Macho! [Paperback]

Victor Villasenor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 1997

From Victor Villase-or, author of the critically acclaimed bestseller Rain of Gold, comes the stunning story of a young man's coming of age—a novel that captures the cadences and color, passion and pride of the Mexican-American experience.

Roberto Garcia was only seventeen. But he already had big dreams of freedom, respect, money, familia. With ambition to burn and a passion to prove his manhood, Roberto took the dangerous journey north, crossing the Mexican border to pick fruit in the golden fields of California. There, a good man could make more money in a week than in a whole year in the mountains of Michoacan. Nothing could have prepared Roberto for the jammed boxcars and bolted trucks carrying migrants through burning deserts to fields of dreams. But he was determined to become a norte-o, coming home with a family to save and a score to settle, no longer a boy, but a man.

At once raw and powerful, poetic and heartbreaking, Macho! brings to life the brutality of migrant labor, Cesar Chavez's efforts to unionize the workers, and a vivid portrayal of the immigrant experience as seen through the eyes of a young man who saw it all.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Villasenor's straightforward prose is direct and engaging, offering an empathetic look at one young man whose trials parallel the struggles of so many other immigrants from the 1950s to the present." --Criticas --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

From Victor Villaseor, author of the critically acclaimed bestseller Rain of Gold, comes the stunning story of a young man's coming of age--a novel that captures the cadences and color, passion and pride of the Mexican-American experience.

Roberto Garcia was only seventeen. But he already had big dreams of freedom, respect, money, familia. With ambition to burn and a passion to prove his manhood, Roberto took the dangerous journey north, crossing the Mexican border to pick fruit in the golden fields of California. There, a good man could make more money in a week than in a whole year in the mountains of Michoacan. Nothing could have prepared Roberto for the jammed boxcars and bolted trucks carrying migrants through burning deserts to fields of dreams. But he was determined to become a norteo, coming home with a family to save and a score to settle, no longer a boy, but a man.

At once raw and powerful, poetic and heartbreaking, Macho! brings to life the brutality of migrant labor, Cesar Chavez's efforts to unionize the workers, and a vivid portrayal of the immigrant experience as seen through the eyes of a young man who saw it all.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Delta (February 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385311184
• ISBN-13: 978-0385311182
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #646,439 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Macho, March 4, 2000

By 

Charles H. Jamieson (Estes Park, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Macho! (Paperback)

The gut wrenching story of the Mexicans who work in the fields in California. Migrant workers have never had an easy life. Coming from a desperate situation in their homeland to a desperate situation in the fields, where stoop labor pays more than they can earn anywhere else, this novel brings their pathos and courage to the front. Recommended to all who think they know what it is all about. It is not pretty, but stomach hurting food for thought. Highly recommended reading for all that care.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To Be a Man, December 7, 2004

By 

Paul P. Robinette Jr. "North Dakota Paul" (Granville, ND USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Macho! (Paperback)

Macho is a Spanish word that means male. But, like the Spanish words masculino and varonil, it has many more connotations than masculine, virile or just designating the male gender. The word macho is also used to describe masculine vigor, verve and fortitude. This book by Victor Villaseor portrays the fascinating story of a Mexican youth's journey to the United States in search of a better life for himself and his family. The young man's passion, pride and burning desire for freedom carry this "coming of age" story. He needs his masculine vigor, verve and fortitude to overcome the trials and tribulations of seeking justice in a "white world" trying to deny his humanity. But, it is Villaseor's description of the experiences of the Mexican farm workers in the Salinas valley, as they seek respect, dignity and the opportunity to make a decent living, that is the real story being told through the tale of a young man striving to be macho.

The Odysseus in this Odyssey is the young man Roberto Garcia. He does not want to pursue his education in a school. He believes that he does not need to know "about those things." The seventeen year old does learn the value of education as he is "coming of age" in Norte America's California. The sights and sounds of the Mexican-American workers are vividly portrayed. The dangers of crossing the border and working their way north to their "land of opportunity" in overcrowded boxcars and locked trucks is accurately told. Despite the hardships of carrying the hopeful workers to their new home, Roberto is not deterred from the journey. A week's wages in California is more than he can earn back home in the Mexican mountains of Michoacan.

The author Villaseor shows the brutality of migrant labor, Cesar Chavez organizing the workers, and the plight of the immigrant experience, as seen through the eyes of young Roberto. During these experiences Garcia grows up to be a macho man and returns home to save his family.

This story illustrates the ideals of understanding of who we are as a people; and as peoples. The story of the Mexican migrant workers, the illegal immigrants and the Mexican-Americans history has not been adequately told and included in our common history as Americans. History that is not inclusive excludes the rationale of "doing" history. Instead of going "back to the future", we need to go "forward to the past." But the stories of the past have all too often been "white washed". I recommend this work of fiction as an adjunct to our old, tired history books that have been "white washed" in that they exclude the peoples of color. Inclusive history is the story of many different peoples, men and women of various colors contributing to our world, history as it actually is. Enjoy!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great show of emotion, immature writing style, October 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Macho! (Paperback)

I'll be as spare as Villasenor himself. An outstanding and underrated author's young and sinewy expression of his views of the disparity between mexican/american and gringo culture. A great and entertaining read.