Barrio Dreams - Puerto Ricans, Latinos and the Neoliberal City

Davila's keen insights into the politics of marketing ethnicity, community marginalization and class divisions cuts through neo-liberal postures to glaringly reveal the real issue - who will construct (and control) East Harlem's future? Well versed in the scholarship, Davila has produced a book that is essential for understanding the increasingly important role and aspirations of Puerto Rican and Latino communities in New York's history. Providing an expansive ethnographic portal into New York's famous 'El Barrio, Davila documents the ways in which the neighborhood's Latino cultures can be commodified as a magnet for gentrification as well as providing an obstacle to it. An absorbing read providing a unique contemporary perspective on East Harlem. Unlike most ethnographers of the urban poor in search of authentic street experience, Davila gives us an ethnography of power. With rich insights and sensitivity, she documents the pitched battles between developers, politicians, long-time residents, newcomers, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, and African Americans over space, gentrification and cultural representation in East Harlem. Davila peels back the many layers of local stories in order to reveal a complex, national story of resistance against urban neoliberalism...