If I Die in Juárez by Stella Pope Duarte

"The result of Duarte's research, creativity and passion is a novel that is as stunning as it is heart-rending. Her three protagonists feel real, and the reader cannot help but hope for their safety and that justice will prevail." - Daniel O. Olivas, El Paso Times, 3/16/08

"If I Die in Juárez, concerns the maquiladora murders, the horrible crimes against young Mexican women who worked at the factories in Ciudad Juárez, the city that borders El Paso. These factories sprang up in the wake of NAFTA and held the promise of plentiful jobs. Duarte uses three young women to tell the story."

Stella Pope Duarte is the author of the short story collection, Fragile Night, (Bilingual Review Press, 1997) and the novel, Let Their Spirits Dance (HarperCollins, 2002). Duarte was born and raised in la Sonorita Barrio in South Phoenix.

MEET THE AUTHOR
El Paso Community College's Spring Arts Festival, Humanities Texas and University of Arizona Press will sponsor a series of events with Stella Pope Duarte. All events are free, and the public is invited. Information: Richard Yañez, 831-2630 or ryanez4@epcc.edu. The schedule:

3/18, Tuesday 1-3 p.m. and 3/19 Wednesday noon-2 p.m., receptions and book signing, El Paso Community College Valle Verde Campus, 919 Hunter, Student Union bookstore.

3/18, 7 p.m. Tuesday, reading performance, YWCA Transitional Living Center, 3700 Altura (entrance is on Stevens).

3/19, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Showing of documentary film "Border Echoes: Ecos de Una Frontera" by Lorena Mendez-Quiroga, Little Temple, 906 N. El Paso on the Rio Grande Campus.

3/19, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, panel with Diana Washington-Valdez, author of "The Killing Fields: Harvest of Women," Little Temple, 906 N. El Paso.

"Spotlight on Stella Pope Duarte" on La Bloga and Stella Pope Duarte's website.