Review: ¿Qué Onda? Urban Youth Cultures and Border Identity by Cynthia L. Bejarano

Abstract

?Que Onda? Urban Youth Cultures and Border Identity by Cynthia L. Bejarano. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2005. 248 pp. ISBN Latinos are often times viewed as one ethnicity without looking into the differences and similarities that exist among them. Nationality and culture, for example, are often characteristics of existing diversity. Another characteristic is generation status, which must be taken into consideration to better understand the differences and similarities that a group of people share and to see how this affects their identity construction. Mexicana/o and Chicana/o 1 youth, for example, share many characteristics, but the identity of these two groups varies depending on generation status, culture, language, citizenship, and geography (Anzaldua, In ?Que Onda? Urban Youth Cultures and Border Identity, Cynthia L. Bejarano critically examines the identity construction of Mexicana/o and Chicana/o youth in a metropolitan Southwestern high school over the course of four years to demonstrate that identity is formed through historical events, immigration status, proximity to the Mexican border, language, culture, generation status, gender, and popular culture. The book’s opening chapter provides an examination of geopolitics and history to show that one factor influencing Mexicana/o and Chicana/o identity construction is the past, present, and future discrimination they have encountered in U.S. society. This historical perspective allows the reader to better understand issues such as the location in which one lives, especially when dealing with matters of youth culture and social stratification that form hierarchies within the school setting. Bejarano argues that immigrant youth and native minorities’ experiences in the United States vary depending on their proximity to the Mexican border, regardless of whether they live in a city or suburb, and that assimilation is determined by the degree of contact that youth have with American culture. This chapter is important because it demonstrates how the assimilation process differs depending on the stigmas and stereotypes of Mexicanas/os, Chicanas/os, and/or Cubanas/os. The social capital of a group of people ultimately determines whether the group assimilates easily or resists assimilation for example, the history and politics of countries vary and therefore the lives of people are different from one another. Using Border Theory allows scholars to value each aspect of the lives of Mexicanas/os and Chicanas/os and allows them to be viewed non-hegemonically. Border Theory is interdisciplinary in its examination of language, sociology, geopolitics, history, media portrayal, and other aspects of identity formation. The identity construction of Mexicana/o and Chicana/o youth is affected by everything that surrounds them, from the history of their country of origin to Hip-Hop to legal status. An important characteristic of Border Theory is that it removes itself