The 2nd International Latino Book Awards Ceremony took place Saturday evening, September 21, 2019 at the Student Union Building on the campus of Los Angeles City College at the heart edge of downtown. Among the 2nd Place winners in this annual competition was Professor Emeritus, Dr. Jose Angel Gutierrez, formerly at the University of Texas-Arlington and CEO/President of the Greater Dallas Legal and Community Development Foundation. His winning 2019 book is titled, The Eagle Has Eyes: The FBI Surveillance of Cesar Estrada Chavez of the United Farm Workers Union of America, 1965-1975, (Michigan State University Press).
The category for his book was Best Latino Focused Nonfiction Book -English. Last year, Dr. Gutierrez won 1st place in the category of Best Biography-English for his book, Albert A. Peña, Jr.: Dean of Chicano Politics, (Michigan State University Press).
Among the sponsors of this event, the only such book awards for Latino authors, were Latino Literacy Now, the American Library Association, Las Comadres de las Americas, Los Angeles Community College District, REFORMA, Scholastic Books, Visa, California State University System, and various book publishing companies. The projection for 2019 is that Latinos will purchase over $725 million in books. Hopefully, many books purchased will include this year’s winners. Any of the books featured and those of Dr. Gutierrez may be purchased from your favorite retailer or the author himself for autographed copies. Contact email address is joseangelgutierrez@yahoo.com
Competing for audience that night was the baseball game at Dodger Stadium and the lit skyline of the city but those at the International Latino Book Awards were most entertained. The evening featured the presentation of awards for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Honorable Mention for the 261 finalists from among the 2, 897 authors in 95 categories of books competition in 2019.
