William H. Beezley received the Ohtli medal from the Mexican government in 2017 in recognition of his contributions to the nation’s history and culture. He teaches at the University of Arizona and is the editor-in-chief of The Oxford Research Encyclopedia for Latin America. He is the author of Judas at the Jockey Club, Mexican National Identity: Memories, Innuendos, and Popular Culture, and such fundamental anthologies as A Handbook of Mexican History and Culture and The Oxford History of Mexico He has authored or edited over twenty-five additional books, including Mexico--the Essentials, Oxford History of Mexico, Mexicans in Revolution, Latin American Popular Culture: An Introduction, and the volumes of The Human Tradition in Latin America. His books have been translated into Spanish and Mandarin.

This collection of life stories of 'ordinary' people from twentieth-century Latin America is an invaluable tool for teaching and a thick bundle of ideas for research in social history.

• Chapter 1 IntroductionChapter 2 Juan Francisco Lucas: Patriarch of the Sierra Norte de PueblaChapter 3 Miguel Rostaing: Dodging Blows on and off the Soccer FieldChapter 4 The Rough-and-Tumble Career of Pedro CrespoChapter 5 Marmaduke GroveChapter 6 Juan Esquivel: Cotton Plantation TenantChapter 7 Angel Santana Suarez: Cuban Sugar WorkerChapter 8 Cristobal Arancibia: The Life of a Bolivian Peasant during the Chaco War, 1932-35Chapter 9 Pagu: Patricia Galvao—RebelChapter 10 Ofelia Dominguez Navarro: The Making of a Cuban Socialist FeministChapter 11 George Westerman: A Barbadian Descendant in PanamaChapter 12 Ligia Parra Jahn: The Blonde with the RevolverChapter 13 Carlos Gardel and the TangoChapter 14 Tomasa Munoz de Leon: From Precarista to CooperativistaChapter 15 Soledad FuenteChapter 16 Irma MullerChapter 17 Dona Sara and Dona Juana: Two Bolivian WeaversChapter 18 Leoncio VeguillaChapter 19 Maria Ferreira dos SantosChapter 20 Leticia: A Nicaraguan Woman's StruggleChapter 21 Majito and Carlos Alberto: The Gamin LegacyChapter 22 Ivonne Rivero: Urban SquatterChapter 23 Suggestions for Additional ReadingChapter 24 Index