Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa

Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa (2006) is a work of nonfiction by Rigoberto González, a gay Chicano writer and editor. Butterfly Boy is a coming-of-age memoir that shifts between timelines to tell the story of Rigoberto and his family. Drawing on connections between place and memory, Rigoberto recounts the history of his family of Chicano migrant agricultural workers crossing back and forth over the US-Mexican border, his relationship with his body and gay identity, and the lingering effects his background has on his life even after he leaves it behind to go to college. González is the winner of multiple literary awards, including the Lambda Literary Award for his poetry collection Unpeopled Eden and The Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement.

This guide is based on the 2006 edition published by University of Wisconsin Press as part of their Writing in Latinidad series.

Content Warning: The source material features depictions of sexual assault, domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and eating disorders. Additionally, the source material uses offensive terms for gay people and Latino people, which is replicated in this guide only in direct quotes of the source material, which the guide censors.

Summary