Pocho

The title of this novel, Pocho, is a word for a second-generation Mexican-American, the child of Mexican immigrants: a Mexican idea of an American phenomenon. What’s the significance of language and translation in this story? 

The novel starts with the story of how Juan Rubio first came to California—a dramatic tale of assassinations and gunslinging. Why might the novel begin with this story? How does Juan Rubio’s story compare to Richard’s?

While much of Pocho deals with questions about masculine identity, the novel is also sympathetic to the difficult lives of its female characters. Study Villarreal’s portrayal of Consuelo, Mary, and Zelda. What do these characters have to say to the novel’s questions about what it means to have an independent self?