Little Nation and Other Stories - Softcover

“I'm sick of you punks,” Micaela said. “And I'm warning you now. I'm going to get you for that murder!” In the title story, the Latino community in East L.A. suffers horrible gang-related violence. Children are killed in the crossfire and young people use and sell drugs. But the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl is the last straw for Micaela Clemencia, a local teacher. With the help of other women in the neighborhood, Micaela keeps her promise to punish the murderer. And much to the dismay of the police and other city officials, the women take control of the barrio, their “little nation.”

While some characters face a violent world driven by greed, others long for a sense of belonging or a place to call their own. In “Mama Concha,” a grandmother shares her ancient wisdom with her grandson, teaching him to appreciate the land and the fruits and vegetables she grows. In “The Gardens of Versailles,” a home with beautiful gardens is a local favorite, until it stands in the way of “progress” that will benefit the entire community. And in “Prickles,” an artist who is a grotesque oddity because of the thorny tumors that sprout all over his body develops a special, unusual relationship with the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Alejandro Morales returns to his native Southern California community of Montebello in four of these five stories. Originally written in Spanish, this volume includes the first-ever English translation of these thought-provoking stories, in which Morales explores the Chicano community's marginalization and search for a space to call its own.

Alejandro Morales is one of the leading Chicano novelists. A professor at the University of California, Irvine, he grew up in Montebello, The Simons Barrio, and East Los Angeles and earned degrees at California State University at Los Angeles and Rutgers University. Other works include La verdad sin voz (1979), translated as Death of an Anglo (1988); Reto en el paraiso (1983); The Brick People (1988); The Rag Doll Plagues (1992); and Barrio on the Edge (1998).