Chuco Punk: Sonic Insurgency in El Paso

Chuco Punk is an immersive study of the influential and predominantly Chicanx punk rock scene in El Paso, Texas, drawing on over seventy interviews and unarchived memorabilia to reveal how women forged their own space, sound, and community. It covers the first roots of Chuco punk in the late 1970s through the early 2000s and sheds light on how the scene influenced the contours of sound and El Paso and the entire topography of punk rock.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 24 June 2024
Publisher: University of Texas Press

The Al Lowman Memorial Prize, presented by the Texas State Historical Association, is a prestigious award that recognizes outstanding contributions to the study of Texas history. This year, the prize was awarded to Tara López for her immersive study of the influential and predominantly Chicanx punk rock scene in El Paso, Texas. López's book, Chuco Punk, delves into the rebellious sonic history of the city, drawing on more than seventy interviews with punks, as well as unarchived flyers, photos, and other punk memorabilia. Through her research, López connects the scene to El Paso's own history as a borderland, a site of segregation, and a city with a long lineage of cultural and musical resistance. She reveals how women forged their own space, sound, and community within the predominantly Chicanx punk rock scene. Covering the first roots of Chuco punk in the late 1970s through the early 2000s, López moves beyond the breakout bands to shed light on how the scene influenced not only the contours of sound and El Paso but the entire topography of punk rock. The Al Lowman Memorial Prize is a testament to the importance of preserving and celebrating Texas history, and López's work is a valuable contribution to this field.

Weight: 286g
Dimension: 153 x 229 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781477324813