When one thinks of the classical Mexican corrido, thoughts of Jungian archetypes and the words of Joseph Campbell usually do not come into mind. But Mrs. Sobek does just that and much more in this fascinating book. Drawing upon four archetypes of women in Mexican society, she proceeds to define them and put them against the archetypes of classical mythology. She also gives an insight into the Mexican female psyche, along with her role in history. Can hold up as its own work, though it goes hand in hand with her other book on corridos dealing with the immigrant experience.

I grew up in Mexico and I grew up reading this book. To revist its light prose, delicately drawn village and carefully delineated shadows was an incredible pleasure. I'm so glad I have this copy in my possesion, I've missed it.
I wish I knew more about Josephina Nigli, though.

The American civil rights movement of the 1960s and affirmative action programs of the 70s held promise for people of color and those in American higher education: eleven essays consider the status of these groups in the 20th century and beyond, describing individual minority and female experiences in academe. A range of professionals contribute their experiences and insights on obstacles in this revealing coverage.

I'm glad a book like this came out, because it describes the arts scene (art, literature, theatre, etc.) for the last 20 years. It has a very good article concerning the tribulations of Chicanas publishing, though the article could have put more stress on the proliferation of Chicana writes that we saw in the 1990s. But the research and graphs show the trends in Chicana publishing through the last 30 years. The article on Chicano theatre failed to include the most prolific playwright in Chicano Literature--Carlos Morton--and leaves out a host of other playwrights like the award winning Octavio Solis. The segment on art was wonderful. The only bad thing was that it did not focus that much on the internationlly famous Chicano sculptors of our time. The article covering the trends in Chicano/a Literature was very good. It could have focused more on Chicano/a excursion into romance fiction, young adult, and children's literature. If you are looking for a book to bring you up-to-date in the trends of Chicano/a art, this is the book for you.

The articles mentioned do have something that were said to be left out. The article on theatre does mention Octavio Solis and Carlos Morton, but only breifly. Carlos Morton has been the most prolific Latino playwright. Aside from that, the book is edited well. However, the title should have given credit to Felipe Ortego.