Color: Latino Voices in the Pacific Northwest

By Lorane A. West

Book Overview

Color presents poignant conversations with people who have come from a variety of Central and South American cultures and backgrounds. The author based her writing on exchanges she witnessed through her work as an interpreter and advocate for Spanish-speaking immigrants. Her narratives give voice to their hopes, dreams, and life experiences--from the ordinary to the overwhelmingly difficult.

In Color, a mother tells how as a little girl, she swept a dirt floor, cooked over a wood fire, and washed clothes in a muddy river. "Can you imagine being here, in a nice apartment, how fun it is for me to keep house?" A man is unable to comprehend the poor work ethic of his fellow employees. "Minimum wage is more per hour than I would make at home by a long shot. So I work as hard as I can...but my citizen coworkers are always complaining. They even tell me not to work so hard because I make them look bad!" A father speaks of the intense hunger he experienced as a child, and then recalls, "The first time my son said, 'I don't like this food, ' I burst out crying. My wife thought I was upset at his bad manners, but I was just so glad my son had the luxury of not liking food...that my children have never known hunger."

Whether about love, work, play, finances, or family, these accounts illuminate cultural differences in attitudes, rights, and values, and also pose intriguing questions about the effects of prosperity. Lorane A. West paints a very real picture of life for immigrants in the United States, and through her portraits, gives Americans a glimpse of themselves that may both surprise and challenge.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874222745
• ISBN13: 9780874222746
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Washington State University Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.4" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

This book should be mandatory for all medical interpreters!

Wonderful book, reading it has been "deja vu" page after page. In my opinion, this book should be mandatory for all of those who work with the hispanic community in the medical as well as the legal arena in the United States. Like the author said: it makes you laugh out loud on one page, and moves you to tears the next. I'm seriously thinking on buying at least ten books just to have my community clinic co-workers read it!

immigrant voices heard

Latino Voices in the Pacific Northwest is a collection of immigrant stories written as loosely translated spoken monologues, each written from the perspective of recent Spanish-speaking immigrants to the Pacific Northwest, with stories based in the healthcare setting, as well as at work and at home. The book speaks to the experiences of many immigrants and travelers across cultural boundaries. After reading this book time and time again, I still find myself laughing aloud or holding back the tears as different stories move me, which is especially impressive and touching as I wrote the book myself.

Insightful

A wonderful book. Sensitive and though-provoking. I look forward to more by this talented author!