Washoe County Library System

Chronicles the story of an alienated New Mexico boy who seeks an answer to his questions about life in his relationship with Ultima, a magical healer. Ultima is a curandera, one who cures with herbs and magic, and she joins Antonio Marez's family when he is six years old, teaching him the magical secrets of the pagan past.

The adolescent protagonist of the title story, like other girls in this pioneering collection, rebels against her father, refusing to go to Mass. Instead, dressed in her black Easter shoes and carrying her missal and veil, she goes to her abuelitas house. Her grandmother has always accepted her for who she is and has provided a safe refuge from the anger and violence at home.The eight haunting stories included in this collection explore the social,...

"Should she leave home, go to college and experience life? Or stay home, get married and keep working in her sister's struggling garment factory? It may seem like an easy decision, but for 18-year-old Ana, every choice she makes this summer will change her life. At home, she is bound to a mother who wants her to become someone she's not. But at school, she's encouraged by a teacher who sees her potential, and adored by a boyfriend who loves her for...

"Recently divorced, Palma, a forty-three-year-old Latina, takes stock of her life when she reconnects with her gangster younger cousin recently released from prison. Her sexual obsession with him flares as she checks out her other options, but their family secrets bring them together in unexpected ways. In this wildly entertaining and sexy novel, Castillo creates a memorable character with a flare for fashion, a longing for family, and a penchant...

"Ahora, por primera vez, Chris habla sobre su poderosa amistad, su relación prohibida y su floreciente matrimonio interrumpido por la imperdonable muerte de Selena."-- Back cover.

"From the beloved author of The House on Mango Street: a richly illustrated compilation of true stories and nonfiction pieces that, taken together, form a jigsaw autobiography: an intimate album of a literary legend's life and career. From the Chicago neighborhoods where she grew up and set her groundbreaking The House on Mango Street to her abode in Mexico, in a region where "my ancestors lived for centuries," the places Sandra Cisneros has lived...

"Julissa Arce explores her days in Mexico separated from her parents and her daily fears while growing up undocumented in Texas"--

Dolores Huerta is among the most important, yet least known, activists in American history. An equal partner in co-founding the first farm workers unions with Cesar Chavez, her enormous contributions have gone largely unrecognized. Dolores tirelessly led the fight for racial and labor justice, becoming one of the most defiant feminists of the twentieth century--and she continues to fight to this day, at 87.

When Reyna Grande's father leaves his wife and three children behind in a village in Mexico to make the dangerous trek across the border to the United States, he promises he will soon return from "El Otro Lado" (The Other Side) with enough money to build them a dream house where they can all live together. His promises become harder to believe as months turn into years. When he summons his wife to join him, Reyna and her siblings are deposited in...

Describes the author's early experiences as a first-generation Latina university student and aspiring writer who navigated racism and poverty to build a life for her family.