Pocho by José Antonio Villarreal

First published: 1959

Type of work: Historical fiction/social realism

Themes: Family, politics and law, social issues, race and ethnicity, coming-of-age, gender roles, religion, and sexual issues

Time of work: 1923-1942

Recommended Ages: 15-18

Locale: Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and Santa Clara, California

Principal Characters:

• Juan Rubio, a proud Mexican revolutionary and the father of the Rubio clan
• Consuelo Rubio, Juan Rubio’s wife who abandons her traditional role after living in the United States
• Richard Rubio, the Rubio’s only son among eleven daughters
• Luz, the Rubio’s eldest daughter who challenges Juan Rubio’s authority
• Rickey, Richard’s Italian-American childhood friend
• Thomas Nakano, Richard’s Japanese American friend
• Ronnie, Richard’s Protestant friend whom Richard dislikes
• Zelda, the only female accepted by Richard and his friends; she is also Richard’s girlfriend
• Joe Pete, an old eccentric and molester
• Rooster, a pachuco who avenges a wrong; he is both liked and trusted by Richard

The Story

Pocho is a Mexican American epic. It has many of the characteristics of historical fiction as it portrays the changes in a traditional Mexican peasant family as they grope with new social realities in a very different world. In the beginning, Juan Rubio is the heroic Mexican revolutionary in Pancho Villa’s army. He is brave, proud, principled, and fiercely loyal to Villa in his attempt to liberate the Mexican people. Pancho Villa, however, has lost his army and is trying to evade Alvaro Obregon’s forces. Juan Rubio has retired from the army because he does not trust Obregon, who has triumphed. He leaves Mexico City and arrives in Ciudad Juarez, where he goes to a cantina to eat. Arrogant and lustful, he kills a wealthy Spaniard over a woman. Orders for his arrest come from Mexico City. While local authorities are sympathetic, they nevertheless insist that he leave the country. Juan Rubio allows himself to be smuggled into the United States. One impetuous, violent act thus sets the stage for the fictionalized history of the Mexican American in this dramatic novel.

Consuelo, Rubio’s wife, and the children join him in the Central Valley, where their only son, Richard, is born. They eventually settle in Santa Clara, California, as farm workers. Time passes, and Juan Rubio longs for the life of Mexico; indeed, he longs to return to Mexico, but the farm work has trapped him. Mexican tradition remains strong for Juan Rubio; he does not speak English. He adores Richard, who returns that love and respect. Juan Rubio is a fine father for Richard and the entire family in the Mexican way. As Richard grows, he dutifully attends church but questions all authority. He is observant; he is an avid reader; he goes to school and learns English; and he continues to question. There are few other Mexican families in Santa Clara in 1940; the other families live far apart. Richard, however, makes friends with Rickey and Thomas. Ronnie is part of the group, but Richard is not fond of him. Zelda is as tough as the boys, and so they accept her in their group. They all experiment with sex, and Zelda becomes Richard’s girlfriend, after which her toughness softens.

Richard also learns from Joe Pete to whom he talks almost daily. Joe Pete talks to Richard as one adult to another about life and poetry. But Joe Pete sexually assaults a young girl, and he is arrested. Richard also learns from a group of pachucos. He marvels at their clothing, their style, and their love for everything Mexican. Rooster learns to trust Richard and comes to his aid when Richard learns of a violent act against a friend. Rooster avenges things.

Now in their teens, Richard, Rickey, and Thomas are stopped and beaten by police, who accuse them of stealing and of being pachucos. This is the first instance of racial prejudice and discrimination Richard has ever experienced. At the same time, Luz is dating and staying out late against Juan Rubio’s wishes; Consuelo is questioning Juan Rubio’s authority, and Richard plays one parent against the other to get his own way. In a violent scene, Juan Rubio becomes brutal with Luz, Consuelo, and Richard. He cannot and will not stay in a house if his authority is undermined. He leaves. Again, an act of violence from Juan Rubio sends him on his way. He has hit his wife and daughter in the presence of his other children, dishonoring himself.

Richard suffers through the anguish of his family’s breakdown. He remains with his mother, working to support the family while feeling trapped and hating it all. By 1942 and the beginning of World War II, Richard sees a way to leave. His sisters are working; their support will continue to help his mother. Moreover, Rickey has volunteered for and has been accepted into Officer Candidate’s School. Richard is both impressed and jealous. Thomas Nakano sadly must leave with his parents for a relocation center. They will lose their farm for which they worked for years. Richard decides to leave home. He has to be himself—a recurring theme in his life. Pocho ends with Richard’s enlistment in the Navy and his resolution always to be an individualist.

Context

Pocho is José Antonio Villarreal’s only novel. Written in 1959, it has the distinction of being the first novel written by a Mexican American detailing the life of Mexicans who settled in the United States. It is, therefore, historically significant. No longer merely farm workers, Mexican Americans represent the whole range of human possibilities in the cultural, social, educational, and economic milieus. Other changes have defined Mexican-American life. The Chicano movement had not been born when Pocho was written; that dimension, therefore, is the subject for other books. Villarreal depicts human relationships and their frustrations. His characters speak a stately, almost courtly language, reflecting a formal, cultural communication context.

Other important implications of this work include its strong autobiographical flavor. Villarreal was born of traditional Mexican parents who had just arrived in Los Angeles. Like Richard Rubio, he too was born into poverty; also like his protagonist, he is an individualist. Richard Rubio wanted to become a writer; José Antonio Villarreal became one not interested in accusations against a new culture; instead, he has given readers an epic of profound importance in this nation of peoples from many worlds.

Pocho will interest young adults; the title alone will motivate them to read the novel. In addition, young adult readers can identify with the protagonist’s coming-of-age. Pocho can also give young adult readers insights into Richard Rubio’s psychological motivation and his values.

Bibliography

Bruce-Novoa, Juan. “Canonical and Noncanonical Texts: A Chicano Case Study.” In Redefining American Literary History, edited by A. LaVonne Brown Ruoff and Jerry W. Ward, Jr. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1990.

Bruce-Novoa, Juan. “Pocho as Literature.” Aztlán 7 (Spring, 1976): 65-77. Claims that Pocho deserves careful literary analysis instead of the sociological, historical, and political responses given it for fifteen years. Argues that the book’s literary stature arises from its exploration of themes that are not culture-bound but are of universal appeal: the individual’s struggle for identity, search for moral direction, and need to contribute to the world.

Grajeda, Rafael F. “José Antonio Villarreal and Richard Vasquez: The Novelist Against Himself.” In The Identification and Analysis of Chicano Literature, edited by Francisco Jiménez. New York: Bilingual Press, 1979. Asserts that the significance of Pocho lies in its historical status as the first novel by a Mexican American depicting the cultural identity of Mexican Americans. Perhaps because of this, it is in fact an unmistakable “failure”; obvious, sentimental, flat of character, and stylistically “flaccid.”

Luedtke, Luther S. “Pocho and the American Dream.” In Contemporary Chicano Fiction: A Critical Survey, edited by Vernon E. Lattin. Binghamton, N.Y.: Bilingual Press, 1986. An exploration of the social context of this “typical American story” follows an excellent summary of the novel. Luedtke offers many insights into the mythos of the immigrant experience in the United States and the literary powers of Pocho.

Myers, Inma M. “Language and Style in Pocho.” Bilingual Review 16 (May/December, 1991): 180-187. Myers evaluates the contribution of Villarreal’s novel to the development of Chicano literature in English. She gives a plot synopsis, explores the use of Chicano English in the book as a stylistic recourse, evaluates whether the novel gives the reader a true insider’s view of Mexican American life, and discusses the use of Spanish words and direct translations of idioms in the book.

Paredes, Raymund A. “The Evolution of Chicano Literature.” In Three American Literatures: Essays in Chicano, Native American, and Asian-American Literature for Teachers of American Literature, edited by Houston A. Baker, Jr. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1982. A tracing of the origins of Chicano literature that acknowledges the historical importance of Villarreal’s work. Asserts that though Pocho’s subject is important, its treatment of issues such as abuse of women and the role of Catholicism is oversimplified.

Ruiz, Ramón. Introduction to Pocho, by José Antonio Villarreal. Garden City, N.J.: Anchor Press, 1970.

Saldívar, Ramón. Chicano Narrative: The Dialectics of Difference. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1990.

Tatum, Charles M. “Contemporary Chicano Prose Fiction: A Chronicle of Misery.” In The Identification and Analysis of Chicano Literature, edited by Francisco Jiménez. New York: Bilingual Press, 1979. Discusses how Villarreal’s novel portrays the pocho, the Mexican male who retains connection to tradition while adapting to and integrating into Anglo culture, in a positive light.