Memory Mambo

Memory Mambo PDF Author: Achy Obejas
Publisher: Cleis Press
ISBN: 1573447005
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
Memory Mambo describes the life of Juani Casas, a 25-year-old Cuban-born American lesbian who manages her family's laundromat in Chicago while trying to cope with family, work, love, sex, and the weirdness of North American culture. Achy Obejas's writing is sharp and mordantly funny. She understands perfectly how the romance of exile—from a homeland as well as from heterosexuality—and the mundane reality of everyday life balance one another. Memory Mambo is ultimately very moving in its depiction of what it means to find a new and finally safe sense of home.

Memory Mambo

Memory Mambo PDF Author: Achy Obejas
Publisher: Cleis Press
ISBN: 1573447005
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 251

Get Book Here

Book Description
Memory Mambo describes the life of Juani Casas, a 25-year-old Cuban-born American lesbian who manages her family's laundromat in Chicago while trying to cope with family, work, love, sex, and the weirdness of North American culture. Achy Obejas's writing is sharp and mordantly funny. She understands perfectly how the romance of exile—from a homeland as well as from heterosexuality—and the mundane reality of everyday life balance one another. Memory Mambo is ultimately very moving in its depiction of what it means to find a new and finally safe sense of home.

Cuban-American Literature of Exile

Cuban-American Literature of Exile PDF Author: Isabel Alvarez-Borland
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
ISBN: 9780813918136
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
The Cuban revolution of 1959 initiated a significant exodus, with more than 700,000 Cubans eventually settling in the United States. This community creates a major part of what is now known as the Cuban diaspora. In Cuban-American Literature of Exile, Isabel Alvarez Borland forces the dialogue between literature and history into the open by focusing on narratives that tell the story of the 1959 exodus and its aftermath. Alvarez Borland pulls together a diverse array of Cuban-American voices writing in both English and Spanish--often from contrasting perspectives and approaches--over several generations and waves of immigration. Writers discussed include Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Reinaldo Arenas, Roberto Fernandez, Achy Obejas, and Cristina Garcia. The author's analysis of their works uncovers a movement from narratives that reflect the personal loss caused by the historical fact of exile, to autobiographical writings that reflect the need to search for a new identity in a new language, to fictions that dramatize the authors' constructed Cuban-American personae. If read collectively, she argues, these sometimes dissimilar texts appear to be in dialogue with one another as they all document a people's quest to reinvent themselves outside their nation of origin. Cuban-American Literature of Exile encourages readers to consider the evolution of Cuban literature in the United States over the last forty years. Alvarez Borland defines a new American literature of Cuban heritage and documents the changing identity of an exiled literature.

We Came All the Way from Cuba So You Could Dress Like This?

We Came All the Way from Cuba So You Could Dress Like This? PDF Author: Achy Obejas
Publisher: Cleis Press
ISBN: 1573446998
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 110

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Book Description
Achy Obejas writes stories about uprooted people. Some, like herself, are Latino immigrants and lesbians; others are men (gay and straight), people with AIDS, addicts, people living marginally, just surviving. As omniscient narrator to her characters' lives, Obejas generously delves into her own memories of exile and alienation to tell stories about women and men who struggle for wholeness and love.

Memory Mastery: Unlock Your Brain's Hidden Superpowers

Memory Mastery: Unlock Your Brain's Hidden Superpowers PDF Author: Gaurav Garg
Publisher: Gaurav Garg
ISBN:
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
Ah, memory! That fickle friend we all rely on, yet so often betrays us at the most inopportune moments. Have you ever found yourself desperately trying to remember the name of that person waving enthusiastically at you from across the street? Or perhaps you've experienced the unique panic of forgetting why you entered a room, standing there like a confused time traveler, wondering what parallel universe you've stumbled into? If you've nodded along to either of these scenarios (or both – no judgment here), then congratulations! You're officially human. And more importantly, you're in the right place. "The palest ink is better than the best memory." - Chinese Proverb Now, I know what you're thinking. "If the palest ink is better than the best memory, why am I reading a book about improving my memory instead of just writing everything down?" Excellent question, hypothetical reader! And to that, I say: Why settle for pale ink when you can have a technicolor memory? This book isn't just about remembering where you left your keys or recalling the capital of Burkina Faso (it's Ouagadougou, by the way – good luck remembering that one!). It's about unlocking the incredible potential of your mind. It's about turning your brain from a leaky bucket into a steel trap, capable of capturing and retaining information with the precision of a supercomputer and the creativity of an artist. Throughout these pages, we'll embark on a journey that's part science, part art, and maybe a little bit magic. We'll explore techniques that have been used by memory champions, secret agents (okay, I made that part up), and everyday people like you and me to dramatically improve their recall abilities. You'll learn how to: Transform your home into a memory palace (no construction permits required) Use the power of association to remember names, faces, and random facts Turn boring numbers into exciting stories (yes, really!) And much, much more... But here's the real kicker – this isn't just about party tricks or acing your next pub quiz (although those are delightful side effects). The techniques you'll learn in this book have the power to transform your life. Imagine the confidence you'll feel walking into a room full of people, knowing you can remember everyone's name. Think about how much more efficiently you could work if you could recall important information at the drop of a hat. Envision the doors that could open when you're able to learn new skills faster and retain information longer. So, buckle up, dear reader. We're about to embark on a mind-bending journey that will challenge you, amuse you, and ultimately transform the way you think and remember. By the time you finish this book, you'll have the tools to turn your mind into a finely tuned memory machine. And who knows? Maybe one day, you'll be the one writing a book about memory techniques. Just remember to thank me in the acknowledgments. (That is, if you can remember my name by then!) Ready to begin? Let's dive in and start unlocking the incredible potential of your mind!

Ruins

Ruins PDF Author: Achy Obejas
Publisher: Akashic Books
ISBN: 1936070138
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
A true believer is faced with a choice between love for his family and the Cuban Revolution. “Daring, tough, and deeply compassionate, Achy Obejas’s Ruins is a breathtaker. Obejas writes like an angel, which is to say: gloriously . . . one of Cuba’s most important writers.” —Junot Díaz, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction “[An] honest and superbly written book.” —Miami Herald Usnavy has always been a true believer. When the Cuban Revolution triumphed in 1959, he was just a young man and eagerly signed on for all of its promises. But as the years have passed, the sacrifices have outweighed the glories and he’s become increasingly isolated in his revolutionary zeal. His friends openly mock him, his wife dreams of owning a car totally outside their reach, and his beloved fourteen-year-old daughter haunts the coast of Havana, staring north. In the summer of 1994, a few years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the government allows Cubans to leave at will and on whatever will float. More than 100,000 flee—including Usnavy’s best friend. Things seem to brighten when he stumbles across what may or may not be a priceless Tiffany lamp that reveals a lost family secret and fuels his long repressed feelings . . . But now Usnavy is faced with a choice between love for his family and the Revolution that has shaped his entire life.

Black Dust Mambo

Black Dust Mambo PDF Author: Adrian Phoenix
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439167931
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
FIRST IN A NEW SERIES! “There will be times, girl, when all your magic ain’t going to be enough, times when it will seem to dry up like mud under the noonday sun, or even make matters worse. . . .” Kallie Rivière, a fiery Cajun hoodoo apprentice with a talent for trouble, finds herself smack-dab in the middle of one of those times her mentor warned her about when she visits New Orleans to attend the Hecatean Alliance’s annual carnival: her hard-bodied conjurer hookup ends up dead in her blood-drenched bed. And he was killed by something that Kallie would never dream of touching—the darkest of dark juju, soul-eating juju—a black dust hex that may have been meant to kill her. Now Kallie has to use every bit of hoodoo knowledge and bayou-bred mojo she possesses to clear her own name and find the killer—even as that dark sorcerer hunts Kallie and her friends. But Kallie’s search for the truth soon leads her in a direction she never anticipated—back home to Bayou Cyprés Noir, and to Gabrielle LaRue, Kallie’s aunt, protector, and hoodoo mentor . . . who is looking more and more like she just might be the one who wants Kallie dead.

Latino Dreams

Latino Dreams PDF Author: Paul Allatson
Publisher: Rodopi
ISBN: 9789042008045
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
A welcome addition to the fields of Latino and (trans-)American cultural and literary studies, Latino Dreams focuses on a selection of Latino narratives, published between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s, that may be said to traffic in the U.S.A.'s attendant myths and governing cultural logics. The selection includes novels by authors who have received little academic attention--Abraham Rodriguez, Achy Obejas, and Benjamin Alire Sáenz--along with underattended texts from more renowned writers--Rosario Ferré, Coco Fusco, and Guillermo Gómez-Peña. Latino Dreams takes a transcultural approach in order to raise questions of subaltern subordination and domination, and the resistant capacities of cultural production. The analysis explores how the selected narratives deploy specific narrative tactics, and a range of literary and other cultural capital, in order to question and reform the U.S.A.'s imaginary coordinates. In these texts, moreover, national imperatives are complicated by recourse to feminist, queer, panethnic, postcolonial, or transnational agendas. Yet the analysis also recognizes instances in which the counter-narrative will is frustrated: the narratives may provide signs of the U.S.A.'s hegemonic resilience in the face of imaginary disavowal.

Homecoming Queers

Homecoming Queers PDF Author: Marivel T. Danielson
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813548373
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
Homecoming Queers provides a critical discussion of the multiple strategies used by queer Latina authors and artists in the United States to challenge silence and invisibility within mainstream media, literary canons, and theater spaces. Marivel T. Danielson's analysis reveals the extensive legacy of these cultural artists, including novelists, filmmakers, students and activists, comedians, performers, and playwrights. By clearly discussing the complexities and universalities of ethnic, racial, sexual, gender, and class intersections between queer Chicana and U.S. Latinas, Danielson explores the multiple ways identity shapes and shades creative expression. Weaknesses and gaps are revealed in the treatment of difference as a whole, within dominant and marginalized communities. Spanning multiple genres and forms, and including scholarly theory alongside performances, films, narratives, and testimonials, Homecoming Queers leads readers along a crucial path toward understanding and overcoming the silences that previously existed across these fields.

When the Spirits Dance Mambo

When the Spirits Dance Mambo PDF Author: Marta Morena Vega
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781574781564
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
When rock and roll was transforming American culture in the 1950s and '60s, East Harlem pulsed with the sounds of mambo and merengue. Instead of Elvis and the Beatles, Marta Moreno Vega grew up worshiping Celia Cruz, Mario Bauza, and Arsenio Rodriguez. Their music could be heard on every radio in El Barrio and from the main stage at the legendary Palladium, where every weekend working-class kids dressed in their sharpest suits and highest heels and became mambo kings and queens. Spanish Harlem was a vibrant and dynamic world, but it was also a place of constant change, where the traditions of Puerto Rican parents clashed with their children's American ideals. A precocious little girl with wildly curly hair, Marta was the baby of the family and the favorite of her elderly abuela, who lived in the apartment down the hall. Abuela Luisa was the spiritual center of the family, an espiritista who smoked cigars and honored the Afro-Caribbean deities who had always protected their family. But it was Marta's brother, Chachito, who taught her the latest dance steps and called her from the pay phone at the Palladium at night so she could listen, huddled beneath the bedcovers, to the seductive rhythms of Tito Puente and his orchestra. In this luminous and lively memoir, Marta Moreno Vega calls forth the spirit of Puerto Rican New York and the music, mysticism, and traditions of a remarkable and quintessentially American childhood.

Cuban-American Fiction in English

Cuban-American Fiction in English PDF Author: M. Delores Carlito
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
ISBN: 9780810856806
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
This bibliography contains listings and annotations of all novels, anthologies, and short story collections written by the first, 1.5, and second generations of Cuban Americans. This work also contains listings and annotations of all secondary works dealing with this fiction, as well as related memoirs, autobiographies and interviews.