"A brilliant study of a thriving ballad tradition extant in the Costa Chica region. It is written in a clear, coherent, and concise style. The book will appeal to those interested in ethnomusicology, ballad studies, and corrido studies."--Maria Herrera-Sobek, Western Folklore

"The rich representations of the composer's voice interwoven with the theoretical overlay of scholarly abstractions, the critique of the (racist) allegations that the African heritage of Costa Chica afromestizos is the source of the patterns of violence, [and] the counterdistinction of the roles of composer, performer, and audience member in relating to the corrido's veracity . . . are all reasons to give McDowell's work 'two thumbs up.'"--Daniel Sheehy, Ethnomusicology

"A carefully crafted ethnography. . . . [McDowell] succeeds in making his case for the power of the corrido tradition on the Costa Chica to mediate fundamental cultural issues. . . . A groundbreaking analysis of this oft-interpreted genre."--Manuel Peña, Journal of American Folklore

"[McDowell] has uncovered a vernacular tradition that relates to regional rivalries that have centered on land redistribution since the revolution, capital formation, and consolidation of federal authority."--British Bulletin of Publications on Latin America, the Caribbean, Portugal and Spain