Muy Macho: Latino Men Confront Their Manhood

by Ray Gonzalez (Editor)

From the Homeboy to the Latin Lover, America cherishes a host of images about Latino men, yet all are based on the belief in macho men, virile and brash, full of violence and testosterone. With the gender correctness of the 90s challenging all men to embrace a new masculinity, how do Latino men of today--grounded in the "macho" tradition -- define this new identity?

From today's best-known, as well as emerging, Latino writers, poet and editor Ray Gonzalez has gathered personal essays written especially for Muy Macho on machismo and masculinity. The result is a rich and exciting collection of men talking about themselves, about other men, about their wives and lovers, about their fathers and their sons. In "Me Macho, You Jane," Dagoberto Gilb contrasts how he perceives himself with how others, particularly women, interpret his behavior, while in "Whores," Luis Alberto Urrea chronicles a rite of passage for many Latino men.  Most insightful and moving are essays like "The Puerto Rican Dummy and the Merciful Son" by poet Martin Espada, which portray the fragile love between fathers and sons and the process by which men learn from and teach each other how to be men.

Muy Macho contains photographs of all contributors, while Gonzalez illuminates the cultural context of Latino masculinity in his introduction. Emotionally honest and powerfully written, the voices of Muy Macho break the "cult of silence" between Latino men which prevents our culture from understanding the true nature of machismo.

Genres: Nonfiction, Latinx, Essays

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

The work of award-winning poet and editor Ray Gonzalez is inextricably linked to his Mexican ancestry and his American southwestern upbringing. Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Gonzalez has employed Chicano imagery in his poetry, oftentimes alluding to America's indigenous past, and particularly to the southwestern desert cultures. Gonzalez has published several collections of his poetry and has served as editor of several anthologies of writings, most of which emphasize the contributions of Chicano authors to the literary scene. These anthologies, including 1998's Touching the Fire: Fifteen Poets of Today's Latino Renaissance, provide a medium for many up-and-coming Latino writers to get their work to the public.

Reviews

[Jennifer Ehlinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up while waiting for my car’s oil change to be done back in 2018. I wasn't sure what to expect from it, though I could tell from the cover that it would be about gender and about what it means to be Latino, too. I could barely put it down. To this day in 2025, at almost 30, I still think about some of the things that I read in it.

I grew up in southeast Texas and spent my childhood and young adult years surrounded by men like the ones telling stories in this book. As a white person with little perspective and a pretty sheltered upbringing, I couldn't fully understand them nor put myself in their place, realistically. This book challenged me to do just that; to see each of these men in their full humanity, to learn something from each of their unique life experiences. I had barely embarked on "real" adult life when I found this book and I felt like each story was a veritable feast of what it meant to be fully grown, to battle with the struggles of masculinity, and to crave independence while wanting to remain connected to your culture. Especially when that culture receives so much ire and dehumanization here in the United States.

A great book, highly recommended.

[johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had purchased this book in 2019, and did not read it until now. I’m not too sure why I left it on my shelf for so long, but I’m glad I got around to it eventually. This collection of essays written by Latino men details their experiences being men and dealing with the machismo that oftentimes plagues our communities. Filled with personal anecdotes and rich descriptions of their home country, Ray Gonzalez gathers stories from people who are both at the receiving and giving end of machismo. There were definitely some essays which caught my attention while others not so much. Overall I enjoyed reading from multiple authors all in one book

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: some of these essays are better than others. I found this book to be a good collection of different perspectives on what it means to be "manly". The word macho evokes stereotypes about Hispanic caricatured men. These essays explore the complexities of the concept "macho". Some of the ideas expressed are positive, some are negative. Second disclaimer: some of these essays are very sexual especially the essay on the "phallus". Overall, it helped me to challenge and expand my concept of what "macho" means. Which is to say it achieved my objective for reading it.

[Aidan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a beautiful, compassionate read. Each one of the stories was glowing with wisdom and reflection that was so intimate. A lot of the mediations on manhood are universal, despite the obviously hispanic framing of the experiences. It is always good to hear the voices different than yours, and this personal collection is just the kind of voice that needs more ears.

[Niesha · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I didn't read the whole book. I skipped around and read parts of some of the short stories and sometimes the whole thing. Some of the attitudes of the writers offended me and sometimes I was just uncomfortable with the topic. But it did teach me to understand and appreciate a different perspective. What if some of the judgments I'm making aren't really right? What if I don't understand the behavior because I don't understand the causes leading to the behavior. Should I give this book a rating of 5 because I learned something valuable, or give it a rating of 2 so that people don't look at the high rating and read it based on that?

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It helps that all the contributors are good writers and the topic is personal for them and interesting for me. This book is one of the ones I want to talk about with everyone I know. Even though it leaves me unable to answer the subsequent question of "so what is machismo" other than to say it's different for everyone. And that's why it's an important collection to challenge an Anglo imposed stereotype.

[G Barahona · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an anthology and the writers are excellent. (I'd like to reread this book in order to write a better review of each author. As with all anthologies, some chapters were eye-opening, others were muddled.)

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent essays of gay Latino's coming to terms with their sexuality, masculinity and fathers.

[Lisa]

this book seems very interesting and was recommended to me by a friend of mine who read it. he liked it a lot and said i would, too. we shall see...

[Eileenplaceres · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good selection of stories from Latino men.

[Marilynn Shea]

Not an easy read, the trials and tribulations of these particular men growing up will stay with you a long time..

[Monica Alvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

happy I read this collection. gained insight and perspective from well worded men :)