At the beginning of this school year, I was very excited at the idea of teaching this play. I hadn't yet read it, but I had taught others of Soto's works with wild success to a similar student population. Now that I have finally gotten around to reading it, I am glad that I didn't get around to teaching it.
In spite of his Mexican roots, Soto manages to come across as pandering and cloying. Novio Boy has the feel of a politician courting votes in New Mexico by peppering his regular campaign speech with Spanish phrases and bits of local color. The play itself is unremarkable, but every fifth word is in cutesy Spanish that feels completely out of place. I can hear my students now: "Mister, we don't talk like that. who is this guy?"
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