Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir

Throughout the narrative, the Winnebago functions as a symbol of the Martín family itself. Although the motorhome was first obtained under less-than-glamorous circumstances—when its owner suddenly died, perhaps actually in the motorhome itself—Pedro’s father works hard to improve it, and it becomes a practical way to transport the large family on their trips to Mexico, and ultimately a source of pride. Pedro is so proud of it, in fact, that the whole of Chapter 3 is devoted to describing the Winnebago. He takes particular care to describe how his parents fuss over every detail of its preparation for the long trip and how, while his father drives, his mother devotes herself to making sure the younger children are well-fed and content. Like the Winnebago, the Martín family is constantly being tended to and improved upon through the hard work of Apá and Amá. Whether they are literally in the Winnebago or not, Apá “drives” the family while Amá tends their needs. The older children, who are nearing independence from the nuclear family, do not travel in the Winnebago; instead, they travel nearby, in a vehicle of their own—independent, but still connected via the CB radio.

The motif of traditional Mexican music—the kind that Pedro refers to as “chun-ta-ta” music—serves as both a characterization device and a signal of the narrative’s thematic interest in The Richness of Mexican Culture. Martín ties the music’s ability to express the complexities of experience—both happiness and sadness at the same time—symbolically to the grito, the cry that Pedro identifies as a quintessential expression of feeling among Mexicans. Although Pedro claims to not care for this music in the beginning of the story, he has enough respect for it to offer it its own large and detailed explanatory panel on Page 32. His father, he notes, loves this music and claims that it is “in his blood” (32). The devotion that Apá and Pedro’s other adult relatives feel for Mexican music signals their deep ties to the traditions of Mexico—so deep that it often moves them to cry out in a grito, an expression of feeling that Pedro says is like a laugh and a cry at the same time and that he sees as intrinsically Mexican.

Martín uses the younger siblings’ varying degrees of acceptance or dislike for traditional Mexican music to indicate their relative closeness to or distance from these traditions. As Pedro comes closer and closer to embracing his Mexican heritage fully, his dislike of the music fades, and he even begins to find it moving. When his grandfather sings “Prieta Linda,” he calls it “kinda sad, but beautiful” (210). Ultimately, Pedro comes to appreciate the way that this traditional music is able to express The Bittersweet Nature of Life, saying: “I started to really like the chun-ta-tas. They were all stories about love and loss and horses. And they made everybody laugh-cry” (211). Pedro’s growing appreciation for Mexican music and for the grito signals his growing maturity, his growing appreciation for Mexican culture, and his acceptance of the complexity of life.

Martín uses the symbol of the avocado to represent Abuelito, undergirding it with a message about both the importance of family and The Bittersweet Nature of Life. Pedro’s mother offers him an analogy comparing Abuelito to an avocado she opens in preparation for dinner. She explains that Abuelito’s skin is tough and wrinkled like the avocado’s skin because good and bad experiences have weathered both the man and the fruit. Both need their tough outer shell to protect the nourishment they carry inside, so that it can be shared with others when the time is right. Finally, she points out the avocado’s pit and tells Pedro that he is like that seed—he is Abuelito’s legacy. Amá’s explanation helps Pedro understand his grandfather better. Abuelito may seem tough and stern at times, but this is because he is also filled with something good and nourishing that he is trying to protect on behalf of his family. Like all people, Abuelito contains a mixture of positive and negative qualities and has been shaped by his life experiences both good and bad. Over the course of the narrative, Pedro comes to see that Abuelito has weathered every obstacle with one aim in mind: the sustenance of his family. The idea that Pedro represents the legacy of such a man fills him with pride, and he resolves to also become a source of strength for the Martíns, just as Abuelito has been for so many years.