Barrio Boy is a memoir by Ernesto Galarza that narrates the author’s journey from a small village in Mexico to a barrio in the United States. Considered a founding text in ethnic studies, the book was originally published in 1971 and was reissued as a 40th anniversary edition in 2011. Barrio Boy follows the author from his birth in the small town of Jalcocotán in 1905 up until high school. Galarza, who went on to become a labor organizer, activist, and professor, situates his experience of immigration within larger socio-political factors in both Mexico and the United States, including the Mexican Revolution, the complexities of immigration and acculturation, and economic hardship.

Summary

Barrio Boy begins in the small mountain town of Jalcocotán, or Jalco. Part 1 describes Ernesto’s life in the village, including his experiences cooking tamales and raising chickens and roosters as well as his interactions with his family. The slow pace of life and the routine of the village establishes a foundation for comparison to his later experiences. In the backdrop of Ernesto’s early life is increasing political unrest and the coming Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). Ernesto is too young to understand the complexities of the revolution, but he witnesses changes in life in the village. At the end of Part 1, they leave Jalco for the nearby city of Tepic. In Jalcocotán, his family supported themselves by farming, but in Tepic, his uncles find wage labor. Parts 2 and 3 describe Ernesto’s journey through Mexico with his mother and two uncles, Gustavo and José. The pressures of the Revolution and the effect of the unrest on work and wages force them to keep migrating, and they move through Tepic, Acaponeta, Mazatlán, Nogales, and Tucson. With every move, his uncles search for new work while Ernesto and his mother adapt to new cultural norms and changing daily routines.

In Part 4, they end up Sacramento, California. They settle in the barrio, a neighborhood where recently arrived immigrants live and Spanish is the dominant language. Barrios often have high rates of poverty, and Ernesto’s family struggles to build financial security. Ernesto describes how his family members struggle to adapt to American culture without forgetting their Mexican heritage. They slowly establish themselves in America and briefly moves to a bungalow in the suburbs. However, when his mother and uncle die of the Spanish flu, Ernesto and his uncle José have to return to the barrio. In Part 5, Ernesto works as a farmworker and focuses on his education.