From Macho to Mariposa: New Gay Latino Fiction

I really love this book. Short stories are not usually my first choice in reading material, but this collection was recommended to me. And I am so glad it was! It uses the short story medium to convey a very broad spectrum of the Latino gay experience. And the human experience.The writers are skilled at expressing their feelings. What is it like to realize you are gay? To be hated for it? What are the deeper implications of this in the diverse Latino cultures? It describes the differences and experiences that are unique to the Latino gay experience, but it also reveals the writers' humanity and describes experiences we all share. First love is first love. It is an amazing and overwhelming experience whether your are Black, white, Latino, gay, straight or purple.Yes, this book describes what makes the gay Latino experience unique, but it also describes the human feelings experienced by all. I know that reading it gave me greater insight into things that have made many of my friends who they are. Things that are too personal to be talked about much. Though this is a fiction collection, I suspect many of the stories have their origins in personal experience - they are almost memoirs. They are beautiful and made me both laugh and cry - sometimes at the same time!I would highly recommend this book to all. The writing is consistently great - and it will open both your heart and mind to the joys and the pains of the Latino gay experience - and the American experience.I especially loved the stories by Jimmy Lam and Benny Vasquez. Read them both several times!

I've been waiting for a gay Latino anthology to come along that was just as strong as "Virgins, Guerrillas y Locas" That day has finally come. Where "Virgins, etc" focused on love, the stories here seem to have a unifying thread/threat of violence. But don't let that scare you away. I really recommend this one.

These stories are alive and vibrate with a sense of real life. They speak to us of a wide variety of coming out experiences and gay life in general - all from the unique point of view of Latino culture. A great selection! I'm waiting for more.

Amazing, impactful stories that alternate between the tragic and the comic, a recommend for anyone interested in gay latino literature.

There's some really nice stories in this collection which deal with love, romance, sex, infidelity, sexual identity issues, and family relationships within the Latin culture.Then there's other stories which are very bizarre, as if writers were on psychedelics! Not sure, but it may have been an attempt to describe inner thoughts of odd fantasies and symbolism. It's like reading your own weird dreams that make no sense or aren't reality. There's one story with boring, immature, repetitive street verbage. Those bizarre stories are not artistic or creative, and some of them go off on these wild tangents, with no foundation or substance to them.Since it's a collection of stories, it will definitely be a hit or miss depending upon your own opinion. It's to be expected when there is a set of stories in one book.

Great read for those interested in current literature that deals with the complexities of being Latino and gay.

All the stories are different and yet one particular thing conects them. They are each very personal and allow the reader a look inside the many lifes of gay latin americans. (Mostly) written in a true-to-life way they are either predictably sad or sometimes also surprisingly hilarious. Very intreaging to read for someone who's neither american nor latino, but knows people who are.

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