Chicano Folklore: A Guide to the Folktales, Traditions, Rituals and Religious Practices of Mexican Americans
This inclusive lexicon offers terms associated with the Chicano population and its history, experiences, and customs, though the focus is on Mexican Americans who came of age in the 1960s in the Southwest. The entries, which combine English and Spanish terminology, include definitions, commentary, and citations to Chicano folk narratives, arts, folk drama, and popular culture as well as the broad cultural studies already available. These entries give context to expressive behaviors and artifacts (urban tales, dance steps, joke cycles, dress fads, folk remedies, spiritual beliefs, holidays, foods, etc.) as well as words that have been absorbed into everyday English (burrito, coyote, frijoles, tamales, Los Lobos, etc.). Castro, a librarian at the University of Oregon, derived her material from scholarly studies authored principally by Chicanos and recognized scholars, including such notables as Mark Glazer, Aurelio Espinoza Jr., and Americo Paredes. This work complements such reliable sources as Michael Heisley's An Annotated Bibliography of Chicano Folklore from the Southwestern United States (1977) and Olga Najera-Ramirez's Greater Mexican Folklore in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography (1987), both older books. This excellent volume will find an audience with folklorists, scholars, regionalists, and library researchers and will likely become indispensable for both educators and students.DR.K. Burns, Hatboro, PACopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.