Juan Felipe Herrera - The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler p. 174-end

Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 180

“You may have seen me lately, in my usual beret camouflage of overexposure, “Latino” propaganda, and deconstructed flavor w/ and accent – these, as you know, have been my key strategies for simulating global satisfaction.”

To be honest I don’t feel I truly understand this quote. It is very interesting though. It seems Juan is talking about how ‘happiness’ or acceptance comes from a fake watered down culture. That reading fits with a lot of the reoccurring themes in the book.

Juan Felipe Herrera The Notebooks of a Chile Verde Smuggler
Page: 183

"Goddess: So, what do you say you do? Bobo: Write, eat, work, write, you know. Goddess: Write? Why? Bobo: So I can say something, come on, get with the program."

This quote was very interesting. Bobo is very short and literal with his responces and often seems to miss what Goddess is really asking. I particularly like the line above where he says he writes so he can say something. It is almost the opposite of why Juan writes. I partially wonder if Goddess represents Juan’s mother and Bobo is a young version of himself, oblivious to what his mother is really trying to say. It reminds me of the first Oyeme, Mamita entry.