Puro Amor

“Sandra Cisneros has a fondness for animals and this little gem of a story makes that abundantly clear. ‘La casa azul,’ the cobalt blue residence of Mister and Missus Rivera, overflows with hairless dogs, monkeys, a fawn, a ‘passionate’ Guacamaya macaw, tarantulas, an iguana, and rescues that resemble ‘ancient Olmec pottery.’ Missus loves the rescues most ‘because their eyes were filled with grief.’ She takes lavish care of her husband too, a famous artist, though her neighbors insist he has eyes for other women: ‘He’s spoiled.’ ‘He’s a fat toad.’ She cannot reject him. ‘…because love is like that. No matter how much it bites, we enjoy and admire the scars.’ Thus, the generous creatures pawing her belly, sleeping on her pillow, and ‘kneeling outside her door like the adoring Magi before the just-born Christ.’