Ausubo Press has Just Published the First English Edition of Insularismo by Antonio S. Pedreira. Subtitled An Insight into the Puerto Rican Character

At long last a Latin American classic is published in English. Seventy-one years overdue, it is the first book to explore the psychological effects of Spanish and U.S. imperialism on Puerto Ricans.

New York, NY (PRWEB) August 10, 2005 -- Ausubo Press has just released the first English edition of Insularismo, by Antonio S. Pedreira. Subtitled An Insight into the Puerto Rican Character, the book was the first to critique the primary influences that shaped the Puerto Rican character and Puerto Rican culture. It has ignited polemic and controversy since its original date of publication in 1934 and still stands as the seminal work from the best-known intellectual of Puerto Rico's "Generation of 1930." Even today Antonio S. Pedreira is the benchmark critic most frequently cited in any analysis regarding the ethos of the island nation.

Used in Latin American Studies or Cultural Studies programs, its advanced rhetorical Spanish was making it less accessible to students despite its significance. According to Oscar Montero, professor in Lehman College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, An Insight into the Puerto Rican Character is "...a canonical text... [this] translation is an important contribution to what should be an ongoing debate, not just on Puerto Rican politics and culture but also on the culture and politics of our hemisphere." Its importance was echoed by Tace Hedrick, professor in the University of Florida at Gainesville. "...Aoife Rivera Serrano's translation of Insularismo is a necessary step in a kind of 'recovery' of Puerto Rican letters for those living on the mainland."

July 25th, marked the 107th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Puerto Rico, and Insularismo continues to be the most controversial product of Puerto Rican discourse in the aftermath of the invasion, and one of the most important books ever written about the Puerto Rican experience. The bewildering issues and questions Pedreira raised still beg to be answered today. His reflections on the power of history, culture and race compel the reader to ask if Puerto Ricans will succeed in curbing the North American behemoth? Despite 107 years of occupation, why hasn't the United States been able to uproot the island's culture? Has the Puerto Rican character itself been a determining factor in the island's ambiguous relationship with the United States?

With this first English edition Ausubo Press has given us a key to the Pandora's box that had remained sealed to those who did not have an advanced grasp of the Spanish language. Insularismo: An Insight into the Puerto Rican Character will help the history buff, social worker and general interest reader alike better understand the background, as interpreted by Pedreira, of the Latin Americans who constituted the first great wave of Spanish-speaking immigrants to the eastern United States.

Ausubo Press is an independent multicultural publishing company. It is one of only several publishers in the U.S. producing books in more than one language and offering co-editions in Spanish and English. Works in Luso-Brazilian literature and Irish Gaelic will also be published in the future. Ausubo Press hopes to play a small role in raising global consciousness about the need to protect any cultures greatest treasure: their language.

Contact:
William R. Cadiz
917.573.6858

# # #