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Chulito
Set against a vibrant South Bronx neighborhood and the queer youth culture of Manhattan's piers, Chulito is a coming-out, coming-of-age love story of a sexy, tough, hip hop–loving, young Latino man and the colorful characters in his vibrant neighborhood. Chulito, which means "cutie," is one of the boys, and everyone in his neighborhood has seen him grow up—the owner of the local bodega, the Lees from the Chinese restaurant, his buddies from the corner, and all of his neighbors and friends, including Carlos, who was Chulito's best friend until they hit puberty and people started calling Carlos a pato . . . a faggot.
Chulito rejects Carlos, buries his feelings for him, and becomes best friends with Kamikaze, a local drug dealer. When Carlos comes home from his first year away at college and they share a secret kiss, Chulito's worlds collide as his ideas of being a man, being macho, and being in love are challenged. Vivid, sexy, funny, heartbreaking, and fearless, this brilliant work is destined to become a queer classic.
Chulito rejects Carlos, buries his feelings for him, and becomes best friends with Kamikaze, a local drug dealer. When Carlos comes home from his first year away at college and they share a secret kiss, Chulito's worlds collide as his ideas of being a man, being macho, and being in love are challenged. Vivid, sexy, funny, heartbreaking, and fearless, this brilliant work is destined to become a queer classic.
280 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2010
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1413 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
January 18, 2022
More queer young adult fiction like this please! I so enjoyed this real and tender coming of age story of a gay Latino teen growing up in the Bronx. Charles Rice-Gonzalez captured the distinct vibe of the Bronx; I sensed his care for this community in the vibrant way he portrayed it. I loved reading about how our protagonist, Chulito, contends with so many forces – cultural norms surrounding masculinity, economic prospects, the physical safety of him and those he cares about – in relation to his sexual orientation. I feel like Chulito pays homage to this beautiful Latinx community instead of trying to appeal to white mainstream young adult fiction norms, though I think people of all races would benefit from reading the novel.
I also appreciated Chulito’s relationship with Carlos. Their romance felt sweet, with some angst that did not turn toxic. I’m so here for healthy romances and friendships between queer people of color, especially when toxic relationships are so often glorified in queer literature. I thought the foundation of Chulito and Carlos’s relationship made sense (e.g., their shared connection to Hunts Point) and I liked how Rice-Gonzalez layered some romantic tension throughout the story without sacrificing the overall healthiness of their love for one another. Rice-Gonzalez wrote the more sensual scenes in the novel well, too, capturing Chulito’s specific stage of development in relation to his sexuality.
While I found some of the phrasing awkward (e.g., “His auditory nerves twitched and his eyelids lifted slowly to reveal…”) which pulled me out of the narrative sometimes, I still enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to fans of queer fiction and realistic young adult fiction.
I also appreciated Chulito’s relationship with Carlos. Their romance felt sweet, with some angst that did not turn toxic. I’m so here for healthy romances and friendships between queer people of color, especially when toxic relationships are so often glorified in queer literature. I thought the foundation of Chulito and Carlos’s relationship made sense (e.g., their shared connection to Hunts Point) and I liked how Rice-Gonzalez layered some romantic tension throughout the story without sacrificing the overall healthiness of their love for one another. Rice-Gonzalez wrote the more sensual scenes in the novel well, too, capturing Chulito’s specific stage of development in relation to his sexuality.
While I found some of the phrasing awkward (e.g., “His auditory nerves twitched and his eyelids lifted slowly to reveal…”) which pulled me out of the narrative sometimes, I still enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to fans of queer fiction and realistic young adult fiction.
August 26, 2015
Irregular, irrelevant, irrational. Ridiculous, tedious, pretentious... I can carry on like this but I won't.
There were several Spanish words. And I will tell you a secret: I wasn't thrilled about this.
Now let's come back to the crux of the matter: if I have to sum the story up in a few words I would say this is a nonsense. There were moments I was interested in the story and in Chulito. Those scenes usually were the life of Hispanic people in one of the troubled suburbs in New York. But that didn't last long because suddenly a secondary character's life was told and I was just not interested in that. Even more, I wasn't aware they were talking about said person until the narrator had already told half their lives, and as fast as it has started it ends in the same fashion and the plot goes on with Chulito. I never grasped the utility of doing this. It gave me the impression of an unbalanced story, with no harmony at sight. Is the narrator's goal to confuse the reader? Because he achieved it.
Secondly, this is a contemporary book but this may well be sci-fi nonetheless. To be honest, the mood of the book never struck me as a futuristic one but it surely felt as one. Because Chulito not only travels through time but he beams up whenever he wants, too. One minute Chulito is in his neighborhood and the next one he is with Carlos getting into an empty building on the other side of the city (because New York is that small, guys).
Also, I could not really understand his social dynamics. He works for a gangster and that is cool, but his mother doesn't want him to behave badly so he doesn't say a thing because he loves her. I know, peer pressure and all of that, but I could never feel close to Chulito. I believe he is a superficial prick with no personality to stand for himself and for what he wants. Carlos has by far more character than him and that's why I didn't like him, either, because he is clever enough to realize Chulito has never deserved him and that he should invest his time in someone more worthwhile. Generally speaking, I didn't like the MCs.
Furthermore, there is a disgusting image I can't get rid of even after all this time since I finished the book. I will never forgive the author for this.
All in all, I can't recommend it.
There were several Spanish words. And I will tell you a secret: I wasn't thrilled about this.
Now let's come back to the crux of the matter: if I have to sum the story up in a few words I would say this is a nonsense. There were moments I was interested in the story and in Chulito. Those scenes usually were the life of Hispanic people in one of the troubled suburbs in New York. But that didn't last long because suddenly a secondary character's life was told and I was just not interested in that. Even more, I wasn't aware they were talking about said person until the narrator had already told half their lives, and as fast as it has started it ends in the same fashion and the plot goes on with Chulito. I never grasped the utility of doing this. It gave me the impression of an unbalanced story, with no harmony at sight. Is the narrator's goal to confuse the reader? Because he achieved it.
Secondly, this is a contemporary book but this may well be sci-fi nonetheless. To be honest, the mood of the book never struck me as a futuristic one but it surely felt as one. Because Chulito not only travels through time but he beams up whenever he wants, too. One minute Chulito is in his neighborhood and the next one he is with Carlos getting into an empty building on the other side of the city (because New York is that small, guys).
Also, I could not really understand his social dynamics. He works for a gangster and that is cool, but his mother doesn't want him to behave badly so he doesn't say a thing because he loves her. I know, peer pressure and all of that, but I could never feel close to Chulito. I believe he is a superficial prick with no personality to stand for himself and for what he wants. Carlos has by far more character than him and that's why I didn't like him, either, because he is clever enough to realize Chulito has never deserved him and that he should invest his time in someone more worthwhile. Generally speaking, I didn't like the MCs.
Furthermore, there is a disgusting image I can't get rid of even after all this time since I finished the book. I will never forgive the author for this.
All in all, I can't recommend it.
January 25, 2012
Chulito lingers in memory like a lover’s first kiss on the lips in the moonlight.
Reading Charles Rice-Gonzalez’s Chulito was a very personal experience for me. It’s set in the Bronx, where I also grew up: Hunts Point, Longwood Avenue, Parkchester—almost forgotten yet familiar. I could close my eyes and see the people and smell the odor peculiar to that part of the Bronx. Adlai Stevenson High School, was my high school and my eyes grew wide when he mentioned the University of Pennsylvania, which I also attended.
The familiarity of the setting was an unexpected surprise. I picked up this book because it fell outside the traditional white homo-normative narrative of popular gay fiction. Rice-Gonzalez gives voice to the previously voiceless―the inner city Hispanic, the drug underlord, the gay gangsta―and what a voice it is, solid and true.
The truth in his voice, the authenticity of his characters made me fall in love with this book. I, too, had a Chulito in my life. Reading about this Chulito, his struggle with his love for Carlos, his sexuality and his place in the ‘hood brought back memories and a pain I’d thought long forgotten. Every word, every scene rang true and I found myself nodding throughout. This book made me wish we’d both been stronger but gave me hope the current generation is.
As they fall deeper in love, Carlos and Chulito must decide whether to leave the world they know or stay within their world and change it from inside. The most powerful message is in the simple fact that whether they stay or leave, they have changed the ‘hood simply because they themselves have changed.
Seeing the book’s unlikely hero, the older gay Julio, change through Chulito’s eyes from an object of derision or worse an invisible person into someone determined, wise and strong was extremely gratifying. It is Julio who explains to the struggling Chulito: “…until the world changes, we have to fight for our love.” And fight they do. Just as it was the effeminate, the drag queens that launched Stonewall, here too it is the neighborhood queens who rise up and fight back when they’ve had enough. The powerless become powerful, the victims become warriors and a high-heeled shoe becomes a weapon of retribution; two queens show a neighborhood what it means to be a man.
This book is a must read for anyone struggling, or who has struggled, or who knows someone who is struggling to accept him/herself. Chulito’s struggle is our struggle. When Chulito comes out, he discovers he must come out over and over again—to the guys on the corner, to his mother, to Carlos, to himself each morning. His coming out rings true; there is no magic bullet, no one time that he comes out and it’s over. He must fight every day for his love.
I was pulling for Carlos and Chulito from the beginning, even when it looked like they weren’t strong enough to make it. My Chulito and I didn’t get our happily ever after but Chulito and Carlos do; that makes me infinitely happy.
Chulito is a wonderful, well-crafted book and Charles Rice-Gonzalez is a writer to watch. I expect great books from him.
Reading Charles Rice-Gonzalez’s Chulito was a very personal experience for me. It’s set in the Bronx, where I also grew up: Hunts Point, Longwood Avenue, Parkchester—almost forgotten yet familiar. I could close my eyes and see the people and smell the odor peculiar to that part of the Bronx. Adlai Stevenson High School, was my high school and my eyes grew wide when he mentioned the University of Pennsylvania, which I also attended.
The familiarity of the setting was an unexpected surprise. I picked up this book because it fell outside the traditional white homo-normative narrative of popular gay fiction. Rice-Gonzalez gives voice to the previously voiceless―the inner city Hispanic, the drug underlord, the gay gangsta―and what a voice it is, solid and true.
The truth in his voice, the authenticity of his characters made me fall in love with this book. I, too, had a Chulito in my life. Reading about this Chulito, his struggle with his love for Carlos, his sexuality and his place in the ‘hood brought back memories and a pain I’d thought long forgotten. Every word, every scene rang true and I found myself nodding throughout. This book made me wish we’d both been stronger but gave me hope the current generation is.
As they fall deeper in love, Carlos and Chulito must decide whether to leave the world they know or stay within their world and change it from inside. The most powerful message is in the simple fact that whether they stay or leave, they have changed the ‘hood simply because they themselves have changed.
Seeing the book’s unlikely hero, the older gay Julio, change through Chulito’s eyes from an object of derision or worse an invisible person into someone determined, wise and strong was extremely gratifying. It is Julio who explains to the struggling Chulito: “…until the world changes, we have to fight for our love.” And fight they do. Just as it was the effeminate, the drag queens that launched Stonewall, here too it is the neighborhood queens who rise up and fight back when they’ve had enough. The powerless become powerful, the victims become warriors and a high-heeled shoe becomes a weapon of retribution; two queens show a neighborhood what it means to be a man.
This book is a must read for anyone struggling, or who has struggled, or who knows someone who is struggling to accept him/herself. Chulito’s struggle is our struggle. When Chulito comes out, he discovers he must come out over and over again—to the guys on the corner, to his mother, to Carlos, to himself each morning. His coming out rings true; there is no magic bullet, no one time that he comes out and it’s over. He must fight every day for his love.
I was pulling for Carlos and Chulito from the beginning, even when it looked like they weren’t strong enough to make it. My Chulito and I didn’t get our happily ever after but Chulito and Carlos do; that makes me infinitely happy.
Chulito is a wonderful, well-crafted book and Charles Rice-Gonzalez is a writer to watch. I expect great books from him.
February 6, 2017
This is my book, so of course, I love it!
July 7, 2012
Well, I won't say I found this story beautiful, but I will definitely say there's beauty in it.
Sixteen-year-old Chulito, for starters. He's a cutie. On the first page of the book he's described as a Latino, hip hop version of Michelangelo's David.
Then the neighbourhood. Hunts Point, in the Bronx. The botegas. The Chinese/Korean restaurants. The auto glass guys. The corner where Chulito hangs out with the fellas. It was very well done and for me it was the best part in the story. I read in some other review that the hood and the fellas brought the TV show "The Wire" in mind, and it's true. I, too, thought of that show more than once, especially the first season, while reading Chulito. The teenage boys with the necessary and at times funny nicknames, high school dropouts, aspiring to make a "career" in drug trafficking, hooking up with local girls but avoiding getting serious with them, adept at fathering children but inept at taking care of them.
Then the secondary characters. Without them this story would have been nothing special. They were described so vividly, so aptly, they felt authentic, like real people. The most notable ones for me were Kamikaze and Brick. The current and the ex-criminal. Two characters with both good and evil in them, with as many vices as virtues, as many merits as flaws, with layers and layers of qualities, positive and negative, that made you want to both laugh and cry, slap them across the face and hug them tight, be friends with them and hate them at the same time.
Other characters I liked where Julio, the old gay travel agent, Puti, the neighbourhood transvestite, the mothers, Carmen and Maria.
I also enjoyed Chulito's dreams, one earlier and one later in the story, expressing the teenager's wishes and fears, the question of his sexuality, the dread of the realisation that he was different. I especially enjoyed the dream about macho having been outlawed, the macho-meter device the authorities used to screen men and Chulito's fear that he wouldn’t pass it.
Then the fight scene. Chulito standing up for his choice. Puti, for once abandoning her position at her window, limping outside and using a high-heeled shoe as a weapon. Julio brandishing his gun and exclaiming "enough" to everyone and no one in particular.
But. Yes, there's a but. More than one buts, really.
The dynamic between the major characters, Chulito and Carlos. Their emotions for each other, how and why they started, how and why they bloomed, didn't come across as powerfully as I expected.
Chulito, unable to overcome his dread of being labelled as gay, kept blowing Carlos off, treating him worse and worse. However, despite his shitty behaviour, despite being the younger and less smart one, despite his fears, he came across as the stronger of the two, the one calling the shots.
Carlos, although openly gay in a neighbourhood full of prejudices, discrimination and bigotry, although much more mature than his actual age, although probably smarter than any other seventeen-year-old in Hunts Point, and despite his determination not to let Chulito drag him back in the closet, came across as weak, insubstantial, plain, insipid. He lost the game the moment I started wondering what Chulito found in him (and it was pretty early in the story).
Now, the relationship between Chulito and Kamikaze? A whole different ball of wax. What Carlos and his interaction with Chulito lacked, Kamikaze and his own interaction with Chulito had in spades. Chulito and Kamikaze had hammered out a relationship of such intensity, intimacy, trust and love, whatever Chulito had built (or was building) with Carlos paled in comparison. Even their single common sexual experience felt hot times infinity compared to Chulito's encounters with Carlos. It was Kamikaze's wiry pube Chulito made sure stayed under his tongue for safekeeping, not Carlos'.
Then there were also the issues I had with the narrative. I'm not sure if it was omniscient or third (and single) person POV. Or both. Or neither. Eighty per cent of the time it felt like single person. It was through Chulito's eyes the story was told. Then, for no apparent reason, a couple of scenes with Carlos' POV appeared. And the strange thing was that they didn't offer anything extremely different, or new, or substantial.
In addition, the almost complete lack of past perfect tense confused me more times than I could count, having me wondering if what I was reading was happening in the present or the past and, eventually, taking me out of the story.
Lastly, finishing the book I had the strong impression that the author all but abandoned his story in the last twenty per cent or so. That was where the story deflated instead of taking off.
I expected much more to happen in the neighbourhood after the fight scene. And I expected the relationship between Chulito and Carlos to feel fortified not compromised, with one of them, Carlos, leaving, going back to college, to a life familiar and an environment he knew how to handle, and the other, Chulito, staying back, alone, altered, redefined, to a life he didn't have the time to adapt to, having to learn how to work a legit job, to be someone else, and probably fight a war of survival no one, not even Kamikaze, seemed to know how would evolve.
Even though the story ended on a hopeful tone, I felt like Chulito hadn't realized what was coming, and like what was coming wasn't a walk in the park.
So, this book didn't speak to me on the profound level it did to other people. And it wasn't because of the Latino/Ghetto theme. If anything, that was a plus. Mostly, it was the imbalance of the flat, shallow characterization where it mattered most and the three-dimensional, full-blown characters where it didn't.
This story could have survived without such a realistic Brick, perhaps even without such an amazing Kamikaze. But, unfortunately, it didn't survive without a mind-blowing Carlos.
But at least it had Brick and it had Kamikaze and, most of all, it had Chulito, the sun around which everyone else in the book revolved. This was Chulito's story and as such I can say it was worth the time I spent reading it and writing this review.
Sixteen-year-old Chulito, for starters. He's a cutie. On the first page of the book he's described as a Latino, hip hop version of Michelangelo's David.
Then the neighbourhood. Hunts Point, in the Bronx. The botegas. The Chinese/Korean restaurants. The auto glass guys. The corner where Chulito hangs out with the fellas. It was very well done and for me it was the best part in the story. I read in some other review that the hood and the fellas brought the TV show "The Wire" in mind, and it's true. I, too, thought of that show more than once, especially the first season, while reading Chulito. The teenage boys with the necessary and at times funny nicknames, high school dropouts, aspiring to make a "career" in drug trafficking, hooking up with local girls but avoiding getting serious with them, adept at fathering children but inept at taking care of them.
Then the secondary characters. Without them this story would have been nothing special. They were described so vividly, so aptly, they felt authentic, like real people. The most notable ones for me were Kamikaze and Brick. The current and the ex-criminal. Two characters with both good and evil in them, with as many vices as virtues, as many merits as flaws, with layers and layers of qualities, positive and negative, that made you want to both laugh and cry, slap them across the face and hug them tight, be friends with them and hate them at the same time.
Other characters I liked where Julio, the old gay travel agent, Puti, the neighbourhood transvestite, the mothers, Carmen and Maria.
I also enjoyed Chulito's dreams, one earlier and one later in the story, expressing the teenager's wishes and fears, the question of his sexuality, the dread of the realisation that he was different. I especially enjoyed the dream about macho having been outlawed, the macho-meter device the authorities used to screen men and Chulito's fear that he wouldn’t pass it.
Then the fight scene. Chulito standing up for his choice. Puti, for once abandoning her position at her window, limping outside and using a high-heeled shoe as a weapon. Julio brandishing his gun and exclaiming "enough" to everyone and no one in particular.
But. Yes, there's a but. More than one buts, really.
The dynamic between the major characters, Chulito and Carlos. Their emotions for each other, how and why they started, how and why they bloomed, didn't come across as powerfully as I expected.
Chulito, unable to overcome his dread of being labelled as gay, kept blowing Carlos off, treating him worse and worse. However, despite his shitty behaviour, despite being the younger and less smart one, despite his fears, he came across as the stronger of the two, the one calling the shots.
Carlos, although openly gay in a neighbourhood full of prejudices, discrimination and bigotry, although much more mature than his actual age, although probably smarter than any other seventeen-year-old in Hunts Point, and despite his determination not to let Chulito drag him back in the closet, came across as weak, insubstantial, plain, insipid. He lost the game the moment I started wondering what Chulito found in him (and it was pretty early in the story).
Now, the relationship between Chulito and Kamikaze? A whole different ball of wax. What Carlos and his interaction with Chulito lacked, Kamikaze and his own interaction with Chulito had in spades. Chulito and Kamikaze had hammered out a relationship of such intensity, intimacy, trust and love, whatever Chulito had built (or was building) with Carlos paled in comparison. Even their single common sexual experience felt hot times infinity compared to Chulito's encounters with Carlos. It was Kamikaze's wiry pube Chulito made sure stayed under his tongue for safekeeping, not Carlos'.
Then there were also the issues I had with the narrative. I'm not sure if it was omniscient or third (and single) person POV. Or both. Or neither. Eighty per cent of the time it felt like single person. It was through Chulito's eyes the story was told. Then, for no apparent reason, a couple of scenes with Carlos' POV appeared. And the strange thing was that they didn't offer anything extremely different, or new, or substantial.
In addition, the almost complete lack of past perfect tense confused me more times than I could count, having me wondering if what I was reading was happening in the present or the past and, eventually, taking me out of the story.
Lastly, finishing the book I had the strong impression that the author all but abandoned his story in the last twenty per cent or so. That was where the story deflated instead of taking off.
I expected much more to happen in the neighbourhood after the fight scene. And I expected the relationship between Chulito and Carlos to feel fortified not compromised, with one of them, Carlos, leaving, going back to college, to a life familiar and an environment he knew how to handle, and the other, Chulito, staying back, alone, altered, redefined, to a life he didn't have the time to adapt to, having to learn how to work a legit job, to be someone else, and probably fight a war of survival no one, not even Kamikaze, seemed to know how would evolve.
Even though the story ended on a hopeful tone, I felt like Chulito hadn't realized what was coming, and like what was coming wasn't a walk in the park.
So, this book didn't speak to me on the profound level it did to other people. And it wasn't because of the Latino/Ghetto theme. If anything, that was a plus. Mostly, it was the imbalance of the flat, shallow characterization where it mattered most and the three-dimensional, full-blown characters where it didn't.
This story could have survived without such a realistic Brick, perhaps even without such an amazing Kamikaze. But, unfortunately, it didn't survive without a mind-blowing Carlos.
But at least it had Brick and it had Kamikaze and, most of all, it had Chulito, the sun around which everyone else in the book revolved. This was Chulito's story and as such I can say it was worth the time I spent reading it and writing this review.
March 21, 2012
This feels like a play, West Side Story, Hair, or Rent. The characters are iconic. When I first saw this book being read by a friend, I was wary of it. The setting and ethnicity of the story can easily be made into a farce by someone who hasn't experienced it. And that hurts, because I've been there and it's no joke. There's also the usual murder of our native language, Spanish, when words and phrases just yank me out of the story by how horribly mangled they are.
None of that happened here. Mr. Rice-Gonzalez lived it, just like I did. He belonged to that "nabe", there's just no way to fake it.
Several important topics are addressed in this book, all layered into the narrative and perfectly handled. It's a romance, yes, Chulito and Carlos had me rooting for their HEA from page 1. But it's also a testament to the people who make up the neighborhoods, the influences - local and imported - that help shape their lives and future.
Carmen, the hard-working mother, with a son who dropped out of high school, looking the other way but knowing he's working with the local drug dealer. All because she'd rather not be alone, and she knows he will leave if she pushes him. There's no daddy around to "impose the law."
Brick, the ex-drug dealer/model, who paid dearly to get out and is still trying to learn to live a life worthy of the daughter he loves with all his heart.
Martha, the no-nonsense "liberated" woman, going to college, trying to make a future for herself. But also standing by her friends and trying to help them overcome the obstacles they and their environment have imposed.
Julio, the gay, older man who owns the travel agency. He and Puti, the washed-up, drug-addicted local drag queen end up showing the whole block what it truly means to be a man. By saying "enough", by fighting for your rights, but not taking any shit.
Carlos, having the guts to come out and live out. To leave the neighborhood and go to college. To dream of more and go out to get it. To believe in Chulito and give him the chance to be himself and reach for their HEA.
Finally, Chulito, the gangsta, with the clothes and the bling and the Tims, bopping along to the tune played by everyone's expectations. Until he realized what true love is, how it feels, and that it's worth losing what you know to gamble on earning something unknown but infinitely better.
This is a book that should be read in every schoolroom in the US, but particularly in all the cities with a high concentration of latinos. Because no matter where we settle, our ghettos tend to be the same.
Read it, feel it, hear the drums, they beat in our blood...
None of that happened here. Mr. Rice-Gonzalez lived it, just like I did. He belonged to that "nabe", there's just no way to fake it.
Several important topics are addressed in this book, all layered into the narrative and perfectly handled. It's a romance, yes, Chulito and Carlos had me rooting for their HEA from page 1. But it's also a testament to the people who make up the neighborhoods, the influences - local and imported - that help shape their lives and future.
Carmen, the hard-working mother, with a son who dropped out of high school, looking the other way but knowing he's working with the local drug dealer. All because she'd rather not be alone, and she knows he will leave if she pushes him. There's no daddy around to "impose the law."
Brick, the ex-drug dealer/model, who paid dearly to get out and is still trying to learn to live a life worthy of the daughter he loves with all his heart.
Martha, the no-nonsense "liberated" woman, going to college, trying to make a future for herself. But also standing by her friends and trying to help them overcome the obstacles they and their environment have imposed.
Julio, the gay, older man who owns the travel agency. He and Puti, the washed-up, drug-addicted local drag queen end up showing the whole block what it truly means to be a man. By saying "enough", by fighting for your rights, but not taking any shit.
Carlos, having the guts to come out and live out. To leave the neighborhood and go to college. To dream of more and go out to get it. To believe in Chulito and give him the chance to be himself and reach for their HEA.
Finally, Chulito, the gangsta, with the clothes and the bling and the Tims, bopping along to the tune played by everyone's expectations. Until he realized what true love is, how it feels, and that it's worth losing what you know to gamble on earning something unknown but infinitely better.
This is a book that should be read in every schoolroom in the US, but particularly in all the cities with a high concentration of latinos. Because no matter where we settle, our ghettos tend to be the same.
Read it, feel it, hear the drums, they beat in our blood...
December 9, 2015
This shit is dope.
Wow, what an amazing read. Chulito is a sweet-faced, thugged-out sixteen year old Latino, living in the Bronx. He's dropped out of school and works for his friend Kamikazee selling drugs. Chulito's best friend Carlos shocks the neighborhood when he comes out as gay, and Chulito is torn. He wants to be loyal to his friend, but he has to protect his reputation. To complicate matters, Chulito is struggling with his own sexual orientation, and though he tries to deny his attraction to Carlos, he can't seem to stop himself from falling...and he falls hard.
In the beginning, Carlos is willing to keep things on the down low. But as their relationship progresses, Carlos becomes impatient. He's hurt by the way Chulito pushes him away, denies their relationship, every time anyone from the neighborhood is close enough to see them together.
This story was incredibly authentic, written in street vernacular and laced with hip-hop culture. The dialect, setting, interpersonal relationships, and atmosphere of the barrio all rang true, and the book had me flying through the pages, utterly engrossed.
Not only was the plot exciting, but the emotional depth of the story was absolutely phenomenal. Indescribable, actually. I laughed throughout and sometimes cried. I especially loved the big climactic fight scene, when Chulito finally came out and stood tall and proud for who he was. Although emotionally told, it was also funny in parts. For example, one of the secondary gay characters, Lee, was intent upon going out in the street to help his friends fight, but his father locked the doors of their restaurant. So Lee tried crawling through the takeout window and got his head stuck. Believe me, the way the author told it was hilarious.
The relationship Carlos and Chulito shared was so beautiful, and the portrayal was picture perfect. Contrary to what some other Good Reads readers have written, the story did not contain overly explicit sex. In fact, there are only two intimate scenes in the book. One occurred in flashback, Chulito's first experience, and it was with his friend Kamikazee and a hooker they'd hired. Sort of his coming of age. The second was a beautiful love scene with Chulito and Carlos.
The story has a fantastic message and is incredibly well written. By way of criticism, I'd have to say that it annoyed me a bit that halfway through the story, the author began to shift point of view within scenes. There were also quite a few typos, like "care" instead of "car" and "loose" instead of "lose".
Overall, I loved the story and highly recommend it. It's going on my recommended reading list on my website.
Wow, what an amazing read. Chulito is a sweet-faced, thugged-out sixteen year old Latino, living in the Bronx. He's dropped out of school and works for his friend Kamikazee selling drugs. Chulito's best friend Carlos shocks the neighborhood when he comes out as gay, and Chulito is torn. He wants to be loyal to his friend, but he has to protect his reputation. To complicate matters, Chulito is struggling with his own sexual orientation, and though he tries to deny his attraction to Carlos, he can't seem to stop himself from falling...and he falls hard.
In the beginning, Carlos is willing to keep things on the down low. But as their relationship progresses, Carlos becomes impatient. He's hurt by the way Chulito pushes him away, denies their relationship, every time anyone from the neighborhood is close enough to see them together.
This story was incredibly authentic, written in street vernacular and laced with hip-hop culture. The dialect, setting, interpersonal relationships, and atmosphere of the barrio all rang true, and the book had me flying through the pages, utterly engrossed.
Not only was the plot exciting, but the emotional depth of the story was absolutely phenomenal. Indescribable, actually. I laughed throughout and sometimes cried. I especially loved the big climactic fight scene, when Chulito finally came out and stood tall and proud for who he was. Although emotionally told, it was also funny in parts. For example, one of the secondary gay characters, Lee, was intent upon going out in the street to help his friends fight, but his father locked the doors of their restaurant. So Lee tried crawling through the takeout window and got his head stuck. Believe me, the way the author told it was hilarious.
The relationship Carlos and Chulito shared was so beautiful, and the portrayal was picture perfect. Contrary to what some other Good Reads readers have written, the story did not contain overly explicit sex. In fact, there are only two intimate scenes in the book. One occurred in flashback, Chulito's first experience, and it was with his friend Kamikazee and a hooker they'd hired. Sort of his coming of age. The second was a beautiful love scene with Chulito and Carlos.
The story has a fantastic message and is incredibly well written. By way of criticism, I'd have to say that it annoyed me a bit that halfway through the story, the author began to shift point of view within scenes. There were also quite a few typos, like "care" instead of "car" and "loose" instead of "lose".
Overall, I loved the story and highly recommend it. It's going on my recommended reading list on my website.
March 12, 2012
This is in many ways an amazing book, with characters who are not your typical M/M romance guys. I'm not qualified to judge their authenticity, but they and their setting rang completely true to me. The MC, Chulito, seems older than his supposed age, but as the song says, "you grow up quick when you grow up poor." He is a fascinating and conflicted guy, trying to reconcile the code of the streets on which he lives, and the anti-gay opinions of his group of friends, with his growing awareness that he is falling in love with another boy. You get a few scenes from POV's other than Chulito's later in the narrative, and although it jarred me out of the story a little the first time it happened, I actually liked the small tastes of other characters' viewpoints. One hectic action scene was a bit truncated in both emotion and description of the action, but overall this book was well written and engrossing. I was sorry to have it end. I would be delighted to read a sequel.
The big problem I had with this story was the explicitness of the sex, especially in the first sex scene, which was M/M/F. I have no prejudice against any menage combination; I love 'em all when they are written in a way that is appropriate to the story. In this case the actual MMF trio was vital to the plot, to Chulito's relationship with Kamikaze, the drug dealer he works for and is like a protégé to, and to his own realization that he is far more interested in the other man than the woman in the bed. But the explicitness to my mind was a poor choice. First because in this scene Chulito was only 15. Although not entirely erotic, it was still TMI for me to be comfortable with when one of the actors is under age. Secondly because I really, REALLY want to be able to recommend this book to YA readers and I can't. This is 18+ material. And it is a shame.
This is a book that should be able to be in libraries and schools. There are young guys out there navigating the macho culture, and other people who know and care about them, for whom this book would be a great read. If the author put out a revised YA version (which in my mind would lose nothing of importance to the story) I would recommend this book to everyone with wholehearted enthusiasm. As it stands, this is a great, unusual, and ultimately sweet read for adults only.
The big problem I had with this story was the explicitness of the sex, especially in the first sex scene, which was M/M/F. I have no prejudice against any menage combination; I love 'em all when they are written in a way that is appropriate to the story. In this case the actual MMF trio was vital to the plot, to Chulito's relationship with Kamikaze, the drug dealer he works for and is like a protégé to, and to his own realization that he is far more interested in the other man than the woman in the bed. But the explicitness to my mind was a poor choice. First because in this scene Chulito was only 15. Although not entirely erotic, it was still TMI for me to be comfortable with when one of the actors is under age. Secondly because I really, REALLY want to be able to recommend this book to YA readers and I can't. This is 18+ material. And it is a shame.
This is a book that should be able to be in libraries and schools. There are young guys out there navigating the macho culture, and other people who know and care about them, for whom this book would be a great read. If the author put out a revised YA version (which in my mind would lose nothing of importance to the story) I would recommend this book to everyone with wholehearted enthusiasm. As it stands, this is a great, unusual, and ultimately sweet read for adults only.
March 28, 2012
Excellent! This is the Bronx I grew up in. I know it may seem that in this hood... they were always at the brink of violence and maybe it seems like a tragic horrible place to grow up. It wasn't for me and I completely understand why Chulito and Carlos have this love-hate relationship with the neighborhood. It's home but you wanna get out, it's smells good and it stinks, your family and childhood friends are there but so are you enemies and the knuckleheads. I think setting this love story with this hood as the background is daring and probably a lot closer to reality then most people think about. I loved it! The love between the two characters is honest, gritty, real and simple.
On a personal note:
I went to the Poe Cottage elementary schools and walked by the park and cottage every day for 10 years. I live out of state now but......Da Bronx 4evas!
On a personal note:
I went to the Poe Cottage elementary schools and walked by the park and cottage every day for 10 years. I live out of state now but......Da Bronx 4evas!
March 3, 2017
DNF at 70%. Sorry. Just couldn't get into it and I really tried considering that I was already bored out of my mind at like 10%. But some reviewers stated that this book just kept getting better and better...
Well, I certainly get where people are coming from when saying that this story felt real and managed to capture the Bronx and thug life quite well. While everything I know about ghetto, Bronx and gang life comes out of the Hollywood machinerie -and thus, I can't claim that the author actually did a realistic job here - I gotta admit that it, at least, felt real (to me).
But oh my god. I really couldn't connect to any of the characters, couldn't feel those "niggas" (this is a quote, the n-word appears quite frequently in this lovely book) at all. And while I'm quite aware that lots of people talk and act all "gangsta" and "yo, whassup nigga?" I can't relate to that at all and can't help but roll my eyes at wannabe macho behaviour like that.
Hiphop, rap, machos, gangstas... This just isn't my world.
This book wasn't my world.
Well, I certainly get where people are coming from when saying that this story felt real and managed to capture the Bronx and thug life quite well. While everything I know about ghetto, Bronx and gang life comes out of the Hollywood machinerie -and thus, I can't claim that the author actually did a realistic job here - I gotta admit that it, at least, felt real (to me).
But oh my god. I really couldn't connect to any of the characters, couldn't feel those "niggas" (this is a quote, the n-word appears quite frequently in this lovely book) at all. And while I'm quite aware that lots of people talk and act all "gangsta" and "yo, whassup nigga?" I can't relate to that at all and can't help but roll my eyes at wannabe macho behaviour like that.
Hiphop, rap, machos, gangstas... This just isn't my world.
This book wasn't my world.
Read
February 14, 2013I am not rating this book. I picked it up as YA. But putting it down, I don't know if it should be ya. Some of the scenes were not YA. Especially the first sex scene. To be honest I was not expecting that. I loved this book, but I hated it also. So leaving it unrated seems to be the only way I can accept the book.
I would recommend the book. But it all depends on your personal taste and what you can and cannot handle.
I would recommend the book. But it all depends on your personal taste and what you can and cannot handle.
November 8, 2013
Phenomenal book! Very bright and three-dimensional characters full of life and strength. Chulito is a very charming guy. The book is very captivating and addictive! I savored reading every page!
March 27, 2022
I had a little trouble getting into it at first, but when I finally did I could not put it down! I read nearly 200 pages in one sitting. The descriptions of the neighborhoods in New York and the loving depiction of queer and Latino culture was beautiful. It was a little spicier than I expected for YA but it was an honest, realistic portrayal of a teenager coming of age. Would recommend to older students.
August 12, 2012
What an incredible story! Everything felt so real. The locale, food, clothes, talk, people, music and the love story. This is really the kind of love story I want to read. I read so many MM books that are pretty much fairy tales in that the lives of the MC's are so easy and Chulito and Carlos have to live with the grit and grime of real life. This covered all of life, the pain, the joy, the mundane, the fear...it was a slice of real life. There were a few scenes that were kind of shocking to a CA white gay boy yet everything felt perfect for the plot and pace of the book. Not much sex and it really didn't need it. What was there worked perfectly for the story. Reaching into my MM side, I do wish for a sequel or maybe just a peek into their lives 10 years from now?
This would make a great West Side Story musical or movie.
Brilliant book!
This would make a great West Side Story musical or movie.
Brilliant book!
July 25, 2014
Charles Rice-González took me into the world of the South Bronx, where 16 year old Chulito is living the rules of his neighborhood culture. Chulito is macho, in the drug game, and hangs with the fellas. He has also been harboring feelings for his long-time friend, Carlos, but being gay in his neighborhood means being an outcast and a target.
The setting is richly vivid and the characters complex and authentic. Chulito in some ways acts beyond his age because of his circumstances, but in others he’s a typical teenager struggling with the pressures of who he is and who he wants to be.
Although it is a love story, it’s also a story about not letting where you are from define you and having the bravery to stand up against prejudice.
The setting is richly vivid and the characters complex and authentic. Chulito in some ways acts beyond his age because of his circumstances, but in others he’s a typical teenager struggling with the pressures of who he is and who he wants to be.
Although it is a love story, it’s also a story about not letting where you are from define you and having the bravery to stand up against prejudice.
January 9, 2015
DNF page 60
One star for mentioning my favorite foods....mofongo, pernil, arroz con gandules........the rest sucked.
One star for mentioning my favorite foods....mofongo, pernil, arroz con gandules........the rest sucked.
December 31, 2021
overuse of the n-word, there wasn’t a need for it to be used by non-black characters.
August 24, 2023
"But for us, love is tough because at every turn somebody is gonna try to shut your love down. So until the world changes, we gotta fight for our love."
Chulito by Charles Rice Gonzalez is a queer, coming of age Nuyorican story set in the Bronx. Chulito is the tough, pretty boy hanging out with the wrong crowd and Carlos is the smart, openly gay boy trying to get away from the hood through college. They both know their childhood friendship has grown into an undeniable attraction but only one is truly unafraid to defy societal standards.
Rice Gonzalez brings the Bronx to life with an array of larger than life neighborhood characters who all have something to say about street life, poverty, masculinity, queerness, sex, feminism and parenthood. Chulito's coming of age journey was compelling because he's growing up fatherless and the only role models he has are fueling toxic masculinity, homophobia, violence and repeating the same vicious cycles from their own families. Chulito grapples with his sexuality and disentangling it from the mixed messages he receives about what it means to be macho. In his neighborhood, the LGBTQIA community is met violence, ignorance and exclusion. Chulito also lives with the fear of repurcussion if anyone finds out he's gay as he's also trying to leave the street life behind him. Carlos, his best friend and love interest, lives his life unapologetically & owns his sexuality even if met by hate.
Rice Gonzalez offers such a rich, layered narrative with plenty of commentary on what it means to be a man, a Nuyorican hip hop head, being gay & trying to navigate coming out safely while trying to find support in a community riddled with so many problems of its own. The author highlights the strength of women, shows the spectrum of queerness & masculinity, the power of community to either spread hate or enact change, and also takes a look at how poverty shapes the types of choices people are forced to make. The young romance is sweet, honest, realistic & full of angst. The author also gives space to the process of coming out & illuminates how it is not an easy process. For some it may never happen at all because nothing happens in a vacuum.
What also makes this one such a beautiful story is what Rice Gonzalez has to say about how poor communities care for each other, navigate difficult conversations and deal with the bad apples, who are also flawed and human and come with lots of poor messaging from history with racism, colonialism, patriarchy, misogyny and homophobia. Rice Gonzalez gave names to the people from The Bronx and he showed them in their full humanity and potential. He gave us some back stories that peeled back some layers of tough exteriors and he planted seeds of hope for change in the future. Overall, this story kept me engaged, felt like hime due to the interplay with language, hip hop and salsa music and Puerto Rican culture. He created characters that reminded me of people I know and made me nostalgic about places and events that have so much historical value. If you love mature coming of age stories about young, queer love with the backdrop of NYC life during the golden age of hip hop, then do yourself a favor and add this one to your personal library. I'm brimming with excitement waiting on the next stories to be published about this lively and vibrant Bronx neighborhood that Rice Gonzalez brought to life.
Chulito by Charles Rice Gonzalez is a queer, coming of age Nuyorican story set in the Bronx. Chulito is the tough, pretty boy hanging out with the wrong crowd and Carlos is the smart, openly gay boy trying to get away from the hood through college. They both know their childhood friendship has grown into an undeniable attraction but only one is truly unafraid to defy societal standards.
Rice Gonzalez brings the Bronx to life with an array of larger than life neighborhood characters who all have something to say about street life, poverty, masculinity, queerness, sex, feminism and parenthood. Chulito's coming of age journey was compelling because he's growing up fatherless and the only role models he has are fueling toxic masculinity, homophobia, violence and repeating the same vicious cycles from their own families. Chulito grapples with his sexuality and disentangling it from the mixed messages he receives about what it means to be macho. In his neighborhood, the LGBTQIA community is met violence, ignorance and exclusion. Chulito also lives with the fear of repurcussion if anyone finds out he's gay as he's also trying to leave the street life behind him. Carlos, his best friend and love interest, lives his life unapologetically & owns his sexuality even if met by hate.
Rice Gonzalez offers such a rich, layered narrative with plenty of commentary on what it means to be a man, a Nuyorican hip hop head, being gay & trying to navigate coming out safely while trying to find support in a community riddled with so many problems of its own. The author highlights the strength of women, shows the spectrum of queerness & masculinity, the power of community to either spread hate or enact change, and also takes a look at how poverty shapes the types of choices people are forced to make. The young romance is sweet, honest, realistic & full of angst. The author also gives space to the process of coming out & illuminates how it is not an easy process. For some it may never happen at all because nothing happens in a vacuum.
What also makes this one such a beautiful story is what Rice Gonzalez has to say about how poor communities care for each other, navigate difficult conversations and deal with the bad apples, who are also flawed and human and come with lots of poor messaging from history with racism, colonialism, patriarchy, misogyny and homophobia. Rice Gonzalez gave names to the people from The Bronx and he showed them in their full humanity and potential. He gave us some back stories that peeled back some layers of tough exteriors and he planted seeds of hope for change in the future. Overall, this story kept me engaged, felt like hime due to the interplay with language, hip hop and salsa music and Puerto Rican culture. He created characters that reminded me of people I know and made me nostalgic about places and events that have so much historical value. If you love mature coming of age stories about young, queer love with the backdrop of NYC life during the golden age of hip hop, then do yourself a favor and add this one to your personal library. I'm brimming with excitement waiting on the next stories to be published about this lively and vibrant Bronx neighborhood that Rice Gonzalez brought to life.
January 20, 2012
I was able to finish reading one book while surrounded by stressful family situations, mainly because that book just wouldn't let me go even through all my worries and stress. That says something about a book, yes? Of course, this is by no means a perfect book, plot-wise there are a couple of questions that are not answered by the end, but this is a minimal complaint from me compared to what it offered.
That book is Chulito by Charles Rice-González. This author co-edited and included a story in the From Macho to Mariposa: New Gay Latino Fiction anthology that I also reviewed. However, Chulito is not a pure fiction read, although the excellent writing and the in-depth exploration of characters and their motivations certainly places it in that category. Chulito takes center stage in this story as he comes to terms with his sexuality and his developing romance with childhood friend Carlos. So there's a coming-out story with a romance between two young adults -- sixteen and seventeen years of age -- with sexual content and mild violence included. How the author goes about telling his story? Well, that's what this is all about.
There are quite a few aspects of the book that grabbed me from the beginning. Rice-González develops the romance and especially Chulito's slow journey toward coming to terms with his sexuality by using the South Bronx as the backdrop for his story, so his characters are for the most part Puerto Rican kids from a Latino neighborhood. First, he really captures the neighborhood's atmosphere -- both the sense of belonging and the claustrophobia felt by the residents of Hunt's Point. Second, his focus and grasp of Latino macho culture is excellent. The author depicts how the extreme macho Latino's attitude manifests itself toward women. However where the author really succeeds is in his main focus which is in showing how the gay sub-culture is viewed and the effects that macho attitude has on gay Latinos.
Rice-González explores this macho culture from the inside out by making Chulito a Latino "thug in the making," one who has to make a decision between being what it's expected of him in front of his "boys," or being true to himself and his very confusing feelings for his childhood friend Carlos. As you can well imagine, this is not an easy decision for Chulito to make, not when he has been brought up to believe that being a "pato" means rejection and possible violence from the very people that mean so much to him.
Carlos represents the smart, educated Latino young man who left the neighborhood to go to college. He's also gay, out, proud and ready to leave the neighborhood, except that he himself is pulled back not only because his mother and Chulito live there, but also because of that sense of belonging. Carlos is an admirable character in this story, not only because he is 'out' in the neighborhood and doesn't care what anyone thinks of him, but because he refuses to compromise his beliefs. Interestingly enough, to a certain degree even Carlos can't help but be attracted to and admire the beauty of Latino men. The macho attitude is a big turn-on for him, Chulito's in particular.
There's a section in the book where Chulito is dreaming and Rice-González conducts an in-depth exploration of the different degrees on the "macho" scale. This is also where the author begins to bring some balance to the equation.
Then they had a quote from the woman who invented the Macho Meter:
There are female characters included in the story and Rice-González mixes it up by portraying sad, dysfunctional and healthy relationships between men and women to round up this story. There are also examples of different types of males used across the board. From the drug dealer Kamikaze and the would-be macho thugs hanging on the corner, to ex-convicts and the hard working men who populate the neighborhood.
Also key to this story are the gay characters that live in the neighborhood: Julio or La Julia owns the local travel agency and serves as an example and mentor to the younger men. Puti is the sad and lonely local drag queen. Lee from the Chinese restaurant, and one of the best characters in this story, Brick. Brick is a tough ex-drug dealer who got out of the game and whose best friend is Julio. He's flawed with positive and negative sides to his character, but serves as a great example of the Latino uber macho whose masculinity is not threatened by his close friendship with a gay man. Overall there's a wonderful mixture of characters.
Rice-González takes his time developing this story. Chulito's background, feelings, the challenges he faces on a daily basis are all explored in-depth. His life in the neighborhood as a runner for Kamikaze, the local drug dealer and Chulito's mentor. The relationship he has with his "boys" from the neighborhood. The deep love he shares with his mother Carmen and the resentment and indifference he feels for his dead father. Coming to terms with his sexuality is not an easy step or a ride in the park, and his romance with Carlos is riddled with deep disappointments, betrayal, tenderness, passion, yearning (like you wouldn't believe), angst, and deep love.
Ever since I read From Macho to Mariposa I've been looking for other books to read by gay Latino writers and well... I thought this book might be the perfect beginning. It was. Chulito is a great mixture of gay fiction and romance with a focus on the gay Latino experience. I highly enjoyed Charles Rice-González's writing style and his down to earth, no holds barred depiction of characters, culture, sub-culture, circumstances and setting in Chulito. I will keep my eye on this writer, hopefully there will be more books like this one from him in the future.
Original review at Impressions of a Reader
That book is Chulito by Charles Rice-González. This author co-edited and included a story in the From Macho to Mariposa: New Gay Latino Fiction anthology that I also reviewed. However, Chulito is not a pure fiction read, although the excellent writing and the in-depth exploration of characters and their motivations certainly places it in that category. Chulito takes center stage in this story as he comes to terms with his sexuality and his developing romance with childhood friend Carlos. So there's a coming-out story with a romance between two young adults -- sixteen and seventeen years of age -- with sexual content and mild violence included. How the author goes about telling his story? Well, that's what this is all about.
There are quite a few aspects of the book that grabbed me from the beginning. Rice-González develops the romance and especially Chulito's slow journey toward coming to terms with his sexuality by using the South Bronx as the backdrop for his story, so his characters are for the most part Puerto Rican kids from a Latino neighborhood. First, he really captures the neighborhood's atmosphere -- both the sense of belonging and the claustrophobia felt by the residents of Hunt's Point. Second, his focus and grasp of Latino macho culture is excellent. The author depicts how the extreme macho Latino's attitude manifests itself toward women. However where the author really succeeds is in his main focus which is in showing how the gay sub-culture is viewed and the effects that macho attitude has on gay Latinos.
Rice-González explores this macho culture from the inside out by making Chulito a Latino "thug in the making," one who has to make a decision between being what it's expected of him in front of his "boys," or being true to himself and his very confusing feelings for his childhood friend Carlos. As you can well imagine, this is not an easy decision for Chulito to make, not when he has been brought up to believe that being a "pato" means rejection and possible violence from the very people that mean so much to him.
Carlos represents the smart, educated Latino young man who left the neighborhood to go to college. He's also gay, out, proud and ready to leave the neighborhood, except that he himself is pulled back not only because his mother and Chulito live there, but also because of that sense of belonging. Carlos is an admirable character in this story, not only because he is 'out' in the neighborhood and doesn't care what anyone thinks of him, but because he refuses to compromise his beliefs. Interestingly enough, to a certain degree even Carlos can't help but be attracted to and admire the beauty of Latino men. The macho attitude is a big turn-on for him, Chulito's in particular.
There's a section in the book where Chulito is dreaming and Rice-González conducts an in-depth exploration of the different degrees on the "macho" scale. This is also where the author begins to bring some balance to the equation.
Then they had a quote from the woman who invented the Macho Meter:
"All men have macho in them. Even gay ones, but there are varying degrees, and while most forms of macho are lethal to the progression of the world and society, there are some acceptable levels, very low levels, that can sometimes be useful."
There are female characters included in the story and Rice-González mixes it up by portraying sad, dysfunctional and healthy relationships between men and women to round up this story. There are also examples of different types of males used across the board. From the drug dealer Kamikaze and the would-be macho thugs hanging on the corner, to ex-convicts and the hard working men who populate the neighborhood.
Also key to this story are the gay characters that live in the neighborhood: Julio or La Julia owns the local travel agency and serves as an example and mentor to the younger men. Puti is the sad and lonely local drag queen. Lee from the Chinese restaurant, and one of the best characters in this story, Brick. Brick is a tough ex-drug dealer who got out of the game and whose best friend is Julio. He's flawed with positive and negative sides to his character, but serves as a great example of the Latino uber macho whose masculinity is not threatened by his close friendship with a gay man. Overall there's a wonderful mixture of characters.
Rice-González takes his time developing this story. Chulito's background, feelings, the challenges he faces on a daily basis are all explored in-depth. His life in the neighborhood as a runner for Kamikaze, the local drug dealer and Chulito's mentor. The relationship he has with his "boys" from the neighborhood. The deep love he shares with his mother Carmen and the resentment and indifference he feels for his dead father. Coming to terms with his sexuality is not an easy step or a ride in the park, and his romance with Carlos is riddled with deep disappointments, betrayal, tenderness, passion, yearning (like you wouldn't believe), angst, and deep love.
Ever since I read From Macho to Mariposa I've been looking for other books to read by gay Latino writers and well... I thought this book might be the perfect beginning. It was. Chulito is a great mixture of gay fiction and romance with a focus on the gay Latino experience. I highly enjoyed Charles Rice-González's writing style and his down to earth, no holds barred depiction of characters, culture, sub-culture, circumstances and setting in Chulito. I will keep my eye on this writer, hopefully there will be more books like this one from him in the future.
Original review at Impressions of a Reader
February 28, 2012
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!
July 22, 2012
A Startlingly Fine Debut Novel
Charles Rice-González has established himself as a communicator in journalism, as playwright, an expert in Latino culture in film, poetry, and theater and as an activist for LGBT rights. His background is both Puerto Rican and the Bronx and all of this background comes pouring through this excellent novel CHULITO.
Rice-González writes with a thorough comprehension of the lingo and the mannerisms of the characters that populate this book - a factor that not only adds to the credibility of the story he has spun but makes his characters multidimensional instead of the stereotypes that too frequently figure in stories form the streets like this one. Chulito is a handsome young Puerto Rican lad whose best friend since childhood has been Carlos, a boy who has more advantages than Chulito. As Carlos leaves the hood for studies in school he is perceived as effeminate and Chulito discovers aspects of his feelings for Carlos that take the course of the book to fully develop. In short it is a coming of age story as well as a coming out story and both aspects of the tale are so well defined by Rice-González that this book is rapidly becoming a classic in the short time since it was published.
Charles Rice-González seems destined to become an even more important figure in the world of words with this his first novel. Expect more - he always delivers. Grady Harp, July 12
Charles Rice-González has established himself as a communicator in journalism, as playwright, an expert in Latino culture in film, poetry, and theater and as an activist for LGBT rights. His background is both Puerto Rican and the Bronx and all of this background comes pouring through this excellent novel CHULITO.
Rice-González writes with a thorough comprehension of the lingo and the mannerisms of the characters that populate this book - a factor that not only adds to the credibility of the story he has spun but makes his characters multidimensional instead of the stereotypes that too frequently figure in stories form the streets like this one. Chulito is a handsome young Puerto Rican lad whose best friend since childhood has been Carlos, a boy who has more advantages than Chulito. As Carlos leaves the hood for studies in school he is perceived as effeminate and Chulito discovers aspects of his feelings for Carlos that take the course of the book to fully develop. In short it is a coming of age story as well as a coming out story and both aspects of the tale are so well defined by Rice-González that this book is rapidly becoming a classic in the short time since it was published.
Charles Rice-González seems destined to become an even more important figure in the world of words with this his first novel. Expect more - he always delivers. Grady Harp, July 12
June 27, 2016
Pride Month Rec #19: Chulito [the best M/M book I've ever read. Yeah.]
_____________________
THIS BOOK HAS ME WEEPING
It was AMAZING
Not sure if I can pen a review that'll do it justice.
The best book I've read this year.
Also, this book should be subtitled FUCK THE QUEER TRAGEDY. Chulito makes a mockery of this trope, while staying true to life.
~*happy dances bc my pride month reading list is off to a great start*~
_____________________
THIS BOOK HAS ME WEEPING
It was AMAZING
Not sure if I can pen a review that'll do it justice.
The best book I've read this year.
Also, this book should be subtitled FUCK THE QUEER TRAGEDY. Chulito makes a mockery of this trope, while staying true to life.
~*happy dances bc my pride month reading list is off to a great start*~
May 23, 2013
I had high hopes! Love the gangsta slang, loved the fact that I knew every hip hop artist referred in this book, loved that I knew what labels he was wearing....
BUT
The last half of the book didn't do it for me
BUT
The last half of the book didn't do it for me
March 30, 2012
Not sure why it took me so long to finish this, but it was really very very good.
April 26, 2012
Excellent read. Loved Carlos and Chulito. I definitely liked Kamikaze. Read most of the story with a huge smile on my face. I'm Puertorican. What can I say? *g*
April 14, 2019
YA isn’t my favorite, but even though I am from rural WV and I couldn’t really relate to the many issues Chulito is having to deal with within the “hood,” I can certainly understand that making life-changing decisions at 16 or 17 years old is never an easy thing! Fear of the unknown or change, in general, is also never easy… but somehow we make those choices and decisions and move on. This was a very touching story of a young man coming to see his true self and learning what is right for him and how to make it happen.
March 9, 2024
I loved the story of the book and only have one major criticism, which is, while the author is obviously Afro-latino and Santeria is referenced as a part of the main character’s culture there is not enough clarification on rather the main character is Black or not for the N word to be utter so many dam time. Btw im speaking as someone who is Afro-Latino (Dominican to be exact) and was raised in the BX.
June 15, 2019
The neighborhood and the characters within it are engaging and feel real. The author has a strength in writing his settings, but unfortunately it all outshined the main character and his plot
May 27, 2019
WOW. I love this book so much. It is absolutely a queer classic. Not only did I learn to love and accept myself more fully through reading the story of Chulito and Carlos, but I learned about the wonderfully rich Nuyorican culture of the Bronx. I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much I have. It was not a hyped title, and I found it by digging extensively through LGBTQIA literature recommendations on Google. The cover suggested to me a slight coming-of-age tale, but the prose and the laugh-out loud to utterly poignant dialogue created a novel as deep as some of the most serious novels I’ve dug into. This is one of those too infrequent books that is almost physically painful to leave behind. I know I can return to it anytime by re-reading my favorite passages, but it’s a melancholy feeling knowing I can’t follow Chulito and Carlos through more of their lives. Through all my years of reading, which is a majority of my 23 years, I’ve read only 3 books with gay(queer) protagonists; Chulito is the only book I’ve read, as a gay reader, that has made me genuinely depressed and sickened at the lack of more books like this, that present far from stereotypical gay characters accepting their identities and the conflicts that inevitably arise from this brave decision to live their truths without caring about the recriminations. This is such a life-affirming and necessary book for all people, but particularly for gay readers searching for affirmation and understanding. Much thanks to Mr. Rice-Gonzalez for shaking me to my core, and convincing me that there need to be more stories like this, and that I have to contribute to the queer canon. READ THIS BOOK.
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