Now that I’ve finished the book, I can definitely say that my opinions about it have drastically changed since reading the first half. I found complete changes and of course similarities in the style and form in which Cisneros brings these stories in the second half to life. Her creativeness, attention to detail and absurd way of writing actually astounded me, rather than annoying me like it did in the beginning. Anyway, I’ll begin, as there it so much which can be said about this book!

I found the “Eyes of Zapata” to be the most curious of all the stories. It stuck out from the whole book because, although it was the same in the sense that it spoke of a woman and her experience with a man (like most of the stories did) it had a completely different impact on me, as I’m sure it did for many of you (?). Obviously Cisneros was not alive during the revolution, so we can assume that this story was not about her. From this a few interesting things pop out. On the one hand, how on earth can she describe with such passion the situation of this woman during the Mexican revolution (Emiliano Zapata’s mistress…I think) without having any sort of personal connection to her. On the other hand, she mentions her last name (Cisneros) as a man involved in the revolution, bringing us to guess that she has some sort of family tie to the revolution which she is perhaps quite aware of. I would guess that she (Cisneros) is most probably a Zapatista, and she, relating her experiences and hardships with men, decided to express what it was like for Chicana women during the revolution, and that no matter how famous or “sucessful” your husband was, they all face the same or somewhat similar issues. She describes a universal issue by highlighting the experience of a woman involved with one of the most famous Mexican revolutionaries. I’m going to go a little deeper and say that I believe she is trying to say something about Contemporary Mexico. Obviously people wonder “Why Mexico?” “Why so many problems?” Poverty, corruption, etc, the list goes on…I think she is focusing on Mexican society in addition to a man-woman interaction. If Emiliano Zapata, one the most praised revolutionary men in the Mexico is treating a woman like that, what does it say about the country?

“Bien Pretty” the second and conluding story in the book definitely merits some attention as well. Cisneros documents the experience of a Californian artist who courageously moves to Texas, almost to leave her past behind. In this case, I think it’s interesting how she describes her possessions which she takes with her in her truck having all came from different parts of the world. She automatically shows us that this Chicana is an established American who clearly is very knowlegeable and conforms to the upper class. A true San Franciscan. I believe Cisneros highlights this womans life and experience as a way to embrace diversity as an essential component in the way she describes these different Chicana women. I love the way she compares language to love, and how it comes into play during the relationship between Lupe and Flavio. She says “I’ve never made love in Spanish before” (Pg 153) I think this whole page says a lot about communication and the culture barrier between these two people who share common hertiage, but lead such different lives. Is their common bond their Mexican roots? I would think not, seeing as Cisneros almost seems to consider herself a “Mexicana light”.

Overall, I ended up really enjoying the book. I found the stories in the second half really brought her artistic ability to life, and I was really able to connect with the author through the stories. A great read.