| "Then I began to write." |
Rain of Gold |
| "I feel the thinness of his arms.
He turns. He asks if I am going home now too. It is, I realize,
the only thing he has said to me all evening." |
How the García Sisters Lost Their Accent |
| "¿Y qué?: What of it?
Usually follows one's barrio designation; a challange." |
The Long Night of White Chickens |
| "A product of past conflicts, it may
eventually serve as one of the factors in a better understanding." |
The Holy Spirit of My Uncle's Cojones |
| "Because he did not know, he would
strive to live. He thought of this and he remembered, and suddenly
he knew that for him there would never be a coming back." |
With a Pistol in His Hand |
| " ...and died in her sleep that night
- dreaming to awake on the other side of life, a miracle of God's.
Amen." |
Pocho |
| "Yes indeed, we all need a Tío Roberto in our lives. Q.E.P.D." |
Café Chronicles |
| "He felt the colld breath on his face,
lips on his lips, robbing the last breath going out of him. He
felt as if he was being born again." |
East Side Dreams |
| "'What do you mean, he's different?'
she asked, not knowing what I meant. 'You'll see later. I just
wanted to let you know.' Well, later when she met hiim, she told
me, 'Now I know what you mean.'" |
Don't Spit on My Corner |
| "...I hear her, a black furred thing
lurking in the corners of my life, her magenta mouth opening,
wailing over some violation that lies at the center of my art." |
Dreaming in Cuban |
| "'Hombre, all these weeks with the
mermaids and still with a sad face? Qué paso?'" |
Always Running |
| "This is how it ended between Penny
and me. But not between my barrio and me, because I came back
to it and I'm still with it." |
A Death in the Sánchez Family |
| "Seven families had forty-one toys,
including a bicycle that was rented out. The toys represented
3 percent of all purchases." |
Barrio Boy |
| "I unhooked the bicycle, mounted it,
and headed for the main high school, twenty blocks away where
I would be going in a week. Pumping slowly, I wondered about
the debating team and the other things Mr. Everett had mentioned." |
Drink Cultura |
| "It is also my birthday. I am fifty
years old. I will no longer write to you, mi amor. She will remember
everything. My love always, Celia." |
Zoot Suit Murders |
| "Should you be interested in starting up
such a magazine, remember where you read it. I have the copyright,
1992" |
The Hunger of Memory |
