Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco (For All of Us, One Today) grew up caught between two worlds. He lived in a Cuban neighborhood of Miami, dotted with bodegas and infused with memories of the homeland his parents left behind, but he yearned for América--the bright, sparkling version glimpsed in reruns of The Brady Bunch and forbidden snack foods at the local Winn-Dixie. In this colorful memoir, Blanco paints vivid portraits of his childhood memories and captures his yearning for a place to belong.
As a child, Blanco spent afternoons drawing at the kitchen table, raising rabbits and chickens in the backyard with his grandfather, and trying to persuade his relatives to cook American food (including a disastrous attempt at a real "San Giving" turkey dinner). His first trip to Disney World ended in a hilarious mix of magic and deep disappointment. And despite his abuela's attempts to make him into un hombre, he knew he was different than other boys.
Blanco spent his teenage years working at El Cocuyito, his uncle's bodega, and becoming well acquainted with the neighborhood's cast of eccentric characters. At El Cocuyito, he felt he had found his place in the pueblo at last--but he also met Victor, a melancholy artist whose presence prompted Blanco to grapple with the truth about his own sexual identity.
Balancing humorous stories of cultural clashes with poignant reflections on loneliness and belonging, Blanco's memoir is a lyrical exploration of family and identity by a man who is "a little from everywhere." --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams