Two bills have been introduced to the US Congress that hope to resolve the contentious status of Puerto Rico. Will either settle the question of annexation to the United States? According to Ausubo Press' latest book about Albizu Campos, what was breached cannot be restored by ill-suited bills.
While the Puerto Rican leader, Pedro Albizu Campos, studied in the United States between 1912 and 1921 his milieu was colored primarily with people, events, and ideas with one thing in common: a free Ireland. During those years much of Irish America was preoccupied with Ireland's struggle for independence from Britain, and Albizu Campos was in the perfect spot--Cambridge, Massachusetts -- to immerse himself in the history of the struggling Celtic island and the dreams of her revolutionary patriots. In this brilliant retelling of Albizu's formative years in Harvard and beyond, the author sheds new light on the insurgent education he received from Irish nationalists known as Fenians, and how it seeded the nationalist revolution against the US occupation of Puerto Rico. If you ever wonder why Puerto Rico is not yet a state, this is the book to read.
Aoife Rivera Serrano is a literary translator and independent researcher. She is the publisher of two controversial authors: Antonio Pedreira and Anthony McIntyre. With The Quickening of Albizu Campos, Rivera Serrano adds her voice to a series of unique insights that connect two complex cultures-Ireland and Puerto Rico.
". . . a well-written and well-documented journey . . . I devoured the book." — SUSANNE RAMIREZ DE ARELLANO, journalist & cultural critic
"I am convinced Aoife Rivera Serrano's transnational study on the influence of Irish self-determination on Albizu Campos is sure to excite. . .Truly groundbreaking comparative work and written in a clear, engaging style." — DR. JENNIFER A. REIMER,
"It is tempting to silo history into neat categories: Irish, Latin American, Revolutionary. Serrano resists this temptation in favor of the complicated truth. This approach demands greater expertise from historians, bridging multiple fields. It also demands more from readers, making The Quickening of Albizu Campos more at home in a graduate syllabus than an undergrad one. Serrano reminds us of the global perspective, and the on-going work of independence. Latino connections to the Irish revolution are well-remembered in Latin America, but often a footnote in Irish Studies programs." — DR. CATHAL PRATT, Fordham University
