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Derived from the words miscere and genus in Latin, mestizaje refers to a mixing of the races. In the book Mestizaje, internationally acclaimed artist Kathy Sosa presents a cross-sectional view of Mexican American culture as it is practiced in the centuries-old blended culture of the Texas-Mexico borderlands. She documents and projects the effects across generations of peoples and cultures meeting, overlapping, and organically blending into something new. The richness and beauty of mestizaje come from a place where people speak Spanglish, eat Tex-Mex food, and dance to Willie Nelson and Flaco Jimenez--sometimes all at once. Sosa foretells what much of the United States has become or will be like before long. The imagery and symbolism of puro mestizaje (total mix) figure prominently in Sosa's work, and it is a mix unique to the borderlands' historical traditions and myriad cultures. Sosa derives inspiration from and reflects a bold palette of strong female figures. Celebrating what the women of these borderlands think, feel, and revere culturally, she explores the roles of indigenous traditions, colors, and textiles. Family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances--real and imagined--participate in the spirit of mexicanidad, though most were not born in Mexico and some have never visited. Supplemented with dual-language essays in English and Spanish by art critics, collectors, and historians, Mestizaje rejoices in feminist notions of blended cultures and opens readers' eyes to the lessons they offer and what they tell us about America today.

Observed in Mexico and parts of the United States, El Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a celebratory holiday. Los Muertos is the first anthology of fiction relating to or inspired by this bicultural tradition. Each of the two dozen Mexican and Mexican American writers featured here has a unique affinity for the myriad ideas connected closely to the El Día de Muertos--some in less obvious ways. The stories connect to the metaphors and connotations related to memorializing the dead, some reflecting on the ritualized and religious aspects of what has become a commercialized holiday and others reacting to such cultural appropriations. In celebration and reconciliation, stories like Alessandra Narváez Varela's, told from the point of view of a Día de los Muertos wreath, and Marytza Rubio's, about a young woman trying to rewrite a young man's death through parallel dimensions, illustrate the ways Latino cultures process death. From Kirstin Valdez Quade's little girl struggling to accept her mother's abandonment to David Rice's character forgiving himself in remembrance of his daughter's namesake, each character fully embraces what it means to look death in the face and celebrate the losses of the departed. From solemn ofrendas and milagros to everyday acts far removed from any trace of pan de muerto or papel picado, these diverse stories call us to appreciate the holiday's broader cultural significance. Writers include Ana Gloria Álvarez Pedrajo, Rosa Beltrán, Ana García Bergua, Ana Castillo, Lucha Corpi, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Fernando A. Flores, Elizabeth Gonzalez James, Diana López, Lorraine M. López, Alberto Reyes Morgan, Manuel Muñoz, Alessandra Narváez-Varela, Guadalupe Nettel, Daniel A. Olivas, Pedro Ángel Palou, Rene S Perez II, Kirstin Valdez Quade, David Rice, Alberto Ríos, Ito Romo, Marytza K. Rubio, Socorro Venegas, and Désirée Zamorano.

One woman’s mostly unpublished, rich heritage of West Texas border folklore and literary history