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by Louis Carrera In the first known English translation of Alonso de Ercillas La Araucana, the author seeks to faithfully transcribe a period in the history of the Arauca Indians as written to King Phillip II by a member of his household. La Araucana details in poetic narrative the struggle of the fiercely proud Arauca Indians for independence from their Spanish oppressors. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Louis Carrera was born on March 26, 1926, in New York City. His father, Manuel, was born in Linares, Chile, and his mother, Rosario, in Aranda de Duero, Burgos, Spain. Mr. Carrera was educated in New York City, graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School in Manhattan. He subsequently received his bachelors degree from New York University. Mr. Carrera spent his entire career in the new field of social work and public social services. He began his career in New York City, moved to Albany, New York to work in the area of state social services program management and then relocated to Washington, D.C. He continued his career working for the advancement of social services to women and children within various federal programs. During World War II, Mr. Carrera served his country as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Field Artillery. He saw action in France and Germany before returning to the United States to resume his work in the field of social services. During this period, while living in New York City, Mr. Carrera met and married his wife, Joan. They lived for many years in New York and Virginia. During the period of World War II, Mr. Carrera began his fascination with the life of the indigenous people of South America, stemming from the knowledge that his paternal great-grandmother was Araucana. This knowledge led him to begin a translation of the epic La Araucana by Alonso de Ercilla. He spent many years working to refine his translations, making great effort to bring to it the poetic narrative formant so carefully written by de Ercilla. It was while working on the refinement of the epic that Mr. Carrera came to be vitally interested in the Smithsonian Institution and the creation of the new Museum of the American Indian. Mr. Carrera is publicly honored and memoralized by being registered on the Honor Wall of the Museum of the American Indian, which is located within the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (2006, paperback, 584 pages) Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days.
