All of us have stories that we need to tell. Fortunately, my father and I spent many Sunday afternoons on my front porch on Robins Lane in Brownsville. We'd smoke cigars and my father would tell me about different people who lived in the Matamoros and Brownsville areas that would fire my imagination. I would spend days working on drafts and finally present my dad with the final proof. I knew I had a winner if the first sentence caught his attention.
The stories are historical fiction, which is ironic because there are those who contend that history is fiction. Indeed the saying, and please forgive the paraphrasing, "Beware the Conqueror's version of history" is a truism. In my case, I wanted to ensure that these people, those times, this Tejano culture, were forever remembered.
For example, there is Baldomero Cortez, who after practicing to learn the accordion at the cuatro Milpas cantina, goes to Immaculate Conception Cathedral:
"Hurriedly, Baldomero wiped his face and neck and made sure that his hands were spotless. His pants were a bit shiny from two days' grime, so he hoped that God wouldn't notice. He was wishing that God wouldn't look that far down while he was on his knees. He planned to keep Him occupied by making sure that He only looked at his face. Anyhow, he would keep his hat in his hands and over the front so that only a small patch of the dingy khaki would show"
Baldomero is a humble man whose life circumstances do not hinder him from marveling at the Author of the Universe. He goes on to muse, "I believe that music was a very good idea on Your part, Father, what made you think of it?" He is a philosopher whose life is a metaphor for the soul's yearning to know and understand knowledge in its purest form---one that comes from the Universe that sings and courts mankind's heart. It is a metaphor for this Rio Grande Valley in south Texas.
But not all of my characters who visit the church are saints like Baldomero. The story called "Killer" on page 27 deals with a serial killer who lived in the Matamoros/Brownsville area and who had to kill or his hands would tremble! It took me weeks to get to that very dark place and understand what shaped this evil desire to steal lives from the innocent. It took even longer to shape the story and make it about the death dance between the Protagonist and the serial killer.
Birth Place: Brownsville, TX USA
Accomplishments: 1999 Paul Harris Fellow Rotary Club International
2003-2004 Rotarian of the Year (The Rotary Club
of Brownsville, Texas)
2003-2004 Community Service Award (The Rotary Club of Brownsville, Texas)
2005 Fellow of The Sabal Palms Writing Project (National Writing Project)
