A front-line human rights defender fighting murderous impunity in the Mexican borderlands The Mexican border state of Chihuahua and its city Juárez have become notorious the world over as hotbeds of violence. Drug cartel battles and official corruption result in more murders annually in Chihuahua than in wartorn Afghanistan. Thanks to a culture of impunity, 97 percent of the killings in Juárez go unsolved. Despite a climate of fear, a small group of human rights activists, exemplified by the Chihuahua lawyer and organizer Lucha Castro, works to identify the killers and their official enablers. This is the story of La Lucha, illustrated in beautiful and chilling comic book art, rendering in rich detail the stories of families ripped apart by disappearances and murders—especially gender-based violence—and the remarkably brave advocacy, protests, and investigations of ordinary citizens who turned their grief into resistance.

For nine-year-old Alejandria, home isn't just the apartment she shares with Mami and her abuela, Tita, but rather the whole neighborhood. Home is the bakery where Ms. Beatrice makes yummy picos; the sidewalk where Ms. Alicia sells flowers with her little dog, Duende; and the corner store with friendly Mr. Amir. But lately the city has been changing, and rent prices are going up. Many people in el barrio are leaving because they can no longer afford their homes, and "For Sale" signs are popping up everywhere. Then the worst thing happens: Mami receives a letter saying they'll have to move out too. Alejandria knows it isn’t fair, but she's not about to give up and leave. Join Alejandria as she brings her community together to fight and save their neighborhood! Para Alejandria de nueve años, el hogar no es sólo el apartamento que comparte con Mami y su abuela, Tita, sino más bien todo el barrio. El hogar es la panadería donde la Sra. Beatrice hace unos ricos picos; la vereda donde la Sra. Alicia vende flores con su perrito, Duende; y la pulpería con el amistoso Sr. Amir. Pero últimamente la ciudad ha estado cambiando, y los precios de alquiler están subiendo. Muchas personas en el barrio se están yendo porque ya no pueden costear sus hogares, y letreros anunciando “Se Vende” están apareciendo por todos lados. Entonces ocurre lo peor: Mami recibe una carta diciendo que ellas también tendrán que mudarse. Alejandria sabe que no es justo, pero no está dispuesta a darse por vencida e irse. ¡Únete a Alejandria mientras ella reúne a su comunidad para luchar y salvar su barrio!

Examines the everday struggles, insights, attitudes, and lives of Hispanic women from the perspective of Hispanic identity in North American society, with summaries of the sources, aims, goals, and tenets of mujerista theology.

Latino Civil Rights in Education: La Lucha Sigue documents the experiences of historical and contemporary advocates in the movement for civil rights in education of Latinos in the United States. These critical narratives and counternarratives discuss identity, inequality, desegregation, policy, public school, bilingual education, higher education, family engagement, and more, comprising an ongoing effort to improve the conditions of schooling for Latino children. Featuring the perspectives and research of Latino educators, sociologists, historians, attorneys, and academics whose lives were guided by this movement, the book holds broad applications in the study and continuation of social justice and activism today.

For many in Miami’s Cuban exile community, hating Fidel Castro is as natural as loving one’s children. This hatred, Miguel De La Torre suggests, has in fact taken on religious significance. In La Lucha for Cuba, De La Torre shows how Exilic Cubans, a once marginalized group, have risen to power and privilege—distinguishing themselves from other Hispanic communities in the United States—and how religion has figured in their ascension. Through the lens of religion and culture, his work also unmasks and explores intra-Hispanic structures of oppression operating among Cubans in Miami. Miami Cubans use a religious expression, la lucha, or "the struggle," to justify the power and privilege they have achieved. Within the context of la lucha, De La Torre explores the religious dichotomy created between the "children of light" (Exilic Cubans) and the "children of darkness" (Resident Cubans). Examining the recent saga of the Elián González custody battle, he shows how the cultural construction of la lucha has become a distinctly Miami-style spirituality that makes el exilio (exile) the basis for religious reflection, understanding, and practice—and that conflates political mobilization with spiritual meaning in an ongoing confrontation with evil.

A tenth anniversary edition of the classic introduction to mujerista theology for Hispanic women offers an inspirational look at the everyday struggles, insights, attitudes, and lives of Hispanic women from the perspective of Hispanic identiy in North American society, with summaries of the sources, aims, goals, and tenets of mujerista theology. (Christianity)

Cuban Color in Tourism and La Lucha: An Ethnography of Racial Meanings offers a provocative look at what it means to belong in modern socialist Cuba. Drawn from her extensive travels throughout Cuba over the past decade, author L. Kaifa Roland pulls back the curtain on a country that has remained mysterious to Americans since the mid-twentieth century. Through vivid vignettes and firsthand details, Roland exposes the lasting effects of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent rise of state-sponsored segregated tourism in Cuba. She demonstrates how the creation of separate spheres for locals and tourists has had two effects. First, tourism reestablished the racial apartheid that plagued pre-revolutionary Cuba. Second, it reinforced how the state's desire to maintain a socialist ideology in face of its increasing reliance on capitalist tools is at odds with the day-to-day struggles--or La Lucha--of the Cuban people. Roland uses conversations and anecdotes gleaned from a year of living among locals as a way of delving into these struggles and understanding what constitutes life in Cuba today. In exploring the intersections of race, class, and gender, she gives readers a better understanding of the common issues of status and belonging for tourists and their hosts in Cuba. Cuban Color in Tourism and La Lucha is one of several volumes in the Issues of Globalization: Case Studies in Contemporary Anthropology series, which examines the experiences of individual communities in our contemporary world. Each volume offers a brief and engaging exploration of a particular issue arising from globalization and its cultural, political, and economic effects on certain peoples or groups. Ideal for introductory anthropology courses--and as supplements for a variety of upper-level courses--these texts seamlessly combine portraits of an interconnected and globalized world with narratives that emphasize the agency of their subjects.

"This, the first major study of popular religion in Miami’s community of exiled Cubans, is outstanding. De La Torre captures the intimacy and flavor of a spiritual movement that crosses moral and theological lines. It’s bound to upset some for its frank conclusions; but all great books go against the inherited grain in some way."—Luis León, author of La Llorona’s Children: Religion, Life, and Death in the U.S.-Mexican Borderlands "A daring and careful exposé of the political and religious right-wing discourse circulating among Cuban exiles. In this extremely important, courageous, and long-overdue project about cubanidad (Cubanness), De La Torre has created a historical marker in the effort to clear the way for a more democratic and spiritually compassionate world for Cuban Americans."—Laura Perez, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies, University of California, Berkeley

Lucía zips through the playground in her cape just like the boys, but when theytell her "girls can't be superheroes," suddenly she doesn't feel so mighty. That'swhen her beloved abuela reveals a dazzling secret: Lucía comes from a family ofluchadoras, the bold and valiant women of the Mexican lucha libre tradition.Cloaked in a flashy new disguise, Lucía returns as a recess sensation! But whenshe's confronted with a case of injustice, Lucía must decide if she can stay true tothe ways of the luchadora and fight for what is right, even if it means breaking thesacred rule of never revealing the identity behind her mask. A story about courageand cultural legacy, Lucía the Luchadora is full of pluck, daring, and heart.