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Forged under the Sun/Forjada bajo el sol: The Life of Maria Elena Lucas
The compelling oral history of a remarkable woman's life and political struggle
Even after a nearly lethal dose of pesticide from a crop-dusting plane left her permanently disabled, María Elena Lucas has been a tireless activist for migrant workers in the United States. The oldest of seventeen children, she began her working life at age five in the shrimp basins of the Gulf of Mexico. Forged under the Sun/Forjada bajo el sol provides the rich oral history of this remarkable Chicana woman and recalls her struggle to survive poverty, hardship, and violence to become an outspoken champion of the Farm Worker Organizing Committee.
The story of Lucas's journey has been faithfully transcribed by Fran Leeper Buss from hundreds of hours of interviews. Woven into the narration are the songs, poetry, and diary entries through which María Elena Lucas has expressed herself since childhood, often writing at night by flashlight after days filled with grueling physical labor and the never-ending demands of family life.
The themes that thread through this extraordinary life history include the emergence of Lucas's political and religious consciousness and her growing awareness of the deeply rooted sexism of American and Latin American society, including that of the "enlightened" male union organizers. Fran Leeper Buss's introduction places Lucas's story in cultural, historical, and political context and then, relating the details of her unique collaboration with Lucas, explores the nature of memory and resistance.
Even after a nearly lethal dose of pesticide from a crop-dusting plane left her permanently disabled, María Elena Lucas has been a tireless activist for migrant workers in the United States. The oldest of seventeen children, she began her working life at age five in the shrimp basins of the Gulf of Mexico. Forged under the Sun/Forjada bajo el sol provides the rich oral history of this remarkable Chicana woman and recalls her struggle to survive poverty, hardship, and violence to become an outspoken champion of the Farm Worker Organizing Committee.
The story of Lucas's journey has been faithfully transcribed by Fran Leeper Buss from hundreds of hours of interviews. Woven into the narration are the songs, poetry, and diary entries through which María Elena Lucas has expressed herself since childhood, often writing at night by flashlight after days filled with grueling physical labor and the never-ending demands of family life.
The themes that thread through this extraordinary life history include the emergence of Lucas's political and religious consciousness and her growing awareness of the deeply rooted sexism of American and Latin American society, including that of the "enlightened" male union organizers. Fran Leeper Buss's introduction places Lucas's story in cultural, historical, and political context and then, relating the details of her unique collaboration with Lucas, explores the nature of memory and resistance.
- GenresNonfiction
336 pages, Paperback
First published August 15, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 8, 2008
Maria Elena Lucas had such a rough life. She got married young to get away from father. She is then abused by her husbands family. Saddest part is the miscarriage in the bath tub. However, its really empowering.
January 10, 2013
This book is a must read for anyone who has an interest in Mexican American history in Texas. I am from the Rio Grande Valley and reading about the agricultural development and how it transformed Mexican - Anglo relations was truly fascinating.
The living and working conditions of migrant workers is really brought into the forefront of this book with an especially strong emphasis on how women and female children were treated.
This was an excellent book that left me sad, furious, and angry that people could be treated like this - and not so long ago too! This book is not a bash on the Anglo community it is simply a revelation of migrant life and the encounters she had growing up with bad people - Hispanic and Anglo alike.
More importantly, this book made me have a greater appreciation for how far we have come. It is an eye opening book and is very informative. The introduction has plenty of citations so if there is something incredulous that you just can't believe is real, there's a citation to look up!
There are a lot of poems in the book that were written by Maria Elena during her darkest moments. The poems are really touching and beautiful when read in Spanish! The English translation to everything written in Spanish is also provided. As a Spanish speaker, I can testify to the accuracy and correctness of the translation.
A truly good read. It's a long book and it's heart wrenching to read the truth of their conditions. In the book she focuses a lot on her grass roots political activity - absolutely fascinating. She includes laws and descriptions of these laws which were clearly unjust. I don't know how to classify this book, it could easily fall under a memoir, a women's study book, a history of the migrant worker's strife and organization...Needless to say, there are multiple facets to this book that are really interesting and appealing.
It's a long book, but well worth the time it took for me to finish the book.
The living and working conditions of migrant workers is really brought into the forefront of this book with an especially strong emphasis on how women and female children were treated.
This was an excellent book that left me sad, furious, and angry that people could be treated like this - and not so long ago too! This book is not a bash on the Anglo community it is simply a revelation of migrant life and the encounters she had growing up with bad people - Hispanic and Anglo alike.
More importantly, this book made me have a greater appreciation for how far we have come. It is an eye opening book and is very informative. The introduction has plenty of citations so if there is something incredulous that you just can't believe is real, there's a citation to look up!
There are a lot of poems in the book that were written by Maria Elena during her darkest moments. The poems are really touching and beautiful when read in Spanish! The English translation to everything written in Spanish is also provided. As a Spanish speaker, I can testify to the accuracy and correctness of the translation.
A truly good read. It's a long book and it's heart wrenching to read the truth of their conditions. In the book she focuses a lot on her grass roots political activity - absolutely fascinating. She includes laws and descriptions of these laws which were clearly unjust. I don't know how to classify this book, it could easily fall under a memoir, a women's study book, a history of the migrant worker's strife and organization...Needless to say, there are multiple facets to this book that are really interesting and appealing.
It's a long book, but well worth the time it took for me to finish the book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews