Download or read book Straight Out of Barrio Hollywood written by Frank H. Cruz and published by Outskirts Press. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book offers the reader the best example of how a great idea can, eventually, create a revolution and change a whole community. I met Frank Cruz years ago on the streets of Los Angeles. He witnessed the Latino wave from its beginnings. Frank is a pioneer, a creator, and a fantastic journalist. I doubt he ever expected to be writing his own story. But, if you want to understand us, read this book." Jorge Ramos, Journalist and Author "Frank Cruz has cracked open that unmarked box tucked away in America's attic. So afraid to reveal its contents, we forget the jewels it hides. Through his story, Frank lets us peek into our history. A diverse, complicated people with a textured history. Grit, faith and ingenuity -- we shouldn't hide that. Bravo, Frank. " Xavier Becerra, Attorney General of California Latino Public Broadcasting is dear to my heart and its legitimization of our stories exists because of the guidance and expertise of my compadre Frank Cruz. His wisdom and leadership developed as he broke through barriers in multiple industries and ultimately rose to the top in each of his careers, as he has recounted in this memoir. Through his own story, Frank continues to teach, inspire, and give voice to the Latino experience. Edward James Olmos, Actor, Director, Producer, and Activist "Frank Cruz has lived a life of accomplishment and contributions. He paved an untrodden path of Latino journalistic professionalism and was courageously and determinedly true to his vision. In so doing, he touched many lives and set a stellar example." Henry Cisneros, former HUD Secretary and San Antonio Mayor "This important story is very well told and full of good anecdotes, reflections and advice. Frank Cruz's graduate work in history, experience in journalism, and ability to make a point by telling a compelling story, are all put to good use in telling his own unique story which will inform and inspire." Felix Gutierrez, Journalism Professor Emeritus, USC

Download or read book Straight Out of Barrio Hollywood written by Frank H. Cruz and published by Outskirts Press. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book offers the reader the best example of how a great idea can, eventually, create a revolution and change a whole community. I met Frank Cruz years ago on the streets of Los Angeles. He witnessed the Latino wave from its beginnings. Frank is a pioneer, a creator, and a fantastic journalist. I doubt he ever expected to be writing his own story. But, if you want to understand us, read this book." Jorge Ramos, Journalist and Author "Frank Cruz has cracked open that unmarked box tucked away in America's attic. So afraid to reveal its contents, we forget the jewels it hides. Through his story, Frank lets us peek into our history. A diverse, complicated people with a textured history. Grit, faith and ingenuity -- we shouldn't hide that. Bravo, Frank. " Xavier Becerra, Attorney General of California Latino Public Broadcasting is dear to my heart and its legitimization of our stories exists because of the guidance and expertise of my compadre Frank Cruz. His wisdom and leadership developed as he broke through barriers in multiple industries and ultimately rose to the top in each of his careers, as he has recounted in this memoir. Through his own story, Frank continues to teach, inspire, and give voice to the Latino experience. Edward James Olmos, Actor, Director, Producer, and Activist "Frank Cruz has lived a life of accomplishment and contributions. He paved an untrodden path of Latino journalistic professionalism and was courageously and determinedly true to his vision. In so doing, he touched many lives and set a stellar example." Henry Cisneros, former HUD Secretary and San Antonio Mayor "This important story is very well told and full of good anecdotes, reflections and advice. Frank Cruz's graduate work in history, experience in journalism, and ability to make a point by telling a compelling story, are all put to good use in telling his own unique story which will inform and inspire." Felix Gutierrez, Journalism Professor Emeritus, USC

Download or read book Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood written by Benjamin Alire S‡enz and published by Cinco Puntos Press. This book was released on 2011-05-10 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a Chicano boy living in the unglamorous town of Hollywood, New Mexico, and a member of the graduating class of 1969, Sammy Santos faces the challenges of "gringo" racism, unpopular dress codes, the Vietnam War, barrio violence, and poverty.

Download or read book The Sound of Exclusion written by Christopher Chávez and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2021-12-21 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Sound of Exclusion, Christopher Chávez critically examines National Public Radio's professional norms and practices that situate white listeners at the center while relegating Latinx listeners to the periphery. By interrogating industry practices, we might begin to reimagine NPR as a public good that serves the broad and diverse spectrum of the American public.

Download or read book Smile Now Cry Later written by Freddy Negrete and published by Seven Stories Press. This book was released on 2017-02-14 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pioneering black-and-gray tattoo artist Freddy Negrete was twelve years old and confined in the holding cell of a Los Angeles juvenile facility when an older teenager entered—covered in tattoos. Freddy was in awe, not just of the art, but of what it symbolized, and he wanted what this kid had: the potent sense of empowerment and belonging that came from joining a gang. The encounter drove Freddy to join the notorious gang La Sangra, and it didn't take long before he was a regular guest at LA County's juvenile detention facilities. By the age of twenty-one, Freddy had spent almost his whole life as a ward of the state in one form or the other. Enthralled by the black-and-gray tattoo style that in the 1970s was confined to the rebel culture of Chicano gangsters and criminals, Freddy started inking himself with hand-poked tattoos. Everyone wanted a piece of Freddy's black-and-gray style--gangbangers but also Hollywood starlets and film producers. In a riveting narrative that takes the reader from Freddy's days as a cholo gang member to evangelical preacher to Hollywood body art guru to addiction counselor, Smile Now, Cry Later is, ultimately, a testament to that spark within us all, that catalyst which gives us the strength to survive, transform, and transcend all that can destroy us.

Download or read book Helen Miller Bailey written by Rita Joiner Soza and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2014-12-27 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The life of Helen Miller Bailey, teacher, artist, author, community activist, social reformer, wife, and mother, is as inspirational as it was ardently lived. Todays authors of purportedly new concepts of living a purposeful life, inspired work, and authentic leadership could have been writing about Helen Miller Bailey, though she died nearly half a century ago. Those who witnessed the intensity with which she approached teaching and mentoring, justice, world travel, and Latin American studies describe just how Doc Bailey instilled these ideals in her students who honor her today with a legacy of service and leadership.

Download or read book The Republic of East LA written by Luis J. Rodriguez and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2003-03-04 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the award-winning author of Always Running comes a brilliant collection of short stories about life in East Los Angeles. Whether hilariously capturing the voice of a philosophizing limo driver whose dream is to make the most of his rap-metal garage band in "My Ride, My Revolution," or the monologue-styled rant of a tes-ti-fy-ing! tent revivalist named Ysela in "Oiga," Rodriguez squeezes humor from the lives of people who are not ready to sacrifice their dreams due to circumstance. In these stories, Luis J. Rodriguez gives eloquent voice to the neighborhood where he spent many years as a resident, a father, an organizer, and, finally, a writer: a neighborhood that offers more to the world than its appearance allows.

Download or read book The Madonnas of Echo Park written by Brando Skyhorse and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-02-08 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We slipped into this country like thieves, onto the land that once was ours. With these words, spoken by an illegal Mexican day laborer, The Madonnas of Echo Park takes us into the unseen world of Los Angeles, following the men and women who cook the meals, clean the homes, and struggle to lose their ethnic identity in the pursuit of the American dream. When a dozen or so girls and mothers gather on an Echo Park street corner to act out a scene from a Madonna music video, they find themselves caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. In the aftermath, Aurora Esperanza grows distant from her mother, Felicia, who as a housekeeper in the Hollywood Hills establishes a unique relationship with a detached housewife. The Esperanzas’ shifting lives connect with those of various members of their neighborhood. A day laborer trolls the streets for work with men half his age and witnesses a murder that pits his morality against his illegal status; a religious hypocrite gets her comeuppance when she meets the Virgin Mary at a bus stop on Sunset Boulevard; a typical bus route turns violent when cultures and egos collide in the night, with devastating results; and Aurora goes on a journey through her gentrified childhood neighborhood in a quest to discover her own history and her place in the land that all Mexican Americans dream of, "the land that belongs to us again." Like the Academy Award–winning film Crash, The Madonnas of Echo Park follows the intersections of its characters and cultures in Los Angeles. In the footsteps of Junot Díaz and Sherman Alexie, Brando Skyhorse in his debut novel gives voice to one neighborhood in Los Angeles with an astonishing— and unforgettable—lyrical power.

Download or read book Boy Kings of Texas written by Domingo Martinez and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2012-07-03 with total page 459 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST A lyrical and authentic book that recounts the story of a border-town family in Brownsville, Texas in the 1980's, as each member of the family desperately tries to assimilate and escape life on the border to become "real" Americans, even at the expense of their shared family history. This is really un-mined territory in the memoir genre that gives in-depth insight into a previously unexplored corner of America.

Download or read book Rita Moreno written by Rita Moreno and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-01-07 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this New York Times bestselling memoir, West Side Story star Rita Moreno shares her remarkable journey from a young girl with simple beginnings in Puerto Rico to Hollywood legend—one of the few performers, and the only Hispanic, to win an Oscar, Grammy, Tony and two Emmys. Born Rosita Dolores Alverio in the idyll of Puerto Rico, Moreno, at age five, embarked on a harrowing sea voyage with her mother and wound up in the harsh barrios of the Bronx, where she discovered dancing, singing, and acting as ways to escape a tumultuous childhood. Making her Broadway debut by age thirteen—and moving on to Hollywood in its Golden Age just a few years later—she worked alongside such stars as Gary Cooper, Yul Brynner, and Ann Miller. When discovered by Louis B. Mayer of MGM, the wizard himself declared: “She looks like a Spanish Elizabeth Taylor.” Cast by Gene Kelly as Zelda Zanders in Singin’ in the Rain and then on to her Oscar-winning performance in West Side Story, she catapulted to fame—yet found herself repeatedly typecast as the “utility ethnic,” a role she found almost impossible to elude. Here, for the first time, Rita reflects on her struggles to break through Hollywood’s racial and sexual barriers. She explores the wounded little girl behind the glamorous façade—and what it took to find her place in the world. She talks candidly about her relationship with Elvis Presley, her encounters with Howard Hughes, and the passionate romance with Marlon Brando that nearly killed her. And she shares the illusiveness of a “perfect” marriage and the incomparable joys of motherhood. Infused with Rita Moreno’s quick wit and deep insight, this memoir is the dazzling portrait of a stage and screen star who longed to become who she really is—and triumphed.

Download or read book Love Goes to Buildings on Fire written by Will Hermes and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2012-09-04 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title provides a group portrait of some of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, including Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Grandmaster Flash and Bob Dylan.

Download or read book Bodega Dreams written by Ernesto Quiñonez and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2015-01-21 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this "thriller with literary merit" (Time Out New York), a stunning narrative combines the gritty rhythms of Junot Diaz with the noir genius of Walter Mosley. Bodega Dreams pulls us into Spanish Harlem, where the word is out: Willie Bodega is king. Need college tuition for your daughter? Start-up funds for your fruit stand? Bodega can help. He gives everyone a leg up, in exchange only for loyalty—and a steady income from the drugs he pushes. Lyrical, inspired, and darkly funny, this powerful debut novel brilliantly evokes the trial of Chino, a smart, promising young man to whom Bodega turns for a favor. Chino is drawn to Bodega's street-smart idealism, but soon finds himself over his head, navigating an underworld of switchblade tempers, turncoat morality, and murder. "Bodega is a fascinating character. . . . The story [Quiñonez] tells has energy and verve." —The New York Times Book Review

Download or read book Just Between Us written by Mario Lopez and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-09-30 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a star that rose from unforgettable child acting roles, such as A. C. Slater in Saved by the Bell, to the forefront of today’s entertainment media, Mario Lopez is nothing short of a pop culture sensation. Now, as he turns forty, Mario looks back on his life with a newfound perspective and a humorous sensibility of how things have changed with age, divulging for the first time the endearing, surprising, and sometimes difficult experiences that shaped him into the loving father and husband he is today. In Just Between Us, Mario shares a behind-the-scenes look into his successes and disappointments in the entertainment business and how his tight-knit family and long-standing values helped keep him grounded, no matter what. With wit and candor, Mario reveals his most intimate never-before-told stories, including the details of his often tumultuous and largely public love life—giving readers a look at the ups and downs of his romantic past leading up to his happily-ever-after with his beautiful wife and their two children. This is Mario Lopez unfiltered, for the first time ever.

Download or read book Jim Henson written by Brian Jay Jones and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2013-09-24 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • For the first time ever—a comprehensive biography of one of the twentieth century’s most innovative creative artists: the incomparable, irreplaceable Jim Henson He was a gentle dreamer whose genial bearded visage was recognized around the world, but most people got to know him only through the iconic characters born of his fertile imagination: Kermit the Frog, Bert and Ernie, Miss Piggy, Big Bird. The Muppets made Jim Henson a household name, but they were just part of his remarkable story. This extraordinary biography—written with the generous cooperation of the Henson family—covers the full arc of Henson’s all-too-brief life: from his childhood in Leland, Mississippi, through the years of burgeoning fame in America, to the decade of international celebrity that preceded his untimely death at age fifty-three. Drawing on hundreds of hours of new interviews with Henson's family, friends, and closest collaborators, as well as unprecedented access to private family and company archives, Brian Jay Jones explores the creation of the Muppets, Henson’s contributions to Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live, and his nearly ten-year campaign to bring The Muppet Show to television. Jones provides the imaginative context for Henson’s non-Muppet projects, including the richly imagined worlds of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth—as well as fascinating misfires like Henson’s dream of opening an inflatable psychedelic nightclub. An uncommonly intimate portrait, Jim Henson captures all the facets of this American original: the master craftsman who revolutionized the presentation of puppets on television, the savvy businessman whose dealmaking prowess won him a reputation as “the new Walt Disney,” and the creative team leader whose collaborative ethos earned him the undying loyalty of everyone who worked for him. Here also is insight into Henson’s intensely private personal life: his Christian Science upbringing, his love of fast cars and expensive art, and his weakness for women. Though an optimist by nature, Henson was haunted by the notion that he would not have time to do all the things he wanted to do in life—a fear that his heartbreaking final hours would prove all too well founded. An up-close look at the charmed life of a legend, Jim Henson gives the full measure to a man whose joyful genius transcended age, language, geography, and culture—and continues to beguile audiences worldwide. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BOOKPAGE “Jim Henson vibrantly delves into the magnificent man and his Muppet methods: It’s an absolute must-read!”—Neil Patrick Harris “An exhaustive work that is never exhausting, a credit both to Jones’s brisk style and to Henson’s exceptional life.”—The New York Times “[A] sweeping portrait that is a mix of humor, mirth and poignancy.”—Washington Independent Review of Books “A meticulously researched tome chock-full of gems about the Muppets and the most thorough portrait of their creator ever crafted.”—Associated Press

Download or read book Everything Begins Ends at the Kentucky Club written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz and published by Cinco Puntos Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Benjamin Alire S enz's stories reveal how all borders--real, imagined, sexual, human, the line between dark and light, addict and straight--entangle those who live on either side. Take, for instance, the Kentucky Club on Avenida Ju rez two blocks south of the Rio Grande. It's a touchstone for each of S enz's stories. His characters walk by, they might go in for a drink or to score, or they might just stay there for a while and let their story be told. S enz knows that the Kentucky Club, like special watering holes in all cities, is the contrary to borders. It welcomes Spanish and English, Mexicans and gringos, poor and rich, gay and straight, drug addicts and drunks, laughter and sadness, and even despair. It's a place of rich history and good drinks and cold beer and a long polished mahogany bar. Some days it smells like piss. "I'm going home to the other side." That's a strange statement, but you hear it all the time at the Kentucky Club. Benjamin Alire S enz is a highly regarded writer of fiction, poetry, and children's literature. Like these stories, his writing crosses borders and lands in our collective psyche. Poets & Writers Magazine named him one of the fifty most inspiring writers in the world. He's been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and PEN Center's prestigious award for young adult fiction. S enz is the chair of the creative writing department of University of Texas at El Paso. Awards: PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Lambda Literary Award Southwest Book Award

Download or read book Hollywood in Havana written by Megan Feeney and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2019-01-11 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the turn of the twentieth century through the late 1950s, Havana was a locus for American movie stars, with glamorous visitors including Errol Flynn, John Wayne, and Marlon Brando. In fact, Hollywood was seemingly everywhere in pre-Castro Havana, with movie theaters three to a block in places, widely circulated silver screen fanzines, and terms like “cowboy” and “gangster” entering Cuban vernacular speech. Hollywood in Havana uses this historical backdrop as the catalyst for a startling question: Did exposure to half a century of Hollywood pave the way for the Cuban Revolution of 1959? Megan Feeney argues that the freedom fighting extolled in American World War II dramas and the rebellious values and behaviors seen in postwar film noir helped condition Cuban audiences to expect and even demand purer forms of Cuban democracy and national sovereignty. At the same time, influential Cuban intellectuals worked to translate Hollywood ethics into revolutionary rhetoric—which, ironically, led to pointed critiques and subversions of the US presence in Cuba. Hollywood in Havana not only expands our notions of how American cinema was internalized around the world—it also broadens our view of the ongoing history of US-Cuban interactions, both cultural and political.

Download or read book The Big Goodbye written by Sam Wasson and published by . This book was released on 2021-10-07 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: