By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Del Rio native Marcela Fuentes got a heartfelt welcome home Friday when she stopped here to read from her first novel, “Malas.”
Fuentes discussed the novel, read an excerpt from it, answered questions and signed copies of the book during the event, which was held at the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District Student Performance Center.
Brian Argabright, Fuentes’ second cousin, fellow DRHS Class of 1994 graduate and The 830 Times Editor, served as master of ceremonies for the event and introduced Fuentes and event moderator, Del Rioan Susan Gurley McBee.
The audience included many members of Fuentes’ family who still live in Del Rio and the surrounding region, including her mother, Queta Fuentes, as well as many of Fuentes’ friends and fans of the book.
McBee, a retired public school educator, is also one half of the only mother-daughter duo to serve in the Texas Legislature. McBee followed in the footsteps of her mother, Dorothy Gillis Gurley.
McBee and Fuentes engaged in “a dialogue” about the book, which has received nationwide accolades, including being selected the Good Morning America Book Club pick for June. Texas Monthly has lauded “Malas” as “the next great Texas epic.”
McBee asked about how the book’s striking cover had been created and how Fuentes had settled on the title “Malas.”
“The original title of the book had nothing to do with the story, and I was finally like, ‘this is a bad title,’ and I asked myself, what can I really say about these women (in the book)? Well, they’re bad. They’re malas. They’re out there doing maldadas, out there being messy and terrible, holding grudges and seeking revenge, so I thought, let’s just call it ‘Malas.’ (To me), it’s actually a really beautiful word, when you look at it and hear it, and it means so many things. I’m also so proud that no one ever asked me to change it to an English title,” Fuentes said.
Fuentes and McBee spoke about the Audible books version of the novel and the years she spent working on the book. Fuentes also spoke about her second book, a collection of “linked” stories, with the tentative title of “My Heart Has More Rooms Than A Whorehouse.”
After her discussion with McBee, Fuentes read an excerpt from the novel, several pages about Lucha “Lulu” Muñoz, one of its main characters, then fielded a variety of questions from the audience.
Many of the audience members who spoke thanked Fuentes for her honest representation of Latinx culture.
After the event, Fuentes stayed and spoke with fans of the book and signed copies.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
