Reaction: Becoming Maria by Sonia Manzano

Book Cover for Sonia Manzano's memoir

I remember being a little girl and watching Sesame Street with my eyes glued to the television while my mouth sung out loud in the living room, ABC's, 123's.  My grandma would walk in and sit with my grandpa and smile when Maria would come on.  She'd say, "Mira esta muchacha Puerto Riqueña tan bonita."  My grandma thought Maria was a  beautiful Puerto Rican young lady.  "Como la Lola Beltran, verdad Salazar?"  Beautiful like Lola Beltran!

Maria's accent was like grandma's and tia Cecilia's and Mama Mary's and grammo Rita's. Our television was saturated in Spanish because grandma's favorite shows were on Telemundo and Univision.  Spanish was constantly flowing through our home.  When the television wasn't on, Paulino Bernal was ranting and raving over Spanish radio.  It was enough to drive all us cousins out of the house and into the yard while grandma was left inside to her limpiezas.

I couldn't wait to read, "Becoming Maria" because she was the first Latina that I saw on television. She was the first woman who spoke like all the other women in my family.  We were all on television through Maria. Although, as a child I did not know about Puerto Ricans.  I thought everyone who spoke Spanish was like us Mexicans.

From surviving an alcoholic and abusive father growing up in the South Bronx to being unafraid to stand up to ridiculousness to being aware of racism hidden in people's pockets to becoming the representation of a body of people on a stage in the public's eye.  This book held me until the last page.

Can you tell me how to get...how to get to Sesame Street?  Getting to a place of acknowledgement comes with a great price and the journey is difficult.  I absolutely recommend this book and love that it lives on my bookshelf for the rest of time.  I hope that she writes another.

I hope one day to meet this muchacha tan bonita como la Lola Beltran!