This is labeled as an introduction to Latin American popular culture, but this is very much not. No one reading this collection could come away with a conception of a single country's culture, let alone an understanding of the ~nine countries mentioned herein. (To read this, one should already have a good understanding of the histories and basic cultures.) Instead, it is 13 academic essays on subjects ranging from medical photographs in Brazil to state funerals in Mexico. The essays themselves are, by and large, both dry and poorly written--I was not impressed by the styles, which were uncomfortably similar to that of first-year grad students'.

However, the material itself is fascinating, which makes up for a lot. The idea that most of the essays touched on was how constructed culture is. What we see as a national identity is often the result of years of revisionist history, bias, and conscious choices. ( )