Latin American Short Stories

LONGLISTED for the 2017 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION An urgent, essential collection of stories about immigration, broken dreams, Los Angeles gang members, Latin American families, and other tales of high stakes journeys, from the award-winning author of War by Candlelight and At Night We...

A wonderful collection of stories that captures the spirit of Mexican culture and its peoples.

Despite Carlos' mundane life, killing weeds for his father's rich customers, is billions of miles from the stars he observes in the night sky, or from the kids who sit in the canteen with their healthy sandwiches and bottled water. His life is a billion miles from their reality, and the reality of a stable life in America as he dreams of becoming a citizen. While their families provide them with nice clothes, large houses and cars to travel to school in, Carlos makes do with gas-fumed rags of clothes and a gap between his front teeth. In order to cope, he immerses himself in thoughts of the universe, and learns of black holes, gravity and the beguiling Casimir Effect.

Rosalinda is on her very first date with Christian. But somehow it's not quite the one-on-one experience she was envisioning. It seems the entire crowd has decided to tag along - and who is this over by the African elephants?

Rosalinda, Christian, and the three girls are on an adventure at Southwick's Zoo. There are lions, tigers, deer, and giraffes! But something is not quite right at the zoo. Will the crew figure out what's wrong in time? The Gargling Giraffe is the fourth book in the Rosalinda Alameda Mystery series. These short stories feature the zoos that Rosalinda loves with a passion.

Rosalinda and her new friends strolled through the 1830s-era 200-acre expanse which was Old Sturbride Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Normally this was an oasis of calm. But because this was the last Free Friday of the summer, it seemed that every child in the region had descended to explore and enjoy. When the group decides to hide out in the farm area, where things might be quieter, they discover a mystery instead!

Rosalinda Alameda is in her element. The carousel is spinning, the bears are lounging by their waterfall, and the two elephants are playfully making music with their drums. The brilliant summer sun reminds her of her native Puerto Rico. But despite the warm sunshine and the joyous laughter of the children, Rosalinda can sense that something is not quite right.

Rosalinda Alameda adores zoos. When Massachusetts's summertime "Free Fridays" promotion features the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, Rosalinda grabs her camera and heads east. A full day amongst lions and tigers is about the best outing she can possibly imagine. But something's wrong at the zoo, and it'll take a combination of her Puerto Rican common sense and her 50 years of wisdom to unravel the puzzle!

Rosalinda Alameda is celebrating her first year anniversary working at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, Massachusetts. She is talking with her beloved mother, who still lives in Puerto Rico. Everything is going just perfectly. But then her world turns completely upside-down, and everything she holds dear is threatened. The Flustered Flamingo is the 10th book in the Rosalinda Alameda Mystery series. These short stories feature the zoos that Rosalinda loves with a passion. Author Lisa Shea goes to each zoo personally to write up its sights, sounds, and aromas.

Rosalinda Alameda's dreams are coming true. She's being tested on her zoo knowledge, and if the stars are aligned she might even get that job she has always hoped for. But first comes a practicum at the Capron Park Zoo. Old friends and new faces will challenge her skills....

Rosalinda Alameda and her friends had arrived in sunny Tampa. Just a few days remained on their tropical vacation. The perfect way to spend the time was, of course, to visit a zoo! But why was that bontebok so interested in Rosalinda?

Rosalinda Alameda had gotten a call from her art-detective friend Cindy, from the sunny island of Key West, Florida. An aquarium there needed help with a mystery. And, given how cold and snowy Massachusetts was in January, Rosalinda was more than happy to lend a hand.

Rosalinda, Christian, and the three girls are enjoying the autumn splendour of King Richard's Faire. It seems there is everything and anything going on at this Renaissance Festival. But trouble brews around the corner....

Dos hermanos se enfrentan juntos a la maldad colectiva; un hombre revive la muerte del hijo de su amigo a la luz del LSD; en el cementerio de Obaba-Ugarte, dos conferenciantes pronuncian ante la multitud congregada una delirante charla sobre la vida y la muerte; un búho resulta ser una pieza indispensable para resolver varios crímenes.

Una mujer se enamora de un vecino por cómo cuida las plantas de su terraza. Un hombre organiza una fiesta con todos sus seres queridos para celebrar el final de una larga enfermedad. Una niña acompaña a su madre a ver pisos que nunca podrán permitirse y un padre lleva a su hija adoptada a conocer a su madre biológica...

"El elogio de la nieve" es un cuento de Hugo Burel que obtuvo el Premio Juan Rulfo de Radio Francia Internacional en 1995. En el texto, Burel realiza una reflexión colectiva sobre Uruguay y los uruguayos a través de una reunión de varios tertulianos en un café de Montevideo. Los personajes discuten la posibilidad de que esa noche caiga nieve sobre la ciudad. Sin embargo, su conversación aparentemente encierra un profundo estudio tanto de la identidad del país del autor.

Álex Ayala escribe acerca de unos jubilados que cumplen heroicamente su última misión en la vida: vigilar una estatua de John Lennon para que nadie robe sus características gafas. Y también lo hace sobre los habitantes de un pueblo de Bolivia que comercian con sus recuerdos sobre las últimas horas de vida del Che Guevara. En otro capítulo se habla del sastre Sillerico, quien ha gozado del dudoso honor de ver en paños menores a la mayoría de los presidentes de su país.

Una fotógrafa comprende algo que hubiera preferido no comprender. Un veterano de la guerra de Corea se enfrenta a su pasado durante un encuentro que parecía inofensivo. Tras el hallazgo por internet de un libro de 1887, un escritor acaba descubriendo la vida de una mujer apasionante.

En los cuentos que incluye El gaucho insufrible destacan el uso magistral de la ironía y algunas de las claves fundamentales de la obra de Bolaño: la literatura como argumento, las tramas policiacas, el arte como obsesión, la búsqueda de una verdad que solo parece ineludible para aquellos que la persiguen, la desmitificación de la realidad y la muerte.

How does a Mexican American, the son of poor immigrants, leave his border home and move to the heart of gringo America? How does he adapt to the worlds of wealth, elite universities, the rush and power of New York City? How does he make peace with a stern, old-fashioned father who has only known hard field labor his whole life? Troncoso tells his luminous stories through the lens of an exile adrift in the 21st century, his characters suffering from the loss of culture and language, the loss of roots and home as they adapt to the glittering promises of new worlds that seem so empty.