“Caramelo” Annotation

Author: Sandra Cisseneros

“María bonita” Translation:

Remember Acapulco
those nights
lovely María, María of the soul,
remember that on the beach
with your hands
you would rinse the stars.

Notable Quotes: “We will always be little. For him we are just as we were then.” “Then everyone realizes the portrait is incomplete. It’s as if I didn’t exist.”

Initial Reactions: The contrast between the “María bonita” excerpt and Sandra Cisseneros’ memory of Acapulco is stark, and I wonder if this is the desired effect. The story begins sweet, as if the author is simply retelling a childhood memory that explains the photograph her father has above his bed. However, by the end the reader has begun to understand that the portrait doesn’t incorporate her at all, and that this memory truly is only documented in her own mind. The description of the character’s names, most notably the “Awful Grandmother” and “Aunty Light-Skin” serves as an indication of some contempt or dislike, as it is not often that people positively use descriptors in place of names. With the final line of the essay, she quotes the photographer that day at the beach, asking if the family wants a “Souvenir? A memory?” She compares herself to him, and specifically compares this essay it seems to his question. Do you want to remember this?