In the wake of the Mexican-American War, competing narratives of religious conquest and re-conquest were employed by Anglo American and ethnic Mexican Californians to make sense of their place in North America. These “invented traditions” had a profound impact on North American religious and ethnic relations, serving to bring elements of Catholic history within the Protestant fold of the United
States’ national history as well as playing an integral role in the emergence of the early Chicano/a movement.
Many Protestant Anglo Americans understood their settlement in the far Southwest as following in the footsteps of the colonial project begun by Catholic Spanish missionaries. In contrast, Californios—Mexican-Americans and Chicana/os—stressed deep connections to a pre-Columbian past over to their own Spanish heritage. Thus, as Anglo Americans fashioned themselves as the spiritual heirs to the Spanish frontier, many ethnic Mexicans came to see themselves as the spiritual heirs to a southwestern Aztec homeland.

"In clear prose and supported by abundant evidence, it interrogates one of the most important concepts in Chicana/o historyAztlánfrom a fresh perspective. The book will be welcomed by anyone interested in southern California, its history, and its relationship to Aztlán." - The Journal of American History

"This book is U.S.-Mexico borderland scholarship at its best. [] While written for an academic audience, Lint Sagarena writes with poetic elegance that could dance with even the most casual reader. This book is a must-read for any regional studies onSouthern California." - Review of Religious Research

"Lint Sagarena offers a multifaceted study of historical memory in California that examines how Euro-Americans and Chicanos created distinct and conflicting interpretations of the state's Spanish and Mexican heritage." - Choice