Fiction. Latino/Latina Studies. The year is 1915. Although he lacks newspaper experience, Mexican emigrant Pepe Rios lands a job as a Spanish-language reporter in Los Angeles, thanks to the wealthy husband of a former lover. While most newcomers end up working in the fields, Pepe is thrust into a new milieu rife with political unrest. Robber barons, anarchists, and communists struggle with one another, and the news is filled with the exploits of Hearst, Darrow, Flores Magon, and Zapata. Awash in political intrigue and high society, Pepe attempts to uncover the truth about his best friend's death, but his quest for truth just might unravel his new life and force him to face an uncomfortable realization about his past. The author peppers this tantalizing and suspenseful novel with Pepe's journal entries, giving the character depth and dimension as he describes his former life in Mexico and his dreams for the future.

Author Hometown: SANTA MONICA, CA USA



About the author: Daniel Cano has been a professor of English at Santa Monica College since 1988 and has held administrative positions there and at UCLA, UC Davis, and CSU Dominguez Hills. He has two other novels are PEPE RIOS and SHIFTING LOYALTIES, and his work has also appeared in Aztlan and Viet Nam, Pieces of the Heart, Unnatural Disasters: Recent Writings from the Golden State, River's Voice, and Latino Boom: An Anthology of U.S. Latino Literature. He has spent much of his career researching the Latino community on the west side of Los Angeles. From 1966 to 1967, Professor Cano served with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam and is now involved with numerous organizations that study issues affecting veterans.