Batos, Bolillos, Pochos, and Pelados: Class and Culture on the South Texas Border

by Chad Richardson, Michael J. Pisani

Overview

"The Valley of South Texas," a recent joke goes, "is a great place to live. It's so close to the United States." Culturally, this borderland region is both Mexican and Anglo-American, and its people span the full spectrum, from a minority who wish to remain insulated within strictly Anglo or Mexican communities and traditions to a majority who daily negotiate both worlds.

This book offers the fullest portrait currently available of the people of the South Texas borderlands. An outgrowth of the Borderlife Research Project conducted at the University of Texas-Pan American, it uses the voices of several hundred Valley residents, backed by the findings of sociological surveys, to describe the lives of migrant farm workers, colonia residents, undocumented domestic servants, maquila workers, and Mexican street children. Likewise, it explores race and ethnic relations among Mexican Americans, permanent Anglo residents, "Winter Texans," Blacks, and Mexican immigrants. From this firsthand material, the book vividly reveals how social class, race, and ethnicity have interacted to form a unique border culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781477312704
Publisher:	University of Texas Press
Publication date:	02/24/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	433
File size:	28 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

CHAD RICHARDSON is professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. His previous books include On the Edge of the Law: Culture, Labor, and Deviance on the South Texas Border, coauthored with Rosalva Resendiz.

MICHAEL J. PISANI is a professor of international business at Central Michigan University. He coauthored The Informal and Underground Economy of the South Texas Border with Chad Richardson.

Table of Contents

	List of Figures	viii
	List of Tables	xi
	Preface	xiii
	Acknowledgments	xvii
	Borderlife Interview Projects	xxi
	Introduction	1
Chapter 1.	"Mama, Nosotros Somos Migrantes": South Texas Farmworkers, 1950-1990	17
Chapter 2.	"A Nice House": The Colonias of South Texas	43
Chapter 3.	"Only a Maid": Undocumented Domestic Workers in South Texas	69
Chapter 4.	Social Class on the South Texas-Mexico Border	95
Chapter 5.	The Pain of Gain: Fifty Years of Anglo-Hispanic Relations in South Texas Schools	123
Chapter 6.	From Mexicanos to Mexican Americans	153
Chapter 7.	"Ahi Viene el Bolillo!": Anglo Newcomers to South Texas	183
Chapter 8.	Black, Brown, and White: Race and Ethnicity in South Texas	211
Appendix A	Student Interviewers	247
Appendix B	Borderlife Interview Surveys	251
	Notes	259
	Bibliography	275
	Index	285

What People are Saying About This

Rogelio Saenz

"This book demonstrates the richness of the interethnic mosaic characterizing the Valley of South Texas.... By giving voice to local residents, Professor Richardson has amassed a valuable stock of knowledge concerning life along the Texas-Mexican border that is sorely missing in the extant literature."

Rogelio Saenz

This book demonstrates the richness of the interethnic mosaic characterizing the Valley of South Texas.... By giving voice to local residents, Professor Richardson has amassed a valuable stock of knowledge concerning life along the Texas-Mexican border that is sorely missing in the extant literature.
-- Rogelio Saenz, Professor and Head of Sociology, Texas A&M University