{"product_id":"the-sons-of-el-rey-9781668032794","title":"The Sons of El Rey","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \"masterful...mesmerizing and unflinching\" (Patricia Engel, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author) story about a family of luchadores contending with forbidden love and secrets in Mexico City, Los Angeles, and beyond.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eErnesto Vega has lived many lives, from pig farmer to construction worker to famed luchador El Rey Coyote, yet he has always worn a mask. He was discovered by a local lucha libre trainer at a time when luchadores--Mexican wrestlers donning flamboyant masks and capes--were treated as daredevils or rock stars. Ernesto found fame, rapidly gaining name recognition across Mexico, but at great expense, nearly costing him his marriage to his wife Elena. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eYears later, in East Los Angeles, his son, Freddy Vega, is struggling to save his father's gym while Freddy's own son, Julian, is searching for professional and romantic fulfillment as a Mexican American gay man refusing to be defined by stereotypes. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith alternating perspectives, Ernesto and Elena take us from the ranches of Michoacán to the makeshift colonias of Mexico City. Freddy describes his life in the suburban streets of 1980s Los Angeles and the community their family built, as Julian descends deep into our present-day culture of hook-up apps, lucha burlesque shows, and the dark underbelly of West Hollywood. \u003ci\u003eThe Sons of El Rey \u003c\/i\u003eis an \"epic and transporting novel\" (Alejandro Varela, National Book Award finalist and author of \u003ci\u003eThe Town of Babylon\u003c\/i\u003e) of a family wading against time and legacy, yet always choosing the fight.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlex Espinoza was born in Tijuana, Mexico, and raised in suburban Los Angeles. He is the author of the novels \u003ci\u003eStill Water Saints\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Five Acts of Diego León\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as a book of nonfiction, \u003ci\u003eCruising: An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime\u003c\/i\u003e. Alex teaches at UC-Riverside where he serves as the Tomás Rivera Endowed Chair of Creative Writing.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51324610642194,"sku":"9781668032794","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_13283719-6dae-4123-a333-e2f0e62eea87.jpg?v=1762935215","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-sons-of-el-rey-9781668032794","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}