Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

El Lobo

2010; University of Oklahoma; Volume: 84; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/wlt.2010.0054

1945-8134

Maxine Hong Kingston, Benjamin Bac Sierra,

Latin American Literature Analysis

EMERGING AUTHOR ySQQjS^^^^QHH ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H I readBarrioBushido inshort doses,braving thepainandsuffering andviolent life ofitsyoungcharacters and their /our world. Suspense pulled meonward; I hadtoknow howcrimes, wars, hopes come out,butmore importantly, Willtheauthor beabletopulloffanovelwithmeaning, orwillthisbeanother nihilistic thriller? On thelevelof world politics, is there homecoming fortheIraqiwarvet?Benjamin Bac Sierrahastaken uponhimself thelaborof Dostoevsky writing Crimeand Punishment. Is there redemption forthose who've lostGod'slove?Thereader feels the joyofmurderous combat, andtheheartbreak ofcompassion. - Maxine Hong Kingston El Lobo Benjamin BacSierra ohyeah, there shewas,andI smiled, and shemattered, whichis morethan I can say formyself becauseI was El Lobo: a fighter, a robber, anda macktothefullest. I wouldletmyfalsetooth shineinthebrilliance ofbroaddayandbe a mean, mugging monster in themajesty ofthemoonlight. I didn't matter cause I didn't givea fuck ifI mattered ornot. Butshedid.Shemattered becauseI sawthat shedidn't givea fuck either. On thatsultry night, I was kickin it,choppinitup withthehomeboys atourcorner liquor store. With justonelook, I knewI hadtohaveher. I examined herwalking downmystreet withher facepainted up likea beautiful Bozo theClown, herhaira tallbrick wallofhairspray, andshewas shaking hersexythick ass likethePlayboy Playmateoftheyear . Shewas a diamond inthemud. Andeventhough shewasbabydollfine, I didn't think ofjustgoingup in herat thetime, didn't think ofonlytearing off them panties. Forherto addresstheworldwithsuchstyle, I appreciated shehadmorethana body.WhatI really wanted washersoul.I wanted hertogivememorethan justhercooch;I wanted that womantodevoteto mehereternal faith. It was my once in a lifetime chance - my dreamgirlwas in mypresence, and I had to impress her, shockher,andloveherright atthat moment orneveragain.One shot,one kill.So I prowlup,smile, andsays,"What's up,gorgeous! You are a wildflower blooming in front ofmy eyes.I'vebeenwaitin topickyouallmylife, and nowyou're here, andit'snota dream. I'minyour faceas a manthat ain'tgottoomuchonthematerialistic side,onlygota good timewhenyou're withme.I wanttofallin lovewithyoutonight andforever." "Huh?" she snarled, as ifI could giveher some nastydisease. "Are you seriousor just retarded?" I suckedinthecotton candyscentoff oftheangel'smouth. "Yeah,I'm seriousas a heartattack." I took thestupidsmirk offofmyfaceand staredher downas ifI was theincarnation ofElDiablo himself . "Check out,let'sgogetus a couplafortys, sit downatBajoPark, andtalk aboutlife. Let'sgokick back,listen tosomeliveasshomeboy souloldies, and let'slaughabouttheactI'm gonnaplayfor youand theAcademy Awardmoviestaryou're gonnabe justforme." She unfolded herarms. "We'lldo this muchfor eachother, andwe'llgive eachother illusions ofhowwewishwewere, we'll laughatourinsecurities, andwe'llloveeachother forlessthana secondyetpretend it'sforever." I releaseda genuinesmilefrom somewhere mysterious inthedepthofmysoul,andI yanked her into myheart. Shegavemeherunyielding faith by flashing meherprecious sunbeam. I captured her around herlittle waistandconfidently ledherinto theworldofmytruth. It was paradise.We'd wakeat three in the morning andstart outourdayafter having gotten drunk offourassesthewholedaybefore. We'd Editorialnote:Thisisthefinal installment inour Emerging Authorseries,a year-long seriesinwhichwe asked six world-renownedwriters to introducean authorwhose worktheythoughtdeserved attention - and would gain prominence- in2010 and beyond. November- December 2010 117 EMERGING AUTHOR walkfivemiles, catchthebus,orsteala carand cruiseto thebeachto watchratsand raccoons dukeitoutforscrapsoftrash. We'd stroll down theshoreline listening tothesplitting wavescrash onthebeachfront, andI'd makelovetoherright there onthefreezing sandas fantastic fogrolled in overus.Afterward shewouldembrace mewith all ofherstrength andtellme,"Don'teverleaveme, Lobo."I'd answer herbyprying heroff me,jumpingmynakedassinto theforty degrees ocean, and shouting, "Never!" It was three weekslaterwhenshe doubted me. She had herhomegirl's Regal,and it was her,herchubby cousinTracy, and me.We had justbought somefortys anda bottle andwereon ourwaytohavea goodtimesomewhere bythe beachor at thepier,butshegaveme a fuckedup attitude causeI bustedopenmyforty inher homegirl's fucked-up car,likeifI wasgonnacontaminate theinterior witha fewspilleddropsof maltliquorfoam. Andso shepulledthecarover, allhigh andmighty, andcommanded - "Loboput thecapbackonuntil we gettoa coolspot."Asif shewas theleaderofsomething. Andso I said, niceandsincere, likeonlya charming cholo can - "Bitch, fuck you." Her mouthdropped.Whoin thehelldid I think I was?I can'ttalk toherlikethat, ohno,she's a lady,a princess, a goddess.ButGoddessdidn't havea chancetosaynoneofthat nonsense cause I justtookmyforty, adjusted mypistol under my shirt, stepped outofthecaras ifthepasttwentyonedaysoffalling madlyinlovewithherdidn't meananything to me,and leftherlistening to James Brown with hermouth openandnowords coming out.I walkedawaywithout looking back. I alwayslookforward. So I'ma wolfontheprowlanddeadstraight in front ofme there'sa flockofbusinessguys in suitsstrolling down thestreet thatbeautiful Friday morning inthedowntown, busyass trafficcity ofInten, andI pulledoutmy.38from my pantsbelt,rippedoutsomestomach hairsinthe process, andsaid. . . "Yourfuckin money." Soberandserene as a priest at mass.Theyalljumpedlikelittle bunny bitchesand strangely startedthrowingtheir chump change onthesidewalk as ifthey expected I wasactually gonna bendthefuck downandpick up their leftovers likesomestereotypical garbage man.I smashed a heavyredneck intheheadwith myforty. Myforty, for somereason, didn't break, buthebuckled tothefloor anyway. "You,"I pointed...