Puro Border: Dispatches, Snapshots, & Graffiti from the US/Mexico Border

by Luis Humberto Crosthwaite, John William Byrd (Editor), Luis Humberto Croswaite (Editor)

The magazine Traffic got it wrong! The Border-with its frantic commerce in drugs, human beings, electronic gadgets, money and other economic units-is a lens into the future of the "new world economy." But it’s misunderstood, disparaged, cheated and even sentimentalized by the national media portraying it from its Big Brother perspective. Puro Border is a remedy to that bias, creating a collage rooted in the best writing from both sides of the border, plus photographs and grafitti (corridas, newspaper clips and facts) revealing life en la frontera. In the 80s and 90s, with the militarization and fencing of the border, the United States became the prototype of the world’s largest gated community. The sibling of the militarization was NAFTA, the child of corporate America and bureaucratic America. The headlines are everywhere-U.S. Marines shoot and kill 17-year-old Ezekial Hernandez in Redford, Texas; Donaldo Luis Colossio is assassinated in a Tijuana barrio; gargantuan drug busts and equally huge deliveries of stuff across the line. But underneath the ink are millions of people who live and work in this cultural, linguistic and geographic soup. The indigenous peoples of the region, like the Tohono O’ddham, will tell you that the border is a make-believe line. They know because it crosses through the heart of their ancient homeland. And in Juárez the line is real enough. There over 300 young women-mostly workers in the booming maquila industries-have been disappeared. The media on the other side have mostly ignored this tragic fact. Mexican contributors include Juan Villoro, Eduardo Antonio Parra, Julian Herbert, Julian Cardona and David Ojeda. Writers north of the line include Charles Bowden, Luis Urrea, Robert Draper, Cecilia Balli, Gary Nabhan and Doug Peacock. Introduction by Bobby Byrd, and, as counterpoise, an Epilogue by Luis Humberto Crosthwaite, the Mexican editor.

Genres: Nonfiction, Short Stories, Poetry, Essays

260 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2002

Reviews

[Angela S · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there were ten stars, I'd give this book eleven. Never have I read such a captivating collection. I have used this book as a diving board into graduate studies and my own personal research and return to it again and again. This collection is as eclectic as the U.S./Mexico border itself - if only there were more like it out there.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

You don't want to try to read this book all at once. There is just too much to digest. Instead, read it a little at a time, one chapter to digest before going back for more. It will help in your understanding of the amazing life on the border with Mexico. The experience cannot be summed up in one book, but this gives a couple of really nice points of view.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the spectrum of personal memoir to drier reporting. The breadth of subject and style are pretty amazing, as is the editing, in that the excerpts mostly don't feel excerpt-y and there aren't any pieces I wish I'd skipped, which is my usual anthology experience. There's a lot of stuff in this, is my overall response. (What there is not is a map, which led to my getting lost in Google maps' satellite images for an hour. Guys, did you know that San Diego is south of Los Angeles? Yeah...)

[Paul Mena · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of essays and memoirs, this is a strong collection of the sounds, sights and vibe of life on the U.S.-Mexico border. An emerging theme is the uniqueness of this world, how it combines both countries but at the same time it is often neither. This is a book not to be read as much as experienced.

[William Crosby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Multiple essays (and poetry and songs and photos and lists) about the U.S./Mexico border: la frontera. Several purposes: to counter the media presentation of border issues, to show how the governments on both sides are making life harder for those who live there, and to give a richer perspective on life on the border.

Read this book to understand the paradoxes, complexities, and hidden stories which are ignored in the political discussions (and diatribes) about "immigrants."

Several of the essays are disturbing, bitter, and funny, but all jokes will be taken seriously and levity is scrutinized with judgments based on perceived stereotypes. This is more than an academic look.

[Personal note: I was acquainted with one of the authors, Sam Quinones, from our stay at Barrington Hall at U.C. Berkeley in 1978-79.]

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some excellent material in this book, but it's not nearly as good as the 1990s book, now out of print, that it "replaces" -- THE LATE, GREAT MEXICAN BORDER, from the same wonderful publisher, Cinco Puntos Press. Read that one first, if you can find it, then this one.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stories Read
"All Jokes Will Be Taken Seriously" David Romo
"The Dead Women of Juarez" - Sam Quinones
"Ropa Usada" - Cecilia Balli
"Nothing to Declare: Welcome to Tijuana" - Juan Villoro