Sons of El Rey
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Ernesto Vega has lived many lives, from pig farmer to construction worker to famed luchador El Rey Coyote, yet he has always worn a mask. He was discovered by a local lucha libre trainer at a time when luchadores—Mexican wrestlers donning flamboyant masks and capes—were treated as daredevils or rock stars. Ernesto found fame, rapidly gaining name recognition across Mexico, but at great expense, nearly costing him his marriage to his wife Elena.
Years later, in East Los Angeles, his son, Freddy Vega, is struggling to save his father’s gym while Freddy’s own son, Julian, is searching for professional and romantic fulfillment as a Mexican American gay man refusing to be defined by stereotypes.
With alternating perspectives, Ernesto and Elena take us from the ranches of Michoacán to the makeshift colonias of Mexico City. Freddy describes his life in the suburban streets of 1980s Los Angeles and the community their family built, as Julian descends deep into our present-day culture of hook-up apps, lucha burlesque shows, and the dark underbelly of West Hollywood. The Sons of El Rey is an “epic and transporting novel” (Alejandro Varela, National Book Award finalist and author of The Town of Babylon) of a family wading against time and legacy, yet always choosing the fight.
DETAILS:
- Hardcover
- 384 pages
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V
Violeta As a Southern California native, the way Espinoza talks about this corner of the state feels like a warm familiar hug. I went in expecting a family anthology/drama and that's what I got but I didn't expect to see so much of myself reflected in every story across generations. And if at least one of your parents or grandparents crossed la frontera, I imagine you'll feel the same. Espinoza takes the very concept of "lucha" and turns it into something more. I won't get into it too much or else we're getting into the "Spoiler Zone", so I'll just say this: Read it. It's beautiful, it's worth it, and that cover???? A work of art.