American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood

American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood

In her fatherâ€™s Peruvian family, Marie Arana was taught to be a proper lady, yet in her motherâ€™s American family she learned to shoot a gun, break a horse, and snap a chickenâ€™s neck for dinner. Arana shuttled easily between these deeply separate cultures for years. But only when she immigrated with her family to the United States did she come to understand that she was a hybrid American whose cultural identity was split in half. Coming to terms with this split is at the heart of this graceful, beautifully realized portrait of a child who â€œwas a north-south collision, a New World fusion. An American Chica.â€

Here are two vastly different landscapes: Peruâ€”earthquake-prone, charged with ghosts of history and mythologyâ€”and the sprawling prairie lands of Wyoming. In these rich terrains resides a colorful cast of family members who bring Aranaâ€™s historia to life...her proud grandfather who one day simply stopped coming down the stairs; her dazzling grandmother, â€œclicking through the house as if she were making her way onstage.â€ But most important are Aranaâ€™s parents: he a brilliant engineer, she a gifted musician. For more than half a century these two passionate, strong-willed people struggled to overcome the bicultural tensions in their marriage and, finally, to prevail.
Country USA
Brand Dial Press Trade Paperback
Manufacturer Delta Trade Paperback
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9780385319638
Color Multicolor
ReleaseDate 2002-05-28
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780385319638

Country	USA
Brand	Dial Press Trade Paperback
Manufacturer	Delta Trade Paperback
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9780385319638
Color	Multicolor
ReleaseDate	2002-05-28
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780385319638

American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood

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