by Héctor Tobar
First published 2006
Héctor Tobar sets out to document the Spanish-speaking United States, a parallel nation 35 million people strong. He starts in his home city of Los Angeles, examining his own family history alongside the stories of two Mexican-origin brothers who embody different visions of American identity. One brother pursues citizenship while the other finds himself on the wrong side of both law and border. Tobar then travels across the country, visiting Dalton, Georgia, now the Deep South's most Spanish-speaking town, and Rupert, Idaho, where a radio DJ called "El Chupacabras" commands the airwaves. His journey takes him through familiar Cuban Miami and into an overwhelmed INS office in Omaha. Along the way, Tobar reveals how Hispanic Americans create new identities while reshaping what it means to be an immigrant and an American community member.
Genres: american, non-fiction, 21st-century, cultural-studies, american-history
Vibes: informative, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, parallel-narrative
Setting: Los Angeles, Dalton, Georgia, Rupert, Idaho, Omaha, Cuba, Miami
Period: 21st-century
368 pages · Paperback · Penguin Publishing Group