Chazaro's Experience: The Identity of a Mexican-American Man Review: Piñata Theory Thomas LaPorte Alan Chazaro Poetry Black Lawrence Press, pp. 95 Cost: $16.95 |
Chazaro has moments of sincere examination—“Lucha Libre, in Two and ½ Parts,” a poem which is split into two and a half parts, is an example in which he explores how he may have turned out had he been raised in Mexico instead of the United States. He writes:
“Mexican
me might’ve been more
listo than American
me,
might’ve loved mas facil than American
me.”
In this we learn the epicenter, the foundation, for most of the poems is a search for identity. Chazaro thinks: What if I stayed? What if I were raised in Mexico? Who would I have been? These are valid questions for anyone raised outside of their home country.