Latin American Popular Culture: An Introduction

by William H. Beezley (Editor), Linda A. Curcio-Nagy (Editor)

Latin American Popular An Introduction is a collection of articles that explores a wide range of compelling cultural subjects in the region, including carnival, romance, funerals, medicine, monuments and dance, among others. The introduction lays out the most important theoretical approaches to the culture of Latin America, and the chapters serve as illustrative case studies. Featuring the latest scholarship in cultural history most of the chapters have not previously been published Latin American Popular Culture is an important resource for courses in Latin American history, civilization, popular culture, and anthropology.

255 pages, Paperback

First published November 16, 2011

About the author

William H. Beezley is a professor of history at the University of Arizona. He is the author and editor of dozens of books and articles, most notably Judas at the Jockey Club and Other Episodes of Porfirian Mexico, and he is the editor-in-chief of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History.

Reviews

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is labeled as an introduction to Latin American popular culture, but this is very much not. No one reading this collection could come away with a conception of a single country's culture, let alone an understanding of the ~nine countries mentioned herein. (To read this, one should already have a good understanding of the histories and basic cultures.) Instead, it is 13 academic essays on subjects ranging from medical photographs in Brazil to state funerals in Mexico. The essays themselves are, by and large, both dry and poorly written--I was not impressed by the styles, which were uncomfortably similar to that of first-year grad students'.

However, the material itself is fascinating, which makes up for a lot. The idea that most of the essays touched on was how constructed culture is. What we see as a national identity is often the result of years of revisionist history, bias, and conscious choices.