Description: ELVIRA is the heartrending memoir of a Mexican immigrant woman who fights for a meaningful life in a land once alien, now native. It is a story of survival and of personal tragedy, cultural clash, and racial conflict. After nearly 50 years of hard labor as a farmworker, Elvira later became a successful advocate for migrants and senior women.
Brief description: 1916 when ELVIRA CHAVEZ was six years old, her family IMMIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES to escape the violence of the MEXICAN REVOLUTION. Her father quickly found WORK ON THE RAILROAD in EL PASO, TEXAS; then in the MEAT-PACKING PLANTS of KANSAS CITY; and finally on the FARMS of SCOTTSBLUFF, NEBRASKA. Elvira began working in the SUGAR BEET AND POTATO FIELDS at eleven years of age, continuing that BACKBREAKING LABOR for nearly fifty years when her husband Maique died. For a time, she worked as a kitchen assistant in the schools. Then, she became an ADVOCATE FOR MIGRANT FARMWORKERS with a community action center, founded a WOMEN'S SENIOR CENTER, and worked as a "foster grandmother" in a day care center. All her life since she was nine years old, she was responsible for MAKING ALL THE TORTILLAS for her large family and for boarders in their household. Ultimately, after 80 years as a TORTILLERA, she was estimated to have made over ONE MILLION TORTILLAS.
Review Quotes:
"Fabulous! Brilliant! Phenomenal! The writing is so authentic, and what a memory she had. A wonderful, wonderful work." - Garland D. Bills, Professor of Linguistics Emeritus, University of New Mexico
"The text is dazzling. I loved hearing Elvira's voice. This is the clearest rendition I have encountered of the lives of Mexican-Americans in those years. The introduction and the linguistic and cultural explanations are cogent and rewarding." - Anne Fairbrother, Associate Professor of Education, State University of New York, Oswego.
"You have in your hands something first-rate. Congratulations. As a member of the family, the effect of the book is tremendously emotional. The intimate style makes you feel as if the author were talking to you directly. I enjoyed it immensely! Bravo!" - Hernán Chávez, Trovador. Elvira's nephew, Colima, México.
"What a gift to future generations! Elvira's values come through loud and clear - family and faith, her love for the migrant workers, her senior ladies, and the day-care children. What a tough, resilient, determined, and dignified lady!" - Jean Hurtado, Bilingual Teacher retired, Los Angeles Unified School District.
"Elvira's voice has a historical and literary appeal that resounds far beyond her immediate family. Commentaries by the compiler deepen appreciably our understanding of the language usage and cultural conditions of the period." - George M. Galaza, Deputy Director retired, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
"The writing captures beautifully my grandma's manner of speaking. I could actually hear her talking. It's such a rich compilation of her life history that I've heard since childhood. I loved the chapter about the one million tortillas." - Michael F. Hernandez, Elvira's eldest grandson, Elk Grove, California.