Romero's Deterioration in El Tonto Del BarrioAfter reading Jose Armas' story, "El Tonto Del Barrio", I was very touched by this simple but effective story of how the village idiot is used to teach a lesson to the audience. However, after researching the topic, I discovered that there had been no literary discussion regarding Armas or "El Tonto del Barrio". I was shocked to find this out and believe this is an interesting and important story that should be explored further. "El Tonto del Barrio" is not only the story of a college-bound young man named Seferino who tries to help the community's "idiot" Romero, but it is also the story of a man who slowly deteriorates when his pride he is taken away and his dignity is not recognized. First, to understand how Romero deteriorates, we need to look at what life was like for Romero before Seferino tried to pay him wages for sweeping. Romero seemed happy and was always whistling and singing. In the first line of the story Armas even states: "Romero Estrado was called El Cotoro (The Parrot) because he always whistled and sang" (1137). Armas at first makes no overt remarks that Romero was a moron who should be avoided; in fact, in the story we only talk about the respect that the people of the town had for Romero. Romero is even called "a respected citizen" (1138). Interestingly, Armas states that "not even the boys made fun of him. It just wasn't allowed" (1138). This point lets the audience know that Romero was respected enough that even parents taught their children to respect him despite his flaws. It is evident that the city knew that Romero was a bit "touchy" (1138), but the citizens choose to overlook his flaws. The citizens of the city and Romero...... middle of paper ......nd Kathleen Wilson. Cumulative index. Michigan: Gale Research, Inc., 1998. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Index. Michigan: Gale Research, Inc., 1991. Critical survey of short fiction. Ed. Frank N. Magil. Cumulative index. California: Salem Press, 1993.Frenandez, Roberto G. Bibliographical Index of Cuban Authors. Miami: Edidones Universal, 1983. Hispanic Writers. Bryan Ryan. vol. 1. New York: Gale Research, Inc., 1991. Modern Latin American Literature. Ed. David William Foster. vol. 2. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1975. Reference Guide to World Literature. Ed. Lesley Henderson. vol. 2. New York: St. James Press, 1991. Short Story Criticism. Ed. Shelia Fitzgerald. Cumulative index. Michigan: Gale Research, Inc., 1989., Critique of World Literature. Ed. James P. Draper. vol. 6. Michigan: Gale Research Inc., 1992.