Terrific conversation with the terrific guest on an interesting topic, so thank you for your presence this morning. Y name is Eric Farnsworth i head the Washington Office of the counsel of the americas and the America Society. It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to review this book today, and to talk a little bit about the latino immigrant experience in the United States. Our guest is ray suarez, who has written a really terrific book entitled latino americans the 500year legacy that shaped a nation. Its a companion to the Ground Breaking pbs series on latino americans. In barely 250 pages, ray takes the reader through the broad sweep of Latino History in the United States, even before there was a United States, from the spanish explorers to the modern day. Its a majestic effort, in my view. Seeking to discover and highlight the history and future of the latino experience in the United States, and to put in context in order to build a broader appreciation for latino experience. It helps us understand, frankly, some of the issues that have become so important to washington politics today. As all the you know, the America Society and the coinlt of the americas are generally known for our work in the western hemisphere, including latin america, and canada. The immigrant experience is something that each of our nations have in common. We are a hemisphere of immigrants. For over five years, our immigration and Integration Initiative have sought to advance dialogue around the Economic Contribution of immigrants and latinos to the United States. We believe that greater integration and appreciation for the socioEconomic Contribution of the Migrant Community will as theyr nation, pursue a sound policy framework within which we believe comprehensive Immigration Reform must play an Important Role that encourages the full participation of the imMigrant Community within the u. S. Economy as a critical pillar of economic development, growth, and community strength. And thats precisely why the book is so timely. It must be said that the latino experience in the United States hasnt been all perfect understood. And the integration process is not always perfectly smooth. Ray gives us the story, warts and all. Thats what makes it so powerful. Its a story of resilience, sacrifice, and ultimately success. Its a story of america. And there is perhaps no better person than ray suarez to wrinl it. You will know him for the National Correspondent for newshour and npr talk of the and you might reviewer. Im as a last may, he interviewed Anthony Kennedy in one of the most thoughtprovoking rule of law issue in the hemisphere i have ever heard. I have to say that my assignment today as the interviewer of an interviewer [laughter] is a little bit like going one on one with michael jordan. So im looking forward to the experience. Hes a prolific author. Hes received numerous awards for his groundbreaking awards in journalism. And you have his expanded biography as well, if you care to look at that. Ladies and gentlemen, would you please join me in welcoming ray suarez. [applause] i want to get to the story you told, ray, on the latino experience in the United States. , as i join you here before we do. But before i do, i want to explore a little bit of your motivation for writing the book. What was it that attracted you to the story. What if you hope achieve . Ray when pbs decides it was going to start raising the considerable millions of dollars that it would take to put a project like this on the air, i should tell you a little bit about what is going on in modern television. You dont just do a documentary anymore. These days when you go to the big philanthropic organizations in the arts and humanities, in the social sciences, they want to know what your ancillaries are. So you cant just make a tv show, theres also a school curriculum. Theres also a dvd. Theres also an online presence. Theres an interactive portion of the whole project where people who read the book or watch the tv series upload their own stories of their American Journey online and interact with other people. The big givers want to know about engagement. So from the very beginning there was always going to be a book, and the producer of the series approached me to tell me the series was coming. I said, great. When can i start working on the narration . And he said, no, no, no. I dont want you to do the tv show. I want do you write the book. And i said, all right, well, thats fine. Just at the same moment i was shopping around proposals with new york publishers for a new book and meeting with some mixed interest. So here it was a book in my lap. It was time to get going. It was perfect. The topic was right on time. And also, the discipline was good because unlike a book where you decide what is in it or not in it from beginning to end, i had to work with the producers of the Television Series all along the way. They were watching what i was was watching what they were doing. My chapters changed the way they saw their episodes, and their episodes shaped my chapters in return. We had to mirror each other to a degree. Right at the outset i said to the producer, so can i just go away and write a book about the latino experience in the United States . And he said, no, actually it has to kind of go with the tv show. [laughter] so, benjamin brat did a lovely job narrating the tv series. I did a couple of promotional appearances around the country with benjamin and watched as we ended and as people rushed the stage. They took his picture. [laughter] actually, it was hard to do with camera phones. They were able to narrow it to the point where they just got the very handsome and talented benjamin. Not putously said why ray in the picture too . It cuts you down to size in washington a city where tv journalists think they can act like movie stars to be with the real movie stars is a imriewfl and humbling experience. [laughter] did you find the story in any particular way to be personal . I mean, did you take it as an academic exercise . Did you take it as an exercise, as you mentioned, in term of working, obviously, with the Television Series and that side . Did you put a little bit of yourself in to it. Explain how it worked. Obviously i would have written it a different way based on my background, etc. Thats a great question, obviously, im implicated in the story. My reason my family is here because we are implicated in the story. As a reporter and as a writer, i had to think, all right, well, do i put that in the book . Its not in the tv series. Do i make personal notes along the way about what i remember about specific era or tell my own stories in covering, for instance, the Immigration Reform and control act of 1986 . I decided to keep an arms length distance, so to not drop out of the voice that i was using to tell the story and get personal very often. One time i broke character was to note that when i was a kid there were only two latinos on television of any note. Desi arnaz and quick little friendhe with the crazy spanish accent. And use that as a moment to note how much things had changed in the fifty years since i was a kid. Since now its a little better. You can see people like me on the air. I dont have to wear a sombrero. There were times where i was temped to break character. I thought maybe i should tell people how i thought about it and decided not to. Eric as an author that would have been a i dynamic tension to figure it out. I think you did it remarkably well. I think it was a passionate book, but clearly done from the perspective just as you say as somebody a little bit distanced, soand su can tell the broader weep. I want to get to the broader sweep and the actual book. You know, youre telling 500 years of history and projecting a little bit to the future. Thats a long time period to cover in 250 page exps you give us some of the highlights . You know, in term of the overall sweep of history, what are some of the things you think define the latino experience in the United States . Even smaller issues that might ave a broader resonance . From the very beginning, in working with the producers of the documentary, we sort of gamed out how we were going use individual stories to be stand in for era in history. So we would explain what was going on in the wider story by using one persons experience. You couldnt tell a highly indepth academic history. You have to write a shelf full of books not a modest 250page volume or indeed, six hours of television. You just couldnt do it. So we looked for stories that helped explain a wider truth about what was happening to millions of people at once. So, a person who came to california as a foundling in the early years of the 19th century was put on city, she a ship, brought up the coast, was brought to the missions as a to sewhild, talk and read. Theyained their trust and made her a manager of mission holdings. Eventually when the missions were secularized, and seized from the church and given to others after mexican independence, she became the largest woman landowner in northern mexico, quite an outstanding thing to happen in mid 19th century mexico. And yet, she lost it all when the United States came after the mexican war. So both her rise, her existence. , her life coming from an or fan inch in mexico city to the rough frontier of what was then northern mexico, to end up 80 years later sitting and telling her story to an american historian who was chronicling the story with the assumption that these people would disappear. That the mexico cultural deposit in that part of the world would be overwhelmed by the yankee arrival. And that you needed to take this story down so that we would use it to remember that once upon a time there were mexicans here. It showed a misconception on the part of the englishspeaking new kids coming west. It showed a misconception about how people interact with the land they are living on and how they remain in place. It was also a great story. So it served all the masters. Who ledy of one person spanishspeaking regiment fighting for texas independence against the government of mexico, who ends up in exile in mexico. It was a country he took up arms to fight against. We felt that was an important story because it showed that constant duality and the constant challenge which people do you belong to . Which country do you belong to . Are you really here and stale part of there . Once again, thank god, writes a passionate, fascinating memoir at the end of his long life to discuss how he felt he had been used and betrayed by both the americans and the Mexican Government of the time. It made his story easier to write. We knew from the historical record. Are as memoirs, which fascinating time to the history of both countries. And in the 20th century, stories like that of a person who goes to the Supreme Court of the United States to establish in law the ability of puerto rican s to move to the american mainland as people coming from another part of the United States instead of as immigrants. Her fiance is living legally in the u. S. , in new york city, in the first years after the spanishamerican war. This person comes to new york harbor on a boat laden with Agricultural Products from the caribbean. Two people come on the deck. The customs inspector of new york harbor and the inspection inspector. He tells the woman from san juan she has to go ellis island. And she says, no, i dont have to go to ellis island. Im from puerto rico. Stripes fly over san juan harbor. You took this place from spain in war. How can i be an immigrant . And even after the case becomes legally moot because she marries her fiance and becomes legally resident in the United States, because she has a head of steam over this issue, she fights it to the Supreme Court, wins, and establishes the right of Puerto Ricans to look at the United States as the wider country instead of being trapped in this of 3500 squareld miles floating in the caribbean. Just great, Great Stories that help explain how you guys were there, why we are here, and how the history of the hemisphere is intertwined from jump street. I mean, if you read the writings and speeches of those people, they talk about jefferson and washington. They were on fire for the american revolution, just as they were on fire from the french revolution. When you read one person, he talks about the United States as the republic of freedom and until he spends 11 years in exile and gets to see both the down sides and the upsides of life in the United States, hes a fascinating chronicler of late 19th century American Life seen from outside. So it was a great privilege to be able to bring these stories to readers who may think they know a lot about this before they sit down. And as i said in the introduction, i havent done my job if at least once a chapter youre saying, i didnt know that. Eric i think you did the job well. I consider myself one of these people aware of these issues. Ray and by definition. [laughter] presumably, but it was a constant learning, which i thought was successful. Another success of the book was clearly you talked about the positioning Latino History as American History or u. S. History, which, i think, is absolutely true. And i think do you an effective job doing it. Let me ask a question that follows from that, then, and its not necessarily an easy question. But, you know, you point clearly in the book to periods of time when latinos have not been accepted, discrimination, difficulties. I guess the question i ask is, you know, why has it been some cases so difficult for the Latino Community . I recognize the Latino Community is not a uniform community and you clearly discuss that in the book as well. There are different heritages, different histories, Different Countries of origin, etc. , but help us understand a little bit the experience has been as difficult as it has been considering that, you know, again, as you point out, the spanish conquistadors were in the United States before the english. And not to say theres not a melting pot aspect to it, but there seems to be a disconnect there. Well, there are two pillars to the answer. One is the real world of power and wealth and the ability to project power and win the long game, which the anglo americans clearly did in this part of the continent. The other part is what goes on in your head, the idea that some people are naturally fit, naturally prepared by nature to rule, which was living inside the heads of the people who stormed west and basically won the argument. I begin the book by reminding the reader that this story starts with contending empires, and, you know, the english clinging to a bunch of coastal colonies facing the eastern sea board. The french empire, and if you look at the map of the french empire in the 18th century in reallymerica, it is stunning what it takes in. And spain, of course, and how all three big empires had their elbows out and were bumping shoulders, and vying for dominance in the continent. And russia was heading down from alaska. I me, they get as far as northern california, and one of the reasons the missions were sent as a network and archipelago of settlements as far north as they were was because there was a fear of russian expansionism down the west coast of north america. So all these empires vying for resource, vying for influence, vying for territory. And it ends in this part of the continent with English SpeakingUnited States and canada basically winning the argument. Yet, that doesnt mean you totally erase or efface everything that happened before. So we end up with a kind of funny america where people sit fuming in traffic on the i5 between san diego and los angeles complaining that people dont speak english. That we have fights over the status of spanish in florida where spanish was spoken for a century before anybody spoke english. And they treat it like its a new thing that people want to speak spanish in florida without thinking too deeply where the word florida comes from. So theres a symbolic and cultural and sort of attic full of archetypes we carry around in our head. And then there is the real rough and tumble word of trade and ports and rivers and money and resources, and both of those worlds are part of shaping what happened after he was wandering and and what become new mexico and arizona and west texas. Not even sure where he was. To you know, it is tough compress that all. Sometimes i felt like i was doing a quick pastiche. In other words to understand it you have to remember the thing i havent told you yet. It was challenging sometimes. Eric one of the areas that you point to in term of clear successes where the latino population has clearly broken mentionednd then you some of the Cultural Icons in the entertainment space, and we have seen that grow over the years. One aspect is on my mind because the baseball playoff. One aspect you dont touch on in the book is the whole sports contributi