Review of Ana Castillo's "The Mixquiahuala Letters"

I love to walk through the library or bookstore and browse through sections I have never read from before. One of my favorite little ‘corners’ in the library is the Chicana Feminist Literature section­… and, no, you don’t have to be a Chicana or a feminist to read and enjoy the always artistic and unique works of Chicana feminist theorists.

Among the most popular writers of Chicana feminism are Gloria Anzaldua, Cherrie Moraga, Chela Sandoval and Ana Castillo. Ana Castillo’s award-winning The Mixquiahuala Letters is the most recent book I fished out of ‘the corner’ and it is truly one of the best feminist works I’ve read.

The Mixquiahuala Letters chronicles the relationship between two friends. The Mixquiahuala Letters is an epistolary novel, which means it is told through a series of letters from the mestiza narrator, Teresa, and her friend, Alicia. One of my favorite things about this book is the fact that Ana Castillo warns that it is not to be read like a ‘normal’ book. Castillo does not want her readers to be confined to reading her book as a linear piece of writing to be read from front to back. Instead, she suggests different patterns for which to read the letters/chapters for the “cynic” for the “conformist” and the “quixotic” readers, with different outcomes for each reader.

The story takes place during the seventies and eighties, and goes through the changing friendship of Teresa and Alicia during their travels through Mexico and the United States. A main theme in The Mixquiahuala Letters is that of “home.” Both friends are struggling to find their ‘homes’ and their ‘selves’ as mestiza women. For Teresa, writing the letters to Alicia is a way to sort out her identity and her experiences. “When one is confronted by the mirror, the spirit trembles,” Teresa says in letter sixteen on page 55.

The Mixquiahuala Letters is a beautiful novel about relationships between women and trying to find oneself in a society where you are either black or white… no in-between. Ana Castillo is interested in that ‘in-between’ sector of society and writes many other works that deal with this idea: The Guardians: A novel, Massacre of the Dreamers: Essays on Xicanisma, Peel My Love Like an Onion, and So Far From God.

Buy Sandwiches at Bison Witches

Buried between the trendy clothing store and the weird hippie emporium on Fourth Avenue lies a cozy college bar with a less-than-appetizing name. Bison Witches, the Tucson-born restaurant and bar, has become a landmark of sorts for Fourth Avenue dwellers and University of Arizona students alike. Bison’s inexpensive sandwiches and nightly drink specials attract swarms of Tucsonans and out-of-towners from morning to night.

The secret? The restaurant’s name is rumored among its employees to hold subliminal advertising: Bison Witches… sound like “Buy Sandwiches” to you?

If you ask most, Bison Witches doesn’t need hidden messages to get you to buy the food. In fact, they don’t even have a sign visible from the street that proclaims their existence; just a small neon window sign that can only be seen near the front door.

Their famed sandwiches are what do all the talking.

“The Wildcat”, a favorite sandwich named presumably after its biggest fans, is built of thin slices of roast beef and smoked turkey on thick-sliced bread (white, wheat, or dark rye… I chose the wheat) which is very crisp and flaky on the outsides and much fluffier inside. The beef and turkey are smothered in melted smoked Gouda cheese and shredded lettuce and is topped with Bison’s special Russian honey mustard which has a pleasantly spicy tang.

My dining partner ordered the “Cally” sandwich, another Bison classic. Thinly sliced turkey breast, avocado slices, and alfalfa sprouts are served on a toasted croissant with cream cheese and mayonnaise. The crisp and flaky croissant combined with the cool avocado, cream cheese and fresh sprouts make this Bison-wich one of the most popular during Tucson’s hot summers.

A whole sandwich, which is the equivalent of two sandwiches from any other restaurant, can be cut in half and paired with one of five bread-bowled soups for $7­­– see what I mean about ideal college dining?

My personal favorite, the Cream of Potato Bacon soup, nicely compliments the Wildcat sandwich in the combo. Thick chunks of potato in a cheesy-bacony cream with flavorful bits of bacon are housed in a crispy bowl made of white bread, which I am always too full to devour after the sandwich, hearty soup and the necessary Shiner Hefeweizen brew (with lemon!)

My dining partner’s soup of choice was the Wisconsin Cheese. I am never one to charge that something is too cheesy, but this soup was a little much for me. The soup is a creamy cheddar cheese broth, which has a nice, smooth consistency, and a sharp tang. Bits of bacon add lingering flavor.

My dining partner agreed that this soup was too heavy and cheesy to pair with the light “Cally” sandwich, and at our sorority-girl-server’s suggestion, we sampled the Cream of Broccoli soup– the cheesiness of which was not protested.

If you’re hungrier, a whole sandwich and bread-bowl soup combo is $7 on special every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Other soup options are Boston Clam Chowder and Beef Chili.

For vegetarian visitors, Bison doesn’t have much to offer but a (magnificent) grilled cheese or grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich and one veggie sandwich. The “Veggie” is served on white, wheat or rye bread and is stuffed with shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, onions, green peppers, artichoke hearts, black olives, avocado slices, alfalfa sprouts, cheddar, provolone, cream cheese and mayonnaise.

Being that it is a major college hangout and full-service bar until 2 a.m. each day, Bison Witches would not be complete without its satisfying selection of eight on-tap beers and over 60 bottles, including foreign, domestic and local brews like Nimbus’ Monkeyshine.

With no more than fifteen tables inside the restaurant, packed inside and outside bar seating and a few uncomfortable metal picnic tables outside, getting seated right away after nine or ten on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night can be nearly impossible. Luckily, the all-female-under-thirty serving staff and the grungy male bartenders (leather pants optional) are pretty quick, so the wait is rarely more than twenty minutes.

At Bison Witches, you can grab a drink with friends, shoot the breeze with the college-age employees, watch the Wildcats beat the Sun Devils (or vice versa) and enjoy a gourmet sandwich and soup for less than $15– unless the Sun Devils beat the Wildcats and the beer count hikes up the bill.

Delicious Mexican Food: Bar La Roca

Fourth Avenue: Tucson's Artistic Side