Apple Pie & Enchiladas: Latino Newcomers in the Rural Midwest

by Jorge Chapa, Jorge Chapa

The sudden influx of significant numbers of Latinos to the rural Midwest stems from the recruitment of workers by food processing plants and small factories springing up in rural areas. Mostly they work at back-breaking jobs that local residents are not willing to take because of the low wages and few benefits. The region has become the scene of dramatic change involving major issues facing our country—the intertwining of ethnic differences, prejudice, and poverty; the social impact of a low-wage workforce resulting from corporate transformations; and public policy questions dealing with economic development, taxation, and welfare payments. In this thorough multidisciplinary study, the authors explore both sides of this ethnic divide and provide the first volume to focus comprehensively on Latinos in the region by linking demographic and qualitative analysis to describe what brings Latinos to the area and how they are being accommodated in their new communities. The fact is that many Midwestern communities would be losing population and facing a dearth of workers if not for Latino newcomers. This finding adds another layer of social and economic complexity to the region's changing place in the global economy. The authors look at how Latinos fit into an already fractured social landscape with tensions among townspeople, farmers, and others. The authors also reveal the optimism that lies in the opposition of many Anglos to ethnic prejudice and racism.

Genres: Nonfiction, Anthropology

276 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2004

Reviews

[Liddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Provides SOME insight to Latinos in the midwest, but if you're Latino and live in the Midwest, it doesn't tell you much that's new. If you're not, and you're interested in this narrow subject, then you should probably read it/skim through it.
I liked the one-on-one interviews with Latinos from the community.

From a research prespective, I wasn't too sure about the conclusions that were made based on the interviews, but again, if you live in the Midwest they're pretty accurate.

I liked the ideas at the end of the book that review concepts and suggestw projects communities in the Midwest can do to better the living standards for all citizens.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great supplemental book to use in the classroom and gives you a fair amount of insight on the subject. Much of it is straight forward and easy to follow. I only wish it would have gone in further detail about their lives.

I read this book in grad school and now have started to use it in my own high school classroom for Chicano Studies.