Rodriguez, Luis J.

Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A.
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Almost too realistic, yet a must read.
  • The Definitive Account of Barrio Life.
  • best book ever
  • Poorly written
  • Always Running
 Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A.
Luis J. Rodriguez
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0743276914

Book Description

By age twelve, Luis Rodriguez was a veteran of East L.A. gang warfare. Lured by a seemingly invincible gang culture, he witnessed countless shootings, beatings, and arrests, then watched with increasing fear as drugs, murder, suicide, and senseless acts of street crime claimed friends and family members.

Before long, Rodriguez saw a way out of the barrio through education and the power of words and successfully broke free from years of violence and desperation. Achieving success as an award-winning Chicano poet, he was sure the streets would haunt him no more -- until his son joined a gang. Rodriguez fought for his child by telling his own story in Always Running, a vivid memoir that explores the motivations of gang life and cautions against the death and destruction that inevitably claim its participants. At times heartbreakingly sad and brutal, Always Running is ultimately an uplifting true story, filled with hope, insight, and a hard-learned lesson for the next generation.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Almost too realistic, yet a must read. .......2007-03-20

I heard this book was good, but didn't know how good it actually was until I read it. There isn't a dull page.

What's most alarming about the book is not necessarily the events that take place, as many movies about this lifestyle have been made since the book's first publishing, sort of numbing the harsh realities of gang life to even outsiders who grew up in secluded suburbs, but the age that Luis Rodriguez actually is when the events are taking place. Some of the day to day drama described in the book is so adult like that you can only picture the subjects of these tales being 18 to 25 years old, yet the reader is often reminded that the author was as young as 14 when some of them to La Justice face aux décisions des administrations locales

La Justice face aux décisions des administrations locales

La Justice face aux décisions des administrations locales
Authors: L. Pascal
Catalog: Book
Media: Broché
Release Date: 07 February, 2001
Publisher: Demos
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ringtone88.com thru as a cholo; the sex, drugs, violence, and parties. His style of writing is hypnotizing due to the vivid descriptions that create an amazing picture in your mind. As a result, you won't want to put the book down. However, readers beware; Always Running contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find as inappropriate.
The Republic of East LA: Stories
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Great Book
  • Outstanding book
  • Our Republic
  • Our Republic
  • A Ride Through East L.A.
 The Republic of East LA: Stories
Luis J. Rodriguez
Manufacturer: Rayo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

ContemporaryContemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 006093686X
Release Date: 2003-03-04

Amazon.com

Luis J. Rodriguez's The Republic of East L.A. showcases the lives of drifters, gangbangers, the homeless, and other hard-luck residents. The characters in these stories often commit crimes or suffer hardships without taking responsibility for their actions, or the author leaves the consequences unexplored (after a murder at the end of one story, the characters simply drive off). What we are left with are people to whom at the outset we sense bad things will happen, and they usually do. There are touching stories in here, however, where people endure the blight of urban poverty, making the most of it and/or escaping through fantasies of a better life. Rodriguez sums up East L.A. in "Boom, Bot, Boom": <blockquote>There are hundreds of midnight images: black-uniformed officers with taped nightsticks, scrawled bus stops, spasms of gunfire, crowded jail cells, whirling helicopter blades, sidewalk Romeos and red-toed Juliets.... But for Raul and Stick, there was only this--a sad, silly, and sometimes deadening symmetry called suburbia. And they thrived on it.</blockquote>

Rodriguez covers fertile ground, but does so in a rather bland and predictable manner. Perhaps the author is right that the people of East L.A. simply endure what comes their way, but without giving us more engagement between the subjects and their action, The Republic of East L.A. seems inhabited less by people than by characters. --Michael Ferch

Book Description

From the award-winning author of Always Running comes a brilliant collection of short stories about life in East Los Angeles. Whether hilariously capturing the voice of a philosophizing limo driver whose dream is to make the most of his rap-metal garage band in "My Ride, My Revolution," or the monologue-styled rant of a tes-ti-fy-ing! tent revivalist named Ysela in "Oiga," Rodriguez squeezes humor from the lives of people who are not ready to sacrifice their dreams due to circumstance. </p>

In these stories, Luis J. Rodriguez gives eloquent voice to the neighborhood where he spent many years as a resident, a father, an organizer, and, finally, a writer: a neighborhood that offers more to the world than its appearance allows. </p>

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Great Book.......2007-01-26

The Republic of East L.A. is incredible because it talks about the truths of East L.A. Some stories are hard to believe because it is so gruesome and tragic. For example, on page 63, a sixteen-year-old girl named Noemi got raped by some vatos. Furthermore, on page 229, there were women who sold themselves for sex in order to obtain money. However, there are parts of the story that are just funny. For example, on page 64, a freshman girl named Olivia fought over a seat and got suspended. We would recommend The Republic of East L.A because it has an exciting mixture of settings, emotions, and characters. We recommend this book because it talks about betrayal, love, and tragedy. Overall, this book is worth reading.

5 out of 5 stars Outstanding book.......2004-03-18

It's rare to find new literature about Chicanos in Los Angeles. Most I've found is set in the years from 1920 to 1970. This was a breath of fresh air.

I must admit that I hadn't heard of Luis J. Rodriguez before I read the books. What first attracted me to the book was the pretty girl on the cover. While the stories were compelling to me as a Chicano, I think the true beauty of the author's work is a truth that transcends racial and socio-economic background and most importantly, age.

Highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars Our Republic.......2003-07-20

Luis J. Rodriguez once again has painted a vibrant and complex picture of those who work, live, love and die in "The Republic of East L.A." Rodriguez's prose is straight-forward yet poetic as he tells us about the varied struggles of cholos/as, a budding journalist, a limousine driver, immigrants, working people, all sorts of gente. My favorite story is "Sometimes You Dance with a Watermelon," where forty-year-old Rosalba (an immigrant living in poverty and already a grandmother) needs to escape her crowded home to get a momentary bit of joy. She rouses her favorite granddaughter, Chila, and they drive to Grand Central Market where they buy a watermelon. Rosalba balances it on her head and starts to walk swaying "back and forth to a salsa beat thundering out of an appliance store." She and Chila get caught up in this joyous dance:

"Rosalba had not looked that happy in a long time as she danced along the bustling streets of the central city in her loose-fitting skirt and sandals. She danced in the shadow of a multi-storied Victorian -- dancing for one contemptuous husband and for another who was dead. She danced for a daughter who didn't love herself enough to truly have the love of another man. She danced for her grandchildren, especially that fireball Chila. She danced for her people, wherever they were scattered, and for this country she would never quite comprehend. She danced, her hair matted with sweat, while remembering a simpler life on an even simpler rancho in Nayarit."

This is a powerful, beautiful collection.

NOTE: This review refers to the paperback edition.

5 out of 5 stars Our Republic.......2003-04-05

Luis J. Rodriguez once again has painted a vibrant and complex picture of those who work, live, love and die in "The Republic of East L.A." Rodriguez's prose is straight-forward yet poetic as he tells us about the varied struggles of cholos/as, a budding journalist, a limousine driver, immigrants, working people, all sorts of gente. My favorite story is "Sometimes You Dance with a Watermelon," where forty-year-old Rosalba (an immigrant living in poverty and already a grandmother) needs to escape her crowded home to get a momentary bit of joy. She rouses her favorite granddaughter, Chila, and they drive to Grand Central Market where they buy a watermelon. Rosalba balances it on her head and starts to walk swaying "back and forth to a salsa beat thundering out of an appliance store." She and Chila get caught up in this joyous dance:

"Rosalba had not looked that happy in a long time as she danced along the bustling streets of the central city in her loose-fitting skirt and sandals. She danced in the shadow of a multi-storied Victorian -- dancing for one contemptuous husband and for another who was dead. She danced for a daughter who didn't love herself enough to truly have the love of another man. She danced for her grandchildren, especially that fireball Chila. She danced for her people, wherever they were scattered, and for this country she would never quite comprehend. She danced, her hair matted with sweat, while remembering a simpler life on an even simpler rancho in Nayarit."

This is a powerful, beautiful collection.

4 out of 5 stars A Ride Through East L.A........2002-09-11

The Republic of East L.A. is collection of stories set in a part of Los Angeles that even natives have not seen, do not know. Rodriguez has an eye for his culture and a sometimes imperfect way of telling a story that only adds credibility to the subjects he writes about.

That these stories have a rough edge, that they are not always perfectly told, is not important because they are poignantly told. Mostly they cross the barrio barrier for all to enjoy. Occasionally they don't. If you are interested in culture, speak Spanish or are familiar with Hispanic/American way of life, you will have no trouble. If you aren't, you will still find some of these stories worth a bit of a struggle. Especially "Pigeons." This tale about new Mexican immigrant prejudices against second generation Mexicans and vice versa is worth the entire ride through "East L.A."

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"
A History of Literature in the Caribbean: English and Dutch-Speaking Regions (Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		A History of Literature in the Caribbean: English and Dutch-Speaking Regions (Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages)

    Manufacturer: John Benjamins Publishing Co
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 1588110419
    East Side Stories: Gang Life in East LA
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars     		It Doesn't Have to Be This Way/No tiene que ser asi: A Barrio Story/Una historia del barrio
    Luis J. Rodriguez
    Manufacturer: Children's Book Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0892392037

    Book Description

    Monchi likes to write poems, hang out with his cousin, and tell stories to his uncle. Then one day, a member of the local gang tells him it's time to join up. Monchi is scared but excited. The older boys give him the handshake, girls talk to him, and even teachers are afraid of him. But when a tragic event changes everything, Monchi must make an important decision. There is no easy answer to his dilemma, but the love and respect of his uncle help him find a way out. Written in both English and Spanish, It Doesn't Have to Be This Way is a compelling tale of a young boy's encounter with the world of gangs.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Must have for any teacher.......2000-06-05

    This book is the best book I have read dealing with the pressures and dangers of joining a gang. The author gives you a realistic view of what it means to be a part of a gang. The story follows a young boys quest to belong. You get to watch this young boy slowly drift away from his family and friends into the gang lifestyle, until something tragic makes him realize that it doesn't have to be this way. This book does an incredible job of making you realize all that kids go through when faced with pressure to join gangs. This is a book that I am going to use in my classroom to open the eyes of my students. I believe this book is informing and empowering kids to not join gangs.
    Poems across the Pavement
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • powerful and poignant poetry
    		 Poems across the Pavement
    Luis J. Rodriguez
    Manufacturer: Tia Chucha
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    20th Century20th Century | Poetry | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 0962428701

    Book Description

    Winner of the 1989 Poetry Center Book Award

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars powerful and poignant poetry.......2000-06-23

    Luis Rodriguez's poetry is powerful, sometimes gut-wrenching, honest and vibrant. It is unself-conscious and spontaneous. It sounds like he is just talking in his everyday language, which just happens to be in beautiful poetic phrases. He is one of our national treasures. His work can be a bridge between communities.
    America Is Her Name
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • América is Her Name
    • adults will enjoy it more than children
    • MORE REVIEW QUOTES
    		 America Is Her Name
    Luis J. Rodriguez
    Manufacturer: Curbstone Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    4. My Diary from Here to There/Mi diario de aqui hasta alla (Pura Belpre Honor Book Narrative (Awards))
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    ASIN: 1880684403

    Book Description

    Set in the Pilsen barrio of Chicago, this children's picture book gives a heartwarming message of hope. The heroine, America, is a primary school student who is unhappy in school until a poet visits the class and inspires the students to express themselves creatively-in Spanish or English. America Is Her Name emphasizes the power of individual creativity in overcoming a difficult environment and establishing self-worth and identity through the young girl America's desire and determination to be a writer. This story deals realistically with the problems in urban neighborhoods and has an upbeat theme: you can succeed in spite of the odds against you. Carlos Vazquez's inspired four-color il Projekt Deutsch : Seconde (coffret 3 cassettes)

    Projekt Deutsch : Seconde (coffret 3 cassettes)

    Projekt Deutsch : Seconde (coffret 3 cassettes)
    Authors: Jourdan
    Catalog: Book
    Media: Cassette audio
    Release Date: 07 February, 2001
    Publisher: Nathan
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