<B>An acclaimed journalist and documentary filmmaker chronicles her personal yearlong journey to discover the truth about her ancestry through DNA testing—as she explores what it means to be Latina in “post-racial” America.</B><P>After nearly losing her estranged father to a heart attack, Dominican-American journalist Raquel Cepeda decided to discover her roots. Throughout her entire life, she had questions about her family origins. Every time she looked in the mirror, she saw her mysterious ancestors in her reflection—a tapestry of races and ethnicities that came together in an ambiguous mix. Filled with curiosity, and relying on her documentarian’s skills, Cepeda set out to get her DNA tested and get to the bottom of her identity once and for all.<P> <P>In <I>Becoming Latina</I>, Cepeda richly blends intimate memoir, firsthand research, and masterful reporting to discover the truth about her ancestry through the science of DNA. Along the way, she raises eye opening and controversial questions about what it means to be Latino—is it a racial category or an ethnicity? No one has used ancestral DNA to parse Latino identity in this way before, and <I>Becoming Latina</I> enters the debate at a time when anti-immigration hysteria, a sharp spike in hate crimes against Mexicans and other Spanish-speaking peoples, and confusion about where Latinos fit into the racial spectrum are hot-button issues throughout the media.