Column: Want to see more Latinos in books? Start by reading these books by Latino authors.
Miguel De La Torre
The Mexican writer Miguel De La Torre is a man of many talents who has been a journalist, a translator, a screenwriter for Hollywood, a playwright, a columnist and an editor.
He has also been a professor of history.
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, De La Torre attended the University of California and Stanford University. His father, Francisco, worked as a newspaperman; his mother, Maria, as a nurse and a seamstress. De La Torre’s grandmother, Maria Antonia, also worked in journalism and as a seamstress.
His first novel, Ojo Rojo (The Red Eye), won a literary prize. De La Torre’s next was published in Spain; his next novel about the drug wars in Northern Mexico, Azote (Shadows): The Tragedy of the Northern Guadalajara Drug War, was published in English in 1983.
In 1989, De La Torre appeared as the character in a movie called Blood Brother, about a man named Juan who travels to Mexico to find a girlfriend. He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar in 1990 for his performance in Blood Brother.
The two-hour documentary film he made about the author was titled The Heart of the Matter. It was made by Mexico’s TV station, Canal de las Estrellas, in which De La Torre was interviewed by journalist Carmen Arrarás.
The Heart of the Matter featured the author in a series of interviews about his work, his Mexican family and his life in California. Several excerpts from the documentary can be seen on the following pages. A DVD of the complete documentary, along with English subtitles if the viewer chooses, can be purchased via the Spanish-language Internet site www.mexicanflicks.com.
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