Arribada
by Estela González
Mariana Sánchez Celis has traveled the world as a pianist trained at the Juilliard School of Music. But when her mother has a stroke and her beloved uncle suddenly disappears, Mariana must put her life on hold to return to her home in Ayotlan, Mexico. She soon discovers her town is no longer the place she remembers. Ayotlan's beaches, sea turtle colonies, and historic center are decimated under decades of neglect and abuse. What part did her late father have in this? And could it be related to her uncle's disappearance? When Fernanda Lucero, a member of the indigenous Concáac people, convinces Mariana to join her sea turtle and architectural conservation projects, the deepening love between Mariana and Fernanda threatens to put them both further in harm's way. This, together with the web of secrets Mariana unravels, stands to radically transform her and her family's fate. Arribada is the story of a well-to-do woman pushed to confront her role in environmental and social injustice. It is the saga of a family faced with the realization that their comfortable position rests, beyond a strong work ethic, on crimes against what they hold dearest: the natural world, their town, and their loved ones.
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Author Biography
Estela González holds an MFA in creative writing and a PhD in Latin American literature. As a binational and bilingual writer, she tells stories in English and Spanish about race, class, gender, and environmental justice. Growing up in Mexico, Estela regularly visited her family in Mazatlán, where decades-long intensive development has led to the demise of beaches and sea turtle colonies. Her research and support of fishermen protecting sea turtles in the Sea of Cortés deepen her reflections on environmental justice, race relations, and sexuality.Her work is featured in the Barcelona Review, the Cobalt Review, Connotation Press, Cronopio, Flash Frontier, Flyway Magazine, Kudzu House, Label Me Latina, La Colmena, Luvina, the Fem, and the Revista Mexicana de Literatura Contemporánea, as well as in outstanding collections such as Best of Solstice Literary Magazine, Feminine Rising (Cynren Press, 2019), and Under the Volcano. Arribada was a 2019 finalist for Feminist Press's Louise Meriwether Award.
Review
Arribada is romantic, poetic, elegiac, and fascinating. González has created a world of love and mystery. Word to word, event to event, this novel is beautiful. It begs to be savored.-Sandra Scofield, author of Swim: Stories of the Sixties and The Last Draft A novel about how even the most painful truths can bring power and freedom.-Eileen Gonzales, Foreword Reviews This novel will open eyes.-Amy Hoffman, author of Dot & Ralfie and other books Arribada is a wonderful read, and like its title implies, it has the power to make readers arrive where it matters.-Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The House of Broken Angels Set in a fictional seaside locale, based partly on Mazatlán, this seductive, mesmerizing novel lyrically interweaves the encroaching consumerism of resorts, thinning beaches, and disappearing tortoises, all while presenting an intimate, generational family portrait replete with orphans, murder, sensuality, and compassion, including a lesbian affair that leads to a community reclamation of land. And always at the center-the ocean. Unforgettable.-Lee Hope, Founding Editor, Solstice Magazine Arribada is a lyrical, deeply personal story, steeped in our right to love whom we love, the depth of family bonds, and the defense of our environment: its themes are both timely and timeless.-Richard Blanco, 2013 Presidential Inaugural Poet, author of The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood Themes of environmental justice, queer love, and Indigenous rights intersect in González's mystery. González shines at exploring the effects of racist discrimination against Indigenous Mexicans without ever reducing characters to mere pawns. Her prose style is simple yet poignant and emotive, particularly when describing human desire and natural beauty. A suspenseful but tender tale that exemplifies the power of intersectionality.-Kirkus Reviews
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