This bilingual panoramic book presents the songs that are the life's work of Cipriano Frederico Vigil, the most important performer of traditional Nuevomexicano folk music in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

Cipriano Frederico Vigil is the most important performer of traditional Nuevomexicano folk music in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. This bilingual panoramic book presents the songs that are his life’s work, spanning half a century of listening, playing, composing, and singing ritual, social, and dance music. New Mexican Folk Music includes much traditional material that has never been seen before or studied by scholars or students. Renowned as a composer, Vigil works in traditional genres such as the romance, the décima, the cuando, and corrido. Like the Mexican group Los Folkloristas with which he apprenticed in the late 1970s, his goal has been to research and master local styles, to introduce new listeners to traditional music, and to build on tradition by creating new compositions that address contemporary social themes. An audio CD accompanies this comprehensive study on the work and music of Cipriano Frederico Vigil.

Cipriano Frederico Vigil is the most important performer of traditional Nuevomexicano folk music in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. This bilingual panoramic book presents the songs that are his life's work, spanning half a century of listening, playing, composing, and singing ritual, social, and dance music. New Mexican Folk Music includes much traditional material that has never been seen before or studied by scholars or students. Renowned as a composer, Vigil works in traditional genres such as the romance, the décima, the cuando, and corrido. Like the Mexican group Los Folkloristas with which he apprenticed in the late 1970s, his goal has been to research and master local styles, to introduce new listeners to traditional music, and to build on tradition by creating new compositions that address contemporary social themes. An audio CD accompanies this comprehensive study on the work and music of Cipriano Frederico Vigil.

Manuel Romeros’ exhaustive research of the lives of his mother and father unearth a detailed and panoramic vision of Northern New Mexican history. But it is the Romero/Madrid family story that is the centerpiece of the volume. Their unbreakable bonds and lasting community will stay with the reader long after all the pages are turned.” – Governor Bill Richardson “The soul of the book is found in Manuel Romero’s reflections on his childhood in northern New Mexico and later, the Salt Lake Valley and through his personal experiences and observations. “Mi America: The Evolution of An American Family” was not only a delight to read but also provides a vivid and insightful understanding of this significant culture.” - Jim Bradley, Salt Lake County Council Member Mi America, his well-chronicled family journey ---from Spain to Mexico to New Mexico to Utah---is an important contribution to the history of America and the significant impact made by Nuevomejcanos over hundreds of years. Readers will be informed, uplifted and inspired---The Honorable Mickey Ibarra. “Mí América is a family history warmly placed in context—context of place and (Spain to Mexico to New Mexico), of culture, of religion, of language, of commitment to service. Engaging and inspirational.”—Former U.S. Senator Fred Harris, University of New Mexico Professor Emeritus of Political Science. The new book, Mi América: The Evolution of an American Family explores the history of the author’s own quintessential yet unique Mexican American family. The book is a major accomplishment for a Chicano Civil Rights activist, civic leader, non-profit executive, and professor. If you listen closely, you can hear the strains of alabados in the background blended with “Europa” by Carlos Santana. Dr. Theresa Martínez, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Utah.

The folksongs of Texas's Mexican population pulsate with the lives of folk heroes, gringos, smugglers, generals, jailbirds, and beautiful women. In his cancionero, or songbook, Américo Paredes presents sixty-six of these songs in bilingual text—along with their music, notes on tempo and performance, and discography. Manuel Peña's new foreword situates these songs within the main currents of Mexican American music.

Folk music fans and teachers will welcome this new edition of a New Mexico classic, now in a useful spiral binding.