Cascarones
by Garza, Sylvia Sanchez
pub by - Floricanto Press, Moorpark, California, USA 2018 - isbn 978-1724622884 - - tableof Contents p.-1 - - Dedication p. 0 - - Bibliograpy p.152 - - It was printed in Lexington, KY 09 Sept. 2018 - - total book length 152 pages
      This is a charming book of 18 chapters, each a little story which could stand on its own. They could be read in any order. While they are in rough chronological order there are exceptions. They are somewhat fictionalized reminiscences of a young girl, the middle child, in a family of 5 children. It is mostly set in Hidalgo County, Texas in a town near Weslaco, and time spent in Houston in a rented house near Hobby Airport. Most of the book describes life in Hidalgo County and the time in Houston helps describe the cultural differences between the polyglot big city culture and that of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The large extended families and close links between members are in contrast to the big city and more anglo cultures of Houston. It should be noted that there are occasionally some sentences and words in Spanish. They are not translated, but are easily decipherable.
      The father (papi) is a positive figure and held in high esteem, as is mother, however he served in the military and after ariving home went on to pursue higher education including a Masters degree and in Houston a PhD, which gives this family a special background, even among their extended family.
      chapter titles are - The Golden Egg (which begins with a funeral and is mostly about the Easter egg hunt, Cascarones confetti filled egg shells part of the Easter celebration) It also sets up the background for the rest of the book, as does the following chapter - Seven Plus Lobo - The Hurricane - The Lesbian - Mr. Sells - La Benedicion - Los Torritos - Lightning - Las Mananitas - The Attic (set in Houston) - No Spanish - School in Houston - Rockstar (set in Galveston) - First Communion (contrasts Catholic Church practice and culture in Houston vs. Hispanic culture in the Lower Rio Grande valley) - Papa Maximiliano Gets Sick - The Present - Just Dance - Earrings.
This is a thoroughly delightful book written to describe family life in the Lower Rio Grande Valley with minimal drama... and does so very well. While it is written as a book of fiction, I am sure it is largely autobiographical, definitely in the second to last chapter.
~ 2018-10-03 ~

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