1 comments about Baseball's First Mexican-American Star: The Amazing Story of Leo Najo.

1. I'm glad to see a book on this forgotten player.
   Here's some information about the author from a newsletter I get:
   "I am happy to announce the release of the second of a series of books I'm writing based on local history and culture. My latest book is a biography of Mission's own Leonardo 'Najo' Alaniz, who was one of the very first Hispanics to play professional baseball (in the early 1920s) in the U.S. Titled Baseball's First Mexican-American Star: The Amazing Story of Leo Najo, this book was an incredibly exciting adventure for me, as it reconnected me with my own past, and also brought me into contact with Leo's wonderful family, most of whom still reside in the Mission area.
   The Washington Post once called Leo 'one of the greatest baseball players of all time.' He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 1925, and although a serious leg injury kept him from sticking with the majors, he achieved great success and fame in the minors, mostly in San Antonio. My dad, who was a devoted baseball fan, knew Leo personally, saw him play many times, and spoke of him often. This book, which is the first biography ever written about Leo, was inspired by the stories of Leo that I heard from my dad.
   In writing this book, I spent many a long evening on the third floor of the UTPA Library, reading newspaper articles from the 1920s and 1930s regarding Leo's amazing baseball career. I am so thankful for the outstanding work that the university has done over the years to assemble such an outstanding collection of historical periodicals, without which I could not have written this book."

No comments about Great Hispanic-Americans.

No comments about Pedro Martinez (Latinos in Baseball Series).

4 comments about MUDDY CUP: A Dominican Family Comes of Age in a New America.

1. I'm an Anglo American whose daughter has taught in the Dominican Republic for 5 years. I have visited 3 times and I'm an avid reader of Dominican history, culture, and I especially love a good novel. Muddy Cup is by far the best novel I have read. It paints a descriptive and sensitive portrait of the different generations of one family, showing those who chose to remain in their homeland, and others who sacrificed to come to the U.S. I enjoyed how the author shared her feelings about her new friendships and relationships with the different generations of the Dominican family. Anyone who wants to know more of the Dominican culture should read this novel. I was sad to finish the last page, wanting to read more.



2. I just finished reading "Muddy Cup" and feel like I know the Almonte family personally. That could be because I'm familiar with the Dominican experience, my wife emigrated from Santo Domingo at age 16, and I also grew up in the predominantly Dominican Washington Heights neighborhhod. But even if I didn't, the book is so detailed and intimate that someone who has never met a Dominican will feel like they truly have. Barbara Fischkin set out to do a piece for New York Newsday on the Almonte family. The Almontes are from a very small village, known as el campo, called Camu outside of Puerto Plata. She met the mother, Roselia, and her three children( Cristian, Elizabeth and Mauricio ) at the US consulate in Santo Domingo. That newspaper piece ended up as the book "Muddy Cup." Mrs. Fischkin became close with the family, including many relatives, and followed their journey from the small village to Santo Domingo and eventually to Queens, NY. The Almonte story is like many other Dominican families who came before and after them. The youngest child, Mauricio, who is know studying to be Spanish professor in Tennessee of all places, is the child who I could relate to the most. He didn't speak a word of English when he arrived in Queens at age 11, and now is a very educated, English professor in the making. That is amazing to me because the Dominicans, like many other immigrant groups get sterotyped all the time. They are all uneducated drug dealers, or the ones who "made it" are all baseball players. Like the Irish in the last century were all called potato eating, job stealing parasites. Dominicans happen to be the largest( if they are not they are almost there ) Hispanic group in NYC. They have made their presence felt all over the Northeast and beyond, and althougn this book was written in the early/mid nineties, it reflects Dominican experience of today. More have arrived and are arriving every day. Guillermo Linares was elected the first Dominican City ouncilman back in 1991 and many others are entering politics as well. Mrs. Fischkin did a fantastic job of telling their story and it just so happens that her family, Ukranian Jewish immigrants almost a century before, took the same journey as the Almontes. The only difference is that they traveled across the ocean on a boat, while the Almontes traveled on an airplane. I have read quite a few stories about Dominican immigrants and this is by far the best and most heartfelt. I look foward to reading more of Barbara Fischkins work as it is apparent that she is a gifted and entertaining writer.



3. Barbara Fischkin tells a universal story in her chronicle of the Almonte family's coming to America, the painful choices and formidable obstacles they face, their setbacks and successes as they leave behind their beloved Dominican Republic. Muddy Cup is full of rich detail, compassion, and a narrative focus that makes it read like a novel. Treating a little-covered topic with depth and insight, this is the way journalism should be done. There are more than one million Dominicans living in the United States, and Fischkin does a wonderful job of giving faces and names to a group of people who are increasingly visible and vocal in this country. Most important, she shows how similar their hopes and dreams are to those of the many immigrant groups who made America.



4. This is the story of everyman, the struggle of stepping off into uncharted universe to make a better life. As the US continues to attract record numbers of immigrants, this book provides a seamless look at just who these people are, the conditions they left behind and their expectations for the future. It also reminds us that the experiences of today's immigrants are not unique, that they are a mirror for all of us.

No comments about Men May Come and Men May Go ... But I've Still Got My Little Pink Raincoat: Life and Love In and Out of My Wardrobe.

No comments about Hispanics in the USA: Making History.

No comments about Brown Celluloid: Latino/a Film Icons and Images in the Hollywood Film Industry.

No comments about Speaking from the Body: Latinas on Health and Culture.

1 comments about Gloria Estefan: Singer and Entertainer (Hispanic Biographies).

1. I read this book for a class assignment on biographical non-fiction. I have been a fan of Gloria Estefan's for many years, so I thought this would be a great history of her life. This book is great for children to read because it is a history of such of the Cuban government and what the people who lived there had to endure. I liked that the book gave not only information on how things in Cuba affected Gloria and her family, but it also tells of a historical account of Castro and Cuba becoming a communist country. I also enjoyed the explanation of the record industry and how the artist get their music recorded and listened to on the radio.

   The life of Gloria Estefan is inspiring to any young girl who may feel inadequate or talentless. Gloria is very family oriented and this book reflects her values and commitment to her heritage.

   The end of the book gives chronological accounts in her life, a record of her releases and chapter notes that are very resourceful.

No comments about Judy Baca (Hispanic-American Biographies).