What do you think?
Rate this book
Chicano Folklore: A Guide to the Folktales, Traditions, Rituals and Religious Practices of Mexican Americans
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.
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.
336 pages, Paperback
First published November 29, 2001
5 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
Rafaela G. Castro
6 books1 followerRafaela G. Castro was born in Bakersfield, California, but grew up in Arvin, a small agricultural town near Weedpatch Camp, the labor camp in John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. When she was ten years old her family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where she has lived most of her life. She spent two years in Brazil with the Peace Corps before receiving degrees in English Literature, Library Science, and Folklore from the University of California, Berkeley. She has lectured in Ethnic Bibliography and Chicano Studies at UC Berkeley, and recently retired from the Humanities/Social Sciences department of Shields Library at the University of California, Davis.
She is the author of:
* Dictionary of Chicago Folklore (ABC-Clio, Inc., 2000), illustrated.
* Chicano Folklore: A Guide to the Folktales, Traditions, Rituals and Religious Practices of Mexican Americans (Oxford University Press, 2001)
* Provocaciones: Letters from the Prettiest Girl in Arvin (Chusma House Publications, 2006)
She is one of four authors of:
* What Do I Read Next?: Multicultural Literature (Gale, 1997) contributing the Latino Literature section.
Her current work-in-progress is a novel about a woman's search, in the San Joaquin Valley of California, for her dead mother's lover.
She is the author of:
* Dictionary of Chicago Folklore (ABC-Clio, Inc., 2000), illustrated.
* Chicano Folklore: A Guide to the Folktales, Traditions, Rituals and Religious Practices of Mexican Americans (Oxford University Press, 2001)
* Provocaciones: Letters from the Prettiest Girl in Arvin (Chusma House Publications, 2006)
She is one of four authors of:
* What Do I Read Next?: Multicultural Literature (Gale, 1997) contributing the Latino Literature section.
Her current work-in-progress is a novel about a woman's search, in the San Joaquin Valley of California, for her dead mother's lover.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 20, 2026
This lays a strong foundation for understanding stories in our culture. It's also helped me as a writer to understand the purposes and themes of those stories so I can convey themin my own storytelling. Would 100% recommend!
September 19, 2016
This book will answer many of the more popular questions that folk have about the Hispanic culture and practices. It is written in an easy style and has many facts. It is a wonderful collection of myths, folklore, practices, et al..
October 17, 2008
This is mostly a reference book so I've only read about a third of it. I'm putting it on my "read" list because it's bugging me to see it on my "currently reading" list.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews