Quinto Sol Publications: First Edition Identification and Collecting Guide

Last verified May 2026 · Original research by Josh Eldred

Why Quinto Sol Matters: The Press That Created a Canon

Quinto Sol Publications first editions, including El Grito: A Journal of Contemporary Mexican-American Thought, are sought-after collectibles commanding premium prices among Southwest and Western Americana collectors. Before Quinto Sol, Chicano literature did not exist as a publishing category. Individual Mexican American writers had published individual books through scattered outlets, but there was no institutional infrastructure — no press, no journal, no prize, no pipeline from manuscript to reader that was controlled by Chicanos themselves. Quinto Sol built all of that from scratch in seven years, and the books it produced between 1967 and 1974 remain the founding documents of an entire literary tradition.

Editorial Quinto Sol was founded in 1967 at the University of California, Berkeley by Octavio I. Romano-V. (1923-2005), a professor in the School of Public Health's Department of Behavioral Science, together with Nick C. Vaca, a graduate student in sociology, and Andres Ybarra. Romano was the driving intellect — born in Mexico City, raised in National City, California, a World War II Army veteran who had earned his doctorate in anthropology at Berkeley. He understood that Chicano cultural autonomy required Chicano-controlled publication channels. The academic establishment was not going to create those channels. Romano would.

The press's first and most consequential act was launching El Grito: A Journal of Contemporary Mexican-American Thought in the fall of 1967 — the first national academic and literary journal published by Mexican Americans in the United States. Edited by Romano, Vaca, and later Herminio Rios, El Grito ran through 1974 and served as the incubator for everything that followed. It published scholarship alongside creative writing, establishing the intellectual framework for Chicano Studies as a field while simultaneously cultivating the literary voices that would define it.

Then came the mechanism that changed everything: the Premio Quinto Sol, created in 1970 as the first national literary prize for Chicano writing. The Premio did not merely recognize existing work — it actively solicited manuscripts, selected winners, and published them through the press. The first three Premio winners, in consecutive years, produced three of the most important novels in the Chicano literary canon: foundational works of the Chicano literary movement that remain in print, in syllabi, and in collectors' hands today.

For collectors, Quinto Sol occupies a position analogous to City Lights Books in Beat literature or Olympia Press in the avant-garde — a small, ideologically driven press that published transformative work in modest editions that were never intended to become rare books. The paperback originals were inexpensive, fragile, and distributed through Chicano community networks rather than mainstream bookstores. Fine copies have become genuinely scarce. This guide covers every major Quinto Sol title, with the identification points you need to distinguish originals from the reprints that followed.

Press History: From El Grito to the Premio to the Split

Quinto Sol's timeline divides into three phases. Understanding these phases is essential for collectors, because the press's output, imprint conventions, and physical production changed across each period.

Phase One: The Journal Years (1967-1970). The press launched El Grito in fall 1967 and published it quarterly (with some irregularity) through the end of 1974. During these early years, Quinto Sol's book publishing consisted primarily of anthologies drawn from the journal — most importantly El Espejo/The Mirror: Selected Mexican-American Literature (1969), edited by Romano, which was the first anthology of Mexican American literature ever published. A revised and expanded edition appeared in 1972 as El Espejo/The Mirror: Selected Chicano Literature. The press also published Voices: Readings from El Grito, 1967-1971 (1971), a companion anthology edited by Romano that compiled the journal's strongest contributions.

Phase Two: The Premio Years (1971-1974). The Premio Quinto Sol transformed the press from a journal publisher into the primary outlet for Chicano literary fiction. The winners, year by year:

• 1971: Tomas Rivera, ...y no se lo trago la tierra / ...and the earth did not part
• 1972: Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima
• 1973: Rolando Hinojosa, Estampas del Valle y otras obras / Sketches of the Valley and Other Works
• 1975: Estela Portillo Trambley, Rain of Scorpions and Other Writings

Alongside the Premio winners, Quinto Sol published additional titles during this period: Sergio Elizondo's bilingual epic poem Perros y Antiperros: Una Epica Chicana (1972), with English translation by Gustavo Segade; Richard Garcia's Selected Poetry (1973); Jose Acosta Torres's Cachito mio (1973); and J. L. Navarro's Blue Day on Main Street (1973). These non-Premio titles are less widely collected but represent significant artifacts of the press's broader mission.

Phase Three: The Split (1974). After seven years and four Premio awards, the founding principals divided the press into two successor entities. Herminio Rios, who had served as co-editor of El Grito, departed to establish Editorial Justa. Romano continued under the Tonatiuh International imprint, which eventually became Tonatiuh-Quinto Sol (TQS) Publications. TQS reprinted several original Quinto Sol titles — including Sabine Ulibarri's Mi abuela fumaba puros / My Grandma Smoked Cigars (1977) — and published new works into the late 1970s. For collectors, the bright line falls at 1974: books bearing the original "Quinto Sol Publications" or "Editorial Quinto Sol" imprint with a Berkeley, California address are the primary targets. TQS editions are secondary reprints, even when they carry the Quinto Sol name in the imprint.

The Complete Quinto Sol Catalog: Every Title, Chronologically

This is the most comprehensive catalog of Quinto Sol Publications book titles assembled for collectors. Journal issues of El Grito (1967-1974) are excluded — they deserve their own treatment. All titles carry the Quinto Sol Publications or Editorial Quinto Sol imprint with a Berkeley, California address.

1969

El Espejo/The Mirror: Selected Mexican-American Literature — Edited by Octavio I. Romano-V. The first anthology of Mexican American literature. Hardcover. [xiv], 241, [1] pages. Features eleven writers including Alurista, Miguel Mendez-M., and Jose Montoya. A foundational document. The 1972 revised edition, retitled El Espejo/The Mirror: Selected Chicano Literature, is an expanded second edition with additional contributors, not a reprint of the 1969 first.

1971

...y no se lo trago la tierra / ...and the earth did not part — Tomas Rivera. First Premio Quinto Sol winner. Bilingual edition with English translation by Herminio Rios. xxi, 177 pages. Issued in three simultaneous variants: trade paperback, deluxe paperback on heavier stock, and hardcover. Fourteen interlinked stories and thirteen vignettes depicting migrant farmworker life in Texas.

Voices: Readings from El Grito, A Journal of Contemporary Mexican-American Thought, 1967-1971 — Edited by Octavio I. Romano-V. Anthology compiling key contributions from the journal's first four years. A revised edition appeared in 1973 expanding coverage through 1973. ISBN 0-88412-059-7.

1972

Bless Me, Ultima: A Novel — Rudolfo A. Anaya. Second Premio Quinto Sol winner. Published June 1972. Issued simultaneously in wrappers (trade paperback) and a small hardcover run. ix, [5], 248, [2] pages. Black-and-white illustrations by Dennis Martinez. Cover design by Octavio I. Romano-V. The novel that would become the bestselling Chicano novel of all time, eventually exceeding 300,000 copies across all editions and 21 printings.

Perros y Antiperros: Una Epica Chicana — Sergio Elizondo. English translation by Gustavo Segade. Bilingual epic poem. Trade paperback.

El Espejo/The Mirror: Selected Chicano Literature — Edited by Octavio I. Romano-V. and Herminio Rios. Revised and expanded edition of the 1969 anthology. Note the title change from "Mexican-American" to "Chicano" — a significant marker of the movement's evolving self-identification.

1973

Estampas del Valle y otras obras / Sketches of the Valley and Other Works — Rolando Hinojosa. Third Premio Quinto Sol winner. Bilingual edition. 188 pages. Trade paperback with yellow spine and black lettering. The first volume in what would become the fifteen-novel Klail City Death Trip series, set in a fictional county along the Texas-Mexico border.

Selected Poetry — Richard Garcia. Trade paperback. ISBN 0-88412-067-8. Garcia's first book of poetry.

Cachito mio — Jose Acosta Torres. Trade paperback.

Blue Day on Main Street — J. L. Navarro. Trade paperback.

Voices: Readings from El Grito, 1967-1973 — Revised and expanded edition of the 1971 anthology.

1975

Rain of Scorpions and Other Writings — Estela Portillo Trambley. Fourth and final Premio Quinto Sol winner. The first such literary prize awarded to a woman. A novella and collection of short stories. (Note: some sources attribute this to the Tonatiuh-Quinto Sol imprint rather than the original Quinto Sol imprint, as it was published after the 1974 split. Examine the imprint line on your copy carefully.)

First Edition Identification: Title by Title

Quinto Sol was a small press with informal production standards. There are no number lines. There are no explicit first edition statements on most titles. Identification depends on matching a constellation of physical characteristics — imprint, format, pagination, cover design, and paper stock — against known first-printing specifications. Here is what I look for on every major title. For broader context on how I approach book authentication methodology, see my dedicated guide.

...y no se lo trago la tierra — Tomas Rivera (1971)

Format: The first edition was issued simultaneously in three variants — trade paperback, a "deluxe" paperback printed on heavier stock, and hardcover. All three share identical text blocks (xxi, 177 pages) with bilingual Spanish-English facing-page format. The trade paperback is by far the most commonly encountered.

Cover and binding: The three variants share an earth-brown color scheme. The hardcover spine is stamped with the author's name in gilt. The trade paperback uses printed card wraps in brown tones.

Copyright page: Look for "Quinto Sol Publications, Inc." with a Berkeley, California address. The copyright date should read 1971. There is no number line. The absence of any printing statement beyond the copyright notice is consistent with first-printing copies.

Distinguishing from reprints: Arte Publico Press (Houston) later acquired rights and published multiple editions under their own imprint. The Arte Publico editions carry a different ISBN prefix and a Houston address. The Quinto Sol ISBN prefix is 0-88412. Any copy bearing the Arte Publico imprint is not a Quinto Sol first edition regardless of the copyright date printed inside.

Signature scarcity: Rivera died on May 16, 1984 at age 48 while serving as Chancellor of UC Riverside. His signature pool has been closed for over forty years. Signed copies in the Quinto Sol first edition are exceptionally scarce.

Bless Me, Ultima — Rudolfo A. Anaya (1972)

Format: Published June 1972, simultaneously in wrappers (trade paperback) and a small hardcover run. The wrappers issue is the primary collectible for most buyers. The hardcover is substantially rarer and commands the premium position. Both share the same text block: ix, [5], 248, [2] pages.

Wrappers issue: Black softcover with off-white text and an illustration depicting the character Ultima. The cover art is distinctive and immediately recognizable. The spine reads vertically. Printed price of a few dollars on the rear cover. The paper stock is off-white and has a tendency to tan at the edges over five decades.

Hardcover issue: Publisher's black boards with silver (sometimes described as gilt) lettering on the spine. The first-issue dust jacket carries a price of a few dollars on the rear panel — the paperback price accidentally printed on the hardcover jacket. This was quickly corrected to modest value. The mispriced first-issue jacket is a genuine rarity and a significant point of issue for advanced collectors.

Interior: Black-and-white full-page illustrations by Dennis Martinez appear throughout. These illustrations are present in all Quinto Sol printings (first and subsequent) and in some later reprints, but later publishers sometimes omit them. Their presence confirms a Quinto Sol edition; their absence confirms a later reprint.

Copyright page: "Copyright 1972 by Rudolfo A. Anaya" with "Quinto Sol Publications, Inc." and a Berkeley, California address. No number line. A second printing appeared in September 1973 and may carry a "Second Printing" statement — but do not rely on the presence or absence of a printing statement alone. Cross-reference against the physical characteristics described above.

Distinguishing from reprints: Bless Me, Ultima has been reprinted by multiple publishers: TQS (Tonatiuh-Quinto Sol), Warner Books (mass-market paperback format — smaller trim, cheaper paper), and Grand Central Publishing. The Warner mass-market paperback is the most commonly misidentified as a first edition because it prominently displays the 1972 copyright date. Check the publisher imprint on the title page and spine. Only copies reading "Quinto Sol Publications" are first editions. The ISBN prefix 0-88412 further confirms the Quinto Sol imprint. For comprehensive coverage of Anaya's collecting market, see my dedicated Rudolfo Anaya pillar guide.

Estampas del Valle y otras obras — Rolando Hinojosa (1973)

Format: Trade paperback. 188 pages. Bilingual Spanish-English format. Approximately 23 cm in height.

Cover and binding: Softcover with a yellow spine bearing the title in black lettering. The cover design is more restrained than the Rivera and Anaya covers — consistent with Quinto Sol's evolving but never lavish production aesthetic.

Copyright page: "Quinto Sol Publications" with Berkeley address. Copyright 1973. No number line. As with all Quinto Sol titles, the absence of explicit edition or printing statements is the norm for first-printing copies.

Distinguishing from reprints: Hinojosa later revised and expanded the text as The Valley, published by Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingue and later by Arte Publico Press. These are not merely reprints but substantively revised texts. If the title page reads The Valley rather than Estampas del Valle y otras obras, it is a later revised edition. Only copies with the original Spanish-first title under the Quinto Sol imprint qualify as first editions of this work.

Signature note: Hinojosa died on April 19, 2022 at age 93. His signature pool is now closed. He was the last surviving Premio Quinto Sol winner — all four are now deceased.

El Espejo/The Mirror — Edited by Romano-V. (1969)

Format: Hardcover. [xiv], 241, [1] pages. The first anthology of Mexican American literature. No dust jacket as issued.

Key distinction: The 1969 first edition is titled El Espejo/The Mirror: Selected Mexican-American Literature. The 1972 revised edition changes the subtitle to Selected Chicano Literature — a meaningful editorial and political distinction that also serves as an instant identification point. The 1972 edition adds contributors and is co-edited by Herminio Rios. These are two different books. Both are collectible. The 1969 first is the primary target.

Perros y Antiperros — Sergio Elizondo (1972)

Format: Trade paperback. Bilingual edition with English translation by Gustavo Segade. An epic poem rather than a novel — a different literary form from the Premio winners, and less widely collected, but a significant Quinto Sol title nonetheless.

Copyright page: Quinto Sol Publications, Berkeley. Copyright 1972. Same conventions as other Quinto Sol titles — no number line, no explicit first edition statement.

Rain of Scorpions and Other Writings — Estela Portillo Trambley (1975)

Imprint ambiguity: This title falls on the fault line of the 1974 Quinto Sol split. Some copies may carry the original Quinto Sol imprint; others may carry the Tonatiuh-Quinto Sol (TQS) imprint. Examine your copy's title page and copyright page carefully. Regardless of imprint variant, the 1975 first edition is the collectible target — Portillo Trambley was the fourth and final Premio Quinto Sol winner and the first woman to receive the prize.

Condition and Grading Notes Specific to Quinto Sol

Quinto Sol titles present a particular set of condition challenges that every collector and dealer needs to understand. These were not prestige hardcovers from New York publishers. They were trade paperbacks produced on a budget by a movement press, distributed through community bookstores and campus mail, read hard, loaned freely, and stored without archival care.

Spine rolling is endemic. Paperback copies that were read even once tend to develop a permanent curl along the spine — the covers want to roll open. This is nearly universal in Quinto Sol paperbacks and should be graded relative to the category, not against hardcover standards. A Quinto Sol paperback with minimal spine roll is an above-average copy.

Tanning and foxing affect the paper stock on virtually all surviving copies. Quinto Sol used inexpensive, acidic paper that browns predictably over five decades. Edge tanning is the rule, not the exception. Interior foxing is common. Bright, white pages are essentially nonexistent in the original printings.

Cover wear on the wrappers issues — creasing, rubbing, corner bumps, spine stress marks — is standard. Quinto Sol covers were printed on lightweight card stock. The black covers on Bless Me, Ultima show every scuff. Fine copies with clean, uncreased covers and tight spines represent the top fraction of surviving examples.

Previous ownership marks — names, dates, institutional stamps, course-adoption stickers — appear frequently. Many copies circulated through Chicano Studies departments and community lending libraries. An ownership inscription from a documented Chicano literary figure or institution adds provenance value rather than detracting from it.

The Collecting Market: Three Tiers

Quinto Sol collecting operates on a clear three-tier structure. Every title on my top 50 most collectible New Mexico first editions list that carries a Quinto Sol imprint falls within these tiers.

Tier One: Four-figure trophies. The Bless Me, Ultima hardcover first edition in the first-issue dust jacket with the mispriced a few dollars rear panel. A signed Quinto Sol first of Bless Me, Ultima in either format. Any signed Quinto Sol first of ...y no se lo trago la tierra — Rivera's signature pool has been closed since 1984, making this among the scarcest signed Chicano first editions in existence. Association copies inscribed by any of the three male Premio winners to identifiable literary or political figures of the Chicano movement.

Tier Two: Mid-three-figure collectibles. The Bless Me, Ultima wrappers (paperback) first edition in fine or near-fine condition. Clean first editions of ...y no se lo trago la tierra (any variant — trade paperback, deluxe paperback, or hardcover). The Estampas del Valle first edition in strong condition. The 1969 first edition of El Espejo/The Mirror. Signed copies of any Quinto Sol title by any of the principals. Complete or near-complete runs of El Grito journal.

Tier Three: Entry-level acquisitions. Later Quinto Sol printings (second printing, third printing) of the Premio winners in reading condition. The non-Premio Quinto Sol titles — Elizondo, Garcia, Acosta Torres, Navarro. Individual issues of El Grito journal. The 1972 revised El Espejo. TQS (Tonatiuh-Quinto Sol) reprints of any title. Unsigned copies in reading condition with significant wear.

The signature dimension. All four Premio Quinto Sol winners are now deceased: Rivera (d. 1984), Portillo Trambley (d. 1998), Romano (d. 2005), Anaya (d. 2020), and Hinojosa (d. 2022). Every signature pool is permanently closed. The supply of signed Quinto Sol first editions will never increase. Rivera's forty-year-closed pool makes his signed Quinto Sol firsts the scarcest of all — he died young, at 48, and had relatively few years between the novel's publication and his death to sign copies. Anaya, by contrast, signed copies for nearly five decades and was generous with inscriptions at readings and events throughout New Mexico, creating a larger but still finite pool.

For collectors building a Hispano and Chicano literature collection, the three Quinto Sol Premio winners are non-negotiable cornerstones. No serious collection of this material is complete without them. If you are looking to sell Quinto Sol press books yourself, a specialist dealer, an auction house, or the right online marketplace will serve you best — these are exactly the kind of pieces worth handling deliberately rather than giving away unaware.

What Quinto Sol First Editions Are Worth

I don't buy books — but I won't let you give away something genuinely valuable without knowing what it is. Quinto Sol first editions — Rivera, Anaya, Hinojosa, Portillo Trambley, Elizondo, and the El Grito journal — can be significant, and signed copies, association copies, and institutional collections especially so. I offer free book pickups throughout Albuquerque: I'll take the whole collection as a donation, the valuable pieces get resold to fund the work and everything else is donated or recycled, nothing to the landfill. If you'd rather sell the standout items yourself, I'll tell you what they are and point you to a specialist dealer, an auction house, or the right online marketplace.

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