"Essential reading for understanding both national and panethnic issues that influence cultural expression and the construction of Puerto Rican identity in the US. Analyzes distinctiveness of Puerto Rican culture in New York in relation to that of other US Latino groups. Theoretically grounded essays address many of the contradictions behind the complex process of identity construction among Puerto Ricans and other Latinos. Focuses on popular music and literature"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.