Enchiladas, Rice and Beans Dialogue

Enchiladas, Rice and Beans

Dialogue with Daniel Reveles, author of Enchiladas, Rice, and Beans.

The setting is the Salt Lake City airport, where the writer spots Daniel Reveles, author of Enchiladas, Rice, and Beans as the two are sitting on the seats in the waiting area of the domestic terminal. Reveles has a white beard and moustache, with a shock of tall grayish-white hair. He is smiling to himself, and seems happy and approachable. Both the writer and Reveles are waiting for a flight. The writer recognizes Reveles, walks up to him, and smiles by way of introduction.

Hi - I'm so sorry to bother you, but are you Daniel Reveles?

Reveles (looking a bit surprised): I am.

Writer (smiling): I thought so. I just finished reading your book, Enchiladas, Rice, and Beans, on my earlier flight, and I thought I recognized you from the book jacket. I really loved the book: Your stories made me feel like I was a part of the community; they really brought me into the world of Tecate.

Reveles: Oh, thank you. We writers tend to work in isolation a lot, so it's always so nice when I get a chance to speak to someone who's read the book. I'm glad you liked it - I loved writing it. The book was a real labor of love for me.

Reveles: What was your favorite story?

Writer: Claudia's relationship with her husband, to me, gave a really rich portrayal of a woman in a submissive role. In my life, most of the women I have known have been really strong, and Claudia's life just provided such a contrast to me. The advice she gets from friends and relatives is astounding to me, as the idea of a woman being unable to divorce a cheating husband is really outside of my sphere of understanding.

Reveles: What did you think of how Claudia resolved that issue? When she decided to talk to the other woman and get advice?

Writer: It really threw me for a loop, as I didn't expect Claudia to go to the other women for advice. At the same time, it was really sad that her attempts to improve the relationship were ultimately futile.

Reveles: I know. I wasn't sure if her decision to talk to the other woman would be believable. It's hard for Americans to understand the submissiveness of women in another culture.

Writer: Fair enough. You even note in your introduction that Americans may find the machismo of the men and the submissiveness of the women fairly exasperating. The other woman's revelation that she was really far better off as the 'other woman', as opposed to being the wife, was an interesting spin in the story, as well.

Writer: Another factor that I really liked about the stories, though, was how they had such a strong element of the magical and mystical woven throughout, without lapsing into a sort of fairy tale.

Reveles: How do you mean?

Writer: Well, in "Of Time and Circumstance," for example. The story starts with a rooster saying "kee-kee-ree-kee" - crowing in Spanish. I thought that was delightful. A simple detail like that just transports the reader to another reality. At the same time, a lot of the story is more realistic. Where do you get your ideas and inspirations?

Reveles: Largely from personal experiences. I moved to a real town named Tecate in 1976 to write full time. Because I'm so close to my stories, I'm always so curious how the stories are perceived. What else did you think of "Of Time and Circumstance"? I've always wondered how people felt about the juxtaposition of Hollywood and Los Angeles and the world of Tecate.

Writer: That's something I really noticed in the story. The use of the Los Angeles filmmaker, who in a sense represents much of mainstream American society, is such a strong contrast against the real eccentricities of the characters in the story. The filmmaker's search for El Gato, the witty attorney who is helping him buy land, gave me a really good look into the world of Tecate. It was especially interesting when Tecate is viewed though the eyes of the filmmaker who is baffled when the locals won't lead him to El Gato.

Reveles: That's an interesting take, on the work. I have to say that you seem to understand a good deal of what I was trying to get across. After all, it is the juxtaposition of American ideals, values, and beliefs that is the subtext for so many of the stories. I do warn the readers that Mexico is a land where water seems to move uphill, and where the inhabitants defy the laws of physics. What were some of your other thoughts?

Writer: I love how you begin the novel with the metaphor of the story as food. Where you tell the reader you are bringing a plate full of chismes, or tales as they are known in America. I also really enjoyed "The Miracle." It had a bit of the element of a mystery in the story, with farmers wondering why workers kept appearing in brand new clothes, and he appearance of a bottomless source of food and clothing. The story also gave me a nice view into daily life in a California border town. So many of the other stories were interesting as well.

The Man in White," for example, was a good read, especially in how Fernandez' word could not be taken back, and the resulting consequences.

Reveles: Wow, I can tell you really absorbed a lot of the book.

Writer: I really enjoyed it, I have to say. Probably my favorite part would be the introduction. I had to laugh when one of the characters in the border town used the border fence as a clothesline and had to retrieve her underwear that had entered the United States illegally. The characters were amazing. A firewalker and the man who would eat caterpillars in a jar and told fortunes with the aid of the bird. Really vivid and interesting.