Agua Santa Holy Water: Holy Water

Rating:
Summary: A Student's Perspective on Agua Santa: Holy Water
Review: Pat Mora's book of poetry, Agua Santa: Holy Water, beautifies the experience of the Mexican-American woman. Each poem has its own distinct image and story, while maintaining a greater theme that brings the book together. Agua Santa is a perfect read for someone looking to learn about the Mexican culture, as long as they are willing to put in some extra research in order to receive the full benefit of Mora's poetry. For unless the reader is already quite familiar with Mexican mythology, and comfortable with religious references, he may not understand what Mora is saying through her work.

One underlying theme in Agua Santa is feminism. Many of her poems depict women in various roles; mothers, daughters, goddesses, etc., and challenge the reader to question exactly how he views them. The most powerful example of this, and the highlight of the book, is the "Cuarteto Mexicano," a quartet of poems from the perspectives of four well-known Mexican female figures. The full title of the section is "Talk Show Interviews with Coatlicue the Aztec Goddess, Malinche the Maligned, The Virgin of Guadelupe, and La Llorona: The Wailer." Readers should not be mislead by this title; poems are a far cry from any talk show interview they may have seen on daytime television.

Throughout her book, and specifically in this section, Mora attacks the labels and stigmas put on women, especially in her native Mexican culture. Her imagery and word choice is rich and intentional, and the poems are easy on the eyes and not too long. Any reader could pick up Agua Santa and be impressed by the language and sentiment, but to truly be moved one has to be willing to do some background work.

Rating:
Summary: A Student's Perspective on Agua Santa: Holy Water
Review: Pat Mora's book of poetry, Agua Santa: Holy Water, beautifies the experience of the Mexican-American woman. Each poem has its own distinct image and story, while maintaining a greater theme that brings the book together. Agua Santa is a perfect read for someone looking to learn about the Mexican culture, as long as they are willing to put in some extra research in order to receive the full benefit of Mora's poetry. For unless the reader is already quite familiar with Mexican mythology, and comfortable with religious references, he may not understand what Mora is saying through her work.

One underlying theme in Agua Santa is feminism. Many of her poems depict women in various roles; mothers, daughters, goddesses, etc., and challenge the reader to question exactly how he views them. The most powerful example of this, and the highlight of the book, is the "Cuarteto Mexicano," a quartet of poems from the perspectives of four well-known Mexican female figures. The full title of the section is "Talk Show Interviews with Coatlicue the Aztec Goddess, Malinche the Maligned, The Virgin of Guadelupe, and La Llorona: The Wailer." Readers should not be mislead by this title; poems are a far cry from any talk show interview they may have seen on daytime television.

Throughout her book, and specifically in this section, Mora attacks the labels and stigmas put on women, especially in her native Mexican culture. Her imagery and word choice is rich and intentional, and the poems are easy on the eyes and not too long. Any reader could pick up Agua Santa and be impressed by the language and sentiment, but to truly be moved one has to be willing to do some background work.

Rating:
Summary: Review on Pat Mora's Agua Santa/ Holy Water
Review: The very title of this collection of poems suggests hybridity; Mora employs her Chicana consciousness in her exploration of woman. Female familial relationships are inspected as well as Mora's relationship with herself. Serving as a seamless backdrop to this analysis is Mora's ethnicity. Never once is it used in violent opposition against her readers, rather, Mora presents themes in fluid terms. Wetness is a prevalent phenomenon in Mora's poetry; the book itself along with individual sections and poems are named for and dedicated to water. This lends itself to illuminate Mora's respect for and incorporation of history and its related cyclical tendencies.
A hypothetical mission statement for Agua Santa/ Holy Water would treat of cultural hybridity. Mora occupies otherwise nonexistent spaces and accordingly produces revolutionary poetry. Of the small yet powerful group of Latino poets Mora is the most successful in her delivery of any sort of Latino poetics. She is staunch in her insistence to write about her culture, yet is gentle in her staunchness. Her language vividly serves images of women consoling children ("Braided"), excelling as artists while failing as humans ("Dear Frida"), feeling displaced ("January in Cincinnati"), living and dying ("Metamorfosis") and yet ever-remaining part of the river of women. The result is a delightful feminist embarking into cultural excavation.

Rating:
Summary: Review on Pat Mora's Agua Santa/ Holy Water
Review: The very title of this collection of poems suggests hybridity; Mora employs her Chicana consciousness in her exploration of woman. Female familial relationships are inspected as well as Mora's relationship with herself. Serving as a seamless backdrop to this analysis is Mora's ethnicity. Never once is it used in violent opposition against her readers, rather, Mora presents themes in fluid terms. Wetness is a prevalent phenomenon in Mora's poetry; the book itself along with individual sections and poems are named for and dedicated to water. This lends itself to illuminate Mora's respect for and incorporation of history and its related cyclical tendencies.
A hypothetical mission statement for Agua Santa/ Holy Water would treat of cultural hybridity. Mora occupies otherwise nonexistent spaces and accordingly produces revolutionary poetry. Of the small yet powerful group of Latino poets Mora is the most successful in her delivery of any sort of Latino poetics. She is staunch in her insistence to write about her culture, yet is gentle in her staunchness. Her language vividly serves images of women consoling children ("Braided"), excelling as artists while failing as humans ("Dear Frida"), feeling displaced ("January in Cincinnati"), living and dying ("Metamorfosis") and yet ever-remaining part of the river of women. The result is a delightful feminist embarking into cultural excavation.