Performing artists are fun to read about, but the volatility of pop stardom can, at times, put off book people. Celebrity books stay around for years—possibly unread or unsold, if they’re about the wrong flavor-of-the-month. Some Spanish-language publishers with long lists of music and film bios have disappeared in the last few years. The books listed here were chosen for their enduring figures and themes and should have a good shelf life. Meanwhile, though, there’s more of a rebellious culture taking shape too effervescently to be captured in books. So, how to satisfy your readers’ appetite for their alternative pop idols as well? Magazines are part of a balanced diet, but too many libraries simply serve up People en Español and leave it at that. Far fewer shelve the lively biweekly Furia Musical (Televisa; 800-288-6677), which covers Mexican norteña music and mainstream pop, and almost none bother with a couple inexpensive gems essential to fans of Spanish-language music and youth culture. Al borde (888-264-1487; www.alborde.com) is a hip biweekly jam-packed with news, features, and reviews treating such scenes as rock en español, alterlatina, and the red-hot regional urbano movement that fuses hip-hop with traditional forms; the full-color tabloid is in its eighth year of publication. The slick bimonthly La Banda Elástica (626-337-8800; labandaelastica.com) recently celebrated its 12th anniversary with a concert featuring some of the hottest rock stars of the Western hemisphere. In the meantime, the list that follows will appeal to a good mix of entertainment tastes.

Almendárez Coello, Renán, with Fernando Schiantarelli. El Cucuy de la mañana: En la cumbre de la pobreza. (My Life in Radio’s Fast Lane) U.S.: Rayo: HarperCollins. 2003. 378p. photogs. ISBN 0-06-000998-5. pap. $12.95.

The colossally popular radio host has stayed busy since this story of his life was reviewed in Críticas (Nov./Dec. 2002). He and coauthor/manager Schiantarelli sold the film rights to a major studio and added 60 pages to this second edition; meanwhile, El Cucuy jumped from his signature mañana shift to afternoon drive time, then back to mornings after leaving his station and, no surprise, sparking a bidding war. After 20 years of broadcasting in the United States this plucky Honduran is hotter than ever. His book is an entertaining rags-to-riches tale.

Arrarás, María Celeste. El secreto de Selena. (Selena’s Secret) U.S.: Simon & Schuster. 1997. 268p. photogs. ISBN 0-684-83135-X. $13.

Much like Elvis, Selena remains a prominent figure 10 years after she was murdered. The Tex-Mex queen will never really be dead in the hearts of her many fans. This book by the popular tabloid-TV host Arrarás, who covered the story for Primer Impacto (before jumping networks; she now hosts Telemundo’s most-watched program, Al Rojo Vivo), boasts an exclusive behind-bars interview with Selena’s murderer, Yolanda Saldivar. The tantalizing title, it should be said, refers to a secret that Arrarás agreed with Saldivar not to reveal. A hit with readers nonetheless.

Diego, Ximena. Shakira: Una mujer llena de gracia. (Shakira: Woman Full of Grace) U.S.: Simon & Schuster. 2001. 144p. ISBN 0-7432-1599-0. pap. $12.

Diego, who also published an unauthorized biography of Gloria Trevi, takes an understandably adulatory approach to the startlingly talented Colombian singer Shakira. This biography compiled from secondary sources is an undemanding, noncontroversial read that is a natural choice for young adult collections. Críticas reviewed the audiobook in the July/Aug. 2002 issue.

Félix, María. María Félix: Todas mis guerras. (María Félix: All My Wars) U.S.: Debolsillo: Random House. 2003. 272p. ISBN 1-4000-5918-6. pap. $8.95.

This 1994 memoir of the legendary screen icon Félix, who died in 2002, remains one of the steadiest sellers for its original publisher, Editorial Clío. Renowned as much for her unflinching proto-feminist toughness as for her stunning beauty, Félix appeared in dozens of films during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She told her collaborator on this volume, the prominent editor and historian Enrique Krauze, that they wouldn’t be relying on papers and documents—things would go down on paper just the way La Doña remembered them. The result is a suitably frank and contentious read.

Hyatt, Kathryn. Marilyn para principiantes. (Marilyn for Beginners) 1999. 208p. illus. ISBN 987-9065-62-X.
Rodríguez Acero, Margarita & Adrián Montini. Chaplin para jóvenes principiantes. (Chaplin for Young Beginners) 2001. 96p. illus. ISBN 987-9481-25-9.
ea. vol.: Argentina: Longseller (Para jóvenes principiantes). pap. $8.

The venerable yet edgy series of appealing and sophisticated comic book biographies “for beginners” includes two screen stars for the ages. Clever narrative devices mark these books. The Charlie Chaplin biography has an Argentine boy chasing his dog into a movie screen, joining Chaplin in the fourth dimension to witness the high points of the artist’s life while they both search for the dog. In the other, Marilyn Monroe recounts her tumultuous life to a psychoanalyst, in a narrative that consciously represents her as an intelligent free agent instead of a hapless victim. The series is aimed at readers as young as 11, though adults are apt to be equally captivated.

Kelly, Luis. Alex Lora: Esclavo del rocanrol. (Alex Lora: Slave to Rock & Roll) Mexico: Promexa: Patria Cultural. 2003. 192p. photogs. ISBN 970-24-0438-X. wirebound. $17.
Available in DVD: color. 105 minutes. Spanish (optional English subtitles). Desert Mountain Media, dist. by WEA. desert­mountain­media.com. 2003. 602-643-4280. $14.95.

Alejandro Lora has rocked harder, longer, and with more unadulterated flamboyant passion than just about anyone on the planet. The vast recorded catalog of his bands El TRI and the earlier Three Souls in My Mind reflects 35 years of Mexican social history, and his iconoclastic fervor still inspires youngsters whose grandparents may well be Lora fans. The film’s cinéma vérité sensibility fits its anarchic subject like a pair of snug leather pants—Kelly and Lora liken the film’s appealingly jagged style to graffiti. The DVD is enjoying a U.S. marketing push following its success at several film festivals, but if you want the companion volume, you’ll likely need to use a Mexican source such as ghandi.com.mx.

Kreutzberger, Mario (Don Francisco). Entre la espada y la TV. (Life, Camera, Action) Mexico/U.S.: Grijalbo: Random House Mondadori. 2002. 346p. photogs. ISBN 970-05-1356-4. pap. $12.99.

The beloved Don Francisco’s Sábado Gigante lights up a hundred million sets throughout the hemisphere each week. He has hosted the program (with no reruns) since it began in his native Chile in 1962; Guinness recognizes it as the longest-running variety show in TV history. How huge is the affable emcee? Days before the last election, candidates Bush and Kerry both appeared on the program with him. (Críticas, July/Aug. 2002).

Leng, Simon. Santana. (Soul Sacrifice: The Santana Story) tr. by Elena Castro. Spain: Ediciones Cátedra: Anaya. 2002. 336p. photogs. ISBN 84-376-1947-5. pap. $17.95.

Carlos Santana’s singular musical odyssey is painstakingly depicted here, from his beginnings in Mexico as the child of an itinerant street musician. Alongside his father, he played mariachi violin for tourists in Tijuana, where he then soaked up blues guitar and pachuco music. Leng traces the effects of these and other influences on Santana’s art, up through Supernatural, the album that won him a record eight Grammys in 2000. The book features a discography packed with details on recording session personnel.

Luna, Sagrario. The Clash. Spain: Editorial Celeste. 1988. 264p. discog. photogs. ISBN 84-376-0785-X. $11.20.

The late Joe Strummer, whose last band was The Mescaleros, is the guy you hear bellowing crooked Spanish toward the end of “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” The band’s unusual international awareness—made plain by their choice of Sandinista! as the title of their three-LP set released shortly after the Nicaraguan revolution—earned them respect worldwide. This history of “the only band that matters” includes discographies, lists of rare and pirate recordings, and some color photos. If you can’t find it domestically, look for this and many other pop music books at Spain’s agapea.com.

Loza, Steven. Recordando a Tito Puente. (Tito Puente and the Making of Latin Music) tr. by Amalia Laverde de Forero. U.S.: Random House Español. 2000. 313p. photogs. ISBN 0-609-81079-0. pap. $15.95.

The author’s close collegial relationship with Puente, along with his scholarly chops—Loza helps direct the Ethnomusicology program at UCLA and is a performing musician—contribute to a true insider’s portrait as well researched as it is affectionate. Interviews with Puente and other noted Latin jazz musicians highlight this worthwhile study of one of the most important composers, arrangers, and bandleaders of the last century—his discography spans four pages of small type.

Nogueras, Luis Rogelio & Víctor Casaus. Silvio: Que levante la mano la guitarra. (Silvio: May the Guitar Raise Its Hand) Cuba: Editorial Letras Cubanas. 2002. 284p. photogs. ISBN 959-10-0066-9. pap. $15.95.

Silvio Rodríguez is a singer-songwriter, a seminal voice of the nueva trova (“new song”) movement that arose in his native Cuba in the 1960s. With its sometimes plaintive, always socially conscious lyrics, nueva trova has made a powerful imprint on music throughout Latin America and the world. Rodríguez, who’s still recording, is revered by a large global following. Along with interviews by the authors, this biography includes the lyrics to 90 of his songs.

Reyes, Luis & Peter Rubie. Los hispanos en Hollywood: Celebrando 100 años en el cine y la televisión. (Hispanics in Hollywood: A Celebration of 100 Years in Film and Television) U.S.: Random House. 2002. 735p. photogs. ISBN 1-4000-0006-8. pap. $24.95.

This rich and ambitious reference is stunning in its scope. It includes synopses of hundreds of films, TV series, miniseries, and made-for-TV movies with significant—or even marginal—Latino participation or themes, along with more biographies of Latinos who have worked in front of and behind the cameras. Reyes curates an annual “Latinos in Hollywood” exhibit at a major Los Angeles museum. His firsthand involvement working in the industry perhaps accounts for the few (but glaring) omissions here; in any case, a work this deeply encyclopedic needn’t be flawless in order to be singularly marvelous. (Críticas, Nov./Dec. 2002).

Wald, Elijah. Narcocorrido: Un viaje al mundo de la música de las drogas, armas, y guerilleros. (Narcocorrido: A Journey Into the Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas) tr. by Deborah R. Huacuja. U.S.: Rayo: HarperCollins. 2001. 352p. ISBN 0-06-093795-5. pap. $15.

Many of the stars populating this extraordinary book are relatively obscure, but they burn brightly in a dark musical subculture that has millions of fans. Musician and folklorist Wald spent nearly a year toting his guitar through Mexico and the southwestern United States on the cheap, exploring the balladry that chronicles the lives and legends of the drug trade, learning from performers, promoters, and fans.