Retablos: Stories from a Life Lived Along the Border

Seminal moments, rites of passage, crystalline vignettes--a memoir about growing up brown at the US/Mexico border

The tradition of retablo painting dates back to the Spanish Conquest in both Mexico and the US Southwest. Humble ex-votos, retablos are usually painted on repurposed metal, and in one small tableau they tell the story of a crisis and offer thanks for its successful resolution.

In this uniquely framed memoir, playwright Octavio Solis channels his youth in El Paso, Texas. Like tradi...