Gonzalez, Rigoberto. (2006). Butterfly Boy: Memoirs of a Chicano Mariposa. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
ISBN-10: 0299219003
•Plot Summary
Rigoberto is nineteen, but has a lover twenty years his senior. His lover places butterfly marks on Rigoberto with his teeth, a symbol that the younger man likes because it does remind him of the monarchs that were a party of his childhood, one of the few happy parts for a boy that is a marisposa, a butterfly, gay. Born in Bakersfield, because his mother wanted him to be United States citizen, his parents work the fields between Los Angeles and the region Mexican region of Zacapu, where his father's parents live. Rigoberto spend much of his time with his mother, although she is not always kind to him. She is better than the alternatives of his alcoholic father, and his tyrannical, paternal grandfather. His brother makes fun of him, because he plays with dolls, and soon he learns that becoming absorb in books keeps him away from the bullies, both inside his own home, and at school. When he experiments with his mothers clothing and nail polish, his father walks in, but turns to leave as if nothing ever happened. Indeed, his entire nineteen years have passed without it being mentioned by anyone in his family. He has been attending the University of Riverside on a scholarship, although his father had initially tried to stop him from going. Now, the two are on a four-day bus ride, going to Zacapu. Rigoberto's mother died when he was eleven, and she was buried in the area. His father remarried not long after, leaving his sons with his parents, something for which Rigoberto can never forgive him. Their conversations alternate between semi amicable, and Rigoberto seething, only wanting his father to shut up. They part ways in the city, and after a brief visit to the grave (to which he brings red gladiolas), he visits his grandparents and father, giving his father the remainder of his money. Using his credit card, he returns to Riverside, and the abusive lover. For two days he waits for the man to contact him again, and when he does, they board a ship of older men with their younger boyfriends. Rigoberto is "Mexican", so they make him serve drinks, and days later another fight erupts. This time, the lover has used hit Rigoberto with the phone, knocking him unconscious. The boy thinks back to how his mother, and how to her, he was always mijo. Her son, and although he felt she knew he was homosexual, she did not speak of it either. The door closes by the lover's hand, and after decades of affairs with married farmers, closet schoolboys, and other such "relationships", Rigoberto is determined to find something better.
•Critical Evaluation
Despite the level of violence and sadness, this work is somehow peaceful. There is a quietness, a sensitivity to Gonzalez's work, that is in keeping with his title, mariposa, butterfly. Although we realize that he will probably never reconcile with his father, their sometimes casual relationship is grounds for hope that he will find peace with their existence, and also find love that doesn't involve tyranny.
•Reader’s Annotation
Graphic content is mainly restricted to the final chapters, but may be considered too extreme for younger teens.
•Information about the author
Rigoberto Gonzalez has written books of poetry, and two books for children. He has received the Guggenheim and NEA Fellowships, as well as international residencies for artists, and served on the Advisory Circle of Con Tinta (coalition of Latino/Chicano writers). Currently, he lives in New York City.
•Genre
Autobiography
•Curriculum Ties
Social Science
•Booktalking Ideas
Field works from Mexico, American immigration, sexual dynamics in Mexico, homosexuality
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 1-12/Ages 17-19
•Challenge Issues
The homosexual relationships in this book are limited in their number, but are graphic enough to warrant care. As a defense, it would be suitable to point out that this is not a work of fiction, and therefore has merit in teaching real world situations.
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
All of my books contained caucasion characters, despite the fact I live in Southern California, and only three cities away there is a large population of field workers from Mexico. I wanted to know more about that experience, especially as it pertained to a young, gay male.
