Oscar Zeta Acosta (1935–1974)

"Juarez in the morning, when you have two cents in your pocket and been ordered out of town at gun point, is as depressing a city as you can find."

Can I get an amen? This is a heck of a read, and one I had never heard of! I picked this up because it was mentioned in a book I just finished reading, "There There" by Tommy Orange, and I'm glad that I did! It's really two stories, Oscar's childhood and his adventure after quitting being a Legal Aid lawyer in Oakland and hitting the road to find show more himself. I didn't really like the childhood pieces, but I thoroughly enjoyed the road trip! Very much like his buddy Hunter S., and just as irreverent! It's also the trip where he first meets Thompson! Lots of drugs, madness, and terrible behavior. He was one bad buffalo, and forever tormented by Procol Harum's - "A Whiter Shade of Pale"!

On a personal note, there are some strange connections between the buffalo and me! We were both born in El Paso, Texas. We were both in Boy Scout Troop 42, though in different cities. And he once got sent to Hamilton Air Force Base - which is here in Novato, my hometown! And we didn't 'meet' until 2018! Mi hermano! show less

In an odd way this book reminded me of the writings of Charles Bukowski (one of the all time greats as far as I'm concerned) in that it detailed the knife-edge lives of those on the cusp of oblivion in California, specifically, Los Angeles. Similar, again, to Bukowski (though maybe not Acosta's intent) the politics seemed irrelevant, almost incidental.

More than anything (and here, unlike Bukowski) this is a novel about a search for solidarity, identity, and essentially a sense of 'place' in show more the world. Bukowski didn't care, he was content in isolation. Acosta though, seemed greatly haunted by this lack, and seemed to do everything he could to fill it, or at the very least distract himself from it. show less

It's difficult for me to assess the merits of a certain kind of book, and this is one of those. It's a book of the counterculture: the lost, searching, wild, risk-taking counterculture. I think I just have a hard time really anchoring myself into that place, that mindset. I don't necessarily find it easy to make the leap from disillusionment and displacement into drinking too much and taking copious amounts of drugs as an answer.

Oscar Acosta grew up in California in an uncertain racial show more position as a Mexican. Their place on the social ladder seems to have been determined mostly by whether or not there was anyone around to be below them (usually blacks). In Acosta's town, there wasn't, so he learned that being Mexican was apparently the worst thing possible. The parts about his racial identity and what it means to be Chicano were interesting to me, not only in the parts about his early life, but as a thread throughout the rest as well. Eventually, he gets a law degree and works for Legal Aid in Oakland. After becoming disillusioned with that, he makes an escape on a road trip and meets up with, among other people, Hunter S. Thompson. (He will later be immortalized as Dr. Gonzo accompanying Raoul Duke on a bender of epic proportions.) Somewhere in the midst of this insanity, Acosta discovers that he wants to champion the people, his people, and turns his attention to being a lawyer for activists.

I'm sure it's an important book, and it's a pretty readable book (especially if you have a high tolerance for reading about the details of Acosta's digestive system), but I can't say I connected with it except for its curiosity value as a companion to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. show less

I really enjoyed this book! One of those rare times when the "sequel" is better! This book is all about Buffalo's time/work with the Chicano Liberation movement, mostly as a lawyer, but also as an active member. His writing really brings alive the struggle, and at times I wanted to jump into the pages and join them! I often wondered if the people who made the movie "My Cousin Vinny" based some of the lawyer character off of the Buffalo! I'm really glad that I read this, and I hope to learn show more more about Oscar Zeta Acosta! show less