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    Translation Nation

    Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish-Speaking United States

    Author Héctor Tobar
    Look inside
    Paperback
    $24.00 US
    Penguin Adult HC/TR | Riverhead Books
    On sale Apr 04, 2006 | 368 Pages | 9781594481765
    Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

    From the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of the smash hit Deep Down Dark, a definitive tour of the Spanish-speaking United States—a parallel nation, 35 million strong, that is changing the very notion of what it means to be an American in unprecedented and unexpected ways.

    Tobar begins on familiar terrain, in his native Los Angeles, with his family's story, along with that of two brothers of Mexican origin with very different interpretations of Americanismo, or American identity as seen through a Latin American lens—one headed for U.S. citizenship and the other for the wrong side of the law and the south side of the border. But this is just a jumping-off point. Soon we are in Dalton, Georgia, the most Spanish-speaking town in the Deep South, and in Rupert, Idaho, where the most popular radio DJ is known as "El Chupacabras." By the end of the book, we have traveled from the geographical extremes into the heartland, exploring the familiar complexities of Cuban Miami and the brand-new ones of a busy Omaha INS station.

    Sophisticated, provocative, and deeply human, Translation Nation uncovers the ways that Hispanic Americans are forging new identities, redefining the experience of the American immigrant, and reinventing the American community. It is a book that rises, brilliantly, to meet one of the most profound shifts in American identity.
    Part One: Crossings

    Chapter One: Americanismo: City of Peasants
    Los Angeles, California

    Chapter Two: Where Green Chiles Roam: No es imposible
    San Ysidro, California; Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

    Chapter Three: Brother Citizen, Brother Alien: Sin fronteras
    Watts, California; Ameca, Jalisco, Mexico

    Part Two: Pioneers and Pilgrimage

    Chapter Four: The Wanderers: El destierro
    Ashland, Alabama; McAllen, Texas; Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico

    Chapter Five: In the Land of the New: En la tierra de lo nuevo
    Dalton, Georgia; Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico; Memphis, Tennessee

    Chapter Six: Our Secret Latin Heartland: Los secretos del machote
    Rupert, Idaho; Frankenmuth, Michigan; Grand Island, Nebraska; Liberal, Kansas

    Part Three: Manifest Destinies

    Chapter Seven: Unconquered: La reconquista
    Cordova, New Mexico; San Fernando, California; San Antonio, Texas

    Chapter Eight: The Old Men and the Boy: Los balseros
    Miami, Florida

    Chapter Nine: Fathers, Daughters, Citizens, and Strongwomen: El hombre y el orgullo
    Barstow, Los Angeles, Bell Gardens, Maywood, Watts, and South Gate, California

    Part Four: E Pluribus Unum

    Chapter Ten: Una Nación Unida: Heroes of Another Fatherland
    El Reno, Oklahoma; San Juan, Puerto Rico; New York, New York; Baghdad, Iraq

    Epilogue: Che and the Three Monkeys: Che y los tres monos
    La Higuera, Bolivia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Los Angelos; California; Ashland, Alabama

    Acknowledgments
    Notes

    The son of Guatemalan immigrants, Héctor Tobar is a National Correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and was part of the writing team that won a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 1992 riots. He holds an MFA from the University of California at Irvine and lives in Los Angeles. View titles by Héctor Tobar
    "Translation Nation…makes the tremendous diversity, dynamism and geographical breadth of our blossoming Hispanic population come alive. That's a valuable contribution to understanding where our country is going in this new century, and I am grateful to Tobar for providing it." —Washington Post Book World
     
    "Tobar captures... the current state of Latinos in the United States…with equal measures of insight and élan, giving the book an infectious optimism, an undeniable sense that the nature and scope of latinidad are not only expanding but becoming more inclusive as well...Compelling." —The Los Angeles Times

    "There is a secret América that has a message for America, and Héctor Tobar is its angel. Translation Nation will come as a revelation to many Americans. De Tocqueville, roll over. Here comes Tobar." —Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's List

    "Translation Nation will be looked upon as both a cornerstone and a corrective—the kind of book that didn't just document American life, but showed us the way of the future, too." —Dallas Morning News

    "One of the book's true gems is Tobar's gifted, breezy writing style. His eye for detail intertwined with the storytelling skills of a novelist elevate his story beyond the usual immigrant tale...those interested in how the United States' largest minority group is influencing America's food, culture and politics will be well-served by Tobar's literate efforts." —Cleveland Plain Dealer

    "Blending his memories of growing up Guatemalan American ...with more than a decade spent visiting Latino communities in the United States, this Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times journalist delivers an insightful meditation on the realities of modern-day Latino life." —Latina Magazine

    "Tobar explores the vast and diverse "Latin Republic of the United States" in crisp, energetic prose...Consciously harking back to Tocqueville and other observers of the American experience, Tobar claims a place for Latinos in the evolving story of what is, after all, a very young nation of immigrants." —Arizona Republic
     

    About

    From the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of the smash hit Deep Down Dark, a definitive tour of the Spanish-speaking United States—a parallel nation, 35 million strong, that is changing the very notion of what it means to be an American in unprecedented and unexpected ways.

    Tobar begins on familiar terrain, in his native Los Angeles, with his family's story, along with that of two brothers of Mexican origin with very different interpretations of Americanismo, or American identity as seen through a Latin American lens—one headed for U.S. citizenship and the other for the wrong side of the law and the south side of the border. But this is just a jumping-off point. Soon we are in Dalton, Georgia, the most Spanish-speaking town in the Deep South, and in Rupert, Idaho, where the most popular radio DJ is known as "El Chupacabras." By the end of the book, we have traveled from the geographical extremes into the heartland, exploring the familiar complexities of Cuban Miami and the brand-new ones of a busy Omaha INS station.

    Sophisticated, provocative, and deeply human, Translation Nation uncovers the ways that Hispanic Americans are forging new identities, redefining the experience of the American immigrant, and reinventing the American community. It is a book that rises, brilliantly, to meet one of the most profound shifts in American identity.

    Table of Contents

    Part One: Crossings

    Chapter One: Americanismo: City of Peasants
    Los Angeles, California

    Chapter Two: Where Green Chiles Roam: No es imposible
    San Ysidro, California; Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

    Chapter Three: Brother Citizen, Brother Alien: Sin fronteras
    Watts, California; Ameca, Jalisco, Mexico

    Part Two: Pioneers and Pilgrimage

    Chapter Four: The Wanderers: El destierro
    Ashland, Alabama; McAllen, Texas; Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico

    Chapter Five: In the Land of the New: En la tierra de lo nuevo
    Dalton, Georgia; Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico; Memphis, Tennessee

    Chapter Six: Our Secret Latin Heartland: Los secretos del machote
    Rupert, Idaho; Frankenmuth, Michigan; Grand Island, Nebraska; Liberal, Kansas

    Part Three: Manifest Destinies

    Chapter Seven: Unconquered: La reconquista
    Cordova, New Mexico; San Fernando, California; San Antonio, Texas

    Chapter Eight: The Old Men and the Boy: Los balseros
    Miami, Florida

    Chapter Nine: Fathers, Daughters, Citizens, and Strongwomen: El hombre y el orgullo
    Barstow, Los Angeles, Bell Gardens, Maywood, Watts, and South Gate, California

    Part Four: E Pluribus Unum

    Chapter Ten: Una Nación Unida: Heroes of Another Fatherland
    El Reno, Oklahoma; San Juan, Puerto Rico; New York, New York; Baghdad, Iraq

    Epilogue: Che and the Three Monkeys: Che y los tres monos
    La Higuera, Bolivia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Los Angelos; California; Ashland, Alabama

    Acknowledgments
    Notes

    Author

    The son of Guatemalan immigrants, Héctor Tobar is a National Correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and was part of the writing team that won a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 1992 riots. He holds an MFA from the University of California at Irvine and lives in Los Angeles. View titles by Héctor Tobar

    Praise

    "Translation Nation…makes the tremendous diversity, dynamism and geographical breadth of our blossoming Hispanic population come alive. That's a valuable contribution to understanding where our country is going in this new century, and I am grateful to Tobar for providing it." —Washington Post Book World
     
    "Tobar captures... the current state of Latinos in the United States…with equal measures of insight and élan, giving the book an infectious optimism, an undeniable sense that the nature and scope of latinidad are not only expanding but becoming more inclusive as well...Compelling." —The Los Angeles Times

    "There is a secret América that has a message for America, and Héctor Tobar is its angel. Translation Nation will come as a revelation to many Americans. De Tocqueville, roll over. Here comes Tobar." —Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's List

    "Translation Nation will be looked upon as both a cornerstone and a corrective—the kind of book that didn't just document American life, but showed us the way of the future, too." —Dallas Morning News

    "One of the book's true gems is Tobar's gifted, breezy writing style. His eye for detail intertwined with the storytelling skills of a novelist elevate his story beyond the usual immigrant tale...those interested in how the United States' largest minority group is influencing America's food, culture and politics will be well-served by Tobar's literate efforts." —Cleveland Plain Dealer

    "Blending his memories of growing up Guatemalan American ...with more than a decade spent visiting Latino communities in the United States, this Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times journalist delivers an insightful meditation on the realities of modern-day Latino life." —Latina Magazine

    "Tobar explores the vast and diverse "Latin Republic of the United States" in crisp, energetic prose...Consciously harking back to Tocqueville and other observers of the American experience, Tobar claims a place for Latinos in the evolving story of what is, after all, a very young nation of immigrants." —Arizona Republic
     

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