`POCHO' TELLS OF A FAMILY STRADDLING TWO WORLDS.

Byline: Bernadette Murphy Special to the Daily News

``Pocho,'' one of the first Mexican-American immigration narratives ever written, is set in the working-class barrio of San Jose and recounts the world of the ``pochos,'' Americans whose parents came to the United States from Mexico. First published in 1959, this Depression-era novel by Jose Antonio Villarreal, which illuminates the immigrant conflict between Old World values and the desire for assimilation, will be the topic for discussion this evening on ``StoryLines California,'' a public radio program.

The tale follows the life of Juan and Consuelo Rubio. As a young man, Juan fought with Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution, but as the tide of revolution turned against him, he came to the United States to create a better life for his family. At the heart of the story, though, are the struggles of Richard Rubio, Juan and Consuelos' only son, who is born upon their arrival in California. A young ``pocho,'' Richard is torn between loyalty to the traditions of his family's past and his attraction to new ideas. Richard straddles the world between his parents' life in Mexico and his own life in California, serving as the bridge between the two worlds for his parents. He watches helplessly as the family begin to self-destruct when the old ways of Mexico erode.

``The book paints a wonderful portrait of the transition between the countries and the generations,'' said ``StoryLines California'' producer Flavia Potenza. ``As Richard's family becomes more Americanized - the father finally realizes his dream of buying a house, for example - and that's when everything disintegrates. Richard's mother embraces the liberation of women, which places a wedge between his parents. The father goes off and marries a younger woman; the family falls apart as Richard struggles to find his own way,'' Potenza explained.

``There are wonderful vignettes in the book of what it was like to grow up Mexican-American during that era.'' Though the story is set in the Depression, Potenza said it's still very reflective of immigrant culture today. ``It's unique to the Mexican-American experience, yes. But it's also a universal story about the common ties we all share, whatever our cultural past.''

Potenza also pointed out that the book makes an interesting comparison to the immigration narrative featured on last week's program, ``The Woman Warrior'' by Maxine Hong Kingston. That book told the story of a Chinese-American woman's struggle with assimilation in California. ``There's a stark contrast between `Pocho,' with its male perspective, and Maxine's female one in `Woman Warrior' that I find fascinating,'' Potenza said.

Hosting the discussion will be noted Los Angeles journalist Lynell George and David L. Ulin, a freelance writer and book critic. Marta Sanchez, professor of Latino studies at UC San Diego and a National Endowment for the Humanities' participating scholar for ``StoryLines California,'' will join in the discussion along with Raymund Paredes, author of ``The Evolution of Chicano Literature.''