ˇJUSTICIA!: The New Mexico Landgrant Movement 1956 to 1968 - Softcover

Reade Jr., Dr. Federico Antonio

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798634975863

Publisher: Independently published, 2020

Synopsis

In this refreshed 2024 edition, “ˇJusticia! The New Mexico Landgrants Movement from 1956 to 1968” details the social protest movement considered the most aggressive act of civil unrest in recent United States history. Born out of the dispossession from their land base and desire for sociopolitical justice, landgrant activists mobilized against the legal chicanery and unprecedented landgrab precipitated in the American Southwest. The struggle began with annexation, but it wasn’t until the 1960s that the mobilization reached its peak and became the most significant social protest movement in New Mexico’s recent history.

This “docu-novela,” newly revised in 2024, combines descriptions of the historical and legal issues surrounding the landgrant question with a series of episodes written in the style of a novel that narrate the interactions of the characters involved. This book is unique in that it is in both Spanish and English, a living testimony of a people in transition, expressed both through their story and code-switching. It also presents the many different perspectives of land dispossession and includes the lyrics of the corridos, alabados, and cuentos that echo la voz del pueblo.

"ˇJUSTICIA! provides a wide-ranging tale of the valiant struggle of Nuevomexicanos for their civil rights. Federico Reade's account is based on many interviews of the principals involved in the Alianza Federal de Pueblos Libres, which fought to recover communal lands that were stolen from Spanish/Mexican landgrants. He also infuses the saga with his own intimate knowledge and participation in the Chicano Movement, and also as a practicing Hermano. Reade’s book offers a much-needed corrective to the official story of these events.

“Federico Reade provides a wide-ranging tale of the valiant struggle of Nuevomexicanos for their civil rights. His account is based on many interviews of the principals involved in the Alianza Federal de Pueblos Libres, which fought to recover communal lands that were stolen from Spanish/Mexican landgrants. He also infuses the saga with his own intimate knowledge and participation in the Chicano Movement, and also as a practicing Hermano.
"Reade’s book offers a much-needed corrective to the official story of these events. Language is central to culture and identity. Chicanos, as a colonized population, have had to deal with the confluence of two languages. English has been imposed on us by the dominant Anglo-American system, while the Spanish of our ancestors has been marginalized. As a result, we have had feelings of insecurity with our handling of both languages. Our Spanish-accented English is somehow not good enough and we feel the pain of losing our Spanish. In his writing, Federico Reade fearlessly embraces our dual language heritage and values our code switching. He opens a language door that leads to our emancipation and empowerment.”
—Dr. Ricardo Griego, author, "The Spanish Language of New Mexico: A Cultural History"

"Federico Reade’s docu-Novela is an important addition to the saga of the New Mexico landgrant movement. Using fictionalized characters based on the real-life principals of the movement, he retells the saga of a people and events that made headlines in the 1960s around the world which launched the largest manhunt in recent U.S. history. His inclusion of the corridos from the period underscores the significance of a struggle that has continued from ancient times to the present.”
—Jesús Salvador Trevińo, writer-producer-director, "Juan Seguin"

Edition details

• Publisher: Independently published
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798634975863
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 313