Chicanadas by Manuel C. Flores

 I think it's a good sign when a book is good enough to give you a headache. The author and I were both covering a high school baseball playoff game in Robstown, Texas in 1990, but I was reared-end, and my car totaled before I could get in the front gate.

The wreck left me quite off-centered with back pain gradually creeping up on me. But, the future Chicanadas author kept me in it, despite everything that might have been going through his mind. Reading chapter 3, I had a good idea of what might have also been bothering him, learning how he lost his father in a car accident. Manuel Flores is a hero. I will vouch for him.

Chicanadas made me really miss South Texas, so I took as much time as I could with it. I was aware of most autobiographical parts of it, except for his Texas A&I days in the Chicano Movement, and dodging bullets. Besides being a good read, I would also recommend it for Spanish language learners. Much of the content uses Spanish alongside English just as this journalist/educator probably planned all along. Esta muy bien el senor profesor/periodista!

He mentioned writing another somewhat similar book, and I hope he's already well into it. In all fairness there were a few typos, but Manuel's also a competitor and will be looking to bounce back, too. They tend to do that around Hebbronville.

Thanks Manuel, I needed that mental vacation back in South Texas.