Gustavo Arellano reviews two books with Mexican themes

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Gustavo Arellano reviews two books in the Los Angeles Times, one looks at Mexican culture in the United States, and the other takes on the classic Mexican sport, Lucha Libre.

The first book on the list doesn’t seem to impress the reviewer. ‘Mexican American Mojo: Popular Music, Dance, and Urban Culture in Los Angeles, 1935-1968,’ by Anthony Macías ‘is ambitious, seeking to detail the transformation of Los Angeles and its waves of Mexican Americans through the prism of music, culture and the interaction of L.A.’s segregated classes,’ writes Arellano.

‘Macías crams his book with riches of information -- dates, names, long-gone establishments like Venice’s Aragon Ballroom and the Trianon -- but its writing unfortunately becomes rote after a while. It’s as if the UC Riverside professor decided to sacrifice style in favor of information; that might work for a tome suited for an academic audience, but for a topic that’s so accessible, it’s unfortunate that Macías didn’t spend more time working on his prose.’

Arellano also gives Heather Levi’s ‘The World of Lucha Libre: Secrets, Revelations and Mexican National Identity the once-over.

‘This book entertains, informs and breezes by, although Levi ends on a depressing note, pointing out that lucha libre itself is becoming trendy in Mexico -- thus losing much of the sociopolitical layers that made it so popular and potent,’ writes Arellano.

Read the full reviews here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City