Los Muertos: Day of the Dead Fiction

Observed in Mexico and parts of the United States, El D?a de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a celebratory holiday. Los Muertos is the first anthology of fiction relating to or inspired by this bicultural tradition. Each of the two dozen Mexican and Mexican American writers featured here has a unique affinity for the myriad ideas connected closely to the El D?a de Muertos--some in less obvious ways. The stories connect to the metaphors and connotations related to memorializing the dead, some reflecting on the ritualized and religious aspects of what has become a commercialized holiday and others reacting to such cultural appropriations.

In celebration and reconciliation, stories like Alessandra Narv?ez Varela's, told from the point of view of a D?a de los Muertos wreath, and Marytza Rubio's, about a young woman trying to rewrite a young man's death through parallel dimensions, illustrate the ways Latino cultures process death. From Kirstin Valdez Quade's little girl struggling to accept her mother's abandonment to David Rice's character forgiving himself in remembrance of his daughter's namesake, each character fully embraces what it means to look death in the face and celebrate the losses of the departed. From solemn ofrendas and milagros to everyday acts far removed from any trace of pan de muerto or papel picado, these diverse stories call us to appreciate the holiday's broader cultural significance.

Writers include Ana Gloria ?lvarez Pedrajo, Rosa Beltr?n, Ana Garc?a Bergua, Ana Castillo, Lucha Corpi, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Fernando A. Flores, Elizabeth Gonzalez James, Diana L?pez, Lorraine M. L?pez, Alberto Reyes Morgan, Manuel Mu?oz, Alessandra Narv?ez-Varela, Guadalupe Nettel, Daniel A. Olivas, Pedro ?ngel Palou, Rene S Perez II, Kirstin Valdez Quade, David Rice, Alberto R?os, Ito Romo, Marytza K. Rubio, Socorro Venegas, and D?sir?e Zamorano.

Author: Yvette D. Benavides
Publisher: Tinta Books
Published: 12/10/2024
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781595343130


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 10/01/2024 pg. 19

About the Author
Jim Mendiola is an independent filmmaker, curator, and writer. His films have screened in numerous film festivals, museums, and colleges in the United States, Mexico, and Europe and on public and cable television. He created the film program at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco and directed the San Antonio CineFestival for several years. He is an artist-in-residence at the University of Texas at Austin and lives in San Antonio.