An explorer of cultural identity, Rodriguez builds on his acclaimed memoir Hunger of Memory with 10 luminous, loosely linked essays on the tensions and cross-pollinations of race, religion and geography in Californians of Mexican descent. For Rodriguez, a middle-age Californian of Mexican heritage and of self-described Indian mien, Mexico City's miscegenation makes it the capital of modernity. America's immigrant culture implies not motherhood but adoption, and the growth of evangelical Protestantism among California's Hispanic population suggests a longing for some lost Catholic village. No apostle of political correctness, Rodriguez muses on his state's heritage and concludes, We are all bandits, for the U.S. stole California from Mexico, which stole the land from Spain, which stole it from the Indians. Rodriguez's autobiographical style sometimes reveals too little, as in an essay on gay life in San Francisco, but his insights, irony and descriptions (Tijuana is Disney Calcutta) make the writing richly evocative. However, the book would have gained power had Rodriguez tried harder to thread the essays into a sustained narrative. (Nov.)
In a series of ten essays spanning the five centuries of history, from Cortés' conquest of Mexico to San Francisco's AIDS epidemic, Rodriguez explores the conflicts of race, religion, and cultural identity for Mexican-Americans across the landscape of his beloved California-as well as the impact this history had on him.
Rodriguez positions Mexico and the United States as moral rivals-Mexico wearing the mask of tragedy; the United States, the mask of comedy. By the end, however, we come to recognize a historical irony: the United States is becoming a culture of tragedy, while Mexico is reveling in youthful optimism as the two nations are trading roles.
In a series of ten essays spanning the five centuries of history, from Cortés' conquest of Mexico to San Francisco's AIDS epidemic, Rodriguez explores the conflicts of race, religion, and cultural identity for Mexican-Americans across the landscape of his beloved California-as well as the impact this history had on him.
Rodriguez positions Mexico and the United States as moral rivals-Mexico wearing the mask of tragedy; the United States, the mask of comedy. By the end, however, we come to recognize a historical irony: the United States is becoming a culture of tragedy, while Mexico is reveling in youthful optimism as the two nations are trading roles.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169805291 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 06/22/2005 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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