A gripping reflection of life on the border between the United States and Mexico, this vel combines contemporary sensibilities with pre-Colombian myth as it relates the story of Makina, a young, temperamental, and free-spirited girl searching for her missing brother. Throughout her journey, Makina is forced to rely on her ingenuity to survive nine legendary quests in a hostile and dangerous world. Borrowing liberally from Western and indigeus mythic traditions, the story reframes a familiar strugglethat of undocumented immigrantsin an imaginative and unique way, while never compromising the fundamental and moving humanity of its heroine.Una apasionante reflexion de la vida en la frontera de los Estados Unidos y Mexico, esta vela combina sensibilidades modernas con la mitologia precolombina mientras relata la historia de Makina, una joven temperamental y libre que busca a su herma desaparecido. A lo largo de su cami, Makina tiene que depender de su ingenio para completar nueve etapas mitologicas en un mundo hostil y peligroso. Con referencias miticas provenientes tanto de la tradicion occidental como de la indigena, esta historia presenta una lucha familiarla de los inmigrantes indocumentadosen una manera imaginativa y unica, pero nunca comprometa la humanidad fundamental y conmovedora de su heroina.
Yuri Herrera is a writer, the editor of the Mexican literary magazine El perro, and a visiting professor at the University of North CarolinaCharlotte. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.