Las Mamis: Favorite Latino Authors Remember Their Mothers

In a marvelous new anthology from the editors of Las Christmas, some of our most admired Latino authors share memories of their mothers. Las Mamis brings to life fourteen remarkable women in sometimes poignant, sometimes hilarious stories about the ups and downs of families from Kansas to Colombia and Boston to Mexico City.

Junot Díaz remembers how his Dominican mother quietly helped him find his way back when his life hit a dead end. Alba Ambert mourns the Puerto Rican mother she lost as an infant. Francisco Goldman writes a paean to his Guatemalan Mamita's beauty and determination. Gioconda Belli discovers that her glamorous, all-powerful Nicaraguan mother is only a woman, after all.

The women lovingly portrayed in Las Mamis represent a cross section of Latino life and culture. They come from rich families in the big cities of Latin America, from rural immigrant families in the United States, and from the worlds in between. But they all share extraordinary strength and courage. Often pressed by conflicting cultural expectations, circumstances, and religions, they have nevertheless managed to leave enduring legacies for their children.

Now, in these vivid, touching, often humorous reminiscences -- infused with a distinctive sabor latino -- Las Mamis celebrates the special bond between mothers and their children.