...Paredes writes with both the first-hand authority of a cultural insider and an experienced scholar’s care for documentation. His clear, direct and personal style makes the book the most widely useful textbook on a regional Mexican musical tradition since his earlier work, ‘With His Pistol in His Hand’: A Border Ballad and Its Hero.
— Ethnomusicology
Paredes makes possible a greater understanding of how ordinary people react and reacted to the experience of living on the border, politically, socially, and personally, between two cultures. It is of major importance in the social history of the area.
— Journal of the West
...highly useful for courses in Chicano politics, folklore, sociology, and anthropology.
— Journal of American Folklore
Paredes' book should be read by everyone interested in Mexican American history.
— Journal of Mexican American History