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RANDOM HOUSE
LATIN AMERICAN SPANISH
DICTIONARY
RELIABLE, DETAILED, AND UP-TO-DATE
* More than 10,000 entries * Includes vocabulary and usages unique to Latin America, Central America, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Cuba * Two sections, Latin American Spanish-English and English-Latin American Spanish * All entries, from A to Z, in a single alphabetical listing
The Random House imprint has long stood for excellence in the reference field. Random House reference books--prepared by its permanent lexicographic staff with the assistance of many hundreds of scholars, educators, and specialists--have been widely acclaimed for their outstanding quality and usefulness.
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Customer Reviews (8)

si! its ok.
Its an ok dictionary, but it does not have a lot of Central American words in it which is a little sad, because that is what I was looking for.

Excellent study Aid
I purchased this dictionary to help me when studying Spanish.I am an adult taking an online Latin-American Spanish program.The program is an emersion type program and does not give you the translation of the words you are speaking.The dictionary helps me find the words in Latin American Spanish with their meanings, as well as the English translations of the words that were implied in the pictures provided in the program.

I highly recommend this dictionary to any who may want to have a fuller understanding of either the Spanish or English language.

Sorry its out of print
I've worked for nearly 6 years as an interpretor and 10 within the immigrant community w/trip to the DR, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. This is a great dictionary for the backpack. There are obvious limitation based on its size. Its strongest when going from English to Spanish, largely b/c it offers alternatives to the generic stand in words. It has has a wide variety of medical and construction terminology (though hardly exhaustive). I translate primarily for Mexican, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Dominicans. I am very sorry this book has gone out of print.
Regarding those frustrated that it does not have enough Mexican spanish: 1.) I have yet to find a dictionary that addresses the myriad vocabulary of each Mexican state. Each state has a unqiue vocabulary that many other states do not understand. When I see a Mexican from Piedras Negras talking to someone from Jalisco I know there be a bount of confusion as to what means what.
2.) Mexico stands apart from the rest of Latin America. They are Mexican before they are Latin. The unique blend of Indian, Spanish, and German influences is what makes them Mexican. Their accent is different from Spanish to the point that even Guatemalan and Honduran have at times difficulty understanding them. This is a not an insult to Mexicans. Its simply to point out that they tend have an isolated vocabulary.

Very disappointing
I bought this book thinking it would be useful for my work with Mexican Spanish. I was amazed to discover that my very tiny University of Chicago Spanish Dictionary was frequently superior, although that book does not claim to be specifically tailored to Latin American Spanish. On the whole I found this dictionary to be very disappointing, lacking many commonly used words in Mexico and other regions of Latin America, and very often insufficiently explicit regarding the countries and regions where non-standard or non-European variants are used. I really wondered how the book was written; my impression was that it was a rather old dictionary spruced up with a pretty cover, new typeface and the hasty addition of some regionalisms. It's also much heavier than the U Chicago Dictionary. Despite my every effort to like the book, I feel I wasted my money.

Excellent small dictionary
I am not sure what the other reviewers were expectly for 6 bucks but at this price it is quite a bargain!It is excellent for looking up common mainstream words and i have seldom failed to find what i have needed to find in it.And yes it does give the part of speech for each word and example sentences for it too!It is cram packed with usful information and a must have for any beginner to intermediate learner of spanish.It is not the only dictionary you will ever need but it is a great start.For 6 bucks and what it offers it is a definite 5 star item! ... Read more

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Specially-commissioned essays analyze Latin American history, politics, art and literature from the nineteenth century to the present and reveal the common heritage of pre-Columbian and colonial Latin America. Although the Portuguese and Spanish-speaking states created in the early 1820s differed greatly geographically and demographically (in ethnic composition and economic resources), they also shared distinct historical and cultural traits. A chronology and guide to further reading make this volume an invaluable introduction to the rich and varied culture of modern Latin America. ... Read more

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"Richly illustrated...brings to life the work of many lesser-known artists throughout the continent." —Choice

This comprehensive survey introduces an exceptionally rich, fascinating, and complex art that has gained great popularity in recent years. Edward Lucie-Smith discusses all the major subjects and issues: magic realism, expressionism, and other concepts shared with Latin American literature; the great muralists Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and José Clemente Orozco; the interaction of politics, society, and art; the continuing interest in folk art; and the dialogue between avant-garde European and North American movements and "indigenist" thinking in the work of artists such as Wifredo Lam, Matta, Rufino Tamayo, and Frida Kahlo. Many other artists from the 1900s to the present day are included in this compelling look at a great body of brilliantly original and imaginative art.

For the second edition, the text has been updated and a new final section introduces some of Latin America's leading contemporary artists: José Bedia (Cuba/USA), Doris Salcedo (Colombia), Rubén Ortiz Torres (Mexico), Miguel Calderón (Mexico), Ernesto Neto (Brazil), Diana Domingues (Brazil), and Beatriz Milhazes (Brazil). Several of these artists make use of the latest in modern technology, including interactive installations, photographs, and video art. 178 illustrations, 45 in color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A brief review of a brief book
A nice attempt to cover a lot of material, unfortunately, the book is of a small size and scale for the illustrations to have much of an impact. There are a large number of artists and countries covered so a lot of the material is very brief. About a third of the book covers more recent artists who are not very well known and who may have very little "staying power". A nice intro but the researcher will be dissapointed. ... Read more

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At the start of the 18th century, the richest regions in the Americas lay south of New England and the mid-Atlantic colonies of North America. By the end of the 20th century, this economic geography has been definitively, perhaps irrevocably, reversed. The formerly poor colonies of Europe have become the core of the United States, a global economic colossus and regional overlord, while the once rich former colonies to the south, are among the poorest regions in the world. The dramatic reversal of fortunes lies at the heart of this work on political economy. In a study on economic development and ideological formation in the Americas, the book shows how the much-vaunted achievement of US democracy has been secured by the political stunting of Latin America, and how US historians have systematically ignored the intertwining of Latin America and US history. The final chapters address popular culture, from Donald Duck through to "Dallas", as well as contemporary political issues, such as NAFTA. Charles Bergquist is the author of "Labor in Latin America". ... Read more

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This clearly written and comprehensive text examines the uprising of politically and economically marginalized groups in Latin American societies. Specialists in a broad range of disciplines present original research from a variety of case studies in a student-friendly format. Part introductions help students contextualize the essays, highlighting social movement origins, strategies, and outcomes. Thematic sections address historical context, political economy, community-building and consciousness, ethnicity and race, gender, movement strategies, and transnational organizing, making this book useful to anyone studying the wide range of social movements in Latin America. ... Read more

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Highlighting eleven different topics in separate chapters, the thematic approach of Latin American Politics offers students the conceptual tools they need to analyze the political systems of all twenty Latin American nations. Such a structure makes the book self-consciously comparative, allowing students to become stronger analysts of comparative politics and better political scientists in general.

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Concerns with the intersections of culture and power are producing new questions about the United States' involvement with Latin America. Essays by distinguished U.S. and Latin American historians and anthropologists illuminate a wide range of subjects pertinent to the issue. 2 maps. 25 photos. ... Read more

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Comprised of 20 countries located in North, South, and Central America as well as the Caribbean Islands, Latin America is populated by over 500 million people. From Argentina to Mexico, all Latin American countries are Spanish-speaking with the exception of Portuguese-speaking Brazil. Latin America has been producing a very unique form of graphic expression for decades and this historical publication brings together the best examples from the 20th century as well as today. The book begins with an extensive historical essay about the region's contribution to design, featuring the development of graphic design in the region from 1900 to current times, while the main body of the book features A to Z entries of almost 200 designers and design offices that have built up and continue to champion the Latin design identity. Finally, a handy index facilitates access to key information in the book, such as designers' names, countries, publications, educational institutions, and famous events. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Very Good
Nice book with lots of references on artists througout Latin America, although most of them from Brazil. Plenty pictures that really sum up artist or office works. Links to most of important famous names websites. Very, very good indeed.

Great Resource
Fantastic book, it fills a much needed gap in the knowledge of Contemporary Latin American Graphic Design ... Read more

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The United Fruit Company (UFCO) developed an unprecedented relationship with Guatemala in the first half of this century. By 1944, UFCO owned 566,000 acres, employed 20,000 people, and operated 96% of Guatemala's 719 miles of railroad, making the multinational corporation Guatemala's largest private landowner and biggest employer. In Doing Business with the Dictators, Paul J. Dosal shows how UFCO built up a profitable corporation in a country whose political system was known to be corrupt. His work is based largely on research of company documents recently acquired from the Justice Department under the Freedom of Information Act-no other historian researching this topic has looked at these sources. As a result, Dr. Dosal is able to offer the first documentary evidence of how UFCO acquired, defended, and exploited its Guatemalan properties by collaborating with successive authoritarian regimes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Interesting perhaps for the Latin American scholar, but not for anyone else
Both the reader of this book, and the book itself, wake up once per chapter. For scholarly purposes, it may need all the detail and plodding sentences that it contains, but I can't imagine that non-scholars will find anything captivating in it. I certainly didn't.

In general it tells the story of United Fruit Company's rise to power under a string of Guatemalan dictators. Paul Dosal wants to argue that United Fruit could never have done as well as it did under a democracy: by a succession of bribes, United Fruit managed to control most of the Guatemalan train system and its most important ports. It semi-secretly owned the International Railways of Central America. This ownership allowed it to charge obscene rates to any non-United banana companies. Without government support for that monopoly and its unconscionable rates, United would never have survived.

United owned the Guatemalan government; Sam Zemurray, through his Cuyamel Fruit Company, owned the Honduran. The Guatemalan and Honduran governments often came close to blows in defense of their respective banana barons, particularly at the boundary between the two countries where profitable banana cultivation happened. That dispute was only settled when Cuyamel and United merged, and Zemurray eventually took over the combined behemoth.

If you're interested in the details of how a company exploited a government, and how a sequence of military strongmen kept 80% of their people illiterate and hungry, by all means read Dosal's book. Otherwise, I have just given you most of what you'll learn. You can thank me later.

Government Collusion Yields Monopoly and Exploitation
Paul Dosal wrote this book as an extension of his doctoral thesis.In doing so, he has retained the focus on the relationship between the banana giant, United Fruit Company, and the so-called Liberal regimes in Guatemala from before the turn of the 20th century to the intellectuals and workers revolution of 1944.It has the usual indicia of a scholarly work, but it is well-written and easily comprehended by the general reader.Professor Dosal brings a certain amount of passion to his work, and he clearly views the main characters as greedy and criminal, but he generally sticks to the facts and delivers them in an orderly fashion.

Guatemala was only one of several Latin American and Caribbean countries where the United Fruit Company harvested or procured bananas, and it hardly has been one of the biggest-generally accounting for about six percent of world production.Yet it was the ability of Minor Keith, Victor Cutter, and Sam Zemurray to obtain favorable arrangements from the Guatemalan strongmen, particularly Manuel Estrada Cabrera (1898-1920) and Jorge Ubico (1929-44), that allowed United Fruit to forge a unique level of near-total economic control over the entire country and its development.Not only did United Fruit develop a monopoly in the production and marketing of Guatemalan bananas, but it also controlled the country's railroads and primary port.Its contracts allowed it to operate on its property without government regulation and with very little obligation to pay taxes.It also exercised nearly complete control over Guatemala's import and export trade, including the trade of coffee, even though it was neither a producer or marketer of this other primary export commodity.

Dosal does not go out of his way to claim or prove bribes and kickbacks to government officials for these favorable arrangements.He doesn't have to, as the facts speak for themselves.Anyway, his primary indictment of the "caudillos" is that they betrayed the interests of their own people for the benefit of foreign investors to an extent far beyond any return their country and its people received.In defense of Minor Keith and his investors, Guatemala's government had attempted to develop a national railroad without success because of lack of capital, and Keith provided the expertise and capital to get the railroad and the port built.Similarly, some of the later steps taken by United Fruit that resulted in greater economic control were done after Guatemalan authorities had been unable to accomplish their economic goals by other means, but the complicity of the dictators in United Fruit's plans resulted in increasingly one-sided bargains.Professor Dosal contrasts the similar development in Costa Rica, in which democratic regimes made bargains with United Fruit that over the years were much more even-handed.Dosal's main point, well-documented in this book, is that but for the existence of dictatorial regimes in Guatemala over the 45 years, the role of United Fruit Company in Guatemala's development would have been quite different.He writes:

"While Guatemalan dictators had conditioned the development of United Fruit, American diplomats and capitalists had deluded themselves into thinking that they shaped Guatemala's destiny.The country's most brutal dictator sanctioned the concession that allowed Keith to monopolize railways, and the limited democratic opening of the 1920s blocked his efforts to extend his influence to Guatemalan financing.Without timely assistance from Guatemala's corrupt and authoritarian rulers, Keith and United would have found it much more difficult to extract liberal concessions from the government, eliminate competitors, and suppress challenges to its authority."(pp. 112-13).

Unique research & analysis, insightful for learned reader
"Doing Business" covers some of the behind the scenes maneuvering and personality conflicts typical of early 20th century Central American republics.It sheds light on the motivation of the men behind the UFC and the railroads in detail not usually seen in books delaing with this subject.Too many other books have been written about Central American politics, especially with regard to the United Fruit Company, which focus solely on classical political analysis.This work must be used when studying this era in Central American history, to gain a full picture of the events.It would be nice to see more research like that of "Doing Business", political inclinations aside. ... Read more

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Before Columbus, the Americas were populated by many indigenous cultures, with a great diversity of religions. After 1492, European governments and churches dominated religious life. While Roman Catholicism was the official religion, great religious hybridization occurred, mixing European, indigenous, and often African traditions into distinctly New World forms.

Latin American Religions provides an introduction through documents to the historical development and contemporary expressions of religious life in South and Central America, Mexico, and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. A central feature of this text is its inclusion of both primary and secondary materials, including letters, sermons, journal entries, ritual manuals, and ancient sacred texts. These documents provide readers with direct access to the voices of adherents, enabling them to act as academic investigators, experiencing and interpreting the same texts on which historians draw. The documents are framed by substantive introductions which provide both historical context and theoretical insights for the study of these religions traditions and the ways in which they have developed over time.

From the religious traditions of the Mayas and Aztecs and of the African diaspora, to official and popular Catholicism, to liberation theology, the rise of Pentecostalism, and emerging trends and new religious movements in Latin America, this new work offers a concise overview of this fascinating field.

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Poetry. Prose. Latino/a Studies.This book, published tocelebrate the tenth anniverssary of White Pine Press' acclaimed SecretWeavers Series, hold selections from all the previous twelvevolumes. The book includes well-known authors, such as AlfonsinaStorni, Cristina Peri Rossi, Luisa Valenzuela, Gabriela Mistral andMarjorie Agosin (who also provides the introduction). The foursections, Identity and Difference, Women and Gender, The Politics ofDomination, and Women and Language, are designed to provide readersand teachers of multi-ethnic literature with a wide range of voicesaddressing a vast array of topics. ... Read more

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A magnificent gathering of Latin American women's voices
"A Secret Weavers Anthology," edited by Andrea O'Reilly Herrera, brings together a rich assortment of writings by forty women writers of Latin America. This collection is stunning in its diversity. Essays, short stories, poems, and excerpts from longer works are included. The authors represent thirteen different nations from all over the Latin American world: Chile, Guatemala, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and more. The authors also represent several generations of women writers: the earliest was born in 1886, and the youngest in 1955. Short author bios, which include some bibliographic references, are included at the end of the volume.

This anthology celebrates the 10th anniversary of White Pine Press's Secret Weavers Series, and thus includes excerpts from the previous 12 volumes in this series devoted to Latin American women writers. A number of different translators worked to make these selections available in English.

The selections cover a wide range of themes: ethnic identity, history, violence, sexual politics, the craft of writing, and more. It is difficult to pick out just a few favorites from the dozens of marvelous pieces, but some of the best include "The Ineffable," Delmira Agustini's poem about the burden and joy of being a writer; "Cage Number One," Dora Alonso's moving short story which takes us into the mind of a monkey in a zoo; "Protest," Romelia Alarcon de Folgar's poem which employs imagery that is reminiscent of Walt Whitman; and "Dirty Words," Luisa Valenzuela's stunning essay which celebrates the ecstasies of forbidden language.

Of course, in mentioning those pieces I don't mean to take away from the many other writers in "Secret Weavers": Julia de Burgos, Ilke Brunhilde Laurito, Alejandra Pizarnik, and many, many more. This is a magnificent collection, filled with passion, politics, and prophetic vision. For those interested in women's studies, Latin American studies, or 20th century literature, this is an essential anthology. ... Read more

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This second edition of Modern Latin American Revolutions has been revised and updated to include new information on the cases of Bolivia, Cuba, and Grenada. Particular attention is given to the ongoing revolutionary process in Nicaragua after the 1990 elections, with brief analyses as well of recent events in El Salvador and Peru. This edition also provides expanded coverage of ChÈ Guevara's visionary leadership and an all-new section that addresses the future of revolution in Latin America and the Caribbean. Professor Selbin argues that there is a strong link between organizational leadership and the institutional process on the one hand, and visionary leadership and the consolidation process on the other. ... Read more

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The Nahua Indians of central Mexico (often misleadingly called Aztecs after the quite ephemeral confederation that existed among them in late pre-Hispanic times) were the most populus of Mesoamerica's cultural-linguistic groups at the time of the Spanish conquest. They remained at the center of developments for centuries thereafter, since the bulk of the Hispanic population settled among them and they bore the brunt of cultural contact. This collection of thirteen essays (five of them previously unpublished) by the leading authority on the postconquest Nahuas and Nahua-Spanish interaction brings together pieces that reflect various facets of the author's research interests. Underlying most of the pieces is the author's pioneering large-scale use of Nahua manuscripts to illuminate the society and culture of native Mexicans in the Spanish colonial period. The picture of the Nahuas that emerges shows them far less at odds with the colonial world form it what is useful to them, and far more capable to maintaining their own pre-conquest identity, than has previously been suggested. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Smorgasbord of Mexicano history and philology
Lockhart, author of several useful books on Nahuatl language and history, has produced this collection of scholarly essays on various aspects of the interaction between the indigenous Nahuas and the Hispanic hegemony in Mexico.

Contents:
NAHUAS
NAHUATL PHILOLOGY
HISTORIOGRAPHY
SPANIARDS
Notes, glossary, bibliographical appendix (a roster of the items in this volume), bibliography.

Lockhart works most characteristically at the level of detail and daily life, and is admirably free of the spurious demiurge to impose all-encompassing explanatory systems on people and their history. He is, nonetheless, a penetrating and humane historian, sensitive but not judgmental.

The book includes book reviews (e.g. one on Bierhort's translation and commentary for the Cantares Mexicanos) as well as the results of Lockhart's own research. All of them should be of interest to readers in this field. Lockhart has included 13 Nahuatl texts (with English translations) that will be useful to people studying the language. These texts are mundane (a favored word) documents written down between 1583 and 1783, all essentially archival results of official acts (wills, deeds, etc), a kind of literature the author has specialized in, with anthropologically and historically valuable results.
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Two defining features of agriculture in Latin America are unequal resource distribution and poverty among peasant farmers ("campesinos"). Agrarian reform - which grants land rights to campensinos together with production credit, inputs and training - is often seen as a measure that will foster equity and social justice. Although some claim that agrarian reform will lower farm production by fundamentally altering the structure of agriculture, others argue that production will rise as campensinos get a stake in the system. This book presents an historical and analytical interpretation of agrarian reforms in six Latin American countries: Mexico, Bolivia, Guatemala, Chile, El Salvador and Nicaragua. It offers an examination of the accomplishments and failures of these reform efforts, concluding that governments have frequently announced bold policies that have proved to be ineffectual or that have been quietly neutralized by other actions. The book illustrates how agrarian reform is related to environmental issues in Latin America, explaining that small farmers often intensively cultivate steep hillsides, while large farmers leave rich bottom land idle. ... Read more

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This comprehensive collection of original essays written by an international group of scholars addresses the central themes in Latin American philosophy.

• Represents the most comprehensive survey of historical and contemporary Latin American philosophy available today
• Comprises a specially commissioned collection of essays, many of them written by Latin American authors
• Examines the history of Latin American philosophy and its current issues, traces the development of the discipline, and offers biographical sketches of key Latin American thinkers
• Showcases the diversity of approaches, issues, and styles that characterize the field

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