Enchiladas, Rice, and Beans

Slip into a corner table at La Fonda and watch the human drama unfold while mariachis decorate the air with music. Take a shady bench in Tecate's main plaza and eavesdrop on the local gossip.... "Si, senor, it is true! Someone put Big Caca's bull on the roof of his barn." Here come the hawkers, the balloon man, the awesome fire-eater. Step up to the taco cart: calf's head or eyes--all served hot with a zesty guacamole sauce. The pageant of characters is endless. Welcome to the land of enchiladas, rice, and beans.

In these extraordinary novelas, Daniel Reveles has created a humorous and touching tribute to cultural differences and human similarities. Here, in beautiful, dazzling prose, is real life--its victories and setbacks, its common miracles and occasional heartbreaks--and the everyday struggle facing those who celebrate life North and South of the border.

Written with an undercurrent of magical realism, and spiced with the flavors that linger long in the memory, these tales from Tecate--along the dusty strip of the Baja California border--evoke a wondrous place where roosters crow in Spanish, affection is spontaneous, and water, if it so chooses, can flow uphill....