| Book Review:
"Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture"
by Mark Guerrero
A two-volume hard cover "Encyclopedia of Latino Popular
Culture" has been published by Greenwood Press, Westport,
Connecticut-London. It was edited by Cordelia Chavez
Candelaria, Arturo J.Aldama, Peter J. Garcia, and Alma Alvarez-Smith
of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of
Chicana and Chicano Studies, at Arizona State University in
Tempe, Arizona. The official date of publication was
October 30, 2004. In May of 2003, I was contacted by
Peter J. Garcia to contribute an entry, eventually titled
"Chicana/o Rock and Popular Music in Southern California,"
to this new reference set. My entry is over six pages
in length and covers the history of Chicano music in Southern
California from the late forties through the 1980s.
My entry can be found on pages 135-142 in volume one.
A paragraph from the thank you letter I received from the
editorial team best describes the two-volume set. "The
Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture presents accessible
information on artists, filmmakers, sports figures, writers,
and many other leaders, legends, and popular culture figures,
activities, events, places, and artifacts. Designed
for general audiences, it will be suitable for use by
educators, journalists, policy makers, and middle to high
school and college students. It is the first inclusive
reference tool published on Latina/o popular culture."
Many of the Chicano musical artists I've written about on
my website have entries about them in these volumes, such
as El Chicano, Lalo Guerrero, Trini Lopez, Los Lobos, Freddy
Fender, and Flaco Jimenez. Others included I have not
yet written about include, Ritchie Valens, Carlos Santana,
Little Joe y La Familia, Dr. Loco & his Rockin' Jalapeño
Band, and Daniel Valdez. This two-volume set of encyclopedias
are first rate in research and content, as well as the cover,
paper, and graphics. It's a beautiful set which retails
for $175. The "Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture"
is available at major book stores (ISBN: 0-313-32215-5) and
on line at www.greenwood.com/.
Scroll down the home page to find the link to the ordering
information. You will also find another good description
of the two-volume set. The Encyclopedia of Latino Popular
Culture" is also available at amazon.com at the link
below.
Click here to read my entry for
the enclyclopedia
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