Pocho | Jose Antonio Villarreal

Pocho | Jose Antonio Villarreal | Story full of adventures one after another.

books:

Pocho

	Pocho Jose Antonio Villarreal Anchor, 1970 - 192 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Villarreal illuminates here the world of "pochos," Americans whose parents come to the United States from Mexico. Set in Depression-era California, the novel focuses on Richard, a young pocho who experiences the intense conflict between loyalty to the traditions of his family's past and attraction to new ideas. Richard's struggle to achieve adulthood as a young man influenced by two worlds reveals both the uniqueness of the Mexican-American experiences and its common ties with the struggles of all Americans -- whatever their past.

Good Book

This is a good book because many people can relate to the story in one way or another. The book shows the struggles that not just Mexican American people, but all other people who have been born in the U.S. by immigrant parents,have been through. Being Mexican American seems like it's always harder just as Richard witnessed as he was growing up. The reason I feel this is true is because if one is mixed with American they have to please the Americans as well as their family backrground. This is why Richard believed that he was American as he was growing up, but he wouldn't discriminate any other ethnic background. All this changed when he was older becasue he started noticing the discrimination against him and his people because now he was associating himself as Mexican.

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Story full of adventures one after another.

This book takes you back in time to the era of Pancho Villa and Pachucos. Its a great way for Mexican Americans to find about their history and the past. Its mainly about the struggle a boy goes through to fit in with the prejudice "Anglos"but he does not want to forget his Mexican roots . Also another major conflict his father's manhood and Machismo. It always got in the way of things and had a drastic affect on him.

A Latino coming of age

"There are but three things that can say I have learned for myself. First, i know that one should never discuss matters of sex with one's parents. Second, one should not, on penalty of going to Hell, discuss religion with the priests. And, last, one should not ask questions on history of the teachers, or one will be kept in after school."

This is the world of "pochos," Americans whose parents came to the United States from Mexico. In the California depression era, the novel follows Richard's life--a young pocho--as he experiences the intense conflict between loyalty to the traditions of his family's past and the new world he has been transplanted to. Richard's struggle to achieve adulthood is as universal to every youth as those who have been influenced by two worlds: the uniqueness of the Mexican American traditions and how they interact with the struggles of every American--whatever their past.

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An Authentic Read

Pocho is the perpetual story of becoming an American while retaining a Mexican ethnic identity. It's the struggle of defining what it means to be true to oneself. The cultural history combined with the elements of what constitutes the Mexican culture are true and authentic and at times a painful reminder of the reality of change. Truly an authentic snapshot of the Mexican-American experience.

An important book in the genre

Pocho is supposed to be one of the first novels to purposefully address the issue of Mexican-American identity as part of the Chicano movement. It's form is rough, unperfected. The point of view and style are inconsistent. It is, nevertheless, a good read. The characters are interesting and compelling. A reader cares about what happens to them. Readers come to care about the issues of race, class, and sexuality as they are addressed in the narrative. This is an important book about identity.

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reviews: page 1, 2

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