Author Guide · Reportage
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Alma Guillermoprieto trained as a dancer and taught dance in Havana before she became a journalist in 1978. Within a few years she had broken the story of the massacre at El Mozote in El Salvador, which the American government at first denied. Later she spent a year with a samba school in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, preparing for carnival, and wrote one of the great books about Brazil. This guide covers her five books in order, with which ones you can read in English, and where to start.
By Lisanne Swart · 5 books · Reportage · 1990–2020 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Alma Guillermoprieto has published five books of her own: Samba (1990), about a year with a Rio samba school; two collections of her reporting on Latin America, The Heart That Bleeds (1994) and Looking for History (2001); Dancing with Cuba (2004), a memoir of her year in Havana; and a short essay in Spanish, ¿Será que soy feminista? (2020).
Where to Start with Alma Guillermoprieto
If you want the famous one
→ Samba (1990).
If you want Latin America
→ The Heart That Bleeds (1994).
If you want a memoir
→ Dancing with Cuba (2004).
All 5 Alma Guillermoprieto Books, in Order
Samba
A year with the Estação Primeira de Mangueira samba school in a Rio de Janeiro favela, as its residents prepare for carnival. It was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist.
The Heart That Bleeds
Her New Yorker reporting from the late 1980s and early 1990s on Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Nicaragua and Mexico during Latin America's “lost decade”.
Looking for History
A second collection, with pieces on Cuba, Mexico and Colombia written for The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books.
Dancing with Cuba
In 1970, at twenty, she left New York to teach at Cuba's National School of Dance, and found herself in the middle of the revolution.
¿Será que soy feminista?
No English edition · available in Spanish
A short, personal essay asking whether, and how, she is a feminist.
How Many Books Did Alma Guillermoprieto Write?
Five books of her own between 1990 and 2020, four of them in English, besides Spanish collections of her reporting.
- Reportage — Samba, The Heart That Bleeds and Looking for History. Read the entries →
- Memoir and essay — Dancing with Cuba and ¿Será que soy feminista? Read the entries →
In What Order to Read Alma Guillermoprieto
Her books are not a series. Samba and Dancing with Cuba both draw on her life as a dancer and read well together.
A reading path
1. Samba (1990)
2. The Heart That Bleeds (1994)
3. Dancing with Cuba (2004)
Quick facts about Alma Guillermoprieto
- Born
- 1949, Mexico City
- Before journalism
- Professional dancer
- Reporting
- Broke the story of the El Mozote massacre for The Washington Post; South America bureau chief for Newsweek
- Honours
- MacArthur Fellowship (1995); George Polk Award; American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Books
- 5, from 1990 to 2020
How Alma Guillermoprieto Writes: Crónica in English
Guillermoprieto writes in the tradition of the Latin American crónica, mixing reporting, history and scenes, for English-speaking readers of The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books.
She explains Latin American politics through culture, from samba and telenovelas to rubbish collection, and through the people she meets.
Frequently asked questions about Alma Guillermoprieto's books
How many books has Alma Guillermoprieto written?
Alma Guillermoprieto has published five books: Samba (1990), The Heart That Bleeds (1994), Looking for History (2001), Dancing with Cuba (2004) and ¿Será que soy feminista? (2020).
What is Samba about?
Samba (1990) is about the year Guillermoprieto spent with a samba school in a Rio de Janeiro favela as it prepared for carnival.
Footnotes
Bibliography last verified 1 October 2026.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all hers.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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