Pocho

by José Antonio Villareal and José Antonio Villarreal

Book Overview

Jose Antonio 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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B001W5BGDC
• ISBN13: 9780385061186
• Release Date: December 1970
• Publisher: Anchor Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

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.

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.

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.

You Can Never Go Home!

This is a wonderful story of an immigrant family from Mexico. The father has the hopes of one day returning to the Mexico of his past, but with each passing day in his new land his dream of returning fades away. As the family grows up and changes the realities of Life show that you can never return to your past or in other words "You can never go Home."