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By Kara Kvasnicka

Tuesday, November 29, -0001

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You ride it out on a wave of sound

pouring from the cinder-block jukebox of El Building,

with stereos blasting salsas from open windows,

where men in phosphorescent white T-shirts

hang over the sills, tossing piropos

down to the girls going somewhere in a hurry,

fanning the sidewalk heat with their swinging skirts,

crossing single file over the treacherous bridge

of a wino's legs at his daily post...

The 12 stories are told from the perspectives of several Puerto Rican teenagers growing up in a barrio in Paterson, N.J.

Each protagonist relives a critical turning point in a struggle to choose between the good and bad influences of the barrio which will shape his or her destiny and emergence from the barrio as a singular individual — "an island like you."

As Anita realizes in the story "Home to El Building," the cultural inheritance of barrio youths is unique.

"The barrio is like an alternate universe … In these streets, on this block, people speak in Spanish, even though they're in the middle of New Jersey; they eat fruits and vegetables that grow only in a tropical country …"

Nevertheless, the problems and challenges these teenagers face in this "alternate universe" are ones we recognize as universal, and they might just as well be attending Central High School in Flint as Central High School in Paterson.

Facing peer pressure, shame over one's socioeconomic standing, lack of self-esteem, the loss of a friend or parent, the resentment of a parent and racial prejudice are familiar themes in young adult literature. They recur over and over in these stories.

Cofer differentiates her microcosm from others with a deft use of language, strong character development and, most of all, memorable visual images of life in the barrio.

For instance, in "Arturo's Flight" she gives us an unforgettable tragicomic image of Arturo, the "Purple Flea," rescuing his volume of Shakespeare's sonnets from the dumpster he has tossed it into below El Building. Arturo is given his derisive nickname by other students who sneer at his spiked, dyed purple hair combined with the "uncool" literary inclinations he revealed when he recited from memory in English class John Donne's poem "The Flea."

The dumpster dive-and-rescue effort occurs after he has an experience which helps him realize being different from the rest of the crowd is okay.

Of course, he also wants the gleeful revenge of previewing the text of the Shakespeare sonnet which gang member Kenny Matoa has been assigned to recite in class the next day.

In many of these stories, including "Arturo's Flight" and "Home to El Building," the protagonists are initially eager to leave the barrio and escape what they consider to be their repressive parents and roots.

Language as well as generational barriers exist between them and their parents. Yolanda, in "Don Jose of La Mancha," complains her mother does not understand her jokes because her mother's English is "very basic."

Meanwhile, in "Home to El Building," Anita hopes to find love, freedom and comparative wealth outside the barrio in the arms of Frank, an Italian-American delicatessen clerk. When she realizes Frank's plans for her could lead her to an even more suffocating "prison" than what she perceives her parents' apartment to be, she just wants to go home and let the barrio and El Building "swallow her."

Ultimately, instead of escaping the barrio, these youths embrace their roots, learn to accept their differences from each other and the rest of the world and shine within the barrio's bounds.

This is exemplified by Doris to whom we are introduced in "The One Who Watches." She has a self-esteem problem. She does not think either her looks or her personality are distinctive. She feels invisible next to her exotic parents, who make their living by performing in a nightclub, and her daring, popular friends.

She contemplates stepping into the spotlight by joining her trouble-making friend Yolanda in a shoplifting spree. But in "White Balloons" she chooses a more courageous way to establish a visible identity, apart from but part of the barrio, when she helps a former barrio resident who is dying of AIDS to realize a dream.

This 165-page short story collection provides young adults with an excellent introduction to short stories in general. Each story is to the point, accessible and flows toward a logical rather than surprise ending. For each Spanish word or phrase introduced, an English equivalent is provided.

Likewise, Cofer's rhythmic prose and the alternately funny, irreverent, impatient, frustrated voices of her teenage narrators make these stories ideal for storytelling.

An associate professor of English and creative writing at the University of Georgia, Cofer has also written the award-winning memoir Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood.

Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month. If you are interested in other Hispanic titles you can find many listed on the Chicano/LatinoNet on the Internet. One way to access the Chicano/LatinoNet is through the "Humanities" menu of the M-Link Gopher.

Don't worry! If you do not have access to this technology, or do not wish to have access to it, your local librarian will be happy to help you find a bibliography.

Kvasnicka was East Village Magazine news editor from 1985 to 1989 and has been the magazine's research consultant since 1989. She has a master's degree in information and library studies from the University of Michigan and has worked for the Genesee District Library since 1989.

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