Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain | 
 enlarge | Author: Lori Tharps
Publisher: Atria
Category: Book
List Price: $23.00
Buy New: $11.45
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 103250
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.8 x 1
ISBN: 0743296478
Dewey Decimal Number: 946.083092
EAN: 9780743296472
ASIN: 0743296478
Publication Date: March 4, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Magazine writer and editor Lori Tharps was born and raised in the comfortable but mostly White suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she was often the only person of color in her school and neighborhood. At an early age, Lori decided that her destiny would be discovered in Spain. She didn't know anyone from Spain, had never visited the country, and hardly spoke the language. Still, she never faltered in her plans to escape to the Iberian Peninsula. Arriving in the country as an optimistic college student, however, Lori soon discovers Spain's particular attitude toward Blackness. She is chased down the street by the local schoolchildren and pointed at incessantly in public, and her innocent dreams of a place where race doesn't matter are shattered. The story would end there, except Lori meets and marries a Spaniard, and that's when her true Spanish adventure really begins. Against the ancient backdrops of Cadiz andAndalucia, Lori starts the intricate yet amusing journey of rekindling her love affair with Spain and becoming a part of her new Spanish family. From a grandmother who spies on her to a grandfather who warmly welcomes her to town with a slew of racist jokes, the close-knit clan isn't exactly waiting with open arms. Kinky Gazpacho tells the story of the redeemingpower of love and finding self in the most unexpectedplaces. At its heart, this is a love story. It is a memoir, a travel essay, and a glimpse into the past and present of Spain. As humorous and entertaining as such favorite travel stories as Under the Tuscan Sun, this book also unveils a unique and untold history of Spain's enduring connection to West Africa. Kinky Gazpacho celebrates the mysticism of travel and the joys of watching two distinct cultures connect and come together.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 The Awakening--thus far June 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I must admit that I vacillated between sorrow and anger for Lori. She seemed to have such a hard time identifying with her Blackness and I didn't realize young Black people struggled with this identity crisis while coming of age in the '80's. Having lived through the turmoil of the '50's and '60's, I assumed that people of African descent living in America were Black and Proud.
I'm happy that Lori is finally appreciating the blessing of being born Black, one manifestation of the Source of all of us.
Now she will be able to impart to her children and others that on a spiritual plane, all of us share the same Source even though the multitude fails to realize that the breath of life, the air that sustains us all is the same. Many will go through life not realizing this simple fact and will continue to erect barriers/walls to separate us.
Her memoir is a gratifying read and many will enjoy her awakening.
 Kinky Gazpacho June 17, 2008
This memoir by Lori Tharps, who also the co-authored of Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America, was a nice, easy, lightweight coming-of-age story. The book got a little whiny at times as the author tried to reconcile the differences between the Spain of her imaginations and the real Spain especially as it related to the treatment, ideas and attitudes of Black people. But I was completely on-board as she struggled to figure out her identity as a Black person. She grew up in an area that was predominantly White and was never really confident in her Blackness especially when dealing with other Black people. As a first generation Nigerian born and raised in the states, that has been something I too have struggled with. If you speak English properly, enjoy reading and the Opera, well, then, you are not really Black. We know that's not true but I think it's something that many young, upwardly mobile, intelligent Black people face. What does it mean to be truly Black? Ms. Tharps story is inspirational in that she finds her own way to be authentically Black. I felt like she glossed over some things (like her children's birth and her practice of the Ba'hai faith) but these, I suppose, were not the focus of her book. She is, however, refreshingly honest about herself and her feelings/emotions in her page-turning memoir. I think it's that candor that makes you want to continue reading because there is nothing overly exciting going on in the book. It's her story. And it's just life. The ups. The downs. And the in-betweens.
Great summer reading.
Kinky Gazpacho June 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Tharps' story about her love-hate relationship with Spain was high on my list of must reads for this summer - and it turned out to be time well-spent. Tharps chronicles her youth in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she was the only Black girl in her predominately white classes, to her undergrad days at Smith college, where she is one of the few Black women on campus. Tharps struggles to find herself and determine where she fits in. As a youth, she develops a strong love for Spain and vows to see this country that she has fallen so deeply for. Tharps takes her readers to Salamanca and we watch as her adoration for this country slowly turns to something else when she encounters its citizens and learns its hidden truths. This is simply a love story - and in the end, I think Tharps eventually learns to love the thing that is most important - herself.
Insightful Journey April 20, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I could not put down Kinky Gazpacho!!! Lori's delivery of her story was heartfelt and warm, as well as insightful and educational. It has made me even more determined to broaden my life experiences by travelling to other countries (including Spain!!), and immersing myself in different cultures. Kinky Gazpacho leaves the reader hopeful, inspired, and ready to engage life fully.
"Everybody knew that Black people came from nothing" March 28, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Lori Tharps describes herself on " My American Meltingpot ":
* Gender: Female
* Occupation: Writer/Teacher/Mom
* Location: Mount Airy : USA
Black-American Female. Wife of Spanish Male. Mother to 2 SpaNegro boys. Writer. Author. Teacher. Chameleon. People Person. Aspiring Icon.
Kinky Gazpacho expands that information in a factually interesting, emotionally interesting way. She grew up in a white suburb of Milwaukee Wisconsin. For a reason she doesn't really explain, at an early age she decided her destiny lay in Spain. She didn't know anyone there, had never visited the country and barely spoke Spanish. (She equally unrevealing later in the book about why she joined the the Baha'i faith.)
Part of her reason may for seeking an identity may lie in this passage about International Day from her grade school days:
"The activities started at lunchtime. Our usual family-style meal was a smorgasbord of international flavors. We had bratwurst and apple turnovers, Swedish meatballs and some sort of Chinese stir-fry with crunchy noodles. No snails, though. After lunch we headed to the gym and were met with a riot of color and noise and information. We went around as a class first, visiting the different booths. Each booth represented a different country and was manned by volunteer parents in costumes. And then we were free to roam around, playing games, sampling sweets, and reading about distant lands. As I meandered around the gym, I completely forgot about my lack of heritage and just enjoyed all the activities with my friends. And then it was time for the parade of costumes, and I moved to the edge of the floor. I wasn't the only one without a costume, though. Other kids had forgotten or couldn't find anything to wear. I tried to act like I belonged with them.
"By the time International Day was over, I felt like I had been holding my breath and I could finally let it go. All day long I had been praying nobody would ask me where I came from and why I wasn't wearing a costume. The fact that they didn't ask made me realize that they all probably knew and didn't want to make me feel bad. Everybody knew that Black people came from nothing."
Tharps attended Smith College and spent a year studying in Spain. Her "innocent dreams of a place where race doesn't matter are shattered." She learned that southern Spain is a very racist area, with a long and complex history of Black slaves from Western Africa. Her researches indicated that the history of slavery is suppressed by the Spanish Government and forgotten by the Spanish public.
On the personal side, she is chased down the street by kids and pointed at by adults. She learns that chocolate covered peanuts are packaged in "little plastic statues of a naked Pygmy with oversized red lips, bulging eyes and and a spear in his little hand" called " Conguitos ". [Google the word; it's almost shocking how the image leaps off the computer screen.] A Spanish mother struggling with her child, points to Tharps and says: "If you don't behave, I'll give you to that." An article in a Sunday paper discusses "the Black woman's hypersexuality through their intrinsically savage nature."
Despite the culture shock, Tharps stays in Spain and eventually meets Manuel. One of the most moving passages describes how Manuel introduces Lori to his family. His grandmother spies on her; his grandfather is warm in his welcome, but tells her many racist jokes. Lori is careful to collect her hair in the bathroom after washing and drying it.
Thaps's hair provides important insights. In an interview with "Ebony", Tharps says "I had just finished writing my first book, Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America, and it seemed everything about the Black experience in America could be traced back to our hair. I was joking with my husband that my next book would be the story of how we met and fell in love and that it should be called Kinky Gazpacho -- the Kinky referring to me and my kinky hair and the Gazpacho being the traditional tomato soup from Spain that my husband could not live without."
This wonderful book is a memoir, a travelogue and most of all a love story. It taught me a great deal about the Black experience in the US, about slavery and racism in Spain, and about the human heart.
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