Bordering Fires: The Vintage Book

¶ … Bordering fires: The vintage book of contemporary Mexican and Chicano/a literature by Cristina Garcia. Specifically it will contain a book report on the book, including the major themes and ideas presented. Bordering fires is a compellation of essays and writing about the Hispanic experience on both sides of the U.S./Mexican border, which attempt to define the unique cultural identity these people share. Written by some of the most well-known and respected Chicano/a voices, the book creates a cultural heritage for anyone who reads it.

In the Introduction, the author introduces the idea that Mexican immigration has introduced Hispanics into the United States, but has introduced a new culture and interest in Mexico, as well. She maintains that there is not a "purely Mexican or Chicano/a identity" (Garcia, 2006, p. xvi), instead, there is a blending of cultures on both side of the border that combine to make unique and diverse cultures. In the Introduction, the author offers her reason for creating this book - simply to bring the writings of writers north and south of the border together in one collection, and she notes how she grouped the works together into five sections. Her theme is clear. There are great writers on both sides of the border, and they deserve a voice together in one volume.

In the Chicano/a Voices I section, the writers discuss what it is like to be Chicano/a in North America, and what it is like to try to find and hold on to their culture. One author writes of language, and how the division over language (Spanish-speaking vs. English-speaking), is so derisive and emotional. Another contemplates his Mestizo native blood and what it means to his life and his culture. He writes, "I take it as an Indian achievement that I am alive, that I am Catholic, that I speak English, that I am an American" (Rodriguez, 2006, p. 75). Another poem talks about life cut short on American streets, which another essay about a writer writing about his experience of Mexico and Cuernavaca. Each of these works echo the theme of the novel, ultimately that each of these writers has a very different experience of Mexico, America, and their combined cultures, and each of them expresses this culture in far different ways. One writer looks at the role the Catholic religion plays in Mexico, another at the culture and the myths and fairy tales the people so enjoy, and another looks at the culture assimilating in the United States. The theme of this book is to open up many sets of eyes to the diverse backgrounds that make up Chicano/a culture, and this chapter fits in with those themes quite nicely.

Chicano/a Voices II, continues the theme exploration of Mexican/American culture, but it takes it one step further. This section looks at Chicano men, from both female and male perspectives, and gives some insight into the culture of machismo and where it begins. One woman poet writes of a young man who feels he is a "woman" type of son to his father, while another writes of why she will "never" marry a Mexican. She writes, Mexican men, forget it. For a long time the men clearing off the tables or chopping meat behind the butcher counter or driving the bus I rode to school every day, those weren't men" (Cisneros, 2006, p. 172). Another man writes of his obvious charms to his female customers at the gift counter in a department store, and how he works the system and gets caught. There is something innocent about all these stories, even though the characters are not all innocent or even in some cases likable. However, just like the theme of the book, they show the melting pot that forms Chicano/a culture, and how so many different people and personalities make up these people. It also shows the view they have of one another, which is not always positive, and indicates again that all these writers are writing about people who are searching for their culture, their voice, and their purpose in a life that pulls them in two directions at once.

Finally, the New Departures section is the hope of the culture in the future. These beautiful works, which read more like fairy tales or myths, indicate the hope the authors have for the future of Chicano/a culture and how it will change and grow, just as it always has done. One story sums up the theme of this book and this section quite well. The author writes, "One belongs where one is from," she would say, painting with her old-lady hands and child's eyes. 'Because like it or not, wherever you go, they send you back home'" (Mastretta, 2006, p. 248). This could sum up the overall theme of this book quite well. The writers show, that no matter where they go, they belong where they are from. Some seek their roots in Mexico, others in the United States, and some seek them in their own souls. Wherever they find them, that is where they are from, and that is the heritage they should celebrate, enjoy, discover, and share.