Arts & Entertainment
Heavy pages
Latino gay memoir brief but searing
‘Autobiography of My Hungers’
By Rigoberto Gonzalez
University of Wisconsin Press
$19.95
113 pagesYour life is full.
The days are packed with work. Evenings are crammed with home, hobbies and relaxation. Weekends? Well, there’s nothing left of those, between friends and family, travel, shopping and chores.
Yes, your life is full — and yet sometimes you notice a lingering feeling of something missing. In “Autobiography of My Hungers” by Rigoberto González, you’ll see that you’re not the only one with holes in your heart.
When he was a young boy living with his family in Mexico, Rigoberto González remembers that his kitchen job was to separate the piedrita (pebbles) from the beans before his mother put them in the pot. He “enjoyed … the small stones” then. Piedrita followed him into adulthood.
Back then, he was his parents’ oldest child, but he was close to his Abuelo and Abuela. The entire family was poor, but they “were not going to starve, despite what Abuelo had said the week before.” Despite their poverty, his Abuela made sacrifices for him, especially after the family moved El Norte (north, to America). Her gifts were something González didn’t fully understand until many years later.
He did understand loss, however, starting with the loss of his mother, who returned from California to Mexico to die. González was still a child, missing his mother, and that, too, was something he didn’t fully appreciate until he was a man.
Following his mother’s death and his father’s remarriage and subsequent departure, Gonzalez continued to live with his grandparents in a tiny apartment, where all the home’s residents slept in one room. He went to school, but felt out of place, with one foot in Mexico and one in his new country.
He was devastated when his family moved back south, leaving him to finish school in New York alone. Still, college was where he found a girlfriend and came to terms with his “hungry gay body.” It was there that he tried to commit suicide, tried to starve himself, felt unloved and came to terms with memories of embarrassment in childhood and the hurt he held from his abusive, alcoholic father.
And New York, post-college, was where he came to realize that he could fall in love too quickly with a man, but “if the waters got rough, I could always beat him to the exit.”
Looking for a quick little pick-me-up read? You’d be half right with this book.
Yes, “Autobiography of My Hungers” is skinny and, at less than 120 pages (most of them, partially filled), it’ll be a quick book for most to finish.
But short doesn’t necessarily mean lite. Author Gonzalez brings a deep, soul-crushing sadness to the pages which gives the book a gravitas that belies its length.
Out & About
Blade Summer Kickoff Party returns to Rehoboth
Politicians slated to speak at annual Blue Moon party
The Washington Blade’s 17th annual Summer Kickoff Party returns Friday, May 17, 5-7 p.m. at the Blue Moon (35 Baltimore Ave.) in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
It’s an exciting election year in Delaware, which is poised to elect its first Black woman senator (Lisa Blunt Rochester) and the nation’s first transgender member of Congress (Sarah McBride).
McBride is scheduled to speak at the party along with several politicos from the area. With the retirement of longtime state Rep. Peter C. Schwartzkopf, a staunch LGBTQ ally, three strong contenders are running to replace him. All three — Marty Rendon, Kathy McGuiness, and Claire Snyder-Hall — are slated to speak at the party. A representative from Blunt Rochester’s campaign is scheduled to speak, along with Kim Leisey, the new executive director of CAMP Rehoboth.
Tax-deductible tickets are $20 and available on Eventbrite or via the Blade’s Facebook page. The party is sponsored by Justin Noble of Sotheby’s, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Blue Moon.
Andy Cohen, executive producer of “The Real Housewives” franchise and host of “Watch What Happens Live,” will return to Sixth & I on Wednesday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m.
This event will be his fifth appearance at the venue to celebrate the paperback release of his New York Times bestselling memoir, “The Daddy Diaries,” talk about the latest Housewives happenings, and answer audience questions about everyone’s favorite Bravolebrities.
Cohen will be in conversation with Rep. Robert Garcia, who represents California and is the first LGBTQ immigrant to win a congressional seat. Rep. Garcia has also been known to quote from “The Real Housewives” in congressional hearings.
Tickets start at $12 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
“Herses- Purse Frist Extravaganza” will be on Friday, May 3 at 9 p.m. at 1835 14th St. N.W. This will be an evening of dancing and performances, hosted by HAUS of Bambi Award-winning Performance Artist, BUMPER. Refreshments are also available for purchase.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.