Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino”

A lyrical and loving study of a group of people who defy definition. Called by many names, maligned by many slurs, the author speaks less about a specific race but about the immigrant experience in general. Starting with the historical fact of the invention of race by a certain breed of incurious and bigoted white men, the author examines the "Latino" people from their own point of view. How do they identify? How do they absorb their native cultures' influence as well as that of their geographical location?

There is no one type or kind, each is unique but together they form a warm and powerful community. The author's voice is so loving and awed and beautiful throughout this book. It was a joy to read and very gratifying to explore.

Our Migrant Souls is a beautiful, book-length essay filled with indignation, melancholy, and, most importantly, love. Love for Latinos, love for a mixing of races and cultures, love for breaking free of outdated, restrictive stories.

Unlike his earlier Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish-Speaking United States, which was essentially a compilation of mini-profiles as Tobar traveled across the United States meeting Latinos, this book masterfully weaves the stories of his students, the people that he meets, and his own family into a moving treatise about what connects Latinos of all sorts and about the future we can create if we fight the oppressive capitalist system that dehumanizes the poor and the brown show more and Black.

Read it. If, like me, you're Latino, it will fill you with pride. If you're not, it will open your eyes to the people all around you that you're failing to see. show less

Beautifully written memoir/history/psychology of the wide range of people lumped by the American empire into the category of "Latino." Deserves to be as well-read as Ta-Nehisi Coates' [b:Between the World and Me|25489625|Between the World and Me|Ta-Nehisi Coates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451435027l/25489625._SY75_.jpg|44848425].

God knows we need to raise up voices speaking truth to power about the fear and anger directed towards the Latino community, both "undocumented" and U.S. citizens. I'm writing this review on May 20, 2023. Yesterday, Fox News deplorable Laura Ingraham reluctantly admitted that her scare-mongering story about homeless veterans being kicked out of New York hotels to make show more room for "illegals" was a hoax. "Turns out the group behind the claim made it up," she said, "We have no clue why anyone would do such a thing." show less

This is an impactful, absolute must-read. Tobar combines journalistic narrative, his parents’ history and his own to provide a powerful portrait of the vast Latino American experience — discussing immigration, colonialism, race, culture, policy, identity, and more.

This book has many interesting vignettes but overall this would fall into the category of books called "racial struggle explained to white people". The book is good but there is nothing revolutionary or particularly moving or thought provoking about the chapters. I think it is worth a read but there is no "aha" moment in this book.

This book was an organizational mess.