Crossing Guadalupe Street: Growing Up Hispanic and Protestant

by David Maldonado Jr.

Book Overview

To grow up as a Mexican-American Methodist in a small town in south central Texas in the 1940s and 1950s was to be a minority within a minority. This account of a boyhood in Seguin, Texas, broadens our understanding of Latino culture by evoking a time when Catholics and Protestants had nothing to do with each other and the word Chicano was not yet in use. But in spite of ethnic and religious segregation, the Maldonado family and their neighbors...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 082632231X
• ISBN13: 9780826322319
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Length: 187 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating writing, wonderful telling of the memoir!

For anyone who reads a memoir, regardless of the nationality and culture, somehow, your own memories are triggered. A good memoir can take the reader back to our own childhood places of memorable people and rewarding or unpleasant experiences, simply because we, as humans, can connect at some time with the author. Crossing Guadalupe Street is the story of David Maldonado Jr, who at the time of printing, 2001, was the President of the Iliff School of Theology in Denver. The book focuses on his life growing up in the 40s and 50s, Hispanic and Protestant, and Guadalupe Street was the social and economic separator in a small town, Seguin, Texas. In his early formative years, his whole world was his family and the Protestant church in a Catholic barrio. Maldonado writes with clear sentiment, visual imagery enhanced by sounds and smells of Mexico and the small town. There is no misunderstanding how he felt. The paragraph structure is descriptive, and he sums each paragraph up beautifully. If he provides the Mexican word and an English description. His memories are so vivid that you will embark on your own personal journey. Chapters are set up to tell us about his roots in the town, beloved family members, influences, the small house, the schools, picking cotton, working in the department store with Jews, and Latinos and Protestants, and other memorable characters. He shares with the reader, Guadalupe Street, the socio and economic separator, and of crossing it to another world, the anglo world. But most important, you will learn about the prominent division in town between the Hispanic Protestant and Hispanic Catholics, criticisms and beliefs of one another. This was very insightful without being invasive. Maldonado shares his successes and this is a tribute to the traditions. This is a wonderful book!!......MzRizz

Crossing Guafdalupe Street by David Maldonado

Crossing Guadalupe Street by David Maldonado takes place during the 1940s. The setting story takes place in a small town of Mexico called Seguin. The nivel is about the authored chilhood memories. The story is about avid Maldonado, his family, things he had been through and seen and so much more. One of the reasons why I enjoyed this novel is because we call all relate ti it when it comes to family and memories. It was so easy to pictured the setting because of the way the way the author describes the place or situationalso with specific details and examples. His family plays an important role in his life qalso the place where he was born and raised. Growing up were he came from describe his personality and "Who I am" "Seguin". IT gave me the impression that although he was poor and his family may have went through struggles and sacrifices, somehow he felted the richest and luckiest guy of earth because of his loving,caring and united family he had. My rating for this novel I give five stars. I recommend this novel because I truely believe that is very informative and inspiring. The author leaves you with curiosity on what's going to happen next.

crossing Guadalupe Street review

"Crossing Guadalupe Street" is a story that took place in a small town in South Central Texas called Seguin in the 1940s and 1950s. The author David Maldonado tells the story of his childhood,growing up in Seguin and how it was segregated. This book is about a family of seven children and how they were molded by their parents'ethnic and religious path. There was a big cultural barrio in Seguin and on the other side of Guadalupe Street, was a whole other world and the only time or place these two worlds would come together was at school. The rating that i give to this book is a four stars. I recommend this novel to all ages because it give you and idea of how a family should be.

Review of Crossing Guadalupe Street

Crossing Guadalupe Street takes place during 1940 in a small town of Mexico called Seguin. The novel talks about the author's childhood memories. The story is about David Maldonado it also talks about his family and there adventures. The reason why I liked this novel was because it is about families and memories that we can all make with each other. When you first start reading you can actually picture what is going on is like you can see what is happening and you can also predict what is going to happen next. The novel also makes you want to read more and more it is so interesting. This novel gave me the impression that the author did love and care very much about his family. If I was to rate this novel I would give it **** stars because is that good. I would recommend that people read this novel because it chouse you how much your family should mean to you and it helps you to appreciate them more.