By Vickie Tu, written July 2023
What does “Por La Sombrita” mean? That is the question I was left pondering when I first came across Barbara Perez Marquez’s collection Por La Sombrita (2023), now available from Bottlecap Press. Upon further research, I was met with three different answers. One, “Por La Sombrita” is an idiom that literally means “handle with kid gloves” but figuratively means to be careful or quietly. Two, although a different translation, “for the shade,” it figuratively means the same as to be careful or not to worry. Three, when I asked a Spanish speaking friend of mine, she translated it to “in the shade” but had never heard the saying before. After exploring Barbara Perez Marquez’s version of the translation, I came to the conclusion that in this collection, “Por La Sombrita” means to stay in the shade as a way of not hurting yourself through exposure to the sun. The saying transforms into a symbolic message from Barbara’s own reflection on her experiences through childhood and family life that caused her burns.
Por La Sombrita is broken up into two parts: “Growing Pains” and “Family Matters.” With these two parts, Barbara separates her perspective from learning mature subjects from her childhood experiences to examining familial events through a mature lens. Each part works itself to be a beautiful articulation of significant moments of her life that stem from memories that seem simple but are actually much more complex.
With the first part, “Growing Pains,” Barbara explores her life from the perspective of herself as a child but with the mature realization of adulthood. Most notably, in the poem “11 or 12,” she explains the memorable experience of lying about her age to benefit her family. She says, “That if I was eleven I got to stay for free, therefore they had to pay for one less to make the vacation possible.” Her memory resonates strongly with something I recognize from immigrant culture. She perfectly describes the occurrence of lying about your age at the Chinese buffet to eat for free that I underwent but through her own lens that made sense for her childhood. With the way that Barbara notably echoes her childhood memories through her pieces, it showcases her relatability to a reader like me as well as displays the small simple moments in one’s life that are simply overlooked but could be used to explore a deeper dive into culture, adulthood, and maturity.
With the second part, “Family Matters,” she connects segments and pieces of her life to create a larger whole of a complex story that shaped the story of her identity. Although some moments are relatable, others are unique incidents that frame her self-reflection. Where we see her true individuality is through two striking memories. The first is in the piece “Playing Doctor” where she describes a traumatic assault event and the second is in the piece “The Weight of Parenting” where she carries a gun for the first time. With both events, Barbara displays very isolated and uncommon occurrences in her lifetime that sets her apart from other translations of childhood. The weight of the topics is heavy and become the most notable because of their mature and taboo nature.
It is a surreal experience to see the images of her and her family with their old photos. With each image, you see pieces and bits of her life that allow a glimpse into the perfect life seen from the outside, but the cracks seen within her writing and memories. We are able to see the woman who disciplined her through these pieces and the man who protected the household. Being able to imagine her mother, father, sister, grandmother, and herself through the photos creates a raw and genuine realization of one’s life through this collection.
Overall, Barbara’s collection is a noteworthy work of art that conveys a person’s life through remarkable segments of memories. This collection left me examining parts of my own life that seem simple but perhaps could allow me to reflect further on who I am. It is a cluster of blurred, imperfect memories that when put together, show the life of one woman, her family, and own identity.
Vickie Tu is a rising senior at University of Maryland, College Park, studying English with a minor in Classics. She was born and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland, and plans to move to New York City after graduation to start her career in the publishing industry. When she is not reading or working in her campus’ bookstore, she enjoys attending hockey games for her favorite team the Washington Capitals. You can find her on Instagram @vickie.tuuu.
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