a mythic character in 60's and 70's counterculture, even beyond his latino roots. I was a bit disappointed how much that part of his life was glossed over. This book reads more like lit crit than an in-depth biography (and that's okay - just a head's up).

[Todd Kalinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

No matter how much you read about Oscar Zeta Acosta, you're not going to know anything about the man. Bandido, for sure. An enigma, for sure. Just too weird to die. Gone.