Cantora Book

This memorable first novel is the story of four generations of Mexican - then Mexican American women - who defy and preserve the traditions of their often oppressive cultures. Set in Mexico and Southern California, the story of the Perez women is pieced together by the U.S.-born daughter who accidently stumbles upon a startling family secret. The truth of Amparo's forebears emerges through her recollections of the stories she's heard all her life - how her great-grandmother fled first from her domineering father, then the raiding Yaqui Indians, and finally the encroaching violence of the Revolution. She recalls stories of the family's restaurant in Hermosillo, Mexico. And, she remembers tales of the family's move to California. But Cantora is much more than the chronicle of a family. By coming to know her Mexicana great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother, the mestizo woman comes to know herself. Based on the oral history of the author's family, this novel reveals Lopez-Medina as a new, strong voice in the chorus of women reconstructing their own histories. Cantora is a story of love, deceit, and liberation that will help readers look into their own pasts. It is a story that will inspire you to remember.

A lyrical evocation of four generations of Mexican women who defy tradition to discover themselves, this novel tells the moving story of a modern Latina and her search to learn the truth of her family's past. Winner of the 1992 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award.