The Art of Literary Trope L’oeil and the Craft of Literary Imagination: Patricia Chao’s Mambo Peligroso
Keywords:
Patricia Chao, Mambo Peligroso, postethnicity, hybrid identity, Latina/o literatureAbstract
This article analyzes Patricia Chao’s novel Mambo Peligroso (2005) within the context of Latina/o literary criticism and postethnic theory. The paper explores how Chao’s work challenges traditional notions of ethnicity and identity, presenting a protagonist with Cuban and Japanese heritage who navigates fluid, hybridized selves. The author contends that Chao’s novel exemplifies the second Latina/o literary boom, characterized by interethnic cross-fertilization and experimentation with form. This study examines how Catalina Midori Ortiz, the novel’s protagonist, performs her identity through physical appearance, mannerisms, behavior, and language, questioning restrictive paradigms of Latino identity. The article argues that Mambo Peligroso demonstrates the dynamic construct of identity, particularly in a postethnic America where voluntary affiliations are prioritized over involuntary ones. The significance of this work lies in its contribution to discussions on multiculturalism, hybridity, and the evolving nature of ethnic identities in contemporary literature.
(The abstract and keywords were prepared retrospectively for indexing purposes using AI-assisted tools and editorial review, based on the original article. They did not appear in the original publication.)
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