cover image Hecho En Tejas-C

Hecho En Tejas-C

. University of North Texas Press, $32.5 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-929398-33-4

From the aesthetics of saddles to the display of outdoor religious shrines as a public presentation of self, this richly illustrated survey demonstrates how folk arts and crafts provide Mexican Americans of Texas with a sense of continuity and reaffirmed identity. Quilts, ceramics, paper flowers, roadside crosses, ironwork gates, festive costumes, toys, pinatas, musical instruments and cowboy boots are part of the material culture investigated in these 17 essays, a publication of the Texas Folklore Society that combines careful scholarship and accessibility. Also examined are the vernacular architecture of houses and the built environment of a Texas-Mexican ranch. The selections bring out sharp regional differences within Texas and show how artistic traditions are maintained through constant interchange with Mexico. Graham is a folklorist/anthropologist at Texas A & I University. (June)