A Journey Around Our America: A Memoir on Cycling, Immigration, and the Latinoization of the U.S.

by Louis Gerard Mendoza

Immigration and the growing Latino population of the United States have become such contentious issues that it can be hard to have a civil conversation about how Latinoization is changing the face of America. So in the summer of 2007, Louis Mendoza set out to do just that. Starting from Santa Cruz, California, he bicycled 8,500 miles around the entire perimeter of the country, talking to people in large cities and small towns about their experiences either as immigrants or as residents who have welcomed—or not—Latino immigrants into their communities. He presented their enlightening, sometimes surprising, firsthand accounts in Conversations Across Our America: Talking About Immigration and the Latinoization of the United States.

Now, in A Journey Around Our America, Mendoza offers his own account of the visceral, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions of traveling the country in search of a deeper, broader understanding of what it means to be Latino in the United States in the twenty-first century. With a blend of first- and second-person narratives, blog entries, poetry, and excerpts from conversations he had along the way, Mendoza presents his own aspirations for and critique of social relations, political ruminations, personal experiences, and emotional vulnerability alongside the stories of people from all walks of life, including students, activists, manual laborers, and intellectuals. His conversations and his experiences as a Latino on the road reveal the multilayered complexity of Latino life today as no academic study or newspaper report ever could.

218 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2012

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Mendoza's memoir for the many topics it touches upon: immigration (reform); community and local politics; the diversity of Latino communities throughout the U.S.; facing the unfamiliar. Not having much personal interest in cycling, however, the transportation aspects oftentimes overshadowed the topics I was more interested in. There are many, many descriptions of the physical realities of cycling around the country (weather, poor road conditions, flat tires - endless numbers of flat tires), but then we also get descriptions like this: "Late this day I have a powerful interview with an elder, Adela Marmion, about her 93 years of life in the U.S.-Mexican borderlands" (192). That's it; that's Adela's whole appearance. I would much rather have read her insights than a recounting of how many miles were covered on a particular day. Perhaps one has to read Mendoza's companion piece about this trip to get this kind of detail? (To be fair, the other book is called Conversations Across Our America.)

Part IV provided some of the most in-depth portraits of individuals and groups active in these areas and was my favorite section. The epilogue also gives some poignant ideas that keep you mulling over the book and the issues it addresses.

If you have an interest in Chican@/Latin@ communities in the U.S., or an interest in gaining different (albeit sometimes brief) perspectives on immigration in this country, this is worth a read.

[Sushila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book while on a trip to San Antonio at an independent bookstore where there was a display called “What’s Really Going On at the Border.” I enjoy travel memoirs as a whole, so I was a bit predisposed to like this book. The writing can be plodding at times, but the prose tightens up in the last chapter as Mendoza argues for a reexamination/reevaluation of American identity. A Journey Around Our America nicely illustrates how Latinx people are ingrained in different parts of the US. The book also highlights many issues (hate, lies, propaganda) about immigration that were brewing twelve years ago and that have sadly deteriorated since. I’ve been aware of these issues peripherally, but lately I’ve been wanting to be more actively informed. This book has provided valuable perspectives from recent history. It’s been nice to see what has and hasn’t changed in the last twelve years and how issues have evolved.

I initially thought there would be more interviews highlighted in this book, but I now realize that Mendoza has a companion book with just that. I’ve already checked out Conversations Across Our America from the library.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did find the travel interesting, and the facts and thoughts on immigration issues worthy of contemplation. I'm glad I read this! My one complaint: the author's choice to write "Chican@s" and "Latin@s" might make sense in the lofty world of academics, but I found it tiresome. Are there really women who get offended to be included as part of the plural "Latinos?"