Mexican American Literature Border Experience, Migration, and Belonging in Tales of El Huitlacoche, 1984

Gary D. Keller

First Edition

Keller, D. Gary [“El Huitlacoche”]. Tales of El Huitlacoche, 1984, collects four stories centered on Mexican American family life, migration, economic inequality, and the cultural tensions experienced by Chicanos moving between the United States and Mexico. Keller, born in 1943 and raised on both sides of the U.S. Mexican border, received a Ph.D. in Hispanic Literature and Linguistics from Columbia University in 1971. Writing under the name “El Huitlacoche,” he places individual characters within conflicts over labor, nationality, family obligation, and belonging, with the stories moving between autobiographical material, satire, picaresque narrative, and domestic fiction.

Keller, D. Gary [“El Huitlacoche”]. Tales of El Huitlacoche. Colorado Springs: Maize Press, 1984. First edition trade paperback. 77 pages. Octavo. Softcover in vibrant red, orange, and black wrappers illustrating a bridge, river, and sunset. “The Automatic Jumping Bean” concerns the narrator’s relationship with his father, a caring but ultimately unfulfilled inventor whose work went unrecognized. “The Mojado Who Offered Up His Tapeworms to the Public Weal” follows an undocumented Mexican migrant and satirizes the economic conditions under which poor Mexican laborers are valued principally for inexpensive work. “The Raza Who Scored Big in Anahuac” follows a Mexican American studying in Mexico City whose search for cultural understanding is complicated by his treatment as an outsider because he was born in the United States. The final story, “Mocha in Disneyland,” centers on a father’s continuing love for his child and former wife after the dissolution of their marriage.

Published within the developing field of Chicano literature, Keller’s collection addresses experiences shaped by the U.S. Mexico border without treating Mexican American life as culturally uniform. The stories distinguish among migrant labor, family history, education in Mexico, U.S. birth, and intimate relationships, allowing Keller to examine how nationality and economic status alter the treatment of Mexican and Mexican American characters on both sides of the border. Wrappers bear minor adhesive remnants, not affecting text or illustration. Small “exchange copy” stamp on front endpaper, not affecting text. Pages clean and crisp, with vibrant wrapper colors. Overall very good condition.

Item #19093

Price: $75.00