Fly Away Home
A review by Mary Helen Ponce
Barbara Renaud Gonzalez's contribution to the works on Mexican immigration that in recent years have dominated Chicano literature could have been subtitled "Yearnings." Each of her characters longs for an elusive something, whether romance, a patrimony, a decent living or "home"; each is convinced the dream can be found across the border or across the state line. Like the migratory swallow of the title, the golondrina, the childbride Amada Garcia flees Mexico to escape a brutal husband, abandoning her toddler Salome, and crosses the Rio Grande into Texas. There, barely across the border, she marries Lazaro Mistral, a Tejano who longs for the land his ancestors lost after the U.S.-Mexican War. The couple endure exploitation and racism and together build a large family, though Amada's lifetime of labor is undercut by her husband’s ancient rage. Sadly, Amada's story is as common as tacos: The Mexican immigrant experience is one of disappointment, injustice, lowpaying jobs and the...
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