WHERE GRINGOS DON'T BELONG
Early in the evening of November 25, 2006, George Bynum, the protagonist of Where Gringos Don’t Belong, leaves his Mexican novia Patricia among anti-government protest marchers in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico and returns to his apartment to finish a report for his employers, the Rural Development through Education Center. Before he can finish, his cell phone rings. “They’re attacking! Killing..! They won’t…stop!” Patricia’s voice rings in his ears. He rushes out, hoping to find her, but blinded by teargas from a federal police assault trips and has to be helped to safety.
He and several others, including a young woman named Claudi Auscher, make their way back to George’s apartment. Claudi, who defines herself as “a Mexican Jew gypsy bitch rebel” joins George in his efforts to reestablish contact with Patricia, who has been flown to a maximum security prison along with other innocent victims of the militarized purge.
George and Claudi are fictional characters but the events in which they’ve become embroiled are based on the actual political and social upheavals that reverberated through Oaxaca from November 2006 through April 2007. This integration of fictional characters with actual events which I witnessed and was involved with give the writing a veracity that will appeal both to readers of history and politics and to those who purchase and read quality contemporary fiction.
The events described tighten the bonds forming between the two protagonists and their friends, particularly
Early in the evening of November 25, 2006, George Bynum, the protagonist of Where Gringos Don’t Belong, leaves his Mexican novia Patricia among anti-government protest marchers in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico and returns to his apartment to finish a report for his employers, the Rural Development through Education Center. Before he can finish, his cell phone rings. “They’re attacking! Killing..! They won’t…stop!” Patricia’s voice rings in his ears. He rushes out, hoping to find her, but blinded by teargas from a federal police assault trips and has to be helped to safety.
He and several others, including a young woman named Claudi Auscher, make their way back to George’s apartment. Claudi, who defines herself as “a Mexican Jew gypsy bitch rebel” joins George in his efforts to reestablish contact with Patricia, who has been flown to a maximum security prison along with other innocent victims of the militarized purge.
George and Claudi are fictional characters but the events in which they’ve become embroiled are based on the actual political and social upheavals that reverberated through Oaxaca from November 2006 through April 2007. This integration of fictional characters with actual events which I witnessed and was involved with give the writing a veracity that will appeal both to readers of history and politics and to those who purchase and read quality contemporary fiction.
The events described tighten the bonds forming between the two protagonists and their friends, particularly
George’s coworker and his Oaxacan novia who considers Claudia her counselor and confidante, and among others victims of the brutal police purge and those attempting to help them. Although George has been thrust out of work by the Center’s closing, he and Claudia intervene between teenagers caught between the collapsing economy and emigrating illegally to the United States to carve an irrigation project in the destitute Mixteca in western Oaxaca.
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Author Robert Stout’s book ‘Where Gringos Don't Belong’ is a fictionalized tale surrounding the factual events that took place in Oaxaca, Mexico. A major social and political upheaval took place in Oaxaca circa 2006 when non-violent protests by local groups led to a violent and brutal reaction by the police on the agitators. This event serves as the backdrop to the life story of two individuals affected by it.
Robert paints a vivid and personal portrait of Oaxaca seen through the eyes of George & Claudia as their town burned down around them. It’s a brutal reminder of the demonic violence human beings are capable of inflicting upon each other.
Claudia is an impulsive, wild & strong girl with a soft heart and her character if nicely contrasted and offset by George’s sensitive & confused personality that also has a raw edge to it. They are vastly different from one another and yet they find comfort in each other during a tragedy.
The characters are highly likeable and their emotional and physical struggles are relatable too. It will raise certain ethical and controversial questions in your mind. You will find asking yourself what you would have done in similar circumstances.
Where Gringos Don't Belong provides not only a fictional and tragic love story but also a deep insight into the various issues that plagued a town and its people during a tumultuous period.
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This captivating short novel, although fictious, is based during the time period of the social and political upheavals in Oaxaca. The characters are very likable and it leaves you pondering everything at the very end. Good read
Except
To get away from what seemed like constant complications and interruptions George and Claudi stopped carrying their cell phones with them and spent more time away from their apartments, lounging over comidas corridas in the Centro Historico, drinking coffee or in the evenings beer or wine and taking walks. With the withdrawal of armed military from the Zócalo and the streets surrounding it businesses had begun to reopen and the musical events that had been cancelled during the Popular Assembly occupation of the Zócalo resumed. Claudi suggested that they spend an extra few days in the Mixteca during their upcoming visit since “we don’t have anything urgent here to come back for.”
Taking a final look at his e-mails before packing the laptop to take with them George opened a brief communiqué from Raúl:
Finished digging the reservoirs. Now all we have to do is line them.
“Finished digging them? They had to have help,” he remarked to Claudi.
“Maybe they’re not very deep?”
“I’ll believe it when I see them.”
The chavos and the two teenaged girls from the class mobbed them before they could get their luggage off the bus, burlesquing and shoving each other to make sure each got a greeting kiss.
“Wait’ll you see..!” and “You won’t believe..!” José Luis and Gamaliel enthused about the accomplishments at the terreno despite shushes and kicks from Rubén and some of the others.
Chattering, joking and whacking each other they piled out of the pickup. Gamaliel and Marino led a charge to the newly excavated reservoir.
“What the..!”
The excavation, over a meter wide and nearly twice as deep, was round and untapered.
“We worked really hard!”
“Verdad! Day and night!”
“In shifts!”
“Without stopping!”
Hunkering to more closely examine the excavation George confirmed that it had been dug by something more powerful than picks or shovels.
“Hey look, this didn’t appear by magic. How did you do it?”
Raúl and José Luis slid behind others as though trying to hide.
“Raúl, tell him—”
“No, Gama, tú.”
“Mando, he gets to know,” hands pushed Manuel Alejandro towards George.
The slender sixteen-year-old shuffled in front of the others, his usual iridescent smile twisted into a painful wince.
“Pues, understand, it was hard, the digging. We were, you know, so tired we were going to quit but some guys, you known, from town, they, they—”
“Gave us some motas—“
“Yeah, well, we, you know—”
“Smoked them!”
“We felt pretty good so we kept working, I mean, like we had extra strength and—”
“Tell him! Some other guys—”
“Yeah. They had some stuff and we, you know, sniffed it.”
“Really, güey. Chinga! We couldn’t stop digging!”
“Two whole days!”
“More!”
“We were like crazy! Dig! Dig! Dig!”
“Profe Elias hauled us back to town stacked like corpses!”
“But look! We got it done!”
Mando slumped backwards into José Luis’s grasp. George rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth and pretended to reexamine the professionally dug reservoir.
“Pues, bien. But the project is no more. We’re through.”
Brushing aside whys? and that’s not fair!s he jabbed his finger towards Mando and José Luis.
“Because you’re all liars and can’t be trusted or a bunch of dopers.”
Voices clamored that it was a joke, they only were trying to have fun. Even Claudi seemed momentarily concerned. Somebody behind George called Olivia’s name and the teenager sauntered first towards Claudi, then George.
“It was mamá.”
“Your mamá dug these holes?”
“Nnnh. The crews building the new carretera couldn’t go on working because protesters blocked the highway. My mom, you know how she is, she invited some of the workers to cena. A couple of them really liked her. She told them how hard we were working to dig the reservoirs, pues you know, by hand. Next day they drove out with a backhoe.”
“Sí güey, they said it had to be round and go straight down.”
“Otherwise it might cave in.”
“Pum! Pum! They even hauled away the rocks.”
“Mom fixed cena for them and—“
“She made Oli comb her hair and wear a dress!”
“Shut up!”
“They smoked mot—“
“Shut up pendejo!”
“That is was Ofelia Contreras I can believe,” George caught Claudi’s the joke’s on you smirk as he took off his glasses to clean them.
“Okay, class resumed. But you’re all on probation!”