Don't Be Afraid, Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks From The Heart: The Story of Elvia Alvarado

"Here is a voice seldom heard, the voice of Latin America's majority, those who bear the burdens of society. If we are to understand Honduras, Central America, or, for that matter, Latin America, we must listen attentively to this voice. It has much to teach us. It commands the future." --E. Bradford Burns, Professor of History, UCLA

Don’t be Afraid,
Gringo is the award-winning oral history of Elvia Alvarado, a courageous campesina [peasant] activist in
Honduras, the poorest country in Central America. Trained by the Catholic
Church to organize women’s groups to combat malnutrition, Alvarado began to
question why campesinos were malnourished to begin with. Her growing political
awareness, her travels by foot, over the back roads of Honduras, and her
conversations with people from all over the country have given her insights
into the internal workings of her society that far surpass those of the
majority of campesinos who have never ventured from their villages. Working as
a campesino organizer, Alvarado has led dangerous land recovery actions in an effort
to enforce the national land reform laws. As a result of these actions, she has
been harassed, jailed, and tortured at the hands of the Honduran military.

Skillfully translated and edited by Medea Benjamin, an
expert on Central America, Don’t Be Afraid,
Gringo takes us into the heart of campesino struggle and political conflict
in Honduras today.

| "Elvia Alvarado tells the story of her life and the life of the people of Honduras. Read it and understand the struggle against tyranny of the poor. Read it and act."--Alice Walker