May 5th, 2023

1. What is the book? 

          Chola Salvation

2. Who wrote it?

          Estella Gonzalez

3. What is it about?

          Chola Salvation is a collection of stories, loosely connected, about people who gravitate, physically or spiritually, toward    
          East Los Angeles. These characters, male and female, exhibit the multifaceted complexities of the Chicanx/Latinx
          identities of “East Los” residents across class, sexuality, and generational lines.

4. Why did I read it?

          As is common, the cover art drew me in. It is a portrait of the Virgen de Guadalupe, or a Chicanx/Latinx representation
          of Jesus’ mother, Mary, decked out in bouffant bangs, dark lipstick, tattoos across her chest and shoulders and adorned in
          large, gleaming silver or chrome crucifix earrings. A “chola” is a female gang member who exudes toughness and
          resilience. The blending of the so-called sacred and profane is a dichotomy that I was interested in observing in
          Gonzalez’s stories.

5. What do I think?

          I enjoyed the tempo, the cadence, and the dissonance of stories told bilingually, as it reflects speech heard in various
          immigrant and multicultural communities. If one of the languages is foreign to the reader, a bilingual story takes on a
          different shape, either by the disruption caused by stopping to look up the unfamiliar words, or because parts of the
          narrative are covered by the shade of incomprehension and have to be sussed out by context. In Chola Salvation there are
          moments where Gonzalez provides meanings for the Spanish spoken, but I preferred the times when the dialogue stands
          on its own.

      Each story is multi-faceted, collectively providing a kaleidoscopic glimpse into the lives, celebrations, traumas, and
          love of the residents of East Los. A few of my favorites are the titular “Chola Salvation,” “Act of Faith,” and “No Such
          Thing.” In “Chola Salvation,” a girl is aided by her patron saints, Frida Kahlo and the aforementioned Virgen de
          Guadalupe, in order to escape an untenable situation at home. “Act of Faith” features Angelina, a woman who copes with
          the abandonment of her estranged husband who moved across the street into his lover’s house, by burning him in effigy.
          The story “No Such Thing” showcases Jesús as he battles to keep his bookstore afloat while getting his mother to accept
          his partner, Don.

          Be warned that the collection does exhibit people enduring traumatic situations in their lives. However, I find that the
          humanity of the characters shines through when they can rely on each other and their community. This  makes them
          both familiar and memorable.

You can place a hold on your copy of the book by clicking on the cover below: