Author Duarte to speak about new book

This News by You was submitted by Marshall Terrill, Arizona State University information specialist.

Author Stella Pope Duarte will hold a reading, signing and dance presentation of her latest book, If I Die in Juárez, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at El Portal Restaurant, 117 W. Grant St.

Duarte, who also teaches creative writing at the Paradise Valley Community Center and South Mountain Community College, will speak during the Community Lecture Series at Arizona State University's downtown Phoenix campus.

Duarte, an educational consultant and human-rights advocate, wrote If I Die in Juárez (University of Arizona Press, $16.95) based on the brutal rapes and murders of approximately 400 women between the ages of 11 and 22 on the streets of Juárez, starting in 1993.

The 336-page novel traces the lives of three young women - Evita, a street child; Petra, a maquiladora worker; and Mayela, a Tarahumara Indian - who together to uncover Juárez's secret. Bound together by blood, honor, an ancient chant and a mysterious photo, the girls bring the murderous secrets of Juárez to life.

"I've always been attracted to helplessness and people who have no voice. These were crimes that I could not leave alone or remain silent and their plight has become mine as well," Duarte said. "There is something in me that cries out against such cruel injustice, and seeks to honor those who have died, suffering unimaginable torment."

Based on interviews with the relatives of murdered women, If I Die Juárez gives readers the experience of walking in the shoes of women who daily risk their lives by merely stepping outside.

Duarte said she visited sites in Juárez where women's bodies have been uncovered, walked the streets of the red-light districts of the city, toured where the poor reside and met with activists and investigators for her research. She said the murders have continued for years because police investigations have been poorly managed with no follow-up.The Reforma, Mexico's leading newspaper, has called the Juárez murders the "crime of the century."

The Phoenix-based author started her literary career in 1995 after she had a prophetic dream in which her deceased father related to her that her destiny was to become a writer. Her dream came true when Fragile Night (Bilingual Press) was published in 1997. Five years later, Harper Collins published Let Their Spirits Dance.