The Sons of El Rey

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A masterfulmesmerizing and unflinching (Patricia Engel, New York Times bestselling author) story about a family of luchadores contending with forbidden love and secrets in Mexico City, Los Angeles, and beyond.

Ernesto Vega has lived many lives, from pig farmer to construction worker to famed luchador El Rey Coyote, yet he has always worn a mask. He was discovered by a local lucha libre trainer at a time when luchadoresMexican wrestlers donning flamboyant masks and capeswere treated as daredevils or rock stars. Ernesto found fame, rapidly gaining name recognition across Mexico, but at great expense, nearly costing him his marriage to his wife Elena.

Years later, in East Los Angeles, his son, Freddy Vega, is struggling to save his fathers gym while Freddys own son, Julian, is searching for professional and romantic fulfillment as a Mexican American gay man refusing to be defined by stereotypes.

With alternating perspectives, Ernesto and Elena take us from the ranches of Michoacn to the makeshift colonias of Mexico City. Freddy describes his life in the suburban streets of 1980s Los Angeles and the community their family built, as Julian descends deep into our present-day culture of hook-up apps, lucha burlesque shows, and the dark underbelly of West Hollywood. The Sons of El Rey is an epic and transporting novel (Alejandro Varela, National Book Award finalist and author of The Town of Babylon) of a family wading against time and legacy, yet always choosing the fight.

Author Bio

Alex Espinoza was born in Tijuana, Mexico, and raised in suburban Los Angeles. He is the author of the novelsStill Water SaintsandThe Five Acts of Diego Len, as well as a book of nonfiction,Cruising: An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime. Alex teaches at UC-Riverside where he serves as the Toms Rivera Endowed Chair of Creative Writing.