Author Silvio Sirias is the subject of this month's Classical 91.7/Arte Público Press Author of the Month. In the next installment of a series of monthly features, Classical 91.7's Eric Ladau spoke with the author.
MEET ME UNDER THE CEIBA, winner of the Chicano / Latino Literary Prize, is the latest work by writer Silvio Sirias. This spellbinding novel delves into the terrain of social intolerance and captures the essence of a world rarely seen in American literature.
Through stories and gossip that expose jealousies, scandals, and misfortunes, Sirias lovingly portrays the small Nicaraguan town of La Curva in all its beauty and ugliness. Everyone knew that wealthy land owner Don Roque Ramírez wanted Adela Rugama dead. And on Christmas Day, Adela disappeared. It was two months before her murdered body was found.
An American professor spending the summer in his parents’ homeland learns of Adela’s murder and vows to unravel the threads of the mystery. He begins the painstaking process of interviewing the townspeople, and it quickly becomes apparent that Adela—a hard-working campesina who never learned to read or write—and Don Roque had one thing in common: the beautiful Ixelia Cruz. The love of Adela’s life, Ixelia was one of Don Roque’s many possessions until Adela lured her away.
The interviews with Adela’s family, neighbors, and former lovers shed light on the circumstances of her death and reveal the lively community left reeling by her brutal murder.
