Nuestras almas migrantes (Our Migrant Souls - Spanish Edition) - by Héctor Tobar (Paperback)

About the Book

Ganador del Kirkus Prize para Literatura No Ficción

Book Synopsis

Ganador del Kirkus Prize para Literatura No Ficción
Nominado al Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence en Literatura No Ficción
Entre los mejores libros del año: The New York Times - Time - Kirkus Reviews - NPR - BookPage

Con su publicación original en tapa dura, Our Migrant Souls abrió nuevos caminos con su poderoso examen de las fuerzas sociales y políticas que moldean la identidad latina. Ahora en su primera traducción completa, Nuestras almas migrantes lleva el análisis definitivo y sin precedentes de Héctor Tobar sobre el significado de lo "latino" a los lectores de habla hispana, con la promesa de tender puentes entre generaciones y traspasar fronteras, ya que el libro sigue encabezando una conversación nacional muy necesaria sobre el pasado, el presente y el futuro de lo que significa ser estadounidense.

Inspirado en los escritos de James Baldwin que abordan el papel de la raza en Estados Unidos, en las conversaciones de Tobar con sus estudiantes latinos y, por supuesto, en sus propias experiencias de vida y en las de su familia, Nuestras almas migrantes ofrece un valioso análisis de lo que significa ser latino en los Estados Unidos de hoy. En 2023, entre otros galardones, el libro ganó el Premio Kirkus de No Ficción, y fue seleccionado como Libro Notable del New York Times, uno de los Libros de Lectura Obligatoria de la revista Time y uno de los libros favoritos del año de NPR que "nos abre los ojos" y es "verdaderamente genial".

Al instante se convirtió en una lectura esencial, un libro icónico que ya pasa de lector a lector, provocando animadas y emotivas conversaciones en salas de conferencias, aulas de clase, salas de juntas y comedores. Por supuesto, se trata de una conversación que tiene lugar en más de un idioma a la vez, y es un libro que exige ser leído y comentado en inglés y en español. Ahora, gracias al trabajo de Tobar y de las aclamadas traductoras Laura Muñoz Bonilla y Tiziana Laudato, eso es posible.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION:

WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE FOR NONFICTION
Long-listed for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction
Named One of The New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2023
One of Time's 100 Must-Read Books of 2023 A Top Ten Book of 2023 at Chicago Public Library

A new book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer about the twenty-first-century Latino experience and identity.

With its original hardcover publication, Our Migrant Souls broke new ground in its powerful examination of the social and political forces that shape Latino identity. Now, in its first full translation, Nuestras Almas Migrantes brings Héctor Tobar's definitive and unprecedented analysis of the meaning of "Latino" to Spanish-language readers, promising to bridge generations and cross borders as the book continues to spearhead a much-needed national conversation about the past, present, and future of what it means to be an American.

Inspired by James Baldwin's writing wrestling with the role of race in the United States, along with Tobar's own conversations with his Latino students and, of course, by his and his family's own life experiences, Our Migrant Souls provides an invaluable reckoning with what it means to be Latino in the United States today. In 2023, among other honors, the book won the Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction, and was selected as a New York Times Notable Book, one of Time magazine's Must-Read Books, and one of NPR's favorite "eye-opening" and "seriously great" books of the year.

It instantly became essential reading, an iconic book already being passed from reader to reader, provoking lively, emotional discussion in lecture halls, classrooms, boardrooms, and dining rooms. This is a conversation, of course, that takes place in more than one language at a time, and is a book that demands to be read and talked about in English and in Spanish. Now, thanks to the work of Tobar and the acclaimed translators Laura Muñoz Bonilla and Tiziana Laudato--to be published alongside the much-anticipated paperback of the original edition and in time for National Hispanic Heritage Month--eso es posible.

Review Quotes

"[Tobar] expone décadas de pensamientos. . . desde un enfoque tan ambicioso como íntimo."
--Luis Pablo Beauregard, El País

"Easily his most personal book. . . Tobar uses his biography sparingly to illustrate larger aspects of Latino experience. He is as likely to quote historians and cultural theorists as he is to cite students, store clerks or an undocumented Trump supporter randomly encountered on the street. . . Tobar takes care to depict Latino life in a universal light, as something easily comprehensible to anyone who has ever felt the pull of a far-off person or place. . . There is power in the refrain of Tobar's direct address, which gives his writing the feel of warm advice dispensed to youngsters grappling with a sense of self."
--Francisco Cantú, The New York Times Book Review

"Tobar's book should be read in the context of other works that, for more than a century, have tried to elucidate the meaning of latinidad. . . Our Migrant Souls is, therefore, only the latest attempt to pin down an inherently slippery concept. More than these other works, though, it engages in contemporary debates and issues, such as how Latinos have related to Blackness and indigeneity, the question of why some Latinos choose to identify as white, and the political conservatism of certain Latino communities. It is also the most lyrical and literary of the genre, harnessing Tobar's deep talents as a writer and his fluency in pop culture, and offers a more intimate look into the barrios, homes, and minds of people who, he argues, have been badly, and sometimes willfully, misunderstood."
--Geraldo L. Cadava, The Atlantic

"Tobar interrogates Latino identity with a subversive nuance. He is not writing for the white gaze, instead directly addressing young Latinos."
--Jean Guerrero, Los Angeles Times

"Eye-opening. . . Timely, intelligent, and generous, this is a must-read from Pulitzer Prize-winner Tobar."
--Diego Báez, Booklist

"Lyrical and uncompromising."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The master writer puts on his maestro cap to give us memoir, media criticism, meditation, travelogue, history lesson, and so much more, in a style and pacing with all the brilliant nuances and hues that Latinos exemplify."
--Gustavo Arellano, author of Ask a Mexican

"Our Migrant Souls is an important contribution to the growing body of work offering answers to a seemingly simple question: What is a 'Latino'? In precise yet lyrical prose, Héctor Tobar leads readers on a tour of the United States of America, where to be Latine often means to go unseen."
--Myriam Gurba, author of Mean

" Héctor Tobar bursts the bubble of colonizing inhumanity contained in the 'Latino, ' 'Latinx, ' and 'Hispanic' labels. The migrant son Tobar crisscrosses the country to find stories of the buried and reviled, inspired and inspiring humanidad of the one out of every four people in the United States who bears these labels. Our Migrant Souls points to the inevitable reckoning a country deep in denial must undertake."
--Roberto Lovato, author of Unforgetting

"Unflinchingly clear-eyed, intelligent, and compassionate, Our Migrant Souls is essential reading for all Americans. Héctor Tobar peers into the fractured kaleidoscope of Latinidad and reveals that an identity is forged by history and by each of our unique stories. Generous in its expansive analysis of how empire and constructed ideas of race trickle through our veins, Our Migrant Souls is also heartfelt, poetic, and intimate. Tobar delivers a brilliant, honest, and necessary book about race when we need it most. It is a
salve for the times."
--Carribean Fragoza, author of Eat the Mouth That Feeds You

About the Author

Héctor Tobar is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and a novelist. He is the author of the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller Deep Down Dark, as well as The Last Great Road Bum, The Barbarian Nurseries, Translation Nation, and The Tattooed Soldier. Tobar has been a contributing writer for the New York Times opinion section and is a professor at the University of California, Irvine. He has written for The New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications. His short fiction has appeared in The Best American Short Stories, Los Angeles Noir, Zyzzyva, and Slate. The son of Guatemalan immigrants, he is a native of Los Angeles, where he lives with his family.