Normal Miguel
by Erik Orrantia
Miguel Hernández is a teacher who has left Mexico City to complete a one year student internship in the rural hills of Puebla. He came to the school intending to focus on his teaching and his students but quickly learns that it is impossible to keep his private and professional lives separate-particularly as his experience turns into a voyage of self-discovery. His students, the Directora of the school, the baker, and other people from the town all contribute to his growing awareness. But most important is Ruben, the owner of the candy store who progresses from merchant to friend to lover. He will be the man who has the most effect on Miguel-and who, in turn, is transformed by the impact of Miguel on his own life. This is a lyrical story that brings to life the countryside of rural Mexico, with its grinding poverty but care of the people for their native land; expressing prejudice and hate but at the same time affirming the power of love and acceptance in overcoming obstacles. As a slice of life in the year of Miguel, Normal Miguel will certainly capture the hearts and imaginations of those who join him on his journey in the pages of the book.
Winner of the Lambda Literary Award-winner for Best Gay Romance!
"Set in the state of Puebla in southern Mexico, Erik Orrantia's debut novel, Normal Miguel...offers a unique experience for English readers: a heart-warming story about a young Mexican teacher in search of his soul in a rural, mostly-indigenous community." - Rigoberto Gonzalez for Lambda Literary
"The prose is simply gorgeous--I cannot stress this enough--and the author's rich descriptions evoke a kaleidoscope of images of the people, community life, and the land." - Indie Reviews
"This story presents lyrical descriptions and rich details, painting colorful tapestries of life in the Mexican countryside. It shows a balance between grinding poverty and people who care for their community and their native land. It reveals prejudice and hate, but also the affirming power of love and acceptance in overcoming obstacles." - San Francisco GLBT Literary Examiner
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The Mariposa Club
by Rigoberto González
As they embark on their final year of high school, the Fierce Foursome-Maui, Trini, Isaac, and Liberace-decide to do something big, something that will memorialize their friendships for when they all go their separate ways and begin their new "adult" lives. Already accustomed to the hardships that come with being openly gay in high school (not to mention in their homes), the boys can't begin to imagine what they will be faced with when they set out to create Caliente Valley High School's first GLBTQ club. All four boys are remarkably different, and they have been brought together for the time being by their shared feelings of being on the periphery at school, at home, and in the community. But once the Mariposa Club is formed, they will not only have a place where they belong and that is all their own, but it will be a place for future students who feel as displaced as they do.
From Macho to Mariposa
New Gay Latino Fiction
ed. by Charles Rice-Gonzalez and Charlie Vázquez
Prepare yourself to dance in a disco in Silver Lake, check out papis in Orchard Beach, cross the border from Guatemala to Mexico on your way to the U.S., see a puro macho bathe in a river in Puerto Rico, make love under a full moon in the Dominican Republic, sigh at a tender moment in an orange grove in Lindsay, visit a panaderia in Kansas, see a full blown birthday party in Juarez, and be seduced by a young artist in the South Bronx. These are some of the stories in this collection of thirty gay Latino writers from around the United States. There are "don't mess with me" divas, alluring bad boys, and sexy teenagers, but also empowered youth for whom being queer is not a question and a family that grows wings on their heads. The infectious rhythms of House music in New York City are adjacent to cumbia in Mexico, next to reggaeton in Puerto Rico, alongside Latin pop in L.A. and merengue in an east coast city. But the spectrum of experiences and emotions that inhabit our days gives these stories dimension and gay/queer Latinos a common ground. The stories are vibrantly varied and clearly connected in this "era of lost signals" in which we live.
Taxi Rojo
A Tijuana Tale
Tijuana: melting pot of Mexico, gateway to Baja California. Two million souls struggle for survival, each searching for a way to become...something, anything better. Fate brings a few strangers together one night in a crowded taxi rojo. When the red taxi crashes down a canyon, it creates a connection between the passengers that, like the international border within sight of the crash, draws a line between triumph and defeat, hopelessness and perseverance, life and death. Boyfriends Rigo and Cristian confront their demons when a supposedly innocuous tryst gets out of control. Pancha looks for love in a complex world of ambiguous gender and sexual identity. Toni's biggest problem is self-acceptance in a culture that has ingrained in him the idea that real men are macho and self-sufficient. Julia's faith is challenged as she toils to make a living and support her disabled sister, while feeling paralyzed by her sense of responsibility and lingering guilt. Even in Tijuana, light can be found in the darkness. Facing fears and giving of oneself pave the road to strength and freedom, while stubbornness and denial lead only to demise.