Exploring Hispanic Heritage

National Hispanic Heritage Month began September 15 and ends October 15. The observation grew out of Hispanic Heritage Week, as designated by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968. President Ronald Reagan expanded it in 1988 to cover the present dates. The time span starts with the anniversary of independence for the Latin American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. That is followed by the Independance Day of Mexico, ‘September 16, and Chile, September 18. Near the end of the observance, October 12 is also Columbus Day or Día de la Raza (“day of the race” or Hispanic day).

Diversebooks.net offers many resources for educators and other professionals to encourage meaningful discussions on issues and events related to Hispanic culture, history and contribution.

Here are some selections available at discount prices on our Website:

Conversations with Gabriel García Márquez, edited by Gene H. Bell-Villada, $19.80, (List Price: $22), University of Mississippi Press, November 2005, ISBN: 9781578067848, pp. 224.

Gabriel García Márquez sold tens of millions of copies worldwide of his masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitudes and received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. In this collection of interviews, some translated into English for the first time, he speaks candidly about his youth, his inspirations, his writing and his fame.

http://diversebooks.net/conversations-with-gabriel-garcandiacute-a-mandaacute-rquez.html

Sports and the Racial Divide: African American and Latino Experience in an Era of Change, edited by Michael E. Lomax, $45, (List price: $50), University of Mississippi Press, August 2008, ISBN: 9781604730142, pp. 288.

This is an anthology of essays that explore the role of race and racism in sports. It also tells how sports worked as an avenue to address and transcend racial injustice for African American and Latino athletes. The book explores the influence of the Black Power Movement on sports, Muhammad Ali’s career, the effect of Title IV on African American female athletes, the experiences of Mexican- American high school football coaches and the legacy of Robert Clemente, among other topics.

http://diversebooks.net/sports-and-the-racial-divide-african-american-and-latino-experience-in-an-era-of-change.html

Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro, by André Soares, $22.50, (List Price: $25), University of Mississippi Press, December 2002, ISBN: 9781604734584, pp. 416.

Ramon Novarro, a rival to Rudolph Valentino as a Hollywood leading man, was also one of the first Latino movie stars. He came from a prominent family in Mexico, moved to the United States in 1916 and became a box-office draw by the mid-20s. He starred in such classics as Mata Hari and the original Ben-Hur. Scandal overshadowed his fame and good reputation when he was found murdered on Halloween 1968, the victim of two male hustlers. This biography peels back the layers of a complex persona to give a fuller picture of who he was through interviews with his friends, family, co-workers, and his killers.

http://diversebooks.net/beyond-paradise-the-life-of-ramon-novarro-1.html

Multicultural American Literature: Comparative Black, Native, Latino/a, and Asian American Fictions, by A. Robert Lee, $22.50, (List price: $25), University of Mississippi Press, April 2008, ISBN: 9781578066452, pp. 320.

In this study, a British scholar examines the fiction and autobiographical writing of multicultural writers in the United States. The cast includes such writers as Ishmael Reed, Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, Sandra Cisneros and Maxine Hong Kingston. According to the publisher, it is the first book to offer comparative analysis of myriad ethnic literary traditions in a single volume.

http://diversebooks.net/multicultural-american-literature-comparative-black-native-latino-a-and-asian-american-fictions.html