Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories: Bien Pretty Summary & Analysis

Lupita’s statement that “not even the I Ching” could prepare her for Flavio quickly reveals her interest in eastern philosophy and spirituality, since the I Ching is an ancient Chinese text that incorporates elements of cosmology, philosophy, and divination. As such, Cisneros implies that Lupita is somebody who searches for meaning in the unknown. While other characters in Woman Hollering Creek look to religion to derive answers about their love lives, it seems Lupita ascribes to less conventional beliefs, marking her as both a unique woman and somebody hungry for answers when it comes to love and the future.

Hailing from Northern California, Lupita’s connection to her Mexican heritage comes mostly from her bloodline, not from firsthand cultural experience. This is why her decision to recreate a traditional piece of Mexican art—which features ancient royalty—using Flavio as a subject bears a certain amount of cultural insensitivity; while it’s true that she’s Mexican-American, her desire to portray Flavio as an ancient Mexican prince simplifies him into a caricature of Mexican identity. Of course, this is a complicated issue, since it’s also the case that she herself has Mexican heritage and that she’s an artist who should conceivably be granted ample freedom of expression. Nonetheless, this slightly uncomfortable cultural dynamic is important to remember as Lupita and Flavio’s relationship progresses, since the issue of cultural and national identity takes center stage in their partnership.

Disregarding the complex implications of Lupita’s desire to paint Flavio in the style of an ancient Aztecan priest, the way Lupita asks Flavio to model for her is—simply put—innocent and flirtatious. Any concerns readers might have about cultural appropriation or tokenism in this moment drops away, since Lupita’s sheepish attraction to Flavio is apparent when she says, “You would be good. Because you have such a wonderful. Face.” Cisneros’s use of periods in this passage beautifully evokes the lovable awkwardness of flirting, and the way they each laugh off this statement suggests that this could be a fun and good-natured relationship (if it progresses).

When Flavio says, “And in reality I am a poet” and then follows this statement by adding that he works as a “bug assassin” because poetry isn’t a viable way to earn a living, he subtly insinuates that Lupita’s career as an artist is something only a rich person can indulge. In other words, he senses that she comes from a privileged background. This, of course, is a cynical interpretation of their interaction, and it’s worth noting that Flavio’s statement about poetry also serves to bring him closer to Lupita, since it now becomes clear that they’re both artists, something they can use to relate to one another. In this way, their relationship begins with a mixed dynamic that recognizes their differences on the one hand and champions their similarities on the other. 

Though the word “vieja” technically means “old woman” or “old lady,” it is usually used as slang for “girlfriend” or “wife.” There is, however, another interpretation of the word, which bears much more negative connotations: “whore.” Given that Lupita says, “He used the word vieja, which is worse [than the word ‘woman’],” Flavio is most likely using the word in this negative form. In turn, this is perhaps the first hint that he—like almost all of the men in Woman Hollering Creek—lacks a certain amount of respect for women. And even if he doesn’t mean to use “vieja” in a pejorative sense, the sentiment of his phrase still implies the sexist mindset that some jobs are for women only.

Lupita’s surprise at Flavio’s intuitive understanding of yin and yang and the fact that she thinks he learned this from a book of mythology says a lot about what she thinks are legitimate or trustworthy sources of information. Obsessed with discovering concepts from other cultures, she doesn’t even consider that Flavio might understand this idea simply based on his own upbringing. This arrogance is perhaps why he later delivers the passive aggressive line, “But what do I know, right? I’m just the exterminator.” This conversation is the first time Flavio and Lupita sense their differences.

Flavio and Lupita’s conversation leaves Lupita feeling out of touch with her Mexican heritage. This is because Flavio has pointed out her tendency to over-accentuate the trappings of a cultural or ethnic identity. By telling her that he doesn’t need to dress in traditionally Mexican clothes to feel in touch with his identity as a Mexican, he emphasizes the fact that she seems to want to go out of her way to define who she is. For her, being Mexican means knowing “indigenous dances” and dressing in a non-American fashion. For him, being Mexican is a simple trait to which he doesn’t need to pay very much attention.

The beauty of Lupita’s lust and love for Flavio blossoms in this moment, but it is tinged slightly by the discomfiting sense that she has once again exalted his Mexican identity—his otherness—in her mind. Once more, Cisneros presents a complex portrait of a relationship marked both by good intentions and Lupita’s tendency to fetishize Flavio as a Mexican man who can connect her to her Latina roots.

Flavio’s casual attitude in this moment—which for Lupita is deeply emotional and upsetting—exhibits an extreme lack of respect for her feelings; though for him this relationship may not mean very much, it’s clear she was beginning to truly fall for him, so his aloofness in this moment is all the more aggravating. Furthermore, he seems to have a history of treating women poorly, given the fact that in this moment he completely denounces a former wife simply because they “weren’t married in a church.” Even the way he says goodbye is so casual that it belies a deep disrespect for Lupita’s feelings, as he stands and merely says “see you later” in Spanish. 

In the wake of Flavio’s absence, Lupita turns her attention to telenovelas as an attempt not only to tune out her own reality—which she doesn’t care to participate in at the moment—but also as a way of fulfilling her interest in Mexican culture. Though her affinity for Flavio may have originally borne complicated implications regarding cultural tokenization, it’s also the case that she genuinely liked him and was interested in entwining herself in his life in a way that naturally allowed her to better understand his Mexican heritage. No longer able to do this, she finds herself turning to telenovelas.

Having holed up in her house to watch hours of telenovelas as a way of distracting herself while also maintaining a connection to Mexican culture (a connection Flavio previously supplied), suddenly Lupita finds herself interacting with a fellow Latina, talking about their favorite Mexican show and treating one another as equals. This isn’t a dynamic Lupita could ever have had with Flavio, who viewed her as an American, not a Mexican-American. As such, this is a pivotal moment in Lupita’s recovery from her breakup with Flavio, a moment that helps her understand that she doesn’t need to go out of her way to be who she is—she can simply go to the supermarket, be herself, and interact with people who are like her and who accept her cultural identity for what it is.

Lupita’s reversal of the prince and princess reflects a newfound sense of power and agency, which she now possesses after having realized that she doesn’t need to be Flavio’s girlfriend in order to define herself as Mexican-American. This is perhaps also why she admires the birds who have “no thought of the future or past,” since she herself no longer feels as if she needs to obsess about the history of her bloodline nor what kind of cultural identity she’ll assume in the future. Free of these hang-ups, she can focus on the present, celebrating life just because “another day has ended.”