In the first biography in English of the great Argentinian tango singer Carlos Gardel (1890-1935), Collier traces his rise from very modest beginnings to become the first genuine "superstar" of twentieth-century Latin America. In his late teens, Gardel won local fame in the barrios of Buenos Aires singing in cafes and political clubs. By the 1920s, after he switched to tango singing, the songs he wrote and sang enjoyed instant popularity and have become classics of the genre. He began making movies in the 1930s, quickly establishing himself as the most popular star of the Spanish-language cinema, and at the time of his death Paramount was planning to launch his Hollywood career.Collier's biography focuses on Gardel's artistic career and achievements but also sets his life story within the context of the tango tradition, of early twentieth-century Argentina, and of the history of popular entertainment.

This first English translation makes avail­able to English-speaking readers a power­ful modern Mexican novel, first published in 1961. Fernando Benítez, well-known Mexican author, journalist, and winner of Mexico's 1968 best-book award, exploits a true but little-known incident by build­ing it into a tightly structured, tense, and tragic novel of social protest. The incident on which the novel is based is a bloody rebellion against the village feudal master touched off by joking comment on the "poisoning" of the water as one of Don Ulises's men is pushed into the plaza fountain. Feed­ing on itself, the rumor spreads that the "boss" has poisoned the local spring, and rebellion follows, with its violent and unforeseen consequences. The result is a frightening look at one of Mexico's major social problems and glaring ironies--that over fifty years after a revolution fought by the peasant and for the peasant, most rural groups are still living below the national economic standard.