Rivera

Well, obviously, this is quite a change of pace from Martí's work, and a welcome respite from the dictionary-heavy task of that reading. However, being written from a young boy's perspective by no means detracts from the depth of the ideas presented. Some of the stories he tells are absolutely heartbreaking. Tales of encountering racism and unfair treatment from the gringos (pg 11? tragic) as well as the experiences he describes while staying with don Laíto and Doña Bone are emotionally harrowing. Rivera is certainly talented at creating a bond between reader and protagonist, as I felt my heart bleeding for this little boy. 

A couple of the little anecdotes are quite revealing as well. I particularly like the one on page 51 where a young man foolishly wishes for time to pass just to see what happened to him, instead of actively taking part in the plot of his life, a less than subtle version of the old "youth is wasted on the young" adage. 

Rivera makes many astute comments on the follies of human society and our misconceptions towards everything from education to religion. Page 54 shows the innocently misguided young boy believing that admitting to as many sins as possible will absolve him of all guilt and prevent any possible sacrilege. The very idea of sin and atonement in the Catholic church is ludicrous enough (ahem, in my opinion), but to assume that you can buy your way out of future contrition by overshooting in your confession basically brings us back to the medieval practice of indulgences in the church. "Hey everybody, you can give money to the church and thereby purchase a ticket to heaven! Yes, it's just that simple, folks. Three easy installments of $29.99 gets you eternal peace and joy!" Wow, good thing I'm not catholic, or that would probably be considered blasphemy! A lot of latin americans are deeply religious, and Rivera is likely among them, but it's nice to see that he's not promoting blind faith and an attitude of irresponsibility for your own actions. Thumbs up!