COLUMNS
Mario Suarez: Tucson's Original Chicano Author Part 1(31:20) 2012-08-05
Amanda Shauger

Chicano Sketches- Short Stories by Mario Suárez was published by University of Arizona Press in 2004. According to UA Press: Suarez was a key figure in the foundation of Chicano literature who was among the first writers to focus not only on Chicano characters but also on the multicultural space in which they live, whether a Tucson barbershop or a Manhattan boxing ring. Many of his stories have received wide acclaim through publication in periodicals and anthologies. In most of his stories, Suárez sought to portray people he knew from Tucson's El Hoyo barrio, a place usually thought of as urban wasteland when it is thought of at all. Suárez set out to fictionalize this place of ignored men and women because he believed their human stories were worth telling, and he hoped that through his depictions American literature would recognize their existence. By seeking to record the so-called underside of America, Suárez was inspired to pay close attention to people's mannerisms, language, and aspirations. And by focusing on these barrio characters he also crafted a unique, mild-mannered realism overflowing with humor and pathos. Along with Fray Angélico Chávez, Suárez stands as arguably the mid-twentieth century's most important short story writer of Mexican descent.