The Boy Kings of Texas A Memoir

by Martinez, Domingo

• ISBN13: 9780762779192
• ISBN10: 0762779195
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-07-03
• Publisher: Lyons Press

Summary

Domingo Martinez lays bare his interior and exterior worlds as he struggles to make sense of the violent and the ugly, along with the beautiful and the loving. Partly a reflection on the culture of machismo and partly an exploration of the author's boyhood spent in his sister's hand-me-down clothes, this book delves into the enduring and complex bond between Martinez and his deeply flawed, but fiercely protective older brother. It features a cast of memorable characters, including his gun-hoarding, former farmhand Gramma and "The Mimi's," two of his older sisters who for a short, glorious time, manage to transform themselves from poor Latina adolescents into upper-class white girls. Martinez delves into the complicated relationships between extended family and the inner conflicts that result when the desire to Americanize clashes with the inherent need to defend one's manhood in an aggressive, archaic patriarchal farming culture. He provides a real glimpse into a society where children are traded like commerce, physical altercations routinely solve problems, drugs are rampant, sex is often crude, and people depend on the family witch doctor for advice. Charming, painful, and enlightening, it examines the traumas and pleasures of growing up in South Texas, and the often terrible consequences when two very different cultures collide on the banks of a dying river.

Author Biography

Domingo Martinez lives in Seattle, WA. His work has appeared in Epiphany, and he has worked as a journalist and designer in Texas and at virtually every periodical in Seattle, including The Stranger, Seattle Weekly, The Seattle Times, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, along with a number of other publications.

Table of Contents

Prologue
Border Justice	p. 1
His Favorite Place	p. 10
Grampa	p. 13
Curses	p. 21
Vulgaria	p. 25
¡Oklahoma!	p. 40
Gramma and the Snakes	p. 58
Poo and Piglets	p. 64
Christmas with Grandma	p. 70
The Mimis	p. 85
Dan's First Fight	p. 99
The Oklahoma Joneses	p. 105
In Which Mom Is Introduced to the Barrio	p. 112
Faith	p. 122
Football	p. 145
The Artless Dodger	p. 155
Dan's Second Fight	p. 163
Delta City Repeat	p. 180
Room 124	p. 191
Neighborhood Heroes	p. 218
Cheering up Philippe	p. 224
Crying Uncle	p. 252
Afterward	p. 282
Sleeping with Monsters	p. 288
DadÆs Warning	p. 302
Dan's Second to Last Fight.	p. 317
The House that Rock ænÆ Roll Built	p. 336
Bioluminescence	p. 340
Home	p. 358
MomÆs Story	p. 357
Origins	p. 373
Cheating	p. 335
Cheating II	p. 390
Keep on Truckin'	p. 392
Ten Years Later	p. 394
Dan's Last Fight	p. 397
Settling Accounts	p. 408
Epilogue	p. 429
Closedown	p. 437
Acknowledgments	p. 442
About the Author	p. 44
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.