Additional information
by John O. West (Author)
Mexican-American traditions are richly nourished by the folkways of three cultures: 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.
Author Biography
John O. West Bio:
John Oliver West, born in El Paso, Texas, January 1, 1925, drew his last, labored breath on March 14, 2010. He got his B.A. from Mississippi College, MA from Texas Tech, and PhD from UT Austin. He taught English and Folklore at UTEP for 39 years and retired as Professor Emeritus of English in 2002, the same year he was made a Fellow of the Texas Folklore Society. His publications include Mexican American Folklore, Cowboy Folk Humor, the Introduction to Riders Across the Centuries, and José Cisneros: An Artist's Journey. Several of his books received BRLA Southwest Book Awards. "The Galloping Gourmet" received a finalist Spur Award from Western Writers of America in 1985. He was inducted into the El Paso Herald-Post Writer's Hall of Fame in 1995.
