Borderlands have often been the locale of major folk cultural achievements, from the outlaw ballads of the Scottish-English border to the heroic “corridos” of south Texas. Energized by the lives of heroes and others, borderlands continue to spark themes of frontier lawlessness, national pride, rebellion against injustice, and a community hero’s stand against all odds. What is it about a border that triggers these and other cultural forms, such as souvenirs, duty-free liquors, retaining walls made of automobile tires, and “maquiladora” assembly plants? Is the border a particular kind of region or social environment? If so, does the border tend to produce a particular kind of culture? And what is the relationship between this environment and its culture?

This combined conjunction and separation of national laws and customs creates a zone in which movements of people and goods are greatly regulated, examined, discussed, and hidden. Commerce attains a higher importance in border society as does dialogue about the identities of its peoples. Smuggling, the myriad signs in border towns, legal and illegal immigration, and the use of unneighborly names between neighbors are parts of this picture of accentuated concern with the trade in goods and the flow of people.