Mexican-American Folklore: Legends, Songs, Festivals, Proverbs, Crafts and More

by John O. West

Mexican-American traditions are richly nourished by the folkways of three Indian, Spanish, and Mexican. This comprehensive look at the Mexican-American world includes a range of traditional proverbs, riddles, stories and folksongs; folk narrative, from Pancho Villa to urban ghosts, saints to revolutionaries; customs, from household shrines to irrigation rituals to charreadas , or Mexican-style rodeos; children's games, home remedies, folk foods, crafts, dress, and more. Besides its wide range of folk genres, Mexican-American Folklore is also broad-ranging in space―it covers the entire American Southwest, and in time, it includes material from several generations back, as well as very recent adaptations of customs to modern life. These stories teach readers the importance of courage, resourcefulness and respect for Mexican-American traditions.

Genres: Nonfiction, Folklore

314 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

Reviews

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well written book that is has chapters addressing anything ever experienced as far as Mexican-American culture. Provides a lot of clarification on things I had heard about but never knew what to think of. I think this is a good book for kids too.