The U.S.-Mexican border is one of the most permeable boundaries in the world, breached daily by Mexicans in search of work. Thousands die crossing the line and those who reach "the other side" are branded illegals, undocumented and unprotected. Crossing Over puts a human face on the phenomenon, following the exodus of the Chávez clan, an extended Mexican family who lost three sons in a tragic border accident. Martínez follows the migrants' progress from their small southern Mexican town of Cherán to California, Wisconsin, and Missouri where far from joining the melting pot, Martínez argues, the seven million migrants in the U.S. are creating a new culture that will alter both Mexico and the United States as the two countries come increasingly to resemble each other.

Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail

Politics & Social Sciences

Ruben Martinez

Social Sciences

Picador

In his interview, Luis Rodríguez explains that the demonization and false glorification of gang life has done much disservice to the termination of gang activity, activity which he defines as "90% boredom." What's the key to reducing gang violence and improving inner-city lives? To the dissolution of jail time as a right of passage? Part of the solution lies in providing better education, in teachers able to tap into and help direct the overlooked creativity of inner-city communities. A great responsibility lies, as well, in a national understanding and support for communities bound by poverty, and in encouraging people to work together to help people work for themselves.

East Side Stories: Gang Life in East L.A.

Arts & Photography

Luis J. Rodríguez

Joseph Rodriguez

Photography & Video

powerHouse Books

Follows the Chavez family as they leave southern Mexico to travel the underground railroad to the tomato farms of Missouri, the strawberry fields of California, and the slaughterhouses of Wisconsin.

Cruzando la Frontera: La Cronica Implacable de una Familia Mexicana que Emigra a Estados Unidos (Spanish Edition)

Parenting & Relationships

Planeta Publishing

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Books by Ruben Martinez