The acknowledgments section is often the last part of a manuscript that authors turn in, due to the mad rush involved in finishing up a manuscript, and yet, it’s the part that requires tracking the contributions of many people over time, especially in our case. We’ve been working on this project for more than four years, and the list of people in Central America and beyond who provided reading suggestions or gave us feedback on different chapters is long. Please know that in between these lines there is so much gratitude on our part for all the assistance we’ve received along the way; a book project like this one is never a solitary project, but one born of community. Also, we know that our work rests on the shoulders of scholars across the Americas and beyond whose research, analysis, and scholarship allowed us to write this book. To all, our most sincere thanks! Ultimately, though, we are responsible for the content of this book and any errors that it may contain.

We’d like to begin by thanking the Central American scholars who read early drafts or made suggestions about material we should consult. We are particularly grateful to José Alberto Idiáquez, SJ, president of the Universidad Centroamericana in Managua, Nicaragua, for being the first person to read a draft of the manuscript. His close reading of this set of short histories and his valuable edits and suggestions were an important catalyst for continuing. The authors also thank Dr. Ana Marina Tzul Tzul and Laura Orozco from the Universidad Rafael Landívar (Quetzaltenango Campus) as well as Marielos Torres and historian Julián Gonzalez at the Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas” in San Salvador, El Salvador. A special shout-out to Irina Carlota Silber at the City College of New York for research about El Salvador, Victoria Sanford at Lehman College for research about Guatemala, and Lori Maddox at ELAW for her close read of the Belize chapter. We are very grateful to the expert research support of Fiore Bran Aragón who gathered research from over twenty Central American scholars for inclusion in the book. We thank the scholars who contributed resources from across Central America: Víctor Hugo Acuña (Universidad de Costa Rica), Ronny Viales Hurtado (Universidad de Costa Rica), Alberto Cortés Ramos (Universidad de Costa Rica), Cristofer Rodríguez (Asistente de Investigación del Dr. Víctor Hugo Acuña), Allan Martell (Louisiana State University), Roberto Deras (Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas”), Amparo Marroquín Parducci (Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas”), Xiomara Avendaño Rojas (Universidad de El Salvador), Sergio Palencia Frener (City University of New York), José Cal Montoya (Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala), Jorge Amaya (Universidad Nacional de Honduras), José Cardona Amaya (Universidad Nacional de Honduras), Edwin Matamoros (Instituto de Historia de Nicaragua y Centroamérica from the Universidad Centroamericana in Managua), Eimeel Castillo (University of Michigan), María Fernanda Zeledón (Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana México), Ruth Matamoros (University of Texas-Austin), Larry Montenegro Baena (Movimiento por la Descolonización de la Mosquitia), Carlos Guevara-Mann (Florida State University, Panama Campus), and Victor Ortíz Salazar (Universidad de Panamá). Fiore also identified important online resources and databases that are listed in the open access version of the book. ¡¡Gracias mil a todes por sus aportes!!

This book would never have come to fruition if not for the financial support and subject-matter expertise of the Seattle International Foundation. From co-founder Bill Clapp’s insistence that policy makers and educators across the United States need a book like this, to important feedback from former executive director Arturo Aguilar and current executive director Adriana Beltrán, we thank you. We are also grateful to SIF staff who contributed insights and suggestions along the way: Natalia Lozano, Diana Campos, Eric Olson, Julie Sponsler, Olga Vnodchenko, and John Wachter. A special shout-out to Peter Bloch García for being a good shepherd in a key moment.

Both authors thank Seattle University and Seattle University’s Central America Initiative for their commitment to the project. Our thanks to Joseph Orlando and the Provost’s Office at Seattle University for their support of this project. At Seattle University, we also extend our deepest gratitude to the librarians at the Lemieux Library, especially Rick Block, for superhero powers to track down English- and Spanish-language resources about the history of Central America.

For a manuscript to become a book, it needs champions in the publishing world. We would like to express our sincere thanks to the team at University of Cincinnati Press (UCP), including its fearless leader Elizabeth (Liz) Scarpelli, amazing assistant managing editor Sarah Muncy, persistent editorial assistant Alex Nash, and tech savvy Luke Beckwith. When UCP sent this manuscript out for external review, the feedback was simultaneously positive and constructive. We are grateful to the anonymous external readers for their recognition of the potential contributions of a book like this as well as for new readings and suggestions we’ve included, particularly encouragement to expand the introduction and include Central American trends and the concepts historians and other scholars use to interpret past and current events in the region. We would also like to thank Meg Krausch for their excellent copyediting and close read of the manuscript.

On a personal note: Serena thanks Marty for being a critical interlocutor and steadfast companion, unstintingly generous with support. I hope that the next generation starting with Meme, Alex, Raquel, Erik, and young people in Central America and beyond, who care about the region, find this book a useful and accessible resource. Serena also thanks David Leyse and Layna McAllister for providing a beautiful and hospitable writing retreat. Isabeau thanks Mom and Dad for their encouragement and commiseration, doled out plentifully as needed during this writing journey. Isabeau also thanks co-author, Serena, for her years of mentorship and friendship; and offers thanks in advance for all the years to come. And, most importantly, we both want to express our deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to all of our readers. Whether you are reading these chapters for a class or the book just happened to catch your eye, you are an equal partner in our endeavor to share Central America’s stories, and it means so much to have you walk with us. Thank you. Gracias mil.

In solidarity,     
Serena and Isabeau