In this essay, Octavio Ignacio Romano argues that three main philosophical orientations shape contemporary Mexican American identity, and that their formation occurred in Mexico during the era of the Mexican Revolution. Romano identifies these seminal philosophies as “Indianism,” “Historical Confrontation,” and “Cultural Nationalism” based on the idea of mestizaje [racial intermingling] arguing that they have been animated by a number of ideological conflicts such as Nationalist versus Universal Man, Activist versus Existential Man, Native versus Mestizo, and others. These ideas, he explains, are both overarching themes that can be found in the culture of Mexican Americans, as well as ideas that were significant at specific historical moments during the Mexican Revolution. In his introductory section, Romano explains how these philosophies can be found in the writings of both intellectuals, José Vasconcelos and Octavio Paz. Romano then organizes the body of the text into three sections describing how the philosophies of “Indianism,” “Historical Confrontation,” and “Cultural Nationalism” are manifest in the culture of peoples of Mexican descent living in the United States. Thus, in these sections, Romano describes how evidence of these philosophies appear in daily life, art, politics, family structure, and other aspects of Mexican American life and history. He concludes with an analysis of the “Immigrant Experience,” ultimately emphasizing the complex pluralism of Mexican American people and encouraging them to embrace this in resistance to dominant U.S. culture.