Barrios and Borderlands
Cultures of Latinos and Latinas in the United States
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- $104.99
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- $104.99
Publisher Description
This unique anthology highlights the diversity of Latino cultural expressions and points out the distinctive features of the three major Latino populations: Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban. It is organized around six central cultural issues: family, religion, community, the arts, (im)migration and exile, and cultural identity. Each chapter focuses on a particular theme by presenting readings from a variety of genres, including short stories, poems, essays, excerpts from novels, a play, photographs, even a few songs and recipes.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A veritable everything-but-the-kitchen-sink compendium of modern Latino prose and speech, this volume gives voice to the underappreciated work and art of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Mexican-Americans. Included within these covers are many fascinating interviews, a short play, poetry, fiction, recipes and music. Heyck, a professor at Loyola University, divides the book according to subject--Family, Religion, the Arts, and so on. Unfortunately, some units are not as evenly planned as others. The editor relies on inteviews--lengthy, uninterrupted monologues, really--to fill the book, and most readers will find themselves wanting more fiction. The four lengthy interviews, one on top of the other, weigh down the section on La Communidad , for example. The material here is so diverse that it is best digested in short takes, ``dipping and sampling,'' as Heyck suggests. That way, the most interesting selections--such as Juan Flores's essay on Plena music, Otto Lopez's account of his low-riders' club and Edward Rivera's ``Family Installations''--won't be drowned out by all the competing voices in this intriguing cacophony. Photos.
