Books about Ecuadorian from Amazon.com

Certain Indian revolts destroyed the family and goods from the Rancher Juan Domingo Orosco, in response and revenge for the maltreat and abuse of the savages. Orosco converted and became a Missionary working among the oriental tribes. He was always accompanied by his son Carlos who became very fund of this young Indian Beauty, Cumandá. She saved the young white man's life in several opportunities, finally she accepted to become the wife of the chief of the Jibaros Yahuarmaqui so they would spare his beloved Carlos's life. At the end of this masterpiece we find out that Cumandá is the daughter of Juan Domingo Orosco and that she didn't die when his ranch was destroyed, thanks to the protection of Pona, wife of the chief of the Paloras, and she was raised in the jungle as part of the Indian tribes. Cumandá dies sacrificed according to the customs of the tribe; Orosco reconciles with his enemy, the loss of his daughter end the life of purification he had in the last few years. *********************** Ruth Hovancick Bethlehem Pa. Can you define love? You may, after you read the Novel Cumandá. This book was written for men and women who appreciate romantic stories of love. I had the privilege to go through this book as Mr. Vaca translated to English; Describing first the majestic scenery in the Ecuadorian jungle, the rivers, the mountains, the animals, the flowers, must of all the savages and the missioners, the drama between Carlos and Cumandá, brother and sister parted by a tragedy. This drama, this love story drew tears to my eyes everyday for two months, as I received two pages a day before was even printed and publicized. I will be honored to receive this masterpiece as a book, and with Mr. Vaca's signature..
Price: $10.84 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A richly detailed ethnographic study of transnational families

Chronicling the experience of young Andean families as their lives extend between the Ecuadorian highlands and New York City, this book takes an in-depth look at transnational labor migration and gender identities. Jason Pribilsky offers an engrossing and sensitive account of the ways in which young men and women in these two locales navigate their lives, exploring the impact of gender, generation, and new forms of wealth in a single Andean community.

Migration has been a part of the Andes for centuries, yet the effects of transnational labor on the individuals and communities remain largely undocumented. The author draws on firsthand observations of everyday lives to explore issues of transnational marriages and material consumption in the region. Pribilsky presents a study that is both engaging and challenging, a vital contribution to the fields of Latin American studies and immigration studies..
Price: $13.90 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Culture and Customs of Ecuador celebrates the extraordinary cultural, geographic, and ethnic diversity that has made this small country one of Latin America's most unique. Through this overview of its history, religious institutions, literature, social customs, cinema, media, and visual and performing arts, Ecuador emerges as a vibrant microcosm of Latin America. Students and other readers will learn how Ecuadorian society blends pre-Colombian, colonial, modern, and postmodern cultural forces. The underlying themes of Ecuador's continuous struggles with multiculturalism and national identity are presented with unprecedented clarity. Ecuador is a land of drama and paradox with abundant natural resources and a "boom and bust" economy that has prolonged dependence and instability. Despite many of the economic and social obstacles typical of developing nations, Ecuador has developed a dynamic culture. This multicultural society comes alive through engaging chapters on everything from history to performing arts. A chronology and glossary supplement the text..
Price: $57.65 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This history of relations between Ecuador and the United States is a revealing case study of how a small, determined country has exploited its marginal status when dealing with a global superpower. Ranging from Ecuador's struggle for independence in the 1820s and 1830s to the present day, the book examines the misunderstandings, tensions, and--from the U.S. perspectiv--often unintended consequences that have sometimes arisen in relations between the two countries.

Such interactions included U.S. efforts in Ecuador to stem yellow fever, build railroads, and institute economic reforms. Many of the two countries' exchanges in the twentieth century stemmed from the global disruptions of World War II and the cold war. More recently, Ecuadorian and U.S. interests have been in contest over fishing rights, foreign development of Ecuadorian oil resources, and Ecuador's emergence as a transit country in the drug trade.

Ronn Pineo looks at these and other issues within the context of how the United States, usually preoccupied with other concerns, has often disregarded Ecuador's internal race, class, and geographical divisions when the two countries meet on the global stage. On the whole, argues Pineo, the two countries have operated effectively as "useful strangers" throughout their mutual history. Ecuador has never been merely a passive recipient of U.S. policy or actions, and factions within Ecuador, especially regional ones, have long seen the United States as a potential ally in domestic political disputes. The United States has influenced Ecuador, but often only in ways Ecuadorians themselves want. This book is about the dynamics of power in the relations between a very large if distracted nation when dealing with a very small but determined nation, an investigation that reveals a great deal about both..
Price: $24.75 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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A new brand of populist politicians has risen to power in the late 1980s and 90s. They have kept the Manichaean and moralistic populist discourse of their predecessors while pursuing different economic programs. The old nationalist and distributive policies of past populist regimes have been replaced by neoliberal policies that have privatized state enterprises, eliminated protective tariffs, and concentrated income. In Populist Seduction in Latin America, Carlos de la Torre shows that populism did not disappear, as expected, with the modernization of society. Combining the study of populist discourse with an analysis of the social and political setting for the emergence and persistence of populism, de la Torre argues that the durability of populism is explained by the deficient incorporation of the popular sector's into Latin American democracies..
Price: $23.64 [Notify me when price goes down.]

We are what we eat: our food defines us as individual women and men, as families and communities, and as members of our race, our class, and our nation. In this book, Mary Weismantel uses four different facets of the social life of food--diet, cuisine, discourse, and practice--to draw a richly detailed and compelling portrait of one South American community during the 1980s. The foods eaten in Zumbagua, an indigenous parish of highland Ecuador, are key to understanding what holds this distinctive people together in the face of tremendous economic and cultural challenges, as well as what divides them. The detailed discussion of diet is surprisingly revealing. Ancient histories emerge from the origins of staple crops like barley and potatoes, while recent trends, such as the substitution of purchased candies and colas for too-expensive fruits and vegetables, expose an ongoing ecological and economic crisis. In her discussion of cuisine--the cultural rules by which foods become meals--Weismantel shows how the everyday work of women preparing food transforms a mundane physical necessity, into a deeply meaningful symbolic act. Differences between local and national cultures, everyday and special occasions, men and women, adults and children, family and friends are only some of the cultural messages transmitted through snacks and means. Further, this culinary language is a highly expressive political idiom. By analyzing conversations and arguments about food, this book shows how an apparently apolitical community engaged in agonized debates about survival in the face of endemic racism and accelerating poverty. Cooking oil and wild mustard, bread and gruel, white rice and brown barley all appear as highly charged symbols of assimilation or resistance. Lastly, the book moves into the kitchen itself, where kinship, generation and gender shape--and are shaped by--the practical work of feeding the family. Social changes, such as the feminization of agriculture, continually alter labor demands within and outside of the kitchen, creating new tensions and conflicts within the family. By retaining close attention to the food itself as it is prepared and consumed, this book explores these intimate family issues without ever losing sight of the larger forces involved. The kitchen stove is a final nexus between production, exchange, and consumption. In the end, the delicate balance between the labor and products that go out of the house, and the goods that come back in, determines economic survival. And it is by choosing what to allow in and what to exclude, and how to shape the finished product for their own consumption, that the people of Zumbagua exert a precarious cultural autonomy in the face of daunting difficulties. This book is both a richly specific document of their lives, and a significant theoretical statement about the anthropology of food..
Price: $13.27 [Notify me when price goes down.]