Existing comment:
Rudolfo Anaya
"What I've wanted to do is compose the Chicano worldview -- the synthesis that shows our true mestizo identity -- and clarify it for my community and myself." Rudolfo Anaya achieved this in his first novel, Bless Me, Ultima (1972), a partly autobiographical story of a child growing during World War II, who through a curandera, or healer, begins to understand the mysteries of nature, morality, and spirituality. The novel was acclaimed for its lyricism, its alternation of English and Spanish, and its fresh way of relaying the Mexican American experience of the Southwest, where Native American, Mexican, Spanish, and Anglo cultures converge. His work is a fundamental text of Chicano literature and heralded a career that spanned four decades, which includes the award-winning books Tortuga (1979) and Alburquerque (1992), a reference to the original spelling of the city name.
Similar to Anaya, El Paso artist Gaspar Enríquez is lauded for community portraits that enhance our understanding of Chicano identity on the local, regional, and national stage.
Gaspar Enriquez, 2016 |