The Sacred History of Braulio Cantero, a novel by C. F. Espinoza
This dark and comic novel tells the Cantero family's exaggerated and sometimes fantastical stories in the wake of losing their patriarch, Braulio "Pepper" Cantero. The protagonist explores the rich textures of life in Mexico, the Frontera, and the American Southwest while navigating the horrific experiences of abuse and the intergenerational pain carried across these landscapes. The Sacred History of Braulio Cantero delves deep into the stories we tell ourselves to justify and possibly forgive generational family abuse. This novel explores the importance of story and family history and how they influence our mundane lives. The Sacred History of Braulio Cantero is a raunchy, exuberant novel filled with images that will haunt and have you laughing simultaneously.
Carlos Fidel Espinoza is a taco loving writer, editor, and musician from the El Paso/ Juarez Frontera. His latest collection of poetry, “How to Lie to a Customs Agent,” is the 2021 Southwest Book Award recipient.
His writing and music appeared on Vice, NPR, Words on A Wire, State of the Arts, and The Smithsonian Latino Center. You can read his writing in Acentos Review, Spry Literary Journal, Border Senses, Pilgrimage, and Shantih Literary Journal, among others.
He contributed to the editing of Andres Montoya’s posthumous collection of poetry, A Jury of Trees, and was a featured reader at “Together We Will Be a Song, a Celebration of Andres Montoya’s Life and Work.”
Carlos also works as the editor-in-chief of the Barrio Panther Literatura Magazine and advocates for literature and writing on the US / Mexico border. He has taught courses in creative writing, poetry, Chicanx literature, and rhetoric and composition at the University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso Community College, and Cochise College.