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 Entertainment | Books | March 2008 
Juárez Murders: The Novel
 Daniel A. Olivas - El Paso Times
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| If I Die in Juárez
by Stella Pope Duarte
University of Arizona Press
$16.95 paperback | | |
With the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993, young Mexican women began taking jobs in U.S.-owned maquiladoras, or factories, in Juárez.
Many became unwitting victims of gruesome murders as they walked home from work at night. Critics have long accused Mexican authorities of callousness, even complicity.
Stella Pope Duarte's vital and eloquent novel, "If I Die in Juárez" (University of Arizona Press, $16.95 paperback), centers on these horrific, unsolved crimes, which have been dubbed the maquiladora murders. She relies on three young characters to tell the story.
I asked Duarte why she decided to use fiction rather than nonfiction to chronicle the plight of these women.
"This story is a very painful one not only for victims, but for their families and friends as well," she explained. "Several documentaries, books and films, and numerous articles have been written, (but) a story told from the perspective of three young girls has not been done in this way."
Ominously, she added: "I also was cautious about protecting the identity of the women, as I know there are retaliations from police and investigators."
Duarte relied on extensive research and interviews to create her three protagonists: Evita, a street urchin; Petra, a factory worker; and Mayela, an Indian girl of Tarahumara heritage.
Was Duarte ever overwhelmed by the subject matter?
"Absolutely, lots of times," she acknowledged. "The worst was when I read details of the mutilations.
Knowing what had been done to the bodies, and seeing photos of remains, mummified faces - that was the worst ever."
But she stayed the course: "I would have run away from it all, but the story haunted me, held me fast."
By creating three female characters of different backgrounds, Duarte offers readers a cross-section of women who have been affected by these crimes.
"I had to have a woman in the maquiladora, then I had to have one who lived on the streets, and then I wanted to show the extreme poverty of Juárez, and so was born Mayela Sabina, my Tarahumara," she said.
The characters gripped her. "I couldn't let any of them go," she said. "They were meant to be there together, young, fragile and targets for abuse and murder."
The result of Duarte's research, creativity and passion is a novel that is as stunning as it is heart-rending. Her three protagonists feel real, and the reader cannot help but hope for their safety and that justice will prevail.
Also, if this novel does not make you angry, nothing will.
Duarte started her writing career more than a dozen years ago when she dreamed that her deceased father told her that her destiny was to become a writer. She also has written a short-story collection, "Fragile Night" (Bilingual Press), and a novel, "Let Their Spirits Dance" (HarperCollins).
But the award-winning author also has become known as an inspirational speaker on many topics, including women's rights, culture, diversity and literacy.
Her view of her role in writing "If I Die in Juárez" is striking for its humility: "I feel privileged to have shed one more light that might hasten the darkness away."
This novel, no doubt, will do that and much more.
Daniel A. Olivas is the author of four books and the editor of "Latinos in Lotusland: An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature" (Bilingual Press, 2008). He shares blogging duties on La Bloga (http://labloga.blogspot.com), which is dedicated to all aspects of Chicano literature. His Web site is www.danielolivas.com, and he may be reached at olivasdan(at)aol.com. |
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