DRINK CULTURA: Chicanismo by Jose Antonio Burciaga (review)

378 Western American Literature Not all eleven essays, however, are of equal value. “Chinatown Revisited?” and ‘The Empty Quarter” by Mike Davis, and “Machines in the Garden” by Thomas Hines analyze Los Angeles architecture and urban development in a thorough scholarly fashion. In the “Sex”subsection, essays by Carolyn See and Eve Babitz, while cynically witty in the tradition of EricaJong and “women’s magazine” fiction, don’t move far beyond establishing atmosphere. Jeremy Larner’shumorous lookat movie studio moguls’lustfor money, power, and sex reminds one ofRobertAltman’sfilm ThePlayer, but breaks no new ground. It is no coincidence that these collected essays often refer to, and indeed orient the reader’sjourneyvia street and highway names and numbers, as their authors try to navigate the many levels of meaning found in Los Angeles life. Unfortunately, the book neverjourneys to Watts, riot-torn south central L. A., the myriad suburbs from Compton to Cucamonga, and, excepting Ruben Martinez’sfine essay, East LosAngeles. Among the strongest offerings in this collection are “The Possessed” by editor David Reid, a study ofspirituality and evangelism, “La Placita”by Ruben Martinez, a moving personal piece that adds a much-needed Mexican-American voice to any study of Los Angeles culture, and “Uneasy Street” by David Thomson. Some of the prose in this book is very good, but its dark, film noir style inclusions shed less light than Nathanael West, Raymond Chandler, and Joan Didion, who have already done this better. A disconcerting lack of continuity makes one eager for a cohesive study of L. A.’s diverse history and culture; Kevin Starr took on this task in Inventing the Dreamand MaterialDreams. Nevertheless readers will find this a useful sampler, and may perhaps move on to Richard Rodriguez, John Gregory Dunne, and others who probe this multifaceted urban land. KEITH ATWATER AmericanRiver College DRINK CULTURA: Chicanismo. ByJose Antonio Burciaga. (Santa Barbara, Cali­ fornia:Joshua Odell/Capra Press, 1992. 145 pages, $10.95.) Jose Antonio Burciaga’sbriefessays offer a candid, frequently entertaining glimpse into Mexican-America. With subjects ranging from the unambiguous joys ofjalapenos to the puzzling popularity ofTaco Bell to the meaning of Cinco deMayo, Burciaga’swriting isfrequentlywhimsical, even more frequently reveal­ ing. Non-Chicanoswillbe granted a glimpsewithin a churning, heterogeneous, evolving culture. The most popular Mexican cuss words begin with a ‘p,’”he writes, for instance. The most ubiquitous of those, pendejo, is the subject of a Reviews 379 hilarious essay entitled “Pendejismo.” This adaptable word—which literally means pubic hair—can be used to signifyanything; it can be a harsh insult, or a friendly epithet. To suggest the meanings ofthis valuable term, Burciaga, a ResidentFellow at Stanford University, provides a series of proverbs; “Dogs open their eyes in fifteen days, pendejosnever do.”“Love from afar, love for pendejos." “There is no pain that lasts twentyyears norpendejothatwill endure it.’’Finally, “ Nacespendejo, muerespendejo! (Youwere born a pendejo, you will die a pendejo).” In a time ofdesperate hyperbole, the tone of Burciaga’s book sets it apart. Although he isclearlycommitted to a realistic acceptance ofreality, he does not find it necessary to attack. Instead he writeswith balance about two nations that frequently function as one. “Mexico never left the Southwest, itjust learned English.” Burciaga, a founder of the Chicano comedy troupe Culture Clash, often sugar coats sharp observations with humor: He and his wife have a mixed marriage, he tells us: “She’sfrom California, I’m from Texas.”And from there he goes on to show how internallyvaried Chicano culture is. The book is also deep, and suggests considerable thought has gone into its contents. Burciaga points out, “Our bilingual, bicultural, binational experience isaform ofschizophrenia, rich and poor, sun and shadow, between realism and surrealism. To live on the border is to live in the center.” This readable volume will entertain and inform Chicanos and nonChicanos alike. The author is likely to displease narrow-minded readers of all kinds when he suggests that where Mexico and America meet, ‘These cultures cross each other, not to assimilate but to transculturate.” Burciaga’swriting well demonstrates that “transculturation.” GERALD W. HASLAM Sonoma State University Sheep May Safely Graze: A Personal Essay on Tradition and a Contemporary Sheep Ranch. By Louie W...