Américo Paredes (1915–99) is one of the seminal figures in Mexican 
American studies. With this first book-length biography of Paredes, 
author José R. López Morín offers fresh insight into the life and work 
of this influential scholar, as well as the close relationship between 
his experience and his thought.

    Morín shows how Mexican literary traditions—particularly the 
performance contexts of oral "literature"—shaped Paredes's 
understanding of his people and his critique of Anglo scholars' 
portrayal of Mexican American history, character, and cultural 
expressions.

    Although he surveys all of Paredes's work, Morín focuses most 
heavily on his masterpiece, With a Pistol in His Hand. It is in this 
book that Morín sees Paredes's innovative interdisciplinary approach 
most effectively expressed. Dealing as he did with a people at the 
intersection of cultures, Paredes considered the intersection of 
disciplines a necessary locus for clear understanding. Morín traces 
the evolution of Paredes's thought and his battles to create a 
legitimate home for his approach at the University of Texas.

    A voice for Chicano consciousness in the late 1960s and thereafter, 
Paredes championed Mexican American studies and encouraged a 
generation of scholars to consider this culture a legitimate topic for 
research. Urging the application of context to the understanding of 
oral texts, he challenged then-current methods of folklore and 
anthropological study in general.

    Paredes's name will continue to resonate in Mexican American 
studies, American folklore, and anthropology, and his work will 
continue to be studied. The Legacy of Américo Paredes makes a 
strong case for the lasting importance of Paredes's work, 
especially for a new generation of scholars.

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JOSÉ R. LÓPEZ MORÍN is an associate professor of Chicana and 
Chicano studies at California State University–Dominguez Hills. He 
holds a Ph.D. from the University of California–Los Angeles in 
Hispanic languages and literatures.


Number Ten: Rio Grande/Río Bravo: Borderlands Culture and 
Traditions


What people are saying about this book

"It is no easy task to chart the complex cartography of Don 
Américo's life and work. José López Morín has given us an 
illuminating guide to this great scholar's personal and intellectual 
journey. Morín's insistence on the importance of performance in 
Paredes's thought is especially astute, among the host of critical 
insights he offers in his book."—Richard Bauman, Indiana University