Building Sustainable Worlds: Latinx Placemaking in the Midwest ed. by Theresa Deldaillo, Ramón H. Rivera-Servera, Geraldo L. Cadava, and Claire F. Fox (review)

Reviewed by: Building Sustainable Worlds: Latinx Placemaking in the Midwest ed. by Theresa Deldaillo, Ramón H. Rivera-Servera, Geraldo L. Cadava, and Claire F. Fox Reyna Esquivel-King Theresa Deldaillo, Ramón H. Rivera-Servera, Geraldo L. Cadava, and Claire F. Fox, eds. Building Sustainable Worlds: Latinx Placemaking in the Midwest. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2022. Pp. 342. Bibliography. Index. Photographs. Paperback: 28. 00 The election of Donald J. Trump in 2016 ushered in a renewed period of blatant and unabashed xenophobia against the Latinx population, one that was particularly violent and unrestrained. This message of animosity appealed widely to many in the Midwest. My own home state of Michigan swung for Trump, a state which hasn't voted for a Republican since 1988. It is within this political climate that Building Sustainable Worlds: Latinx Placemaking in the Midwest was constructed. This work is imperative in this time as the authors address and assert Latinx presence in the Midwestern United States. Building Sustainable Worlds is a wonderful collection that brings to light the Latinx experience of placemaking within the Midwest. At its root, the collection analyzes how different cultural practices and outlets, such as zines, performative dance, and film, "build and sustain diverse Latinx communities" in Midwestern areas like Chicago and Minneapolis (1). Through an eloquent introduction, the editors guide the reader through the major themes. Together, the chapters assert that culture (food, religion, film, etc. ) is a principal factor in sustaining and maintaining a sense of place in Midwest Latinx communities (7). The editors also explain there isn't a single definition that describes the Latinx Midwest. It is constantly shifting and evolving, as new patterns of Latinx migration and immigration continue to emerge. The collection is organized into three different sections. The first part is called "Emergent Futures. " It explores how Latinx people in the Midwest create unique ways of experiencing their environment differently that don't always fit into traditional categories. Theresa Delgadillo's chapter examines Latinx literature and argues that it creates alternative "placetimes" in remembering, creating, and sustaining communities. Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes shows how the videos of the drag artist Fausto Fernos provide a playful critique of Latinx, specifically Puerto Rican culture, and how Fernos attempts to change the way Puerto Rican and Latinx identity is viewed in Chicago and the wider Midwest. Their goal is to spark thought, teach, and provide entertainment through this distinctive perspective. The second part is "Practices of Placemaking, " a section devoted to three testimonios from the community about how activists (and others) have been able to find a place for themselves, sometimes with, and sometimes without, the help of other institutions. The last section, entitled "Scale and Place, " looks at how important culture is to create a space for Latinx populations in the Midwest. Case studies include the fight for inclusion of Latinx firefighters on End Page 93 the East Chicago Fire Department, the Festival de las Calaveras in Minnesota, and the Chicago Latino Film Festival. Building Sustainable Worlds: Latinx Placemaking in the Midwest is in dialogue with several different scholars across a range of disciplines and is wonderfully written for intellectuals in any stage of their academic career, as well as advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the humanities. The authors expand upon the existing works on Latinx migration and immigration by including the various ways culture is tied to the center of creating and maintaining spaces for the Latinx populations in the Midwest. This work also expands the definition of the Latinx diaspora to include this often under-studied population and illustrates how important the Midwest Latinx spaces are to the larger Latinx population. The collection is engaging, and the chapters contain personal stories and narratives that shed light on the beautiful connection that the Latinx population has with its past and its relationship to the present and influence on the future. The work is a much-needed addition to the scholarship Latinx Studies and popular culture, more broadly. Reyna Esquivel-King Assistant Professor Wayne State University Copyright © 2024 Historical Society of Michigan