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.
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
Review
“A good introduction to its subject . . .” ―American Reference Books Annual
“This excellent volume will find an audience with folklorists, scholars, regionalists, and library researchers and will likely become indispensable for both educators and students.” ―Library Journal
“This volume includes a wealth of information in brief, clear, alphabetical entries. . . . An informative, much-needed resource.” ―School Library Journal
“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.” ―Booklist
“This is a 'must-buy' for any library that needs concise information on the Latino culture. . . . Highly recommended.” ―The Book Report
“This comprehensive and easy-to-read volume might be considered the definitive reference manual for anyone interested in Mexican American culture in the United States. . . . A must for young adult libraries, particularly those in regions with a heavy Hispanic readership. This book will delight and intrigue any reader with an interest in popular culture.” ―VOYA
“A well-written and serious book about a subject that is attracting increasing scholarly interest. Depending on need, it is a book that could find a place in either a reference or circulating collection and is suitable for the general public, serious high school students and undergraduates.” ―Against the Grain
“A critical source of information on topics that are learned informally by the Chicano community and often unknown or misunderstood by those outside that community.” ―MultiCultural Review
About the Author
Rafaela G. Castro works as a librarian at the University of California Davis, Davis, CA.
