Search

A “masterful…mesmerizing and unflinching” (Patricia Engel, New York Times bestselling author) story about a family of luchadores contending with forbidden love and secrets in Mexico City, Los Angeles, and beyond.Ernesto Vega has lived many lives, from pig farmer to construction worker to famed luchador El Rey Coyote, yet he has always worn a mask. He was discovered by a local lucha libre trainer at a time when luchadores—Mexican wrestlers donning flamboyant masks and capes—were treated as daredevils or rock stars. Ernesto found fame, rapidly gaining name recognition across Mexico, but at great expense, nearly costing him his marriage to his wife Elena. Years later, in East Los Angeles, his son, Freddy Vega, is struggling to save his father's gym while Freddy's own son, Julian, is searching for professional and romantic fulfillment as a Mexican American gay man refusing to be defined by stereotypes. With alternating perspectives, Ernesto and Elena take us from the ranches of Michoacán to the makeshift colonias of Mexico City. Freddy describes his life in the suburban streets of 1980s Los Angeles and the community their family built, as Julian descends deep into our present-day culture of hook-up apps, lucha burlesque shows, and the dark underbelly of West Hollywood. The Sons of El Rey is an “epic and transporting novel” (Alejandro Varela, National Book Award finalist and author of The Town of Babylon) of a family wading against time and legacy, yet always choosing the fight.

Growing up in a rural village at the height of the Mexican Revolution, Diego León has many first loves: singing, dancing, and hearing the stories of his ancestors, the P'urhépecha. But when tragedy strikes, young Diego is sent to the city to live with his white, aristocratic grandparents, who insist he forget his roots and groom him to take over the family business. Under pressure to enter a profession—and a life—he cares nothing for, and haunted by the violence once again erupting all around him, Diego flees his war-torn country to forge his own destiny. Diego arrives in Hollywood in 1927, when silent films are giving way to talkies, Prohibition is in full swing, and “Latin lover” types are sought out even as they are looked down upon. Working his way up in the movie business with talent and ingenuity, Diego soon figures out that getting one's face on the silver screen has as much to do with what goes on behind the camera as what goes on in front of it. But the closer Diego comes to stardom, the more he finds that the past is not so easily escaped, as he is drawn again and again to the painful legacy of history and the wounds of his homeland. A sweeping, sensual novel of love, ambition, and identity, The Five Acts of Diego León bears all the marks of a classic Hollywood story: romance, betrayal, glamour, and an underdog hero to root for till the end.

Acclaimed author Alex Espinoza, whose writing Lisa See has called “fresh, magical, beautiful, and evocative,” returns with a captivating, unforgettable novel set in Hollywood's Golden Age, as a gifted and determined young man leaves Mexico—and everything he's ever known—to follow his dreams. Growing up in a rural village at the height of the Mexican Revolution, Diego León has many first loves: singing, dancing, and hearing the stories of his ancestors, the P'urhépecha. But when tragedy strikes, young Diego is sent to the city to live with his aristocratic grandparents, who insist he forget his roots and groom him to take over the family business. Under pressure to enter a profession—and a life—he cares nothing for, and haunted by the violence once again erupting all around him, Diego flees his war-torn country to forge his own destiny. Diego arrives in Hollywood in 1927, when silent films are giving way to talkies, Prohibition is in full swing, and “Latin lover” types are sought out even as they are looked down upon. Working his way up in the movie business with talent and ingenuity, Diego soon figures out that getting one's face on the silver screen has as much to do with what goes on behind the camera as what goes on in front of it. But the closer Diego comes to stardom, the more he finds that the past is not so easily escaped, as he is drawn again and again to the painful legacy of history and the wounds of his homeland. A sweeping, sensual novel of love, ambition, and identity, The Five Acts of Diego León bears all the marks of a classic Hollywood story: romance, betrayal, glamour, and an underdog hero to root for till the end.“An elegant, startling vision of a Mexican in America, The Five Acts of Diego León proclaims the ascendance of a unique new talent, Alex Espinoza—a Chicano in America certain to surpass the fame of his novel's silent Hollywood hero. Espinoza takes our literature from a mute, black-and-white era to a national stage with full-spectrum color, in high-tech surround sound.”—Dagoberto Gilb, author of Before the End, After the Beginning

Agua Mansa, un pueblo en gran parte hispano más allá de la periferia de Los Ángeles, es el hogar de Perla Portillo y su Botánica Oshún, adonde acude la gente en busca de amuletos, hierbas y velas. Más que nada, buscan los consejos de Perla, quien ha estado al servicio de la comunidad durante años, armando a sus clientes con las herramientas que necesitan para sobrellevar todo tipo de crisis, tanto grandes como pequeñas. Tenemos a Juan, un hombre que intenta aceptar la muerte de su padre; Nancy, una maestra de escuela recién casada; Shawn, un adicto que busca la paz dentro de su caótica vida; y Rosa, una adolescente que intenta bajar de peso y encontrarse a sí misma. Pero cuando llega un cliente con un pasado turbulento y misterioso, Perla lucha por ayudarlo y debe hacer frente tanto a sus ilusiones frustradas como a sus dudas acerca del lugar que le corresponde en un mundo que cambia con mucha rapidez.Imaginativa, alentadora, lírica, hermosamente escrita, Los santos de Agua Mansa, California, es una novela que evoca lo imprevisible de la vida y la persistencia del espíritu a través de las vidas de los habitantes de Agua Mansa y, en especial, de la mujer que se encuentra al centro de todo. Sus historias son aquéllas de la fe y la traición, el amor y la pérdida, los lazos de la familia y la comunidad, y la constancia del cambio.“Tan perfecta como las cuentas de un rosario... capaz de renovar la fe que tiene uno en la nueva narrativa”.–Sandra Cisneros, autora de La casa en Mango Street“Original, mágica, hermosa y evocadora... ofrece una ventana a un mundo que la mayoría nunca vemos”.–Lisa See, autora de Snow Flower and the Secret Fan“Alex Espinoza está en camino de convertirse en el Faulkner de su propio paisaje encantado, aquel de la comunidad de Agua Mansa, tierra adentro en el sur de California. Este lugar cobrará vida ante los lectores de todo el país a través de una prosa delicada, exquisita e infundida de espíritu”.–Susan Straight, autora de Highwire Moon

“As perfect as the beads of a rosary.”–Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street“Fresh, magical, beautiful, evocative” says Lisa See, about this wonderful first novel by Alex Espinoza. Still Water Saints chronicles a momentous year in the life of Agua Mansa, a largely Latino town beyond the fringes of Los Angeles and home to the Botánica Oshún, where people come seeking charms, herbs, and candles. Above all, they seek the guidance of Perla Portillo, the shop's owner. Perla has served the community for years, arming her clients with the tools to overcome all manner of crises, large and small. There is Juan, a man coming to terms with the death of his father; Nancy, a recently married schoolteacher; Shawn, an addict looking for peace in his chaotic life; and Rosa, a teenager trying to lose weight and find herself. But when a customer with a troubled and mysterious past arrives, Perla struggles to help and must confront both her unfulfilled hopes and doubts about her place in a rapidly changing world.Imaginative, inspiring, lyrical, and beautifully written, Still Water Saints evokes the unpredictability of life and the resilience of the spirit through the journeys of the people of Agua Mansa, and especially of the one woman at the center of it all. Theirs are stories of faith and betrayal, love and loss, the bonds of family and community, and the constancy of change.