Can?cula: Snapshots of a Girlhood En La Frontera

by Norma E. Cantú

Book Overview

Can cula--the dog days--a particularly intense part of the summer when most cotton is harvested in South Texas. In Norma Cant 's fictionalized memoir of Laredo in the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s, it also represents a time between childhood and an as yet unknown adulthood. Actual snapshots and the author's re-created memories allow readers to experience the pivotal events of this world--births, deaths, injuries, fiestas, rites of passage. This...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0826318282
• ISBN13: 9780826318282
• Release Date: August 1997
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Better than expected!!

I'm not a fan of CHICANA literature, MEXICAN AMERICAN literature, and other related genres. However, I had to read this for one of Professor Cantu's classes and I actually enjoyed the book. I finished it in one evening. It's an interesting and dramatic fictionalized memoir the has earned a spot on my bookshelf as one of my top books.

A Chicana Voice in the Wilderness

Chicano/a Literature is here to stay, my xenophobic friend, so get used to it.

Deceptively complex book

Cantu addresses the harsh realities of racism, poverty and Viet Nam without bashing you over the head with strident platitudes. The framework structure coupled with family album snaphots make the book fascinating and truly accessible for a variety of readers. One need not have grown up in los dos Laredos or along the U.S.--Mexican border to identify with this work; one need only be aware of the variety of borders constructed or imposed upon our lives.

A powerful account of a Chicana/o community in Texas

This is a beautifully written memoir by one of our best Chicana writers. Seizing upon Roland Barthes's writings on photography, Cantu reconstructs her childhood on the U.S./Mexican border, teaching us that the border itself is an artificial barrier. This is a moving story of an American family that has worked hard and sacrificed much. We can only hope that the rest of America will recognize sooner than later the enormous contributions to U.S. history made by Mexican Americans.

A FINE EXAMPLE OF ETHNOGRAPHY.

THIS IS A FINE EXAMPLE OF ETHONOGRAPHY. SHE TOUCHES THE HEART AND EXPANDS THE SOUL. THE SECTION CALLED TITO, BRINGS THE PAIN HOME. A FANTASTIC DEMONSTRATION OF LIFE AND HISTORY ON THE FRONTERA