Half of the debt has been paid off! This is a book that is truly a must-read one. I finally read it in Spanish! Reading it also in English is pending. However, the original version (published in 1994) was originally translated by Elena Poniatowska. Therefore, I’m going currently grading 1 out of 3, I’ll be up to date in the next few hours!
The streets of the beautiful city of Chicago can be intimidating if we take into account the freezing temperatures of the long winter, the dark areas in terms of security; and for one as a Hispanic –because of that cultural and social clash that one faces on a daily basis– the reality of a metropolis which we try to make so close but at the same time is so diametrically opposed to our traditions.
This is the case of Sandra Cisneros, who makes an incomparable description of the hardship of a Latino family to break through in this society, as told by Esperanza, one of their daughters. We are witnesses, of the immense happiness of the kids who share a new bicycle, the neighborhood bicycle. We note with sadness the serious abuse not unusual among Latino families. We see how many of the kids in the neighborhood become independent at a very early age because their parents have to do more than one job to barely make ends meet.
I guess Sandra Cisneros has been interviewed countless times to find out how much of “The House on Mango Street” is autobiographical. As for how autobiographical it is, I don’t know, but it is certainly a very inspiring work. She has been awarded multiple times for her literary work (Nación Libro wishes to join these well-deserved recognitions!), Cisneros holds several doctorates and promotes the careers of various writers through her altruistic foundations, to name just a few of their admirable occupations.
“The House on Mango Street” is a required reading in elementary schools, it has been translated into more than twenty languages, and has sold more than seven million copies. For me, personally, it is the opportunity to remember Chicago, and emulating Sandra Cisneros I also say: “I no longer live in Chicago, but Chicago lives in me.”
Pay off your literary debt too!
