Chicano Folklore: A Guide to the Folktales, Traditions, Rituals and Religious Practices of Mexican Americans [Paperback]

Rafaela G. Castro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 29, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0195146395 | ISBN-13: 978-0195146394 | Edition: First Edition

Did you know that barrio is a term for a Chicano neighborhood, and that some of the oldest barrios can be found in major U.S. cities, like Los Angeles, Chicago, El Paso, and San Antonio? Or that menudo is actually a soup-type dish made with tripe, the stomach lining of a cow, and typically eaten early in the morning after big holiday celebrations to cure a hangover?
Chicano Folklore is replete with such interesting and often surprising facts about Mexican American culture. Even before the United States-Mexican War in 1848, when 80,000 Spanish-Mexican-Indian people suddenly became inhabitants of the United States, people of Spanish and Mexican descent had a rich and unique culture in what is now the American southwest. Understanding Chicano folklore, or the customs, rituals, and traditional cultural forms that Mexican Americans share, is extremely significant to comprehending the Chicano experience. Chicano Folklore is the first reference book to focus wholly on this subject. From burrito (literally little burro or little donkey) to zoot suit (a style of suit worn by Mexican Americans, African Americans, and Filipino Americans during the 1930s and 1940s), the dictionary's more than 225 in-depth passages thoroughly explain the meaning and background of each cultural term. We learn about the music, religious practices, food, and key historical and mythical figures that make Chicano folklore so vibrant.
The detailed, immensely informative passages of Chicano Folklore will entertain and educate anyone interested in understanding Chicano culture and the colorful impact it has had on America as a whole.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

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, PA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

For the student, teacher, librarian, historian, storyteller, or researcher seeking details about Latino lore, this book provides 228 alphabetically arranged entries on literature, drama, media, art, society, religion, medicine, and history. Coverage includes the most common topics--"La Bamba," Cinco de Mayo, Quetzalcoatl, Tejanos, Tinwork--alongside less common terms, such as Curanderismo (healing), Palomilla (group of friends), Sobador (masseuse), and an entry for Teresa Urrea, a psychic and healer. A five-page introduction differentiates between Chicanos and Mexicanos and clears up misconceptions that folk culture is solely the province of the primitive peasant.

The text appears in clear fonts that pair roman with italic type for frequent citations and terms in Spanish, which Castro translates. She offers no pronunciation guides, which would benefit an English-speaking audience. Page layout is pleasant and easy on the eye. Cross-referencing and end-of-entry sources are balanced and proportional. Illustration is adequate, including black-and-white photographs and drawings as well as a spectacular, crayon-bright cover featuring a painting of a present-day couple contemplating La Virgen de Guadalupe.

Castro lacks the succinctness and punch of an experienced writer. Her diction and rhetoric are muddled; paragraphs are overlong. However, she makes up for rhetorical faults with an enthusiasm and expertise in a wide range of examples, language quirks, and data that appear to spring from extensive reading in primary sources. In entries such as La Leyenda Negra and La Llorona, she is particularly adept at dispelling false or overly hasty assumptions about Chicano culture. The 56 pages of back matter offer an impressive bibliography and meticulous indexing. The lack of Internet sites is a puzzling omission.

Overall, this useful dictionary presents basic concepts in an attractive, reasonably priced compendium. Its appearance at this peak moment in multicultural education should please purchasers seeking timely, informative reference materials that suit the needs of the general reader and student as well as the expert. The dictionary should satisfy the most discriminating researcher and find a place on shelves of public, school, and university libraries as well as in the collections of purveyors and performers of world and Chicano folklore. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; First Edition edition (November 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195146395
• ISBN-13: 978-0195146394
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #383,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable storehouse of Mexican-American heritage, April 16, 2005

By 

M. G. SFAELLOU "Platanos" (Greece) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dictionary of Chicano Folklore (Library Binding)

The word 'Chicano' is used for an American of Mexican extraction, particularly one living in border areas of New Mexico etc. The word 'Chicano' denotes someone who, despite living in U.S.A. is pure Mexican (and thus is not to be confused with a 'pocho', a term which Chicanos apply to one of their own people who has become too Americanised or 'agringado' (i.e. like a 'gringo' or 'gavacho' - as the American is sometimes called). The chicanos have an extremely rich culture and this excellent reference work is a great tribute to that culture written by an expert. This dictionary is supplemented with a forty page bibliography as well as an index. The entries range from the 'abuelo' (literally 'grandfather' but the term is also used as a synonym with 'coco' which is a kind of bogeyman) to 'Zozobra' (a giant effigy which is burnt). By coincidence the last entry has an indirect relation to the first entry since there is a cross reference to the 'kookooee' which is another form of this effigy (burnt in Santa Fe) and the name of which is derived from the 'cucui' or 'coco' (which , as we have just mentioned, are synonymous with the 'abuelo'). In fact, talkng of the burning of effigies, I also read on p. 222 that at Easter (as in Mexico - and indeed even in many parts of Greece) a life-size effigy of Judas is burnt.
The author is careful to provide the correct Chicano Spanish term for all the traditions and customs mentioned. The work covers all aspects of folklore. There are rites of passage: baptism customs and rituals (found in the entry on the 'comadre'/'compadre'), the 'quinceanera'( - spelt with a tilde on the 'n' - this refers to a girl's fifteenth birthday celebration), wedding customs and death customs (e.g. in the entries 'camposanto' or cemetery, 'calavera' or skeleton, the 'Dia de la Muerte' or Day of the Dead and 'la carreta de la muerte' or death cart). There are also entries which feature mythological creatures in folk tales like the 'chanes' or water spirits, the 'duendes' or goblins (distinct from the 'pichilingis' or elves) and the 'chirrionera' or mythical snake.
There are many entries which pertain to 'fiestas' and calendar customs. For instance, in connection with the Christmas season there are entries on 'aguinaldos' or carols, 'farolitos' or lanterns, 'matachines','oremos' and the 'pinata'(spelt with a tilde - the clay pot that children break to get the presents and sweets/candies inside). There are also legends such as 'La Llorona' and even some Aztec myths like Aztlan, Quetzalcoatl and Tanantzin etc. The dictionary also contains a few short biographies of notable persons such as La Adelita (feminist symbol) and the pioneering folklorist Fabiola Cabeza de Baca.
Food is also represented with entries like the 'burritos'(little donkeys) and 'capirotada', etc. There is a reference to 'curanderismo' or folk healing as well as to the 'huesero' ot bone-setter. Similarly, some words deal with magic and superstition such as 'brujeria' or witchcraft and the 'mal ojo' or evil eye. The reader can also find entries on chicano folk art such as the 'colcha' or blanket and the 'retablos' or religious paintings. Musical entries are also provided (e.g. the 'conjunto' groups and the 'mariachi' bands). Unique literary terms are also included like 'adivinanzas' or riddles, 'decimas' or poetic narratives and one can also find terms that relate to political and social aspects of chicano culture. For instance, there is mention of the 'rascuache' or downtrodden folk, the 'pachucos' (urban youth of the 1940s) and even the 'alambrista' or illegal border-crosser.
There are so many other fascinating entries which cannot all be mentioned here. This is an important work and an invaluable record of the Chicanos' cultural wealth. It is an essential reference tool for Mexicans on both sides of the border and for general readers who enjoy reading comparative folklore.
N.B. THIS BOOK (ENTITLED 'DICTIONARY OF CHICANO FOLKLORE')IS EXACTLY THE SAME BOOK AS ANOTHER ENTITLED 'CHICANO FOLKLORE: GUIDE TO TRADITIONS, RITUALS AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES OF MEXICAN AMERICANS' (BY A DIFFERENT PUBLISHING HOUSE). THE FORMER IS THE ORIGINAL HARDBACK EDITION AND THE EXTRA PAGES (333 AS OPPOSED TO 308) IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT IT IS ILLUSTRATED WITH DOZENS OF BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS. THE LATTER TITLE IS SIMPLY A MUCH MORE ECONOMICAL PAPERBACK VERSION OF THE SAME WORK.

4.0 out of 5 stars A wealth of information, October 3, 2007

By 

Enrique Torres "Rico" (San Diegotitlan, Califas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Chicano Folklore: A Guide to the Folktales, Traditions, Rituals and Religious Practices of Mexican Americans (Paperback)

In this politically charged pc world, fueld by fear of illegal immigration from south of the border(meanwhile the terrorsits are probably crossing the porous northern border) the term Chicano is sure to have it's detrators. Fear not, as this book has more to do with essence or embodiment of having Mexican roots and what it entails to be an American of Mexican descent. It is educational. The book deals with the traditions, rituals and religious practises from a historical and contemporary perspective. For example, a non-political and harmless (except for maybe gas) topic like frijoles(beans)is extensively covered from it's historical origins and uses to it's use(beaner) as a derogatory term. This book is an educational tool regardless of your political leanings or beliefs. It seems everyone can learn a little something from this cultural dictionary. Many of the topics can be further explored in music or books like Art and Faith in Mexico: The Nineteenth-Century Retablo Tradition which details the retablos or religious paintings in Mexico or Puro Party which is a band started by a professor of anthropology at San Francisco whose name is Dr. Jose Cuellar. The band, Doctor Loco's Rockin' Jalapeno Band, is made up of musicians who have degrees from prestigious universities who incorporate a variety of Mexican styles into their music. If you are interested in a topic there is probably a book written on the subject somewhere, likewise if you'd like to explore a musical style menioned in the book the various genres are full of talent. This is a very cool(chido) book that explains some of the makeup of what it is to be a Chicano or Mexican-American in these here United States; for that matter, what it is to be an American of Mexicna heritage too. I would recommend this book for a better cultural understanding for all people living in the United States. Recommended for high school school libraries, community centers and public libraries or your own personal reference library.