Dancing to Almendra

Dancing to Almendra

Author: Mayra Montero
Translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
ISBN-10: 0374102775
ISBN-13: 978-0374102777

Dancing to Almendra takes place in Mafia-dominated 1950’s Cuba before Castro takes over. It begins with a bizarre killing of a hippopotamus at the local zoo and young journalist Joaquín Porrata is sent to write up the story. Joaquín usually covers fluff pieces but desperately wants to be a real reporter covering more important things. He stumbles onto something at the zoo where he learns that the killing of the hippo was a warning to mob boss Umberto "Albert" Anastasia, who really was murdered in 1957. Joaquín starts investigating and begins to uncover an incredible story. He is threatened, beaten, warned and scared the hell out of, but he keeps on investigating and uncovering more and more.

As the investigation deepens, Joaquín’s life starts to spin out of control. He travels to New York, meets both Meyer Lansky and George Raft and finds out much more than any person should know about the Mafia.

The characters are all intensely interesting and detailed. Joaquín’s father and brother Santos, his lesbian sister and his tragic martyr of a mother are all fascinating. Yolanda, the ex circus performer, one-armed mulatta lover of Joaquín as well as Santos Trafficante and mother of a trapeze artist is simply too wild and wonderful not to love.

The story is told in Joaquín’s hard-bitten, matter of fact voice with alternating chapters told in a mystical way by Joaquín’s lover Yolanda. The Cuba of the 50’s comes to life with Mayra Montero’s incredible writing. She paints a decadent picture of nightclubs, music and gaudy casinos where an underlying threat of revolution is bubbling to the surface.

Dancing to Almendra is a gorgeous book about a crazy time and Montero manages to paint both the garish, brightly lit surface as well as the darkness underneath it all with a deft hand.

X-Rated Bloodsuckers

X-Rated Bloodsuckers
Author: Mario Acevedo
Publisher: Rayo
ISBN-10: 0060833270
ISBN-13: 978-0060833275

Felix Gomez is just your normal Chicano vato. He’s an ex-soldier recently returned from Iraq now living in Denver. Felix is a private detective now and has just been hired to find out who killed porn star Roxie Bronze. Oh yeah, did I mention Felix is a vampire? He got bitten in Iraq. Now that’s coming home with some bad war baggage, que no?

Somehow Roxie’s murder is connected to the vampire world and the bosses (like mob bosses vampire style) want Felix to take the case and find out what’s really going on with the L.A. vampires. There’s this cool Mission Impossible you’re message will self destruct trick when the message from the vampire bosses goes up in flames when Felix holds it to the sun. The message was written on vampire skin.

Felix doesn’t really want to go to the L.A. of his childhood, but he’s got the higher ups wanting him to go and he also finds himself intrigued by the case and by the woman who hired him, Katz Meow who has disappeared. He packs his bag and heads off to L.A.

“Even with supernatural mojo, I still felt queasy coming here. Since I had left many years ago, vowing never to return, I had graduated from college, gone to war, become a vampire, and settled in Denver. And here I was, back in Pacoima anyway.”

Once in L.A. he meets one hell of a crazy vato named Coyote who also happens to be the ancient vampire son of the Malinche and Hernan Cortez, the original hijo de la chingada. Coyote loves his rat blood chorizo. Blech.

X-rated Bloodsuckers takes you on a colorful trip to L.A.’s underbelly and the porn industry in the Valley. It’s a wild ride with interesting characters and that unlike anything else L.A. flavor, “Seen from the freeway, the sprawl of the San Fernando Valley stretched in relentless monotony. A line of homes clung to the surrounding hills like the ring around a bathtub.” The story is gripping, the investigation crazy with unexpected twists and turns culminating in a surprising ending with the most unlikely of murderers.

It’s not just a detective story, it’s not just a vampire story, it’s not just a Chicano story – X-rated Bloodsuckers is just a damn good story that transcends all that genre pigeonholing. It’s innovative, exciting, different and keeps you wanting more. Mas, mas mas!

The Door to Bitterness

This is the fourth in Martin Limón’s fabulous noir detective series featuring army investigators Chicano George Sueños and his partner Ernie Bascomb set in the sleazy underbelly of the Korea of the 1970’s. The writing is fast-paced, hard-boiled, gruff and gritty. It is direct and to the point but underneath it all there is a poignancy and haunting beauty.

In this story, George Sueños meets a mad and beautiful Eurasian woman in a bar and ends up waking up in an alley missing his badge and his pistol. After a murder/robbery is committed using his gun, it is up to the pair to track down the murderers and get back the weapon to keep George from being court-martialed. The hunt to find the killers is filled with plot twists and surprises, taking the reader into the dark bars, brothels and the Korean black market all brought vividly to life. George and Ernie must also deal with the Korean police and government investigating the same crime.

It is an uncommon setting told from a clipped and fascinating viewpoint. Limón is a retired Army officer who was himself stationed in Korea.