Besame Mucho: An Anthology of Gay Latino Fiction (New Gay Latino Fiction)
The authors of the 17 stories in this anthology have roots in Cuba, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Spain, the American Southwest and New York City. The editors chose not to include established Latino writers, and their selection of new voices reveals a diverse and exciting pool of talent, employing a wide range of styles to portray the varied experiences of gay Latino men. From the magic realism of James Canon's hermaphrodite narrator in "The Two Miracles of the Gringos' Virgin" to the bleak Raymond Carveresque prose of Erasmo Guerra's "Between Dances," this collection delivers gem after gem. Other standouts include "The Nasty Book Wars," Jaime Cortez's comedic and touching account of a boys vs. girls battle to possess the mystery and knowledge contained in a crumpled collection of pornographic magazines; Larry La Fountain-Stokes's incantatory Whitmanesque bravado ("I have been a john, bisexual, queen, man, woman, my name is desire and yours is hope") in "My Name, Multitudinous Mass"; and Alex R. Silva's "Mara's Marvelous Match," in which a jaded transsexual prostitute unexpectedly finds love. Perhaps most impressive is Adam Griego's autobiographical "Onions Are for Men," a quietly devastating portrait of how being in the closet strains family relationships, as silence becomes a burden. If one unifying theme can be identified here, it might be the conflict between cultural expectations (machismo) and same-sex desire. One hopes that the writers in this lively collection will continue to wrestle with this conundrum and bring to light new stories, exploring ethnic and sexual identities.Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.