The Farthest Home Is in an Empire of Fire: A Tejano Elegy
A family's epic origins in the hinterlands of Mexico that became Texas-and earlier, in Iberia

In his acclaimed 1999 memoir Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation, John Phillip Santos told the story of one Mexican family- his father's-set within the larger story of Mexico itself. In this beautifully written new book, he tells of how another family-this time, his mother's-erased and forgot over time their ancient origins in Spain.

Every family has a forgotten tale of where it came from. Who is driven to tell it and why? Weaving together a highly original mix of autobiography, conquest history, elegy, travel, family remembrance, and time travelling narration, Santos offers an unforgettable testimony to this calling and describes a lifelong quest to find the missing chronicle of his mother's family, one that takes him to various locations in South Texas and Mexico, to New York City, to Spain, and ultimately to the Middle East. Blending genres brilliantly, Santos raises profound questions about whether we can ever find our true homeland and what we can learn from our treasured, shared cultural legacies.
1100247164
The Farthest Home Is in an Empire of Fire: A Tejano Elegy
A family's epic origins in the hinterlands of Mexico that became Texas-and earlier, in Iberia

In his acclaimed 1999 memoir Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation, John Phillip Santos told the story of one Mexican family- his father's-set within the larger story of Mexico itself. In this beautifully written new book, he tells of how another family-this time, his mother's-erased and forgot over time their ancient origins in Spain.

Every family has a forgotten tale of where it came from. Who is driven to tell it and why? Weaving together a highly original mix of autobiography, conquest history, elegy, travel, family remembrance, and time travelling narration, Santos offers an unforgettable testimony to this calling and describes a lifelong quest to find the missing chronicle of his mother's family, one that takes him to various locations in South Texas and Mexico, to New York City, to Spain, and ultimately to the Middle East. Blending genres brilliantly, Santos raises profound questions about whether we can ever find our true homeland and what we can learn from our treasured, shared cultural legacies.
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The Farthest Home Is in an Empire of Fire: A Tejano Elegy

The Farthest Home Is in an Empire of Fire: A Tejano Elegy

by John Phillip Santos
The Farthest Home Is in an Empire of Fire: A Tejano Elegy

The Farthest Home Is in an Empire of Fire: A Tejano Elegy

by John Phillip Santos

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Overview

A family's epic origins in the hinterlands of Mexico that became Texas-and earlier, in Iberia

In his acclaimed 1999 memoir Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation, John Phillip Santos told the story of one Mexican family- his father's-set within the larger story of Mexico itself. In this beautifully written new book, he tells of how another family-this time, his mother's-erased and forgot over time their ancient origins in Spain.

Every family has a forgotten tale of where it came from. Who is driven to tell it and why? Weaving together a highly original mix of autobiography, conquest history, elegy, travel, family remembrance, and time travelling narration, Santos offers an unforgettable testimony to this calling and describes a lifelong quest to find the missing chronicle of his mother's family, one that takes him to various locations in South Texas and Mexico, to New York City, to Spain, and ultimately to the Middle East. Blending genres brilliantly, Santos raises profound questions about whether we can ever find our true homeland and what we can learn from our treasured, shared cultural legacies.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781101190036
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date: 04/01/2010
Sold by: Penguin Group
Format: eBook
Pages: 304
File size: 1 MB
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

John Phillip Santos, born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, is the first Mexican American Rhodes Scholar whose awards include the Academy of American Poets' Prize at Notre Dame and the Oxford Prize for fiction. His articles on Latino culture have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and the San Antonio Express-News. Writer and producer of more than forty television documentaries for CBS-TV and PBS-TV, two of them Emmy nominees, he lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Map of Nuevo Santander, 1756 iv

Uncle Lico's Vela Genealogy Disk xiii

Lopez Genealogy Disk iv

The Lopez-Vela Family, 1947 xvii

Lopez-Vela Family Tree xix

I Las Entradas 1

II A Book of Swoons 26

III Immaterial Ancestors 55

IV El Canto de Cenote Siete 91

V En Tierras Bárbaras 109

VI El Canto de Cenote Siete 136

VII El Real Archivo de Indias 148

VIII El Canto de Cenote Siete 165

IX Old Mexican City Twilight 176

X El Canto de Cenote Siete 203

XI Churrigueresco Helix 211

XII Zonas Santas 235

Epilogue: Imperio de Fuego 265

Acknowledgments 277

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