Searching for Joaquin: Myth, Murieta and History in California

(Hardback)

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Description

A penetrating look at the life and times of a celebrated bad man, this book probes the role of Joaquin Murrieta has played in the myth of the old Hispanic California, that lazy sunlit land of missions and ranchos, plazas and fiestas, high passion and derring-do. As Thornton shows, that myth is accepted as history by many even today, and Murrieta continues to play multiple roles: the chivalric outlaw who settles conflict with violence; the emblem of a simpler world where life is lived more intensely and passionately: and most of all, the avenging angel who rectifies Anglo misdeeds against powerless Hispanics. The book opens a window into a vanished past and also shows how myth and history flow in and out of each other and continue to affect the way we live now.

Author Bio

Bruce Thornton