Chile Makes Us Brave: Stories of Growing Up in Chihuahua, Mexico

Chispa Bolivar came of age in the Chihuahua neighborhood of Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez, a place filled with passion, love, and violence. Growing up in his colonia in the 1980's and 90's, Chispa becomes a rooster fighter and a construction worker in order to help support his parents and propel himself to fame in the surrounding neighborhoods. In this collection of lively stories, Chispa paints a picture of his neighborhood and the people in it: fellow gang members, criminals, women trying to survive without husbands and parents, and children who fight and stand by each other in order to survive. With humor and the truth of life's tough realities, Chispa proves that even though his neighborhood is rough, the values of strength and resilience that he learns from his parents sustain him so that he can go to school, learn and become a young inventor. Throughout the memoir, Chispa's American dream lives in the back of his mind. He watches the older guys in his neighborhood return from the U.S. with their fancy clothes and cars and wants what they have. Chile Makes Us Brave chronicles the life of a boy living in a poor neighborhood. It details how a boy can be reflective and learn from his mistakes and the mistakes of others. The stories are sometimes serious, sometimes sad, and sometimes funny. They will make you realize that life in Mexico, although difficult, can be full of richness and love. When under pressure, Chispa often remembers the words of his brothers, his father, and his God to pull him through. He also counts on his friends and his family to stand up for him in difficult times, but in some very crucial moments he exists on his own. These moments are often the ones that test his character the most and catapult him from a curious boy into and independent young man ready to take on the world.