No comments about Lorenzo de Zavala (Latinos in American History) (Latinos in American History).

No comments about Spanish colonial literature in South America (Hispanic notes and monographs; essays studies and brief biographies issued by the Hispanic society of America. Hispanic American series. I).

1 comments about Ramon Novarro: The Life and Films of the First Latino Hollywood Superstar.

1. The angle of sometimes neglected history, i.e Latino or minority history vs Anglo or majority history could have made this book very interesting. Also, Ramon Novarro, a mega-star of the silent and early talkies has only had one other biography written about him by A. Ellenberger. However, this book is a great disappointment. First of all, you have to wonder how much a biographer knows of his subject when he gets the date of his subject's death wrong (Oct 31 1968, NOT Nov 1 as stated in this book)
   Secondly, the biographer states he is not going to talk about rumors, i.e. Ramon Novarro by repute was gay, and then goes on to try to suggest Ramon Novarro as having had affairs with some of his female stars. Almost as bad as the old movie studio publicity when, MGM tried in 1934 to publicise a 'romance' between Myrna Loy one of his co-stars. Apparently, this author had never read her reaction at the time as recorded in her autobiography in the 1980's, which states 'it was ridiculous, Ramon didn't even like the girls'.
   It's nice to see another book on Ramon Novarro, a really great movie star, but this one is just plain disappointing.

1 comments about Gloria Estefan: Cuban-American Singer (Hispanics of Achievement).

1. I give this book a 4-star rating. This story takes place in Gloria Estefan's native land of Cuba and then in Miami, Florida, where she became famous. Gloria had a rough childhood because she had to take care of her sick father and watch over her younger sister while her mother worked very hard to keep her family afloat. Gloria enjoyed music and playing her guitar. In fact, she owes a lot to her mother for making her learn to play the guitar. Gloria would play and sing in order to forget all her problems. This was her way of relaxing. Gloria's career began when she met Emilio Estefan at her high school. Emilio came to the school to talk about music. Everybody was singing and playing their instruments. Emilio noticed Gloria playing her guitar and the fact that she could sing both in English and Spanish. He asked her to join his band, and she accepted. Gloria's first performance was at a local wedding. Emilio's band was called the "Latin Boys", but when Gloria joined, the name was changed to "Miami Sound Machine" (MSM). From this point forward, she became the "Gloria Estefan" we know today.
   
   This review was done by: Julie Menendez

No comments about Jennifer Lopez (Latinos in the Limelight).

No comments about Rimas (Hispanic notes & monographs, essays, studies, and brief biographies issued by the Hispanic Society of America. [Poetry series]).

No comments about Latinos: a biography of the people. NY,1992..

No comments about Cesar Chavez (Breaking Barriers).

No comments about Ellen Ochoa (People We Should Know (Second Series)).

No comments about National directory of Latin Americanists;: Biographies of 2,695 specialists in the social sciences & humanities (Hispanic Foundation bibliographical series).