Urrea, born in Tijuana, Mexico, worked directly with border issues for a lot of his early years. He moved to the states when he was young, his mother American, his father Mexican. As he worked with relief workers on the border, he had day to day interaction with homeless peoples who lived in garbage dumps, children in orphanages, drug addicts, and gangsters. When he was hired to teach Expository Writing at Harvard he began formulating his book from notes he had taken from his years of experience at the border, and was empowered to speak on behalf of the voiceless through his writing. Urrea calls the border his Home, and being from the border, he felt he could effectively portray some of the most challenging border issues. I think Urrea's background really helped him write this book well, and his passion for border issues was very apparent in the voice of the book. Reading a bit about his history was helpful to me. Here is a link if anyone would like to read a brief biography. There is a youtube video about how Urrea's background affected his writing on the site as well. http://sitemaker.umich.edu/luisalbertourrea/urrea_biography
The Devil's Highway was an incredibly sad and sobering book. There are two passages of the book that stuck with me a little more strongly than others. One is on page 166 where Urrea describes Reymundo Jr. dying in his father's arms. The sorrow that Reymundo Sr. felt must have been unbearable. I cannot imagine having a loved one die in my arms. The scene ends with Reymundo throwing himself into the sun, giving himself up to the desert, wanting to die and be with his son.
The other passage that had a great impact on me was Nahum's testimony on page 167. It does indeed read like modern poetry. The imagery he uses to describe their circumstances is both symbolic and literal. He kept saying We all died, We all died. It seems as though spirits, souls, and men all died out there, sucked into the vastness of the desert.
One thing that was difficult for me throughout this book is the portrayal of the Sonoran Desert. This is the place in which I grew up and the place I call home to this day. The Sonoran Desert is beautiful - it is the only desert in the world in which Saguaros grow. It is home to an incredible number of unique animals that evolved to adapt to a desert environment and that thrive there. (If you ever go to Tucson, visit the Sonoran Desert Museum).
But I have never experienced the desert in the way that immigrants crossing the border have had to experience it. The book describes the desert as a human's worst enemy, as a land separate from people instead of a land that people call home or a land that people can love and internalize. It was sad for me to read such things about a place I love, but it was good for me to have this reality check. And after reading this book I realized how different my perspective of the desert is from others. One reality is that I've always had the luxury of water, and I still take that for granted to this day. I know I would feel differently about the desert if I were lost and wandering in it, helpless to find my way out.
I'm glad you mentioned that the desert that is so inhospitable is also home to many creatures and lifeforms, human or no. As a Midwesterner, I have always felt like the deserts and dry climates we've visited on family vacations have been otherworldly. Stunningly beautiful, yes - but alien to me, so I had no trouble getting into the mindset of thinking of it as hostile. But what you say about the desert's diversity and beauty makes a good point: a place, like a person, can never be fully understood from one standpoint. Thinking of this in the context of the desert (and the coyotes, guards, and immigrants crossing it) reminds me that part of why the desert is so brutal is also due to outside systematic causes, not just the geography.
ReplyDeleteI really like that you have related your own story to that of the walkers, even tough your experiences were different. It is interesting that you and the walkers both have experienced the desert, albeit in completely different ways. I wonder if the men that survived the walk have read this book, and if they have, if they agree with Urrea's description of the hostilities of the desert. I would like to see the Sonoran desert now, even though when I see it, it will be with the knowledge i gained from The Devil's Highway.
ReplyDeleteMandy, it's great that you have such personal experience with a place that can be both beautiful and dangerous at the same time. Even though I didn't grow up in the southwest, my family as taken numerous vacations to the western part of the country when I was a child. The rugged beauty of buttes, scrub brush, and sunsets gives the southwest a special place in my heart.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is very different to hear about how deadly these life-filled places can be. As Urrea talked about toward the end of "The Devil's Highway," people have died in the desert while on a weekend camping trip. This harsh reality was difficult to get my mind around, as I have never experienced the effects of heat exhaustion before. Seeing more than just the natural beauty of these deserts as Urrea does, then, is an important perspective to have.
Thanks for the research on Urrea and the link that explores more about the impact of his life on his work. I recently checked out a book from the Good Library that he wrote about the border in 1993, so he has been learning about it for a long time. You make great connections with the characters' stories in the book--the father/son story is tragic and family is a subject to which many of us can relate. Finally, I appreciate your exploring your personal connection to the desert--your love of the place and your pain at seeing it portrayed as an inhospitable death trap. Amazing how our situation in life can give us such diverse perspectives on place. I love the Sonoran Desert, too, but I would not want to be out in it for hours without water, lost and without resources. Thanks for this rich and thoughtful post.
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