{"product_id":"el-penco-9780991121526","title":"El Penco","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Ann McGlinn\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Cuidono Press\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Cuidono Press\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Literary\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMateo Xavier Manuel Rodriguez Aguerra-Veracruz, known to everyone as Penco (slang for \"orphan\") is an artist from northern New Mexico. Twelve years ago, Penco hitchhiked to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to start a new life. Single-minded about his painting and haunted by memories of the lost world of his childhood, he has become a recluse. When Penco starts to work as a bus driver, the chaotic streets and characters of Juárez begin to reconnect him with the world. He spends time with friends from El Café Misión, a local bar frequented by the elusive Gabriella, a fellow artist; Penco's best friend Frederico, the head chef at the only four-star restaurant in the city; Twain de Vaca, a American film studies student who irritates Penco with his admiration; and a German tightrope walker, Heinrich Damrosch. Ultimately, Penco's friends, the bus passengers, and encounters with three strangers allow him to confront the haunting images and fears from his childhood, a necessary step if he is ever to return home. Ann McGlinn lived and worked in Juárez in the 1990s, before the city became most known as a place of violence. With a poet's economy of style, she has captured the gritty essence of the city and its vibrant communities in those years.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cuidono Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":45083484192919,"sku":"9780991121526","price":1359.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9780991121526.webp?v=1767142633","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/el-penco-9780991121526","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}