Author Interview

Carla Trujillo

An Interview with Carla Trujillo

by Jordan Messier

What made you choose the novel as your vehicle for a discussion of social justice?
I grew up surrounded by injustice on every level: in my own home, at school, my neighborhood, my country. I noticed this, and it intrigued me. Being a very curious child, I beganææwondering how this worked. Perhaps on some level, in my adult life and in my art, I'm trying to figure out and undo some of the injustice I witnessed as a child.
Do you feel there are certain conflicts unique to the coming-out experience of Chicana lesbians, as compared to those of Euro-American culture?
For many people coming out is hard, because our society teaches hatred so readily and pervasively that fear and self-hatred have to be unlearned to simply accept who you are. Once this is done, then the person has to consider telling their families, co-workers, friends, and so on. Since I can only speak for myself, coming out to my family was difficult due to the pervasive homophobia they possessed at the time, and to the greater fear of losing them if I did tell them. This, coupled with the church’s views of us makes it even more scary. I have a large extended family, and the Catholic Church is as much a part of my culture, as is being Chicana. This situation is not unique to just Chicanas/os, of course, but for many Chicanos/as, strong familial bonds are pervasive and the fear of rejection seems to be a common theme. And people do get disowned or rejected by their families when they come out. Luckily, I've also seen people welcomed back. Maybe love does conquer hate.
There seem to be implied and direct criticisms of the Catholic Church in your work (for example, the gay love affair of Father Chacon, and Corin asking why 'thou shalt not beat thy children' was not a commandment). What was the impetus for these observations?
It's pretty hard to go to church when you’re being told who you are is wrong. The Catholic Church has a strong doctrine with often draconian points of view. Rebellion and hypocrisy become pervasive when one attempts to live one’s life as positively as possible. Corin's statement is indicative of her personality, and a kid's view of the Ten Commandments which doesn't see anything in them honoring or protecting children. As for Father Chacon, he's just human. The fact that he happens to be a priest, and gay, and in love with a man is his own personal conflict.
What provoked you to write such a confident and hopeful protagonist (Marci) in a situation of horrendous domestic violence?
Marci possesses hope because maybe she doesn't think she has anything else. Yet she is truly a fighter, and astute, and funny. I created Marci to illustrate that kids find different ways to deal with difficult situations. This just happens to be her way.
Huck Finn seems to be a literary ancestor of Marci in their shared existential spirituality and good will juxtaposed in a generally immoral society. Did this character have a role in the formation of Marci? Do you see similarities?
I'm laughing right now (a lot) about the Huck Finn question, as I have to admit that I didn't read that novel until last year (and I've been working on this novel for about 5 years). Another character who is similar in a way, is Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird (at least in the tonality of how Harper Lee created her character), but I just read that book in June. ææSo to answer the question, no these characters did not have a role for me in developing Marci's character. I do definitely see some similarities to both characters, but Marci's voice came to me out of the blue. The first paragraph came to me in one fell swoop. Perhaps her voice was an accumulation of the experiences of many children, and her spirit and her sense of humor and perspective carried itself through the book from that beginning. ææIt's always interesting to me how writers develop characters out of difficult places. I had a professor in college Emmy Werner, who studied children who were resilient despite hateful conditions. She found that there were often kids in families who achieved great things and retained wonderful spirits despite overt hardship. Marci is one of these kinds of kids. Since Marci was taught to think that God would give her a better life, she went that route at first, but had to realize that she alone would have to figure out how to deal with all the challenges around her. God wasn't going to get rid of her Father, or change her mother, or turn her into a boy. So something else had to happen, and that was Marci's own change of consciousness, coupled of course, with the rebellion that occurs in all these situations when norms are challenged.
Why did you choose to set this story with a backdrop of the War in Vietnam?
Our country, and our consciousness as a people were in a place of turmoil then, which was akin to what Marci was going through. I also wanted to illustrate the conflict involved when families proudly sent their children off to serve their country, only to see so many return home dead, either literally, or spiritually. Additionally, it was important to me to convey how many poor people, and people of color were disproportionately sent there.
What motivated you to dedicate the book to “those who couldn’t get away"? Did you intend for this dedication to be applied exclusively to situations of domestic violence?
Even though many changes have occurred over the years regarding child protective legislation, there are still countless children who are killed, beaten or emotionally tortured by their parents or caretakers. Domestic violence is the underside of human nature people hate acknowledging. I wanted to speak openly about this, and dedicate this book to those children.

Curbstone Press is supported in part by: