Mexican-American Folklore

Mexican-Americans of today are richly nourished by the folkways of three cultures—Indian, Spanish, and Mexican. This comprehensive look at the Mexican-American world includes proverbs, riddles, and folksongs; folk narrative, from Pancho Villa to urban ghosts, saints to revolutionaries; customs, from household shrines to irrigation rituals to charreadas (Mexican-style rodeos); children's games, home remedies, folk foods, crafts, dress, and more. This comprehensive, exuberant volume draws its material from the entire American Southwest and from previous generations as well as from contemporary adaptations of customs to modern life. John O. West, 1989, 314 pages, softcover