Esperança Bielsa is research fellow at the Centre for Translation and Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Warwick.

• Chapter 1 IntroductionChapter 2 High and Low: The Cultural Field in Europe and Latin AmericaChapter 3 The Cronica: A Hybrid Genre from the Contact ZoneChapter 4 The City in FragmentsChapter 5 Writing the CityChapter 6 Emiliano Perez Cruz: The Cronica as a Testimony of Collective Life in a Peripheral Community of Mexico CityChapter 7 The City Behind its Mask: The Vision of Guayaquil in Jorge Martillo's CronicasChapter 8 Reading CronicasChapter 9 Conclusion

Bielsa's exploration of the crónica—a unique genre in Latin American culture - both literature and commentary on everyday life—is outstanding. Her lucid description of crónica writers, in particular of how Martillo and Perez Cruz lend a voice to the hidden histories of the cities of Guayquil and Mexico city is beautifully interwoven with a thorough and illuminating analysis of the rich heterogeneity of Latin American culture. This book will appeal to all those interested in the unique mixture of cultures and identities in Latin America.