No matter your views about what America is or should be, what makes up American culture, and immigration into America, one thing proves impossible to deny: the United States of America is becoming ever more Latin.

Perhaps part of our challenge has been our denial and ignorance regarding the presence of Latino/a Americans for generations. Marie Arana seeks to present the history and present of Latino/as in America in LatinoLand: A Portrait of America’s Largest and Least Understood Minority.

The author is of Peruvian descent and has found great success in America and has worked at the highest echelons of the American publishing industry. Her writing is thorough and compelling. She interviewed a great number of people and their experiences provide a lot of color and depth in her narrative.

Throughout the author recognizes the challenge of speaking about “LatinoLand” as a coherent unity: as indicated at the end, perhaps there is greater unity today in terms of the experience of Latino/as in America than before, yet the various groups of Spanish speaking people from previously Spanish dominated nations remain quite different and often at least somewhat mutually antagonistic. Some might feel more affinity with white Americans or Black Americans than some other groups of Latino/as; woe to anyone who would act as if all Latino/as are essentially the same.

The author began with the basic historical outline: Columbus, the Spaniards, colonization and Catholicization, exploitation, and oppression. Then came the white Americans and the conquest of Texas and much of the rest of what was northern Mexico and which is now the American Southwest.

She ultimately will profile almost every national community: some aspects of their unique history and what conditions on the ground would motivate them to want to immigrate to the United States. She of course discusses the fraught nature of immigrating to the United States, whether by some kind of student or work visa or by crossing the border by means of coyotes, and presents examples.

She discusses the constant depredations and degradations which came at the hands of the white Americans: invitations to work in substandard conditions, willingness to expel not only undocumented but also documented Latino/a immigrants when it proved convenient to do so, with even some American citizens getting deported in the process. She does not shy away from demonstrating how many times the dire conditions which compel Latino/as to risk so much to come to the United States and live as undocumented stem from our misbegotten intrusions into their political systems and as the fruit of our seemingly bottomless demand for illegal drugs.

But the author is also not sparing about challenges within Latino/a cultures: the celebration of whiteness and the desire to “whiten the race”; prejudice between communities; the very divergent political trajectories of different groups of Latino/as, and the historical and modern reasons why plenty of people whose ancestors might have come from Spanish colonized areas do not identify as Latino/a but as white.

In this book I learned that not only did FDR et al detain Japanese-Americans and detain them in concentration camps, but our government also put pressure on our Latin American allies to round up their citizens of Japanese descent and to send them to the United States so we could detain them in those camps as well. Apparently the former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, thus spent time in an American concentration camp. Tragic.

The author also addressed how Latino/as both attempt to belong and the challenges of trying to belong in American society. She well explored religion among Latino/a populations: the historical legacy of Catholicism; the surge of interest in Pentecostalism; how the “evangelication” of the Latino/a population has proven significant over the past forty years and what changes have attended on account of it.

She explores various ways of thinking in Latino/a cultures, but also emphasized how diligently Latino/as labor, and how well known they are for their work and work habits. She also highlights the many contributions made in almost every discipline, from academia to the sciences, music, television, movies, publishing, government, etc., by Latino/as. She laments how these Latino/as are poorly known and their contributions left unacknowledged as well as how poorly Latino/as are represented in corporate governance, governance in general, the highest levels of academia, etc., relative to their population in the United States.

The book might be long but is well written and easy to read. If you want to understand the great growth of Latin American cultures in the United States, and want to better understand and appreciate Latino/a presence and contribution to these United States, I highly recommend this book.

LATINOLAND by Marie Arana is subtitled "A Portrait of America's Largest and Least Understood Minority." Arana, a prolific author and finalist for the National Book Award, is very honest, creative and personal in her approach to this topic. She notes that "today one in five souls on American soil claims Hispanic heritage" and "we are not a unified people." Her efforts to share her experiences and the stories of individuals like Carolyn Curiel or Ellen Ochoa add detail. However, as even she points out "one book cannot possibly capture the whole" and this necessarily broad brush tends to cloud summary conclusions. I had expected more data to be readily available and wish that Arana had been able to include more charts and graphs in addition to the sweeping historical reflection and moving stories she shares. LATINOLAND is extremely well-researched with Arana including copious notes that comprise almost a third of the text. Both Booklist and Kirkus ("an impressively wide-ranging overview") gave Arana's work a starred review.

Did you know that there are plans to open a National Museum of the American Latino on the National Capital Mall in 2035? There are so many interesting written works and resources available. Examples include Harvest of Empire (revised in 2022) by Juan Gonzalez, many of the books by Héctor Tobar, and (especially for high school readers) Living Beyond Borders (2021) edited by Margarita Longoria. The much older (2013) Latino Americans from Ray Suarez was also a series on pbs; the accompanying website features ideas for lesson plans and educational materials such as updated statistics from Pew Research Center. Numerous schools and colleges have crafted libguides for Hispanic Heritage Month; one of the most comprehensive is from Rice University’s Fondren Library. No doubt Marie Arana (who disparages Nixon's efforts to create the original week in honor of American Hispanics) would at least encourage more conversation around these materials; as she says, "although we account for more than half of the US population growth over the last decade ... it seems as if the rest of the country is perpetually in the act of discovering us."

Some relevant links:
https://www.pbs.org/latino-americans/en/about/index.html
https://klru.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/latino-americans/
https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/fact-sheet/latinos-in-the-us-fact-sheet/
http://tinyurl.com/HispanicHeritageMonthSearch
https://libguides.rice.edu/hispanicheritagemonth

"LatinoLand: A Portrait of America's Largest and Least Understood Minority" by Marie Arana is a compelling and insightful exploration into the diverse tapestry of Latino culture in the United States. Arana, with her profound understanding and personal connection to the Latino experience, crafts a narrative that is both illuminative and deeply resonant. This book is not just a mere compilation of statistics and historical facts; it's a vibrant journey through the lives, struggles, and triumphs of the Latino community.

Arana masterfully blends personal anecdotes, cultural analysis, and historical context to paint a rich and nuanced portrait of Latino Americans. Her writing is both accessible and evocative, capturing the essence of a community that is often misrepresented or overlooked in mainstream discourse. Through her lens, readers are introduced to the vast array of cultures, traditions, and experiences that comprise LatinoLand, challenging monolithic stereotypes and highlighting the complexity and vibrancy of this demographic.

One of the strengths of "LatinoLand" is Arana's ability to navigate complex themes such as identity, assimilation, and the American Dream with sensitivity and depth. She delves into the socio-political challenges facing Latino Americans, from immigration policies to economic disparities, without losing sight of the individual stories that illuminate these issues. This approach not only humanizes the broader narratives but also underscores the resilience and creativity of the Latino community.

Arana's work shines in its celebration of the cultural contributions of Latino Americans to the fabric of American society. From music and literature to politics and activism, "LatinoLand" showcases the indelible impact of Latino culture, challenging readers to reconsider their perceptions and appreciate the diversity and richness of this community.

Moreover, "LatinoLand" serves as a crucial call to action, advocating for greater understanding, recognition, and inclusion of Latino Americans. Arana's passionate and informed perspective invites readers to engage with the Latino community in a more meaningful and informed manner, fostering empathy and solidarity.

In summary, "LatinoLand: A Portrait of America's Largest and Least Understood Minority" by Marie Arana is a powerful and enlightening book that offers a comprehensive and humanizing view of the Latino experience in the United States. Arana's ability to weave together personal stories with cultural and historical analysis makes this book an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the complexities and contributions of Latino Americans. It's a testament to the strength, diversity, and vibrancy of a community that is an integral part of the American mosaic, making "LatinoLand" not just a portrait of a minority but a celebration of American plurality and identity.

I highly recommend Marie Arana's 'Latinoland', even for those well-versed in literature about Latino culture and history. Having loved her 'Silver, Sword, and Stone: Three Crucibles in the Latin American Story', I had high expectations, even if I figured that it might not bring me any new insights. Well, it turns out that I learned *a lot* I didn't know, especially regarding the role of religion in Latino life and Latino figures in sports.

One of Arana's strengths is her ability to weave history through the narratives of individuals, ranging from everyday people to lesser-known yet significant figures. This book not only enriched my understanding but also highlighted the underrepresentation of our people in mainstream narratives. It's an insightful and engaging journey through Latino history and culture. Read it.
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In her latest work, Marie Arana blends together history, current research, hers and her own family’s story, and an abundance of interviews with US citizens and residents of Central American, South American, and Caribbean origin or descent. And it’s that last element in particular that elevates the book from mini-education into an eye-opening read, or at least such was the case for me. The array of personal histories shared here do so much to show off the immense, and at times almost dizzying amount of diversity that’s present in the US’s Latino population on multiple different levels. They also helpfully put on display many of the complexities (not to mention contradictions) that come right along in tow with such variety inside such a wide-spanning identity group.

Arana stresses bluntly that her book is not meant to be a comprehensive picture of this fast-growing segment of the country’s population, and should only be treated as a partial glimpse at best. However, for a glimpse, it’s honestly the strongest and most far-reaching such glimpse that I personally have ever experienced on this complex subject matter, and presented in an appreciatively accessible experience to boot.

The illuminating read that is "LatinoLand" is a work that will easily find a home on the shelves of both public and academic library shelves (amongst other places) - and writing as someone who is employed in the latter, I’m definitely planning on ensuring that my own workplace gets its own copy.