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2023 Latinx Heritage Month celebration: A month-long journey through culture, identity, and art
Thursday, October 5, 2023 , 6:00 pm
Book launch: Ships in Houston by Nadia Villafuerte
Published by the Downstate Legacies at Illinois State University’s Publication Unit, this profound exploration of the human experience along Mexico’s southern border offers a deeply poignant and harrowing perspective on characters navigating a shared yet often overlooked reality. In Ships in Houston, Villafuerte’s acute attention to language and dialects paints a vivid backdrop for 15 stories. From exotic dancers and sex workers to truck drivers and drug dealers, each character inhabits a world defined by the stark challenges of the borderlands. These narratives unfold mostly within Mexico, shedding light on the stringent immigration policies that cast Central American migrants into the shadows of uncertainty and fear.
Translated for the first time into English by Julie Ann Ward, Villafuerte’s edgy and fragmentary narrative style resonates deeply, offering a jarring yet profoundly humanizing experience for readers. Explore the intimate facets of life along Mexico’s southern border, engage with characters whose stories resonate long after the final page is turned, and join us for a bilingual reading that bridges cultures, languages, and the universal threads of the human experience.
Sponsored by: Illinois State University’s Publication Unit and the Latin American and Latina/o/x Studies program.
(309) 438-8290
latinostudies@IllinoisState.edu
