Where the Ox Does Not Plow: A Mexican American Ballad

Where the Ox Does Not Plow, an autobiographical ethnography, consists of twenty-six life episodes that chronicle Manuel Pena’s transformative journey from an impoverished migrant worker to a career in academia. Inspired by his experiences and those of the people around him in Texas and California, Pena reflects on a wide range of issues arising from the historically-marginalized condition of Mexicans and other Latinos in the United States. The narrative will engage readers with a broad range of human experiences, from race relations and economic exploitation to the intimacy of familial and romantic love.