Mexican American Religions

Preface ix

Introduction 1

I. History and Interpretations of Mexican American Religions

1. History and Theory in the Study of Mexican American Religions / Gaston Espinosa 17

2. Pious Colonialism: Assessing a Church Paradigm for Chicano Identity / Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo 57

II. Mexican American Mystics and Prophets

3. Sacred Order, Sacred Space: Reies Lopez Tijerina and the Valle de Paz Community / Rudy V. Busto 85

4. Holy Activist, Secular Saint: Religion and the Social Activism of Cesar Chavez / Stephen R. Lloyrd-Moffett 106

5. Religion and the Chicano Movement: Catolicos Por La Raza / Mario T. Garcia 125

III. Mexican American Popular Catholicism

6. Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Politics of Cultural Interpretation / Socorro Castaneda-Liles 153

7. Voces de Fe: Mexican American Altaristas in Texas / Kay Turner 180

8. Los Pastores and the Gendered Politics of Location / Richard R. Flores 206

9. The Religious Vision of Gloria Anzaldua: Borderlands/La Frontera as a Shamanic Space / David Carrasco and Roberto Lint Sagarena 223

10. Voice and Vision in Chicana Religious Practice: The Literary Re-elaborations of Mary Helen Ponce, Denise Chavez, and Sandra Cisneros / Ellen McCracken 242

V. Mexican American Religions and Healing

11. Brown Moses: Francisco Olazabal and Mexican American Pentecostal Healing in the Borderlands / Gaston Espinosa 263

12. Borderlands Bodies and Souls: Mexican Religious Healing Practices in East L.A. / Luis D. Leon 296

VI. Mexican American Religions and Pop Culture

13. Luis Valdez's La Pastorela: "The Shepherds' Play": Tradition, Hybridity, and Transformation / Maria Herrera-Sobek 325

14. Hybrid Spiritualities and Chicana Altar-Based Art: The Work of Amalia Mesa-Bains / Laura E. Perez 338

15. Mexican Madonna: Selena and the Politics of Cultural Redemption / Gaston Espinosa 359

Conclusion: Reflections on Mexican American Religions and Culture 381

Bibliography 387

Contributors 429

Index 433