San Antonio on Parade: Six Historic Festivals. By Judith Berg Sobrÿ. College Station, TX: Texas A & M University Press, 2003. x + 264 pp. Maps, photos, illustrations, bibliography, notes and index. $29.95.

Carnival and the Formation of a Caribbean Transnation. By Philip W. Scher. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2003. ix + 214 pp. Illustrations, bibliography, glossary, and index. $55.00.

Because of their exclusion from American mainstream celebrations, ethnic communities have organized their own parades, festivals, and other public ceremonies. American Indians, African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and other ethnic immigrants have showcased elements of their own festive culture to reconnect to their cultural roots and express their loyalty to their country of origin. These groups have also combined new elements of their adopted country proclaiming their "Americanness." Ethnic celebrations continue to be important mediums for identity formation, and when analyzed within the larger economic interests, political struggles and racial ideologies of the time, are transformed into sites of political struggle. When "official" political channels were cut off and proved impractical many ethnic communities used public festivals to voice grievances, expose inequalities, and demand recognition and equal treatment by public and private sectors within American society.