Our Barrios Our Lives: Essays and Writings on Chicano Space, Art and Memory

This book is a collection of stories and essays by Antonio Zavala, a Chicago writer and journalist, who has covered the Mexican and Chicano communities for many years.

The scope of the book is wide-ranging, from a story exploring the concept of Aztlan to an appreciation of El Flaco Jimenez, accordion player extraordinaire.

Also included are stories about Dolores Huerta, on turning 90 years-old; a visit to Cicero, Illinois, by Mexican immigrant and astronaut Jose Hernandez, who believes someday there will be a lunar base on the moon.

Three neighborhoods, considered Mexican areas within the city, are also featured here in stories that touch on the people who have resisted attempts at displacement and erasure.

There is also a look back at the Chicano Movement through the participation of the author and also essays on Chicano theater and the expansion of Danza Azteca in the Chicago area.

Other stories here include an interview with Sylvia Mendez, the daughter of Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, who sued the Westminster School District in California in 1945 and ended the segregation of Mexican children in the school system.

Here, too, is the extraordinary story of Dolores Castaneda, a Little Village activist whose work with the homeless have earned her the title of "Mother Dolores" among those she helps.