![]() ![]() ![]() is his Aztlán, but it is as battered as his characters. Broken into three acts, this intense work depicts the rejection they often faced in Latino families, the empowerment spurred by sexual freedom, the menacing impact of the epidemic and the personal toll on Cuadros and his friends. Before he died in 1996, Cuadros left behind this remarkable gift, an unflinching look at the unique abuse gay Chicanos endured in Los Angeles. “Writing literally saved or at least extended my life,” he wrote. DKĬuadros opened his potent mix of stories and poetry by sharing that, in 1987, he was diagnosed with AIDS and given two years to live. This glorious book is a sneaky novel in story-collection drag - best read in a corner booth at Du-par’s, behind a Tiny’s patty melt and a slice of bread pudding, catty-corner from the Writers Guild. In the kind of Times review that makes enemies weep and the gods jealous, Carolyn See called this “the best book anybody has ever written about Hollywood, ever, one book in a thousand … a knockout.” It’s a wonder Freeman, also the screenwriter of the sadly unsung “Street Smart,” didn’t stroke out on the spot. ![]()
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