Anything But Mexican: Chicanos in Contemporary Los Angeles

by Rodolfo F. Acuna

Overview

Mexicans and other Latinos comprise fifty percent of the population of Los Angeles and are the largest ethnic group in California. In this completely revised and updated edition of a classic political and social history, one of the foremost scholars of the Latino experience situates the US's largest immigrant community in a time of anti-immigrant fervor. Originally published in 1996, this edition analyses the rise and rule of LA's first-ever Mexican American mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, as well as the harsh pressures facing Chicanos in an increasingly unequal and gentrifying city.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786633804
Publisher:	Verso Books
Publication date:	04/14/2020
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	197,295
File size:	826 KB

About the Author

Rodolfo F. Acuña is the founding chair of the Chicana/o Studies department at California State University at Northridge—the largest Chicana/o Studies Department in the United States. He has authored twenty-two books, including three children’s books, and Voices of the US Latino Experience; Corridors of Migration: Odyssey of Mexican Laborers, 1600–1933; and Occupied America: A History of Chicanos.

 

Table of Contents

Preface: Anything But Mexican vii

Acknowledgements xviii

Introduction to the Second Edition: The Context of Anything But Mexican 1

1 "Whose America?": Introducing Chicano L.A. 11

2 Taking Back Chicano History 31

3 Chicanas/os in Politics: The Illusion of Inclusion 57

4 Marching Mothers 77

5 Politics for the Few 101

6 Immigration: "The Border Crossed Us" 119

7 The Politicization of the "Other" 150

8 Mexican/Latino Labor in L.A.: Working in a Meaner, Leaner World 175

9 Chicanas in Los Angeles 205

10 México Lindo and NAFTA 233

11 Troubled Angels 262

12 The Stairway to the Good Life 295

Conclusion 322

Notes 331

Index 443

Editorial Reviews

"Anything But Mexican challenges neo-liberal interpretations of the history of Los Angeles which blame Mexicans and other immigrants of color for the decline of the city. Acuña's provocative work confronts these historical myths, signalling that Latinos will not be dismissed."--Deena González, Pomona College

"Required reading on Chicanos in the Southwest. This book will stand amongst the classics in Chicano Studies."--Teresa Cordova, University of New Mexico

"This book defines important political and social space for Latinos in what has become the capital of Mexicans in the US. Anything But Mexican is a sensitive and often pointed discourse."--Carlos Velez-Ibanez, UC Riverside

"Rodolfo Acuña is one of the foremost scholar/activists in the country, bridging the gap between the Chicano movement and a multi-racial left that is often uninformed about the growing strategic importance of Latinos in the US."--Eric Mann, Director, Labor Community Strategy Center, Los Angeles

"A political and social history every bit as insightful and powerful as the earlier works by a pioneering Chicano scholar dubbed by some the 'W.E.B. Dubois of Chicano Studies.'"--James Cockcroft, SUNY Empire

From the Publisher