Margarito and Me (PB) (2021)

Shortly after his mother's death in the early 1970s Ricardo Deveaux leaves college and walks off his job. Without knowing why or what lies in store for him, he packs a few clothes in a backpack and hitchhikes across two thirds of the country to the only destination he can think of... New Mexico and his maternal grandmother. Whom he hasn't seen in twelve years.
Things don't always go smoothly in an isolated mountain village for a young man raised in the city. Ricardo soon finds that he has a lot to learn but what he couldn't have imagined was how his life changes when he meets musician, mentor, and storyteller Margarito Montoya.

Everyday people inhabit these pages. From the mundane, extraordinary, humorous, and sometimes sad circumstances of daily life Ricardo discovers that things, and people, aren't always what they seem and there are exceptional people and animals--past and present--to meet. With the help and complicity of his friend Margarito he soon discovers that legends and miracles not only wander through daily life but lie waiting to be made.

Come along with Ricardo as he hears the tales of a man cursed by a snake, the demon that fled before he could be buried in holy ground, and a grandson who refuses to give up hope. Learn how a cow becomes the unwitting main attraction in a Holy Week miracle, and meet a santero of exceptional skill.

Whenever this man is around everyone makes the sign of the cross. Is it because he was cursed by a snake? Have you ever wondered about ants in a jar or just how tedious, or dangerous, shearing sheep can be?

An ancient trash heap grudgingly reveals its treasures. Creatures seen in clouds can change quickly and a simple comment made in the post office can be the beginning of an amazing friendship. Things like getting a phone installed or making a knife don't always go as planned and a mysterious violin played by an elusive musician not only make for a sleepless night but herald the arrival of a shaggy gray dog... and so much more.

David Kyea has drawn on his rich life in New Mexico and the people he knows so well to share with us these fourteen interconnected short stories suitable for anyone from Junior Hight to ninety+.