You open your front door to find a child frolicking in front of your upper-west side apartment building. The boy has blonde curls that bounce every time he jumps forward. You hear a woman’s loud cry, calling out a name; the boy looks up with his hazel eyes and starts speaking, to your surprise, in Spanish. This boy grew up to be the author the world knew as Oscar Jerome Hijuelos.
Oscar Hijuelos was born in Manhattan on August 24, 1951. He was a first-generation Cuban-American born in the United States of America. His parents migrated to New York in mid-1940s. His father, Pascual Hijuelos had come to New York as a tourist visiting his older sisters from Jiguaní, Cuba. At the time Pascual was engaged to Magdalena Torrens, a Holguínerra from Cuba. Pascual was attracted by the life of a New Yorker, especially that of a Hispanic New Yorker. He eventually brought Magdalena to New York, where José Hijuelos, Oscar Hijuelos’s older brother, was born in 1944.
A few years after the Hijuelos moved to Manhattan, Pascual wanted to share his mesmerizing experience of New York with his brother, Oscar Hijuelos, who was in Cuba. When his brother finally agreed to Pascual’s request, he went to issue a visa to New York, however, he died on the way back to his farm in Jiguaní. Pascual lived with the guilt over his brother’s death. When his second child was born, the newborn was named Oscar Jerome Hijuelos as a sign of Pascual’s love for his brother. In his memoir, Thoughts Without Cigarettes, Hijuelos mentions this to be a reason why his father seemed to have shown more affection and care towards him compared to other family members.
In the novel Our House in the Last World, Hijuelos writes about his upbringing as a Cuban, changing the names of people in his life. However, he discussed the events in his life in the manner they occurred. Around the age of four Hijuelos (or the character Hector) suffered with nephritis for months without the knowledge of the disease. It is during this period of sickness that Pascual (or Alejo the father) takes extensive care of the child. Since the disease had progressed so severely, Hijuelos (or Hector) had to be admitted in St.Luke’s Children’s hospital in Connecticut for almost a year. During his time in the hospital, Hijuelos lost his language because he was forced to speak English by the nurses to be given necessary care. It was almost as if he was conditioned to speak in English; because he feared that he would be punished if he spoke in Spanish. This fear paralyzed him to a point where he couldn’t speak in Spanish.
When he went back to his family in New York, he felt like an alien in a sea of Cubans. He constantly felt like a museum exhibit, he was examined by all his visitors. Every encounter with a person from the hispanic community was filled with curiosity and amusement. People pondered upon how his Cuban roots produced a child who looked more American than Cuban.
To Hijuelos, the explanation was truly in his roots. His maternal grandparents were actually Spaniards who chose to live in a free Cuba. His paternal great-great-great grandfather was an Irishman who married a Cuban woman. One would say Hijuelos got his genes from the extreme ends of the gene pools. However, these genes were not to his advantage when Hijuelos began his schooling.
Being from a predominantly Hispanic community in New York, Hijuelos was surrounded by feuding communities in middle and high school. His appearance did not favor him in such situations since he looked more caucasian; he was often hunted down by the boys in his school. Due to this issue, he did not attend his school for most of his education in public high school. In contrast, he managed to excel in his state exams which allowed him to move on to his higher education. Hijuelos pursued his higher education at City College of New York, the City University of New York. During his time in university, he was indecisive; however, he took a creative writing class. It was this class that changed his life, it made him a writer. When asked what made Hijuelos begin creative writing, he answered that it was the first time he was complimented for his work.
His parents and grandparents were art enthusiasts, which indirectly influenced Hijuelos to be artistically immersed in New York. He grew up knowing his mother as a proud Cuban but also as a poet. A fact that he eventually discovered was that his mother during her childhood had a greater exposure to the arts, especially in painting, plays, and poetry, due to her Spanish heritage. She often visited Spain as a child and hence was very encouraging of her children being involved in the arts.
Even though the course of events in his life motivated him to explore more about himself, it was the title of writer that allowed him to get deeper into knowing his roots. In his first book, mentioned above Our House in the Last World, he explores his Cuban heritage and what life was like in New York while embracing his Cuban culture. He also discusses how his life was impacted by “Spanish Harlem” and especially how it contributed to him finding his lost culture. The book shows a cultural progression in the protagonist which indicates how Hijuelos grew in his surroundings.
In his other books, Hijuelos often provides how life is for a Cuban-American from different perspectives of gender and age. In each book, his content is also set around the growing Cuban culture in New York. The focus has also been on how people have been impacted by the political state of Cuba as a nation. Hijuelos tries to focus on how one grows over time discovering one’s own culture.
As a writer, Hijuelos tends to focus on how a culture impacts an individual’s growth. In each of his writings he incorporates a part of himself and his Cuban culture. His works show that he tries to find the deeper meaning of every idea he comes across. In my view, Hijuelos’s writings are a small gateway to discover Cuba and its culture through New York eyes.
Bibliography
Augenbraum, Harold. “Oscar Hijuelos Biography.” York, American, Cuban, and World – JRank Articles, Jrank Articles, biography.jrank.org/pages/4419/Hijuelos-Oscar.html.
Carlson, Lori Marie. “My Life, My Heart: Oscar Hijuelos.” Review: Literature and Arts of the Americas, vol. 47, no. 2, 2014. Taylor and Francis Online, doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/08905762.2014.956509.
Herda, D. J. “Oscar Hijuelos.” Oscar Hijuelos, The American Society of Authors and Writers, amsaw.org/amsaw-ithappenedinhistory-082404-hijuelos.html.
HIJUELOS, OSCAR. OUR HOUSE IN THE LAST WORLD: 35th Anniversary Edition. S.l.: PERSEA, 2017. Print.
Hijuelos, Oscar. Thoughts without Cigarettes: a Memoir. Gotham Books, 2012.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Oscar Hijuelos.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 13 Nov. 2015, www.britannica.com/biography/Oscar-Hijuelos.
“Thoughts Cigarettes Memoire, June 4, 2011.” Interview by Carolyn Curiel. C-SPAN. C-SPAN, 04 June 2011. Web.
