Cinco de Mayo is more of a U.S. thing than a Mexico thing, even though it celebrates a victory by the Mexican Army over France in the Battle of Puebla in 1862.
Our neighbors to the south are more likely to honor Mexican Independence Day on Sept. 16.
Still, it is always a good time to acknowledge our shared heritage. Almost half of all Tucsonans are of Hispanic heritage, so the Tucson Festival of Books suggests that Cinco de Mayo is a great chance to say “Salud!” to the many recent books featuring the people of Mexico.
To better understand a nation just 70 miles to the south, festival volunteers recommend some of their favorite recent books about Mexico:
“The Death of My Father the Pope” by Obed Silva. This remarkable debut is framed by the author’s preparations for the funeral of his father in Mexico. The man was an abusive alcoholic who died at 48, poisoned to death by Carta Blanca. Silva and his mom had moved to the U.S. to avoid his wrath. This is a memoir, and a clear signal Silva is a voice we will hear more in the years ahead. — Lynn Wiese Sneyd
“Velvet Was the Night” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. One of the brightest lights in fantasy fiction today, Moreno-Garcia followed “Mexican Gothic” with this tale of a daydreaming secretary, a lonely enforcer and a woman they are both desperate to find. The author was raised in Baja California. She now lives in Vancouver. Her gifts as a storyteller are from somewhere else altogether. — Tricia Clapp
“Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs,” by Pam Muñoz Ryan. In this rousing fantasy for children ages 8-12, Ryan takes us to colonial Mexico. Solimar is a young royal who must protect her home and surrounding forests from destruction. A magical encounter with migrating monarch butterflies leaves her with the ability to protect young monarchs. When her kingdom of San Gregorio is threatened, she must go on an arduous journey to save what she loves in a story rich with imagery, suspense and humor. — Kathy Short
“A Ballad of Love and Glory” by Reyna Grande. Released in March, Grande’s latest novel features a widowed Mexican nurse and an Irish soldier thrown together by fate during the Mexican-American War. Inspired by true events and historical figures, this story illuminates a now-forgotten moment in history that impacts America’s southern border even today. — Jody Hardy
“Abecedario de Juárez” by Julian Cardona and Alice Leora Briggs. In this haunting documentary, a newspaper reporter and an artist describe the deadly intersection of organized crime, police and the military that makes Juárez one of the world’s most violent cities. Cardona’s interviews and Briggs’ spellbinding illustrations provide an essential introduction to the violent world summed up in the Spanglish term, “narcolenguaje.” — Bruce J. Dinges
“Baja California’s Coastal Landscapes Revealed” by Markes E. Johnson. Baja California is an improbably long and narrow peninsula. It thrusts out like a spear, parting the Mexican mainland from the Pacific Ocean. Johnson shows us how geology not only helps us look backward, but also forward toward an uncertain future. — Abby Mogollon
“A Good Map of All Things” by Alberto Álvaro Ríos. A small town nestled in Northern Mexico is home to folks as warmly engaging as they are idiosyncratic in this elegant novel by Rios, a Nogales native, University of Arizona grad and Arizona’s first Poet Laureate. — Helen Woodhams
“Mexican Gothic” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. “Mexican Gothic” was published in 2020, but it will never get old. After receiving a mysterious plea for help from her cousin, Naomi heads for High Place … a distant house in the Mexican countryside. Consider it a gothic horror story, with a twist. — Jody Hardy
“The Devil’s Highway” by Luis Alberto Urrea. Tucson favorite Luis Urrea considers himself a poet. He is best-known as a novelist, but the book that stamped him as an important author was “Devil’s Highway,” published in 2005. Any reporter would be proud of the research Urrea invested in this remarkable look at the people most urgently affected by the challenges along America’s southern border. To understand the principal players there, start here. — Bill Finley
