On the Border

Society and Culture between the United States and Mexico

Contributions by María S. Arbeláez, Daniel D. Arreola, Juan Cabeza de Baca, Vincent Cabeza de Baca, Travis Du Bry, Josiah McC. Hayman, Víctor Manuel Macías-González, Jeffrey M. Pilcher, Eric Michael Schantz, Lawrence D. Taylor, Paul Vanderwood, Devra Weber Edited by Andrew Grant Wood

Not available to order

Publication date:

14 September 2004

Length of book:

320 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781461639718

A stunningly beautiful backdrop where cultures meet, meld, and thrive, the U.S.–Mexico borderlands is one of the most dynamic regions in the Americas. On the Border explores little-known corners of this fascinating area of the world in a rich collection of essays. Beginning with an exploration of mining and the rise of Tijuana, the book examines a number of aspects of the region's social and cultural history, including urban growth and housing, the mysterious underworld of border-town nightlife, a film noir treatment of the Peteet family suicides, borderlands cuisine, the life of squatters, and popular religion. As stimulating as it is lively, On the Border will spark a new appreciation for the range of social and cultural experiences in the borderlands.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 The Mining Boom in Baja California from 1850 to 1890 and the Emergence of Tijuana as a Border Community
Chapter 3 Anticipating the Colonias: Popular Housing in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, 1890–1923
Chapter 4 The Fence and Gates of Ambos Nogales: A Postcard Landscape Exploration
Chapter 5 A Note on Homosexuality in Porfirian and Postrevolutionary Northern Mexico
Chapter 6 All Night at the Owl: The Social and Political Relations of Mexicali's Red-Light District, 1909–1925
Chapter 7 The "Shame Suicides" and Tijuana
Chapter 8 Low-Budget Films for Fronterizos and Mexican Migrants in the United States
Chapter 9 Tex-Mex, Cal-Mex, New Mex, or Whose Mex? Notes on the Historical Geography of Southwestern Cuisine
Chapter 10 U.S. Ports of Entry on the Mexican Border
Chapter 11 Slab City: Squatters' Paradise?
Chapter 12 Juan Soldado: Field Notes and Reflections
Chapter 13 The Oaxacan Enclaves in Los Angeles: A Photo Essay
Chapter 14 How Would You Like an El Camino? U.S. Perceptions of Mexico in Two Recent Hollywood Films

This eclectic collection of essays explores diverse aspects of life on the U.S.–Mexican border, from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. The contributions, many by younger scholars and based on solid research, expand and enrich our understanding of life along the border between Mexico and the United States. The collection is also outstanding for the diverse disciplinary and methodological perspectives of the authors, who are from the fields of history, anthropology, and geography. The essays are well-written, engaging, and nicely illustrated with many historic photographs, postcards, maps, and film posters. This collection is a significant advance in border scholarship through its exploration of important but poorly understood aspects of border reality.