Chulito by Charles Rice-González

My rating: 5 of 5 stars




As well demonstrated in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, there is nothing so exhilarating and tragic as young love struggling to blossom under the suffocating cloud of bacchanalian bigotry masquerading as stringent tradition. In homage to The Bard, first time novelist Charles Rice-Gonzalez has come up with a heartbreaking and ultimately triumphant coming-out and coming-of-age story of one such love.



Chulito is a beautiful and well-liked fifteen-year-old Puerto Rican high school dropout living in the thick of things in his vibrant, ultra-testosterone South Bronx hood. The girls love him (although he has yet to make any serious move beyond playful flirtation), he is a devoted and wonderful son to his loving mother, and he makes plenty of money as a runner for his mentor Kamikaze, the local drug dealer. Eventually, he loses his virginity through a rite-of-passage ménage au trio when Kamikaze invites him to share a local girl. It is a life-altering encounter for our young hero, as he claims his macho cred with the act and yet is confused by the thrall he experiences witnessing his male mentor’s naked physicality.



Chulito’s life is further complicated by the return of Carlos to the hood on summer vacation from his Long Island college. Carlos and Chulito had been best friends since childhood, but polar opposite trajectories—Carlos, having been double-promoted out of high school, is now, at seventeen, in his second year of college and will spend the summer interning at the New York Daily News; Chulito, hanging with the street life as one of the boys—has caused them to draw apart, much to Chulito’s dismay. Circumstances are further complicated by the not un-false rumors that Carlos is a pato (a ‘faggot’).



Carlos’ return home is met with a chorus of neighborhood taunts, that, in spite of Chulito’s desire to rekindle their friendship, Chulito reluctantly joins in.



Still, Chulito cannot deny what is in his heart, and secretly makes attempts to recharge the friendship he and Carlos once had, only for Chulito to realize that there is something much more brewing between the two of them. Time and again, Chulito tries to express his feelings to Carlos, and those numerous expressions, awkward, but heartfelt, represent some of the best writing in this poignantly romantic book. Listening to a sixteen-year-old-Chulito trying to make sense of his feelings will have you in tears, and the secret kiss he and Carlos share will have you cheering.



Still Chulito’s worlds collide as his ideas of being a young man, being macho, and being in love are challenged, and as he struggles with his feelings, we struggle right along with him, even as his struggle to maintain his place in the macho world of denial sometimes pales next to Carlos’ fierce pride, personal dignity, and unflinching self-love. But it is because of his deep affection for Carlos that Chulito ultimately faces his conflicts, faces his family and faces his friends with honesty and truth, and goes from being one of the boys to being a proud young man.



Beautifully peppered with colorful characters, rich dialogue, and raw sentimentality, one is drawn into Chulito’s world with a deep caring, as so much that happens is relatable and universal.



I was thoroughly touched by the skill, humanity and heart of Mr. Rice-Gonzalez’ writing and story-telling. With Chulito, my favorite book of 2011, he has created a character, a world, and a cause that are all worth cheering about. His message that love, particularly self-love, is always worth it, in deflecting the slings and arrows of lesser loving souls, is a powerful affirmation, told in a skillful and entertaining way. Bravo!







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