Luis Leal, who–more than anyone else–helped to establish the field of Chicano Studies in the academy, and whose oeuvre was firmly on the hyphen between Mexican and U.S. cultures, passed away on January 25. He was 102 years old and a man of understated demeanor, immense erudition, and a generous heart. His essays on Aztlán, [...]
Looking at it from an eagle’s perspective our nation’s calendar is an exercise in memory. Days, weekends, and even entire months are turned into occasions for all sorts of diverse eulogies, including those to religious figures (Christmas), love and family (Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day), defining political events (Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Presidents’ Day, Holocaust [...]
The arrest for disorderly conduct of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., at his Cambridge home, on July 16, 2009, has left a sour aftertaste. Responding to a 911 caller who described two men breaking into the Cambridge house, Sgt. James M. Crowley was greeted by Professor Gates, who quickly became annoyed that a police [...]
Turning the past into history is always fun. The effort isn’t a summation of what occurred at a particular time but what we think happened. In other words, the act of writing history is nothing more than interpretation. Making that interpretation appealing to readers is the dream of any historian. And even when the target [...]
El Paso welcomed the REFORMA National Conference (RNC) III from 18 -21 September. Programs and events were organized under the theme of “Bridging the Gaps: Juntos@the Border.” RNC III was dedicated to the work of the late Dr. Arnulfo Duenes Trejo, who is attributed with founding REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information [...]
I was amused by Leticia Salais’ piece on “Saying ‘Adiós’ to Spanglish” in Newsweek (December 17, 2007), in part because it reflects how little so many people know about language and its centrality in human intercourse and development. I was also saddened by the article because it tells us much about dysphoria (alienation) and its [...]
Welcome to "En mi opinión," a blog hosted by Ilan Stavans, Advisory Editor of The Latino American Experience, a full-text reference tool exploring the history and culture of U.S. Latinos.
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