Rubén Degollado’s new novel, The Family Izquierdo, tells the story of a tight-knit Mexican American family facing a seemingly insurmountable series of tragedies—and who come to believe it may all be caused by a neighbor’s curse. Yasmín Ramírez’s memoir, ¡Ándale, Prieta! is a moving reflection on her bond with her grandmother, whose rich, tough life was inextricably bound with the borderlands of El Paso that she called home. Family and borderlands feature prominently, too, in Cry, Howl, the latest collection from acclaimed McAllen-based poet Edward Vidaurre, whose verse illuminates the comfort and hope of loved ones in a world of the “new normal.”

Moderator: Erica Saenz, chief operating officer at Waterloo Greenway ConservancyRubén Degollado, Yasmín Ramírez, Edward Vidaurre, The Family Izquierdo, ¡Ándale Prieta!, Cry, HowlRubén Degollado, Yasmín Ramírez, Edward Vidaurre, The Family Izquierdo, ¡Ándale Prieta!, Cry, Howl