Interview with 2023 Whiting Award Fiction Winner Carribean Fragoza

Carribean Fragoza, author of the critically-acclaimed story collection Eat The Mouth That Feeds You, is one of the latest winners of a Whiting Award! The Whiting Awards are given annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama. They are based on early accomplishment and the promise of great work to come. We were excited to catch up with Carribean and ask her a few questions.

Toni Kirkpatrick (TK): What was your first thought after you learned you won a Whiting Award?

Carribean Fragoza (CF): I flickered between two feelings, the first one being the feeling of being fully seen. This feels odd to say because I know that people I consider my community have been seeing me and my work for a long time. But when I took that phone call from the Whiting, and they told me how much time and energy had been invested into following and selecting each of the winners, I experienced maybe a different kind of care in that level of attention. The other feeling I kept flickering into was astonishment which is a kind of detachment from any one emotion or thought. Like is this really happening to me? I’m still sort of cycling between these, plus the thrill/mild terror of “what comes next?”

(TK): You have long been doing work to shed light on the culture and history of South El Monte. How does your hometown influence your fiction?

(CF): South El Monte and El Monte are almost always in my fiction. Sometimes it’s more in the forefront as a specific set of locations that I have in mind for my stories and sometimes it’s more of a mood or vibe. South El Monte and El Monte have a very distinguishable vibe. I see and feel it when I go back home to visit and I can see it in your Bolero of Andi Rowe collection, Toni, as well as in Michael Jaime-Becerra and Salvador Plascencia’s work. Also, every time I’m back in SEM/EM, I notice something new or something will catch my eye and it will immediately inspire something in me. They might be very ordinary things, like a mother pushing a stroller down the street or a kid eating a popsicle, but I feel them very deeply.

(TK): You are also the Prose Editor for Huizache, which made its return last year. What are you seeing these days from Latine writers and what excites you? 

(CF): I’m very honored to be on board as Huizache’s Prose editor. And so far, what has excited me the most is work that feels urgent and necessary. These are stories that feel like they need to be told and something very important is at stake for the narrator and other characters (and the author!). The style and risks that writers are taking are responding to the world with all of its beautiful and awful complexities. The voices they are developing in the work are forged from survival and wrought with sharp intelligence. There's a lot of power there.

(TK): What is your advice for Latine writers as they seek to publish their work and find recognition?

(CF): I suppose the best advice I can think of right now is to encourage writers to write stories that feel essential to them and to bring forward voices that are clear, strong, and have something that they need to say. Get in touch with the raw nerve of the story and others will feel it too. And perhaps more importantly: JUST KEEP WRITING. The publishing and awards will come, but most often we don’t have a lot of control over that as writers. But writers gotta write. And writers have to keep learning and growing and getting better. With that said, we also need more Latine/Latinx editors, agents, and other publishing industry folks to create a literary ecosystem that is more supportive of Latine/Latinx writers.

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Carribean Fragoza is a fiction and nonfiction writer from South El Monte, CA. Her collection of stories Eat the Mouth That Feeds You was published in 2021 by City Lights and was a finalist for a 2022 PEN Award. Her co-edited compilation of essays, East of East: The Making of Greater El Monte was published by Rutgers University Press and her collection of essays Writing Home: New Terrains of California is forthcoming with Angel City Press. She has published in Harper's Bazaar, The New York Times, Zyzzyva, Alta, BOMB, Huizache, KCET, the Los Angeles Review of Books, ArtNews, and Aperture Magazine. She is the Prose Editor at Huizache Magazine and Creative Nonfiction and Poetry Editor at Boom California, a journal of UC Press. Fragoza is the founder and co-director of South El Monte Arts Posse, an interdisciplinary arts collective. She lives in the San Gabriel Valley in Greater Los Angeles.

Toni (Plummer) Kirkpatrick grew up in South El Monte, California. A Latinx in Publishing board member, she lives in the Hudson Valley, where she acquires, edits, and writes fiction.

Interview with Margo Candela author of The Neapolitan Sisters

Latinx In Publishing had the opportunity to ask Margo Candela a few questions about The Neapolitan Sisters: A Novel of Heritage and Home.

Latinx In Publishing (LxP): Where did the inspiration for the novel come from?

Margo Candela (MC): Writers are like memory magpies, constantly collecting random bits and pieces of life that might not make sense in the moment, but are too interesting to ignore or forget. When the idea for The Neapolitan Sisters came to me, it already had its beginning, middle and end. Although it was fiction, the story and characters were familiar to me in a way that I still have a hard time explaining. While the inspiration for The Neapolitan Sisters came both from my imagination and from being observant, what really set this novel apart from my previous work was my intention for writing it. I wanted to challenge myself as a writer, but I also wanted to allow my characters to be flawed, difficult and complicated without excuse or apology. 

LxP: One of the primary themes within the story are the types of relationships that exist within families, but also outside of them. Can you talk a bit about the importance for you to highlight that?

MC: It's important, sometimes more so, for my characters to have an identity that’s not based on being a son or daughter, sister or brother, husband or wife, mother or father. How they function separately from those roles is one I like to explore because a lot of times, Latina and Latino characters don’t get to move away from that primary identifier of who and what they are. When they're navigating life in a larger social circle and away from family, they find themselves relating to friends, partners, workmates with the same skill set that either serves them or keeps them from moving beyond dysfunctional dynamics.

LxP: The sisters dealt with a lot of trauma that they all dealt with in their own various ways. Can you speak on your writing process, how you decided on each of the sisters' journeys, and how they would complement each other?

MC: Having three main characters who told their story in first person was a natural way to delve into how Dulcina, Claudia and Maritza would each be affected individually by their shared trauma. Even though they spent their childhood and teens together, they don't interpret that period of their lives in the same way, but they are strongly bonded because of it. Knowing this about them meant I had to let each sister go where she needed to go, even if it made me uncomfortable or took me by surprise. Once I allowed myself to just write what felt right for each sister, I was able to give all three of them added depth and humanity by accepting their flaws as part of who they needed to be. I really love these sisters and it was such a joy, even if sometimes a painful one, to get to know them and bring them to life.

LxP: What can readers expect to gain from reading The Neapolitan Sisters?

MC: The Neapolitan Sisters is about finding compassion and love not only for others, but for oneself. Dulcina, Claudia and Maritza’s acceptance of who they are to each other is the greatest gift they can both give and receive. Compassion, love, and acceptance are essential components to intimate relationships and the Bernal sisters are, to different degrees, able to realize this by the end of the novel. Once they do, they’re able to move forward with their lives, and also be in each other’s lives. This doesn’t always happen in real life, but it can in books which is why I’m so grateful that The Neapolitan Sisters was published after so many years of waiting for me to be brave enough to write it as best as I could.

ACCESS THE BOOK CLUB KIT HERE.

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Margo Candela was born and raised in Los Angeles and began her writing career when she joined Glendale Community College’s student newspaper. She transferred to San Francisco State University as a journalism major, and upon graduation began writing for websites and magazines before writing her first two novels, Underneath It All and Life Over Easy. She returned to Los Angeles to raise her son and wrote More Than This and Good-bye to All That. The Neapolitan Sisters is her fifth novel and her first after a decade-long hiatus from writing. She now lives in San Francisco. Learn more at MargoCandela.com.

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Do I Belong Here? / ¿Es Este Mi Lugar? by René Colato Laínez; Illustrated by Fabricio Vanden Broeck

Latinx in Publishing is pleased to exclusively reveal the cover for DO I BELONG HERE? / ¿ES ESTE MI LUGAR? written by René Colato Laínez and illustrated by Fabricio Vanden Broeck; publishing May 31, 2023 from Piñata Books. Read on for the official book synopsis and to view the gorgeous cover!

The experiences of newcomer students in schools are portrayed in this winning, bilingual picture book.

Cover illustration: Fabricio Vanden Broeck

Design Credits: Bryan Dechter

An immigrant boy stands “in the middle of a whirlwind of children,” and wonders where is he supposed to go. Finally, a woman speaks to him in a language that he doesn’t understand and takes him to his classroom. A boy named Carlos helps orient him, but later when he reads aloud,
everyone laughs at him. And when he gets an “F” on an assignment, he is sure “I do not belong here.”

But gradually the boy begins to learn English. He works hard. He always pays attention, finishes his homework and—most importantly—never gives up. He begins to recognize words. “I
understand now. Open is abrir, books are libros and page is página.” And when the kids invite him to play soccer, he thinks, “Maybe I belong here.” As the boy’s grades improve and he makes friends, he realizes, “I belong here.” And when he sees a girl looking lost, sure she doesn’t belong, but he can now say with certainty: “Not yet. But you will.”

Award-winning children’s book author René Colato Laínez teams up again with illustrator Fabricio Vanden Broeck to explore the experiences of newcomers in schools and affirm that yes, they do belong! With beautiful acrylic-on-wood illustrations depicting children at school, this bilingual kids’ book by a Salvadoran immigrant tells an important story that will resonate with all the kids who want nothing more than to belong.

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René Colato Laínez is the author of numerous picture books for children, including My Shoes and I / Mis zapatos y yo (Piñata Books, 2019), Mamá the Alien / Mamá la extraterrestre (Lee & Low Books, 2016), From North to South / Del norte al sur (Children’s Book Press, 2013),  René Has Two Last Names / René tiene dos apellidos (Arte Público Press, 2009) and I Am René, the Boy / Soy René, el niño (Arte Público Press, 2005). He is an elementary school teacher in Los Angeles, California.

Fabricio Vanden Broeck is a designer, illustrator, painter and professor of design at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Azcapotzalco in Mexico City. He illustrated My Shoes and I / Mis zapatos y yo (Piñata Books, 2019).

Book Review: The People Who Report More Stress by Alejandro Varela

Following his debut novel, The Town of Babylon, a 2022 National Book Award Fiction finalist, Alejandro Varela’s first short story collection, in its refined handling of complex subjects, appears to be on the cusp of similar success. Across thirteen loosely interconnected stories, Varela explores topics that both cause and relieve anxiety, which become particularly resonant for the Latinx reader, whose experience is explored in multitudes. The People Who Report More Stress primarily follows Eduardo, a New York-based Salvadoran-Colombian health researcher, his husband, Gus, and their two sons. Readers follow Eduardo through various stages of his life, from being a young boy on family trips in the 1980’s to an older man returning to the dating pool. The majority of the collection, however, follows Eduardo as he navigates a midlife standstill in his romantic, familial and personal lives.

The collection’s narrative style can be disorienting as readers follow Eduardo across time and location. However, this occasional absence of temporal and geographic stability mirrors the fluctuating nature of one of the book’s largest constants: Eduardo and Gus’ relationship. The opening story “An Other Man,” introduces Eduardo as he simultaneously acknowledges the certain beauties of married life and the possibilities that lie outside of it. In “The Six Times of Alan,” we sit with Eduardo as he articulates, in therapy sessions, the challenges of having a white partner and his desire for someone “who would inspire [him] to be a better human, someone who questioned power structures, someone to shake [him] out of [his] complacency.” We see how much of an ask that might be as Varela shifts to Gus’ perspective in “Waiting.” In this story, Gus reveals his side, admitting he is often “disarmed by Eduardo’s honesty and curiosity.” It is a complex marriage for readers to follow, and has one analyzing class and racial dynamics along with the individual characters themselves.

As the title suggests, stress is a prominent character in the book, but New York City proves to be another. Varela paints an accurate picture of a rapidly-gentrifying Brooklyn, as well as the new generation of upper-middle class, queer, and BIPOC residents living there. In the story, “She and Her Kid and Me and Mine,” Eduardo reflects on what it’s like to raise his son, Julio, in a predominantly white neighborhood. The gap between their upbringings is “vast and vertigo inducing,” and Eduardo is hyper aware of his son’s worldview and sense of self-worth as Julio predominantly plays with white children. This mindset and context has Eduardo thinking about his proximity to privilege too. He views the structural divisions of the neighborhood from the back seat of a cab in “The Great Potato Famine,” but also thinks about how people in the city view him (a prospective date tells him that they are “a sucker for Latinos.”). While Eduardo’s consistent, and often intense, questioning of societal failings is occasionally off-putting to other characters, it confirms he’s still on his own journey of self-discovery. It’s not defeat that causes Eduardo to think he “succumbed to the constructed order of things”—it’s his understanding that, as he begins to benefit from newfound advantages, he’s being complicit in the up-keep of some of these systems.

“A collection for readers who understand the protagonist’s plight and who can see themselves in his journey. Through Eduardo, we are allowed to feel everything, and understand that it’s okay. ”

Eduardo’s excavation for the truth is the most consistent part of the collection. Whether he is noticing his white husband being able to hail cabs, while drivers speed past him, or directly stating the frustration of having partners who are unable to recognize microaggressions, Eduardo is constantly searching for a place where he can be heard. We see him grow from the child in “Midtown-West Side Story,” where he witnesses his parents struggle to keep their family afloat, his father, Jorge, “[maintaining] the air of someone who might have done more if he’d had more opportunities.” We see his perception of his relatives in “The Caretakers,” where he begins to realize the standards that his aunt was held to as a woman, mother and sister, only when she’s on her deathbed. Through this, Eduardo subconsciously provides an intimate look into the Latinx family unit: the expectations from elders and the intergenerational trauma of leaving the homeland, but also the loyalty and perseverance that is firmly rooted within. Readers can see that while Eduardo notes where some of his anxiety may have originated, his loved ones are a reason he continues his fight forward.

Eduardo’s racing thoughts on queer parenthood, political and moral shortcomings, and the trials of intersectional identities may come off as heavy-handed, however, their overwhelming nature is its magic. It’s difficult to orient oneself when balancing numerous factors that may or may not be working against you. It’s emotionally-taxing to be a parent, to be in a relationship, to be a brown body in a white world. Varela is astute in his observations of these complexities and approaches them with honesty that shines on the page. The result is a collection for readers who understand the protagonist’s plight and who can see themselves in his journey. Through Eduardo, we are allowed to feel everything, and understand that it’s okay.

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Alejandro Varela (he/him) is a writer based in New York. His debut novel, The Town of Babylon (2022), was published by Astra House and was a finalist for the National Book Award. His work has appeared in the Point Magazine, Georgia Review, Boston Review, Harper’s, and the Offing, among others outlets. Varela is an editor-at-large of Apogee Journal. His graduate studies were in public health. Access his work at alejandrovarela.work. You can also find him on Twitter and IG: @drovarela.

Carly Tagen-Dye is a Guatemalan-American writer and editor based in New York City. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The Augment Review, NY Press, Alma and The Sock Drawer, among other outlets, and her novel, All That You Can See, was a finalist for CRAFT's 2022 First Chapters Prize. She has previously worked in publishing at Sterling Lord Literistic and Catapult Book Group. You can visit her website at www.carlytagendye.com.

#SalaSundays with Tiffany Gonzalez

Tiffany Gonzalez hosted our Instagram, on March 12, for our weekly #SalaSundays series. Below are a few questions that we asked Tiffany.

Latinx In Publishing (LxP): What do you do?

Tiffany Gonzalez (TG): I’m the Marketing Manager for Astra House, an imprint at Astra Publishing House. I am also the Latinx In Publishing Communications Co-Director.

LxP: How did you get started?

TG: I love telling this story because it’s a very unconventional way of getting into the industry. I was actually working in corporate retail and then found myself in Production at Harper Collins. I learned so much in production and it allowed me to further familiarize myself with the industry. Four years and a Masters degree later, I found myself looking for a new path and was hired at a brand new indie publisher, Astra Publishing House. At APH, I was allowed to really branch out; it’s how I found myself in publicity and then ultimately, Marketing. Moral of the story, there is not one linear path to getting into the publishing industry.

LxP: What do you wish you knew before getting into the industry?

TG: This is going to sound weird, but I wish I knew that the publishing industry existed. I knew books were made but the concept of it being a business never even crossed my mind. Therefore, I had no idea that working in publishing was a possibility. Then once I was in publishing, for the longest, I thought Editorial was the route that I would take after Production, but there’s so much more available within the industry, even more so now, with digital marketing and social media. Not much is known about the industry, outside of the industry, (for the longest, when I first started, my friends did not understand what I did for a living) and I think that does a disservice to others who do Finance, Sales, Customer Service, Marketing, Publicity, etc., other jobs apart from Editorial. One of the reasons that I think #SalaSundays is so great is because it allows people to see industry professionals from all departments.

LxP: What book are you currently working on or reading?

TG: A few Latinx books I’m currently working on are: The People Who Report More Stress by Alejandro Varela, Rivermouth by Alejandra Oliva and Candelaria by Melissa Lozada-Oliva. I just finished reading Afterlife by Julia Alvarez. Just started Crying in the Bathroom by Erika L. Sánchez and currently still working my way through The Man Who Could Move Clouds by Ingrid Rojas Contreras. I never thought that I would see the day when I would read multiple books at once, but here I am!

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Tiffany Gonzalez is the Marketing Manager at Astra House. She previously worked in Production at HarperCollins Publishers. She has worked on the Publicity and Marketing campaign for Dreaming of You by Melissa Lozada-Oliva and on the Marketing campaigns for Becoming Abolitionists by Derecka Purnell, The Sex Lives of African Women by Nana Darkoa Sekiyamah and The Town of Babylon by National Book award Fiction Finalist Alejandro Varela. She has earned her Bachelors and Master's degrees from Rutgers University - NB. She is Dominican-American and fluid in Spanish. You can follow her on Instagram @wandering_tiff_ or visit her website at wanderingtiff.com

The Lost Dreamer: Cover Art

One of the best parts about illustrating a book cover is imagining how written characters and places could appear. This is exactly the opportunity that fell into my hands with Lizz Huerta’s title The Lost Dreamer. The book is a gripping YA fantasy debut inspired by ancient Mesoamerica where we are introduced to a lineage of seers defiantly resisting the patriarchal state that would see them destroyed.

Something that Huerta and I share in common is colorful and surreal articulation, so when I read the text, there was so much inspiration to draw from. On top of that, I am a student of history and so bringing someone from Pre-Columbian times into a contemporary lens was an honor. The main character, Indir, is depicted on the cover. She’s a Dreamer, someone able to see beyond reality, with the rare gift of Dreaming truth. It wasn’t hard to figure out what Indir's face would look like since Native people are still all around us, the challenge was more in her historic outfit, hair and context. 

There are two variants of the cover, one is the hardcover edition and the other is paperback. My favorite is the paperback since it has neon inks and I’m a fan of bright colors. However I do enjoy the mysterious mood of the hardcover and how it sets the character in the context of a forest canopy. I had to adjust the artwork specific to each edition since the tones and color of a person changes depending on the background.

I am so grateful to have worked on this book and I hope that there are readers out there who feel seen when they encounter the cover.

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Samuel Rodriguez (born March 16, 1981) is an Abstract Portrait Illustrator based out of San José California. His work spans across public art, advertising, tech, commerce and media publications. As a youth, he dedicated most of his time to Painting Graffiti until he later pursued a BFA at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. He has since built his career as a portrait illustrator, developing a style that blends facial features, lettering, and abstract shapes to formulate distinct visual narratives.

Follow Samuel on Instagram and Subscribe to his YouTube channel.

Book Review: Decoding Despacito: An Oral History of Latin American Music by Leila Cobo

“This is a great time capsule of latinx music from 1970 all the way to 2018. ”

Decoding Despacito analyzes the impact of 19 songs from Latin American artists. It analyzes songs from “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano (1970) to “Malamente” by Rosalia (2018). Lelia Cobo breaks down who is involved with the song and sheds light of the hard work and impact each song has had from multiple perspectives. Each chapter is compiled from interviews from the artist or producer themselves but also family members of the artists. I loved how going into each song all the players involved did not anticipate the song to become as popularized as it did.

As an avid music listener, I loved learning about the history of the song and how confident a lot of the musicians were in their song. They often wanted to prove how songs sung in Spanish have the power to deliver their message even when some listeners don’t speak the language. For instance, Carlos Santana is mentioned for his song “Smooth”. Santana is not a singer, instead as a guitar player, "Smooth” has become an anthem for latinx community through his guitar skills. As soon as you hear the guitar introduction to the song, you know it’s Carlos Santana and you know it’s “Smooth.” Not only do the vocals represent the latinx community but the video was shot in Spanish Harlem that serves as a visual reference as well. There is so much thought that went into this legendary song and explains how it was the #1 song of the 1990s.

The section on Shakira’s “Whenever Wherever” was also iconic as Shakira was already succeeding in the latinx community. She broke out of her mold by releasing an English-language album as a latinx artist. Shakira was very involved with her music as she knew she wanted to record with a flutist from Argentina. She worked closely with the flutist to ensure that they were executing the melody Shakira had pictured in her head. Shakira came up with the lyrics while she was driving home from a late night. She first recorded the song in Spanish and then received help to record it in English. Shakira was known for being extremely intelligent and had attention to detail. She would bring a yellow notepad with her and take copious notes. I especially love her attention to making her iconic music video. She wanted to feel elemental and primary, which is why she is seen dancing barefoot with her hair down. She is embodying the music that she feels, which quickly became an iconic way of signing and dancing.

Of course, “Despacito” is covered and all the songs leading up to “Despacito” explain how the stage was built for it to take off and become as popularized as it became. “Despacito” is recognized as a catalyst that did not have to rely on the English language. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee had created the song in Spanish and were already receiving a lot of attention from the latinx community. However, when Justin Bieber heard the song in a club in Colombia, he wanted to be involved in a remix. Bieber learned to sing in Spanish and honor the message of the song. There was some backlash on Bieber “appropriating” the Spanish language but Andres Torres, a co-producer, states that Justin Bieber is singing a song in Spanish and it happens to be #1. Mauricio Rengifo, another coproducer, stated that the effort that Bieber took to sing in Spanish is a symbolic gesture of respect toward the latinx culture and language.

This is a great time capsule of latinx music from 1970 all the way to 2018. In the author’s note Cobo states that she is interested in writing a sequel in the future and I really hope she does so I can learn more about latinx musicians and their history!

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Leila Cobo is the vice president and Latin industry lead at Billboard and heads the Billboard Latin Music Conference. She has published two novels and three books about Latin music, including a top-selling biography of the late Jenni Rivera.

Mariana Felix-Kim (she/her) lives in Washington, D.C. with her lovely cat, Leo. When she is not working in the environmental science field, Mariana is constantly reading. Her favorite genres include non-fiction, thrillers, and contemporary romances. Mariana is half Mexican and half Korean. You can find her on Instagram: @mariana.reads.books

#FellowFriday with Sarah Marie Jette

Sarah Marie Jette hosted our Instagram on March 3rd for our #FellowFriday series. Below are a few questions that we asked Sarah Marie.

Latinx In Publishing (LxP): Why did you decide to apply to the Latinx in Publishing Fellowship program? 

Sarah Marie Jette (SMJ): I applied for the Work in Progress Fellowship through Latinx in Publishing because I knew my manuscript had potential but I needed help getting it polished up. A year ago, several agents asked for my full manuscript, but ultimately passed. Based on the bits of feedback I received, I knew there were areas in my manuscript I wanted to target (pacing and character development), but I needed support. This fellowship has given me that support. 

LxP: What has this experience meant to you? 

SMJ: This experience has meant the world to me. I am not exaggerating. I have had to tone down my enthusiasm and excitement.—The first few weeks of this fellowship, I spent hours upon hours revising and sending material to Jess. She helped me pace myself. 

After receiving rejections when querying my manuscript, I now have the Latinx in Publishing team and Jess by my side as I continue my writing journey, and it is amazing. In the past 6 months I have grown not only as a writer, but also in my understanding of the publishing industry.

LxP: What advice would you give to anyone applying to the program?

SMJ: My advice to anyone who is interested in applying is to take the chance and apply. Polish up your manuscript as best as you can and complete the application. When I got the acceptance email from Latinx in Publishing, I read it multiple times to make sure I was reading it correctly. It seemed too good to be true!

LxP: What's one of your favorite things you've learned during the fellowship? 

I think the favorite thing about this fellowship is getting to know my editor, Jess. She is an editor, but she doesn't just edit. She writes proposals, meets with different departments within her publishing house (acquisitions, sales, marketing, etc.). She also reads through submissions. She does so much! 

LxP: What book are you currently working on or reading?

I am currently reading The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes. It is so good! [Read our review here]

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Sarah Marie Jette has the best job in the world, teaching 3rd graders. In 2022, Sarah Marie was honored as a semi-finalist for the Massachusetts Teacher of the Year recognition. Sarah Marie is Mexican-American and grew up in Lewiston, Maine. Her first book, What the Wind Can Tell You, was published by Islandport Press in 2018. When she isn't teaching or writing, she plays board games with her 3 kids and snuggles with her 4 cats.

Exclusive Cover Reveal: The Flower in the Skull by Kathleen Alcalá

Latinx in Publishing is pleased to exclusively reveal the cover for THE FLOWER IN THE SKULL written by Kathleen Alcalá; publishing May 25, 2023 from Raven Chronicles Press. Read on for the official book synopsis and to view the gorgeous cover!

Inspired by the author’s research into her own family history, The Flower in the Skull illuminates the importance of a connection to ancestors—a connection that survives colonial violence and generational trauma.

Alfredo Arreguín, Tucson, 1998, oil on canvas

A riveting novel from acclaimed author Kathleen Alcalá, this second edition of The Flower in the Skull, from Raven Chronicles Press, begins in the Sonoran Desert in the late 19th century, where an Ópata village is attacked by Mexican soldiers. Her family scattered, Concha makes her way to Tucson, where the stories she tells her daughter lead to Shelly-a troubled Latina in modern-day Los Angeles, increasingly fascinated by her ancestry. A powerful tale of heritage, loss, and acculturation, Alcalá spins her most lyrical and moving work yet.

The second part of a planned trilogy that began with Spirits of the Ordinary (1997), The Flower in the Skull spans more than a century in offering a view of three women linked by Indian blood and their dreams, and seared by the violent transgressions of men. Childhood comforts in her Ópata village in Sonoran Mexico cease for Concha when her father is seized by Mexican soldiers and never seen again. First abandoning home with the remainder of her family, then herself abandoned by her mother, Concha walks in a daze across the desert to Tucson, where she's taken in as a nanny by a prospering Mexican family. A measure of peace returns to her. But when she's raped by an Anglo and bears his child, nothing can ever be the same. A brief marriage to the family doctor fails to produce more children, so her husband abandons her for someone else, leaving Concha and daughter Rosa to fend for themselves.

Over the years, Rosa picks up the burden when her mother grows too weak to continue the dawn-to-dusk housecleaning work that has sustained them, but then Rosa catches the eye of a young minister and receives Concha's blessing to marry him just before Concha dies.

Busy starting her own family and keeping her own house, Rosa still wonders about her mother's past-Ópata and the father she never knew. Two generations forward, Shelly, an editorial assistant for an L.A. publisher, jumps at the chance to escape her stalking, harassing boss by going on a research trip to Tucson, where she finds not only a mystery involving her mother's family and her people in a broader sense, but also the will to survive the horror waiting for her when she returns to Los Angeles.

Like her previous novel Spirits of the Ordinary, The Flower in the Skull is set along the Mexican/U.S. border and deals with three generations of Ópata Indian women—ranging from the turn of the century to the present day. All are based on members of Kathleen's family, the book recreating both the magic and hard work of survival. The story is heartbreaking in places, but the prose is even more gorgeous, and there is a richness to Alcalá's characterization and settings that invite re-reading passages, simply to re-experience their resonance.

Praise for The Flower in the Skull

“Kathleen Alcalá is one of America’s best writers. The clarity and depth of her work allow us to see and treasure the many untold stories about our indigenous ancestors in a territory always influenced by both Mexican and American history.” —Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs, author of How Many Indians Can We Be? ¿Cuántos indios podemos ser? and The Runaway Poems

“Alcala’s timely endeavor to reclaim, research, write and honor the ‘old stories’ of her Ópata great-grandmother is an utterly glorious achievement.” —Penina Ava Taesali, author of Sourcing Siapo

“A book of deep connections, one that bridges the Old Ways with modern life, the Mexican-American culture with its Native roots, and the unrelenting grind of reality with the triumph of spirit.” —Anita Endrezze, author of Butterfly Moon

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Kathleen Alcalá was born in Compton, California, to Mexican parents and grew up in San Bernardino. She is the author of six award-winning books that include a collection of stories, three novels, a book of essays, and The Deepest Roots: Finding Food and Community on a Pacific Northwest Island, from the University of Washington Press. A member of the Ópata Nation, Kathleen makes her home on Suquamish territory.

Book Review: Chingona by Alma Zaragoza-Petty

Chingona: Owning Your Inner Badass for Healing Justice is the self help book that latinx women, non-binary, and female identifying people have needed. It weaves together the history of a derogatory term with lessons on how to unlock your inner badass to reclaim the term “chingona”.

Historically, “chingona” is a vulgar term that is used to degrade women for being too aggressive or out of control. This word highlights the juxtaposition of gender roles as the masculine version of this word, “chingon,” is actually a compliment for men that describes them as intelligent, cool, and even a badass. There has been a movement to reclaim “chingona” and reassign its meaning to a positive one.

Zaragoza-Petty provides context of this empowering self help journey by explaining chingona history. This valuable history lesson sets the stage by highlighting how far back gender roles date in history and the tie to colonialism. La Malinche was a Nahua woman and a prominent historical figure due to her role as Hernan Cortes’ translator. Zaragoza-Petty recognizes her as the first chingona. Although La Malinche was a valuable asset to the Spaniards because she was fluent in Maya-Yucaeca and Nahuatyl, which were the two major languages in the region at that time, she was gifted to Cortes. At this time Spainards were doing everything they could to destroy indigenous land and traditions and replace them with their own. So when La Malinche gave birth to her son, Martin Cortes, he inherited two new titles; mestizo and chingon. Mestizo is a label for people that are mixed race (Spanish and Indigenous) while chingon, in this context, means fatherless (similar to “bastard”). The roots of these words were labels that became verbal weapons to other people.

““Chingona: Owning Your Inner Badass for Healing Justice” is the self help book that latinx women, non-binary, and female identifying people have needed. It weaves together the history of a derogatory term with lessons on how to unlock your inner badass to reclaim the term “chingona”.”

There are consistent history lessons embedded into the book that provide context for the healing that one needs to have before unlocking their inner badass or chingona. My favorite part of the book is that Zaragoza-Petty closes a gap by directing the self help lessons towards the BIPOC community. This is done by acknowledging that labels such as chingona have a hurtful history that represents colonialism and racism from the past. This is different from many self help books as they typically are geared towards white populations. Therefore, the advice in these books are not relevant to BIPOC communities, which ultimately excludes a major population that are in need of healing and self help content.

As a Mexican cis woman, I related to this self help book so much. One of the most important and valuable messages Zaragoza-Petty delivered was the need to heal before working on yourself. There is generational trauma that gets passed down because our ancestors have had to survive to pave a path forward, during a time that was heavily based on colonialism, patriarchal norms, and racism. This is a battle that is still ongoing today and can be exhausting for BIPOC communities. Therefore, hearing that it’s okay and even necessary to heal before embarking a self help journey is extremely comforting. Zaragoza-Petty also acknowledges that anyone can be a chingona. In fact she claims that nonbinary, femme identifying, and queer folks are “some of the baddest chingonas; they’ve had to be.” I love the inclusivity of this statement because these are other populations that self help books tend to exclude, especially when discussing feminism.

The meat of this book are the lessons on how to be a chingona. These lessons are drilled in by repeating the phrase “To be a chingona means to be ____”. Zaragoza-Petty fills in the blanks with words like “authentic”, “finding another way to be a leader”, “noticing deep spiritual wounds from our childhood”, “reclaiming your roots by telling your own story”, and more. There are a wide range of lessons in this book that factor in healing and growth. 

Zaragoza-Petty is a talented chingona who was able to join a historic movement of reclaiming the term and changing the direction towards empowerment. This is a great book to read to start off the new year and a great guide on how to own your identity.

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Alma Zaragoza-Petty, PhD, is a Mexicana social justice advocate and scholar who teaches equity to create change. Born in Los Angeles but raised in Acapulco, Mexico, for much of her childhood, she is the daughter of immigrant parents and a first-generation high school and college graduate. Zaragoza-Petty has a master's degree in counseling and a doctorate in education and has worked in higher education for more than twenty years. She has served as an academic advisor, as a professor, and in research and evaluation for a nonprofit organization. She is co-founder of Prickly Pear Collective, a trauma-informed, faith-based community organization and cohost of The Red Couch Podcast with her partner, hip-hop artist Propaganda.

Mariana Felix-Kim (she/her) lives in Washington, D.C. with her lovely cat, Leo. When she is not working in the environmental science field, Mariana is constantly reading. Her favorite genres include non-fiction, thrillers, and contemporary romances. Mariana is half Mexican and half Korean. You can find her on Instagram: @mariana.reads.books