The Madonnas of Echo Park

In the Author’s Note, the author, Brando Skyhorse, introduces himself and his connection to Echo Park. Skyhorse describes his experience living and attending middle school in Echo Park during the 80s. His sixth-grade class is ethnically divided between American-born Mexicans and first-generation Vietnamese Americans, who choose to sit on opposite sides of the room. Skyhorse explains that at this stage in his life, his mother raises him as Native American, and he is unaware that he is part Mexican. Thus, he is unsure where to situate himself within his classroom, and sits at a table by himself.

Despite racial tensions in his class, the students bond together over their shared material longings, especially their desire to hear what was on MTV. Most of the students in Skyhorse’s class come from poor families that do not have regular access to television, let alone cable channels like MTV. Skyhorse’s parents gift him his own TV set with an MTV connection, making him a hub of cultural knowledge in his middle school. He tells his fellow students what he sees on MTV, building an aura of mystique around the channel.

The sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. O’Neill, notices her students’ enthusiasm for MTV.