'A Fabricated Mexican' is a novel by Ricky Rivera in which he recounts his life as he goes from a child farm laborer to a Ph.D. candidate. He takes us through his journey in search of his personal identity. In the book we discover that his journey was not easy. This difficult journey is due to many factors, especially the people who surrounded him during this journey. One of the characters who has had a great influence in Ricky's life is his mother. He is a very strong-willed and opinionated person. As Rivera points out at the beginning of the novel “I'm still amazed that I don't really know who this woman is. None of us do. My brothers and sisters have conflicting fictions about where Chero came from, but we agree that if we could only pinpoint an exact geographic moment of being, we could begin to understand Mom. (3) The author reflects on his respect for his mother when he writes about her determination, her purpose, her willingness to confront bosses, teachers, neighbors, and husbands even as he states “to this day I wonder who this woman is.” (10) Ricky respects his mother; however he too is afraid of her. Chero wants Ricky to go to college, but not necessarily for an education. He believes she wants him to go to college so he can collect Social Security checks every month until he graduates. When his mother sends him to Dr. Howell to discuss his future, Dr. Howell states that Ricky should be guided by his own beliefs. When Ricky's mother asks what Dr. Howell said, Ricky makes up a story telling what he believes his mother wants to hear. As Ricky continues his studies, his wife suggests that it is time for him to tell his mother about his academic successes. When he has a...... middle of paper ......give various accounts regarding his father's suicide, he drinks, sweats and cries. The full impact of what his father had done to him finally hits him. “What the hell do you mean there were no others involved? I screamed. What were we, chorizo ​​con huevos? No, the mocking voice in my poisoned mind explained, you were chorizo ​​without huevos. (78) Ricky cries that he was left with his mother and sisters to raise him and believes he was raised as a weak man. “…and because of your stupid, dramatic abandonment I have become a drunken, drug-addicted misfit.” (78) By the end of 'A Fabricated Mexican' Ricky has accepted who he is and how he became the person he is. He is accepting and honoring the fact that he is an invented Mexican. Being an invented Mexican is nothing more or less than wearing masks suited to certain social situations.