The No-Guitar Blues

Allusions are references to things outside the text, using the audience’s cultural knowledge to create deeper meaning in the story. “The No-Guitar Blues” opens with a string of allusions that add context to Fausto’s cultural background. His reference to Los Lobos helps establish that he is Mexican American, and the fact that he’s watching them on American Bandstand indirectly shares the time period in which the story takes place. The show aired from 1952-2002, but Los Lobos performed in 1985. Fausto also characterizes his parents through allusions to Mexican conjunto artists like Lydia Mendoza, Flaco Jimenez, and Little Joe and La Familia. Soto makes it clear that Fausto thinks his parents are old-fashioned, but readers who are familiar with this Mexican folk music will have another layer of understanding about who his parents are. Finally, Fausto mentions that his parents bought The Chipmunks Sing Christmas Favorites to reinforce the idea that they aren’t hip, but since this is a children’s album, the reference actually characterizes them as caring parents. Fausto’s disdain for the record shows that he is growing up and is eager to leave childhood behind.