Can I read Retablos : Stories from a Life Lived Along the Border on EtoBox?

Retablos : Stories from a Life Lived Along the Border by Solis, Octavio, author is a work of fiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is Retablos : Stories from a Life Lived Along the Border about?

Seminal moments, rites of passage, crystalline vignettes--a memoir about growing up brown at the U.S./Mexico border. The tradition of retablo painting dates back to the Spanish Conquest in both Mexico and the U.S. Southwest. Humble ex-votos, retablos are usually painted on repurposed metal, and in one small tableau they tell the story of a crisis, and offer thanks for its successful resolution. In this uniquely framed memoir, playwright Octavio Solis channels his youth in El Paso, Texas. Like traditional retablos, the rituals of childhood and rites of passage are remembered as singular, dramatic events, self-contained episodes with life-changing reverberations. Living in a home just a mile from the Rio Grande, Octavio is a skinny brown kid on the border, growing up among those who live there, and those passing through on their way North. From the first terrible self-awareness of racism to inspired afternoons playing air trumpet with Herb Alpert, from an innocent game of hide-and-seek to the discovery of a Mexican girl hiding in the cotton fields, Solis reflects on the moments of trauma and transformation that shaped him into a man. Praise for Octavio Solis's Retablos "Unpretentious

Who reads Retablos : Stories from a Life Lived Along the Border?

Author

Solis, Octavio, author

Publisher

City Lights Publishers

Published

2018

Language

EN

ISBN

9780872867864

Category

work of fiction

Subjects

Literary Fiction, Fiction, Memoir

Rating

4.5 / 5 (127 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14