Sacramentos Southside Park neighborhood sits south of Californias state capitol and north of the Old City Cemetery. Built on a former slough, it was inhabited by generations of immigrants and working-class families. The neighborhoods many ethnic communities, including Portuguese, Italian, Mexican, and Japanese, came together in Southside Park, the neighborhoods namesake. Whether for fireworks displays on the Fourth of July, for a trip back to Gold Rush days at Roaring Camp, or simply to paddle the lake in a rented boat, Southside Park provided a place of respite and recreation in this bustling city. The neighborhood surrounding the park faced many challenges as Sacramento grewincluding freeway construction, urban renewal and redevelopment, and problems with crimebut its residents faced these challenges with a tradition of political activism, community participation, and a strong sense of civic pride that is still evident today.

Sacramento wasn't always so proud of the area now called Land Park. In fact, due to a notorious roadhouse at Sutterville and Riverside roads, the city took great pains to distance itself from here in the early days, calling the roadhouse and environs a "foul plaguespot" and a "sink of iniquity," and purposely excluding it from city borders! But times change, and the 1911 death of hotelier and philanthropist William Land set the stage for Land Park's remarkable renaissance. A bequest in Land's will directed that some monies be used to find "a recreation spot for the children and a pleasure ground for the poor," and so began the pleasant area of homes, parklands and riverfront paths we know today.

Over the past twenty-five years, Chicano artists have made a unique contribution to public art in California, transforming thousands of walls into colorful artworks that express the dreams, achievements, aspirations, and cultural identity of the Mexican-American community. Signs From the Heart tells the inside story of this new and important American art form in four interpretive essays by noted Chicano scholars about its historical, artistic, and educational significance.

Struggles over space and resistance to geographic displacement gave birth to much of Chicano history and culture. In this pathfinding book, Raúl Villa explores how California Chicano/a activists, journalists, writers, artists, and musicians have used expressive culture to oppose the community-destroying forces of urban renewal programs and massive freeway development and to create and defend a sense of Chicano place-identity. Villa opens with a historical overview that shows how Chicano communities and culture have grown in response to conflicts over space ever since the United States' annexation of Mexican territory in the 1840s. Then, turning to the work of contemporary members of the Chicano intelligentsia such as Helena Maria Viramontes, Ron Arias, and Lorna Dee Cervantes, Villa demonstrates how their expressive practices re-imagine and re-create the dominant urban space as a community enabling place. In doing so, he illuminates the endless interplay in which cultural texts and practices are shaped by and act upon their social and political contexts.

Sacramento resident and Gold Country native Christopher Arns shares tips on how to best enjoy the sights (and some of the best weather in the country). Using his extensive knowledge of the area, Arns provides original trip ideas to help visitors make the most of their time, including Sacramento on Wheels, Wine Country Road Trip, and Gold Country Adventure. From a visit to Apple Hill or an afternoon at Fairytale Town to dirt biking and kayaking through breathtaking scenery, Moon Sacramento & the Gold Country gives travelers the tools they need to create a more personal and memorable experience.