"Por nuestra cultura hablarán nuestros libros. Our books shall speak for our culture."
Tales from Alturas: The Puerto Rican Mystique. By Emma Chaves. ISBN: 978-1888205558. $22.95.
The feisty mountain people of Alturas, in the Cordillera Central of Puerto Rico, scratch and claw to survive in their beloved but devastated patch of God-given earth. During the early 20th century one calamity after another has caused hunger and misery to hover over this beautiful Island and its amazingly resilient people. The colorful characters depicted in these compelling and unforgettable tales seek happiness by spreading rumors, creating tales, accessing the spirit world, even seeing the sudden apparition of a loved one. Somehow, they must pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and continue to trudge forward with dreams and hope. “Without dreams,” Lola tells her daughter, “it’s impossible to live.” The author has created a unique world in which universal themes, such as romance, love and loss, love for one’s family and for one’s homeland are pursued, as well as themes more specific to some groups than to others, such as machismo and discrimination.
Hispanic literature, Latino literature, Hispanic fiction, Latin American fiction, Latino fiction, Puerto Rican literature, Hispanic literature, Latino literature,
Hispanic literature, Latina literature, Hispanic fiction, Latin American fiction, Latino fiction, Puerto Rican literature, Hispanic literature, Latino literature, Hispanic literature, Latino literature, Hispanic fiction, Latin American fiction, Latino fiction, Puerto Rican literature, Hispanic literature, Latino literature, Latinas women literature, Puerto Rico social life and customs Fiction, Latino social life and customs Fiction, Hispanic social life and customs Fiction