Telltale Stories from Central America
Subtitle: Cultural Heritage, Political Systems, and Resistance in Developing Countries
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Published: May 1, 2001
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 280
ISBN-13: 9780826322975
Subjects: American history; Folklore; Myths & mythology; Native Americans - History; Race And Ethnic Relations; History; Sociology; History: American; Caribbean & Latin American; Latin America - Central America; Minority Studies - Race Relations; Social Science / Folklore & Mythology; Ethnic Studies - Native American Studies; Latin America - General; Central America; Central American literature; Government relations; History and criticism; Indians of Central America; Tales
Description: "This inquiry into race relations in Central America's political and social development taps an unusual source: 118 stories passed from generation to generation, which are also reproduced in English translation. What Stone found in his compilation of folktales is that a wide gap separates how Indians, mestizos, and ladinos in Central America view themselves and the governments that rule them. By studying stories told throughout the region, Stone documents the mutual resentment among Indians, mestizos, ladinos, and whites. He assesses how each country in the region has or has not faced up to its racial problems. He concludes that the existence of both authoritarian and democratic regimes throughout the region is directly related to the ways in which each country has handled these problems."--Jacket.