“Stella Pope Duarte is a writer who will not be stopped. Her story takes its power from a larger love, and the quest here is as pressing as any I’ve read. This is a novel that looks at a rocky, uncertain time, with the intention of helping. It does." — Ron Carlson, author of The Hotel Eden and At the Jim Bridge An inspiring novel about family, the memories of war, and a woman who valiantly rallies herself and those she loves into reconciling with the past Stella Pope Duarte’s strong and musical voice is reminiscent of Laura Esquivel and Alice Hoffman. Let Their Spirits Dance is a moving, spirited story of a family who takes a trip to the Vietnam Memorial thirty years after the war, and whose trip evolves into a spiritual journey, towards healing and redemption. Teresa Ramirez, is a schoolteacher from El Cielito in Arizona. Still haunted by the death of her brother Jesse in the Vietnam War. Her mother cherishes the memory of her son’s words to her as he boarded the plane for Vietnam, when he told her she would hear his voice again. When Teresa’s ailing mother sees a photograph of the Vietnam War Memorial, she makes a vow to touch his name on the Wall, and this begins a journey that changes the lives of Teresa and her family forever. In this powerfully evocative novel, Pope Duarte connects family, friends, and an entire nation with the names on the Wall, honoring the men and women who served in Vietnam as well as those who watched and waited, but never forgot.
Everybody says that the owner of Sal's Diner is a former Mafioso, but nine-year-old Joanna, whose mom has worked for him as long as she can remember, has a hard time believing he's a Mafia retiree. But one day, when two fat, toothless men who look like the Godfather's brothers show up at the diner, she wonders if maybe the rumor is true. And when Sal is arrested a few days later, Joanna's mother not only runs the diner while he's in jail, she also leads the charge to save him. Can the women who frequent his diner--the League of Women Who Live in Coffee Shops--save Sal from doing hard time in prison? Set against an urban backdrop of seedy motels and dilapidated houses next to industrial buildings and railroad tracks, Stella Pope Duarte's award-winning stories follow characters who make up the city's underbelly. Some strut through the lethal streets, flamboyant and hard to miss--flashy divas, transvestites, and prostitutes, like Valentine, "one of the girls who decorated Van Buren Street like ornaments dangling precariously on a Christmas tree." Others remain hidden, invisible to those who don't seek them out--bag ladies, illegals, and addicts.
From the segregated barrios of the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, to the halls of Congress and the White House, comes a story based on the memoirs of one of America's premier Latino civil rights leaders: Raul H. Yzaguirre. Born in San Juan, Texas in 1939 to Mexican American parents; his family legacy goes back to the early days of Spanish colonization. Living in a divided city, "the north was for Mexicans and the south was for Anglos," he learned how to enter both worlds with success through the guidance of his beloved grandfather, Gavino Morin. On a quest at age thirteen, he ran away from home and became the youngest sailor on board the Barbee Nell in Corpus Christi. There he met Dr. Hector P. García, founder of the American GI Forum who took the runaway under his wing, and inspired him to dedicate his life to serving his community. Elected as President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) in 1974, his three decades of leadership built NCLR into the largest constituency-based, national Latino organization in American history. His adventures with family, friends, presidents, legislators and international leaders paint a portrait of a man, who has never been afraid to risk everything for the sake of community. Raul Yzaguirre's life's story, now recounted in vivid, heartfelt and at times humorous accounts has empowered America's Latinos, seating them at tables of power. His life's motto has become a reality: "To leave the world a better place.
Duarte's latest novel is based on a string of real-life murders in Ciudad Jurez in the 1990s. Forced out of the house by her alcoholic mother, 13-year-old Evita takes to the streets, glimpsing newspaper columns about the murders, while struggling to survive. Petra, Evita's comely 19-year-old cousin, exchanges the country life for gritty Jurez to raise money for her ailing father. An acquaintance of Petra, Mayela, a 12-year-old Tarahumara Indian, lives in an orphanage where her artistic talent is discovered.
Everybody says that the owner of Sal's Diner is a former Mafioso, but nine-year-old Joanna, whose mom has worked for him as long as she can remember, has a hard time believing he's a Mafia retiree. But one day, when two fat, toothless men who look like the Godfather's brothers show up at the diner, she wonders if maybe the rumor is true. And when Sal is arrested a few days later, Joanna's mother not only runs the diner while he's in jail, she also leads the charge to save him. Can the women who frequent his diner--the League of Women Who Live in Coffee Shops--save Sal from doing hard time in prison? Set against an urban backdrop of seedy motels and dilapidated houses next to industrial buildings and railroad tracks, Stella Pope Duarte's award-winning stories follow characters who make up the city's underbelly. Some strut through the lethal streets, flamboyant and hard to miss--flashy divas, transvestites, and prostitutes, like Valentine, "one of the girls who decorated Van Buren Street like ornaments dangling precariously on a Christmas tree." Others remain hidden, invisible to those who don't seek them out--bag ladies, illegals, and addicts.
Duarte's latest novel is based on a string of real-life murders in Ciudad Jurez in the 1990s. Forced out of the house by her alcoholic mother, 13-year-old Evita takes to the streets, glimpsing newspaper columns about the murders, while struggling to survive. Petra, Evita's comely 19-year-old cousin, exchanges the country life for gritty Jurez to raise money for her ailing father. An acquaintance of Petra, Mayela, a 12-year-old Tarahumara Indian, lives in an orphanage where her artistic talent is discovered.
Duarte's latest novel is based on a string of real-life murders in Ciudad Jurez in the 1990s. Forced out of the house by her alcoholic mother, 13-year-old Evita takes to the streets, glimpsing newspaper columns about the murders, while struggling to survive. Petra, Evita's comely 19-year-old cousin, exchanges the country life for gritty Jurez to raise money for her ailing father. An acquaintance of Petra, Mayela, a 12-year-old Tarahumara Indian, lives in an orphanage where her artistic talent is discovered.
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