Spanish Literature

Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros

About the Author

The author of Caramelo , Cisneros , Sandra (1954 ) is a Hispanic American novelist , poet , and short-story writer . In her works , Cisneros blends feminism with her Mexican American heritage . Cisneros is the daughter of a Mexican father and a Mexican American mother . In her writings , she deals with such s as ethnic prejudice , poverty , and gender roles Much of her fiction includes Hispanic characters isolated from the mainstream of American life . Her female characters are often torn between asserting their feminist feelings and following traditional

male-dominated Mexican attitudes

Cisneros gained recognition and popularity when her first novel `The House on Mango Street ' was published in 1984 . Cisneros 's second novel `Caramelo ' in 2002 is a partly autobiographical story centering on a teen-age girl named Layla . Cisneros 's poetry has been published in Bad Boys (1980 , The Rodrigo Poems (1985 , My Wicked Wicked Ways (1987 , and Loose Woman (1994 . Many of her poems explore what it means to be a modern woman of Mexican heritage . Cisneros was born on Dec . 20 , 1954 , in Chicago . She received a B .A . degree from Loyola University of Chicago in 1976 . She decided to become a writer after attending the University of Iowa ' Workshop , where she received a M .F .A . degree in 1978

Caramelo ' by Sandra Cisneros - Summary

Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros is a story of a large Mexican family living in Chicago and their visit south to see their long separated family in Mexico City . The story moves back and forth in time . The most important event is a family trip from Chicago to Mexico City for a family reunion involving three generations of Layla 's family . The other major character is Soledad , Layla 's grandmother in Mexico City who was abandoned as a girl and now lives as an embittered old woman . The main character Layla who is the youngest and the only girl in the family , is also the narrator of the story . The entire episode revolves around the various stages of Layla 's life . First comes the Reyes family when they are racing down the highways , packed-full into their old cars on their way to Mexico City for their annual summer holiday . Everything sounds big elated tempers , amusing incidents and extravagant emotions

Much of the novel comments are on Layla 's father 's relationship with his mother , Soledad "the Awful Grandmother " as she calls her . Layla goes on to tell the story of her so called awful grandmother 's yesteryears being forsaken as a child , and later doing a housekeeper 's job , with all the world 's maternal love for her son . The background is typical of Mexico 's turbulent revolution period and the beginning of modern Mexico Therefore the family 's story is intertwined with the historical accounts of the contemporary revolutionary times and the following years of nation building and American domination

Layla 's grandmother 's shawl as they called it 'caramelo rebozo , the caramel colored striped shawl that has been passed...