Pocho

Food is a quiet but persistent symbol for culture in Pocho. The characters are aware of this food symbolism; kids of other races taunt Richard for being a tortilla-eater. However, they also are quick to gather around and ask to share Richard’s tortillas and beans when the Depression strikes and those humble foods start to look pretty good. Richard knows that he’s not going hungry because of the nature of his family’s traditional diet: Their food, like their tradition, is plentiful and lasting.

Mary’s uptight mother’s objection to Mary eating at Richard’s house is another instance of this symbolism. In her bigotry, she imagines that Richard’s family’s food must be somehow dirty and dangerous, and that Mary will get sick from it. Here, to eat is to take in something of another world—a powerfully physical way of crossing the imaginary walls of culture.

This food symbolism also appears in Richard’s Catholic heritage, in which eating is of fundamental importance. To eat, in the Catholic church, is to be in communion. When Richard begins to lose his faith, he expresses it by spitting out a half-chewed communion wafer. This kind of food is one he can no longer swallow.