Chicano Folklore: A Handbook

by Maria Herrera-Sobek

Overview

Chicanos and Chicanas, or Mexican Americans, are deeply rooted in the cultures of African, European, and Native American groups. This great tripartite cultural legacy is evident in such folklore genres as myths, tales, legends, jests, folksongs, folk theater, traditional customs, beliefs, medicine, games, and riddles. It also figures in Chicano culinary traditions, arts and crafts, and other areas of daily life. This book is a concise but thorough introduction to Chicano folklore.

Written expressly for high school students and general readers, the volume classifies and defines Chicano folklore and provides background information on the historical contexts in which Chicanos have thrived. It also provides numerous examples and texts from various folklore genres and discusses the importance of Chicano folklore to literature and popular culture. In addition, it reviews scholarship and critical approaches and closes with a bibliography and glossary. This book will help students appreciate America's cultural diversity as they learn about the fascinating traditions of this important ethnic group.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313039010
Publisher:	ABC-CLIO, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/30/2006
Series:	Greenwood Folklore Handbooks Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

MARÍA HERRERA-SOBEK holds the Luis Leal Endowed Chair in Chicano Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her many books include The Bracero Experience: Elitelore versus Folklore (1979), The Mexican Corrido: A Feminist Analysis (1990), and Northward Bound: The Mexican Immigrant Experience in Ballad and Song (1993). In addition, she has edited numerous anthologies and published more than a hundred articles.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Definitions and Classifications
Examples and Texts
Scholarship and Approaches
Contexts
Glossary
Bibliography
Web Resources
Index

Editorial Reviews

Herrera-Sobek has been researching and writing about Chicano folklore since the 1970s. Here she introduces the history, context, genres, and definitions related to the study. Abundant examples of folk songs (including the ten-strophe poem and the drug-smuggling ballad), proverbs and jokes, children's songs and games, and folk theater are presented in both English and Spanish. Additionally, the author discusses folk belief, costumes, dance, medicine, ailments, art, and food in the politically conscious Chicano culture.” —Reference & Research Book News

“[C]hicano Folklore, edited by Maria Herrera-Sobek, uniquely synthesizes the history of Chicanos in the United States by drawing on a tripartite cultural heritage that encompasses Indigenous, European, and African influences brought into explicit dialogue through folklore….The author's remarkably accessible and vibrant text explicitly uses the social and cultural histories of Mexican-descent communities in the United States to elucidate phases of intertextual creativity, culminating in the celebration of a hybrid Chicano identity. Not bound by purely print resources, Herrera-Sobek offers readers access to multiple, varied research tools including film, online resources, an extensive bibliography, and a glossary of terms that facilitates access to this rich body of primary and theoretical resources to those without Spanish language skills.” —Jourbanal of Folklore Research

“Written for high school students and general readers….[a] comprehensive handbook divided into five chapters, including an introduction, definitions and classifications, examples and texts, scholarship and approaches, and contexts….This book will help students appreciate America's cultural diversity as they learn about the fascinating traditions of this important ethnic group.” —Multicultural Review

“María Herrera-Sobek's Chicano Folklore is an engaging piece of scholarship. . . . María Herrera-Sobek has written, edited, co-edited, and contributed to numerous works on Chicano/a literature and folklore (see bibliography below). This latest offering extends a long trajectory of high-caliber research and writing.” —Western Folklore

From the Publisher