Repatriation and the Emotional Journey of One Man’s Life: An Interview with Désirée Zamorano Regarding Her Novel, Dispossessed
In the wake of Donald Trump’s recent victory that was based, in large part, on his call for mass deportations, Désirée Zamorano’s new historical novel, Dispossessed, is as timely as they come. The author of the highly acclaimed novel, The Amado Women (which will be re-released in 2025 by Lee and Low Press), Zamorano was surprised to learn that the United States’ mass expulsion of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the 1930s had not been explored through fiction previously. After waiting for someone to write that story, she realized that she would have to do it. The result is a novel that is as heartbreaking as it is anger-inducing. Zamorano eloquently and poignantly humanizes the cruelty of immigration policies that lead to family separation. Dispossessed is an apt warning that should we go down this road again, untold misery will befall immigrant communities across this nation unless we fight back.
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Zamorano took time from her busy schedule to discuss the writing life and the creation of her latest novel, Dispossessed.
DANIEL A. OLIVAS: Before discussing your new novel, let’s talk a bit about your journey as a writer. When did you start writing creatively, and what inspires you to write? Who are some of your literary influences? DÉSIRÉE ZAMORANO: What not only inspires me to write, but insists that I write, is the dominant culture’s whitewashing and erasure of my demographic—Mexican Americans, Latinas. I think we have recently made some publishing and media gains, but it won’t be enough for me until representation equals or exceeds our actual demographic numbers! I began to write as a kid—I was always captivated by the written word and I wanted to be part of that. I wrote my first published stories in my twenties, then got swept up by raising a family. At the same time, my sister and I collaborated on two plays produced by the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts. Those plays toured professionally for a total of 8 years, and that was great, exciting fun. However, I wanted to be a novelist, and I began typing away, to much heartache. At one point I wanted to excise this ambition from my heart; instead, I discovered both Carolyn See’s Making of Literary Life: Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers, and Dagoberto Gilb’s Gritos: Essays. Through these two books, both writers fueled and inspired me, and kept me going. OLIVAS: Your new novel, Dispossessed, begins in the year 1939 during the so-called repatriation of Mexicans living and working in the United States and focuses on one particular family that was torn apart by this government program. Could you explain this repatriation program and how you came to learn of it. What kind of research did you do on the program for your novel? |
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ZAMORANO: I’m not sure when I learned of this, but I’ve known about the exiling of Mexican Americans and Mexican nationals most of my life. The Depression had hit, and Herbert Hoover’s administration needed a scapegoat. They decided that states and cities would have wide latitude in ridding the country of Mexicans. And so the demonizing of Mexicans is reinforced, and continues to this day. One million people were pushed out of this country, a conservative estimate is that 400,000 of those were US citizens who had been abandoned by their country of origin. I had been teaching this for years, waiting and waiting for some novelist to dramatize this forgotten part of American history. In 2018, I realized that writer was me.
Although I was certain of our American history, I wanted to be sure skeptics would be satisfied. In terms of research, I turned to various texts which gave the background and texture of the historical setting such as Decade of Betrayal by the scholar Francisco Balderrama, Rodolfo Acuña’s Anything But Mexican: Chicanos in Contemporary Los Angeles, Whitewashed Adobe by William Deverall, and From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America by Vicky L Ruiz. One beautiful book of photographs that helped me capture the community where my main character lives is Chavez Ravine: 1949 by Don Normark. I also watched powerful documentaries such as No Más Bebés produced by Virginia Espino as well as PBS’s Latino Americans: The 500 Year Legacy That Shaped a Nation.
OLIVAS: Your novel centers on one particular victim of repatriation, Manuel Galván, whose parents are deported to Mexico and whose older sister, Lulu, is eventually sent to live with another family. Manuel is truly “dispossessed” of his family. How did you develop the character of Manuel? Was his story based on actual experiences of children who were separated from their parents?
ZAMORANO: Technology is so embedded in our culture that I started thinking about how different and difficult it would have been to trace someone a few decades ago. I also thought about the quote: “One death is a tragedy, a million a statistic.” I wanted to create a story so the reader could viscerally experience the impact of historical events on one individual—a small boy, and watch him as he grows, and copes, or, not. He is from my imagination—and yet, I believe he existed.
OLIVAS: Though family separation is horrific and cruel, Manuel was one of the lucky ones—if we could even use that word—because the family that took him in was a stable, Mexican family filled with love. But despite this stability, he never truly gave up searching for his birth family. Did your research reveal similar circumstances?
ZAMORANO: This is all invention on my part.
OLIVAS: Ironically, the single mom that took in Manuel lived in Chavez Ravine, the future home of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Could you talk about this particular period in Los Angeles’s history and the research you did for your novel? Were there any surprises in what you learned?
ZAMORANO: Many of us are familiar with the story of Chavez Ravine, in broad strokes: the removal of mostly Mexican American families and razing of their homes to make way for Dodger Stadium. I wanted to bring this community fully to life. As I noted earlier, my research included an essential text on this part of Los Angeles history as explored in the book, Chavez Ravine: 1949 by Don Normark. It’s not exactly surprising, but very interesting—to say the least—how development of Chavez Ravine was promoted, at one point, for public housing, and how it eventually turned out to be the new home of the Dodgers.
I also loved scrolling through YouTube for films taken during this time, watching the different buildings emerge, watching the cars and the fashions change over time. Something that was not part of my original research, but which was so stunning when I found out about it was the documentary, No Más Bebés produced by Virginia Espino, about the coerced sterilization of Mexican immigrant mothers while giving birth at a Los Angeles county hospital during the 1960s and 70s.
OLIVAS: We follow Manuel as he grows into adulthood. How did you decide to create this arc for Manuel? Did you experiment with different permutations of Manuel’s family life?
ZAMORANO: Up to this point, all of my novels, published and unpublished, centered on strong women characters. I set myself the challenge of writing about a good man. There are good men in my life—my son and husband, for example—and as I posed this challenge to myself, I knew my character had to be surrounded by strong, loving women. To see all this, we would have to see his life. I wanted a big sweep, and I didn’t think it would be as compelling told in flashbacks. I also wanted the reader to experience life’s uncertainty alongside Manuel.
OLIVAS: How long did you work on this novel? Were there any particular moments in creating this narrative that really stick out in your mind? How did your manuscript get into the hands of your publisher, Running Wild?
ZAMORANO: I began this novel in 2018. A few months later our government began separating families at the border. This book was and remains terribly timely. However, writing a book that may or may not be published wasn’t enough. I joined CLUE, an organization for social and racial justice, and began visiting the incarcerated undocumented, in Adelanto, to offer solace or support. It was very painful and uncomfortable, but not, of course, as painful as being incarcerated. Working with other people and organizations, we got three women out of there. I am very proud of that. In terms of how I found my publisher, Running Wild was soliciting submissions, so I submitted!
OLIVAS: What do you hope readers get from your novel, Dispossessed?
ZAMORANO: Entertainment, education, and an emotional journey of one man’s life.
Although I was certain of our American history, I wanted to be sure skeptics would be satisfied. In terms of research, I turned to various texts which gave the background and texture of the historical setting such as Decade of Betrayal by the scholar Francisco Balderrama, Rodolfo Acuña’s Anything But Mexican: Chicanos in Contemporary Los Angeles, Whitewashed Adobe by William Deverall, and From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America by Vicky L Ruiz. One beautiful book of photographs that helped me capture the community where my main character lives is Chavez Ravine: 1949 by Don Normark. I also watched powerful documentaries such as No Más Bebés produced by Virginia Espino as well as PBS’s Latino Americans: The 500 Year Legacy That Shaped a Nation.
OLIVAS: Your novel centers on one particular victim of repatriation, Manuel Galván, whose parents are deported to Mexico and whose older sister, Lulu, is eventually sent to live with another family. Manuel is truly “dispossessed” of his family. How did you develop the character of Manuel? Was his story based on actual experiences of children who were separated from their parents?
ZAMORANO: Technology is so embedded in our culture that I started thinking about how different and difficult it would have been to trace someone a few decades ago. I also thought about the quote: “One death is a tragedy, a million a statistic.” I wanted to create a story so the reader could viscerally experience the impact of historical events on one individual—a small boy, and watch him as he grows, and copes, or, not. He is from my imagination—and yet, I believe he existed.
OLIVAS: Though family separation is horrific and cruel, Manuel was one of the lucky ones—if we could even use that word—because the family that took him in was a stable, Mexican family filled with love. But despite this stability, he never truly gave up searching for his birth family. Did your research reveal similar circumstances?
ZAMORANO: This is all invention on my part.
OLIVAS: Ironically, the single mom that took in Manuel lived in Chavez Ravine, the future home of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Could you talk about this particular period in Los Angeles’s history and the research you did for your novel? Were there any surprises in what you learned?
ZAMORANO: Many of us are familiar with the story of Chavez Ravine, in broad strokes: the removal of mostly Mexican American families and razing of their homes to make way for Dodger Stadium. I wanted to bring this community fully to life. As I noted earlier, my research included an essential text on this part of Los Angeles history as explored in the book, Chavez Ravine: 1949 by Don Normark. It’s not exactly surprising, but very interesting—to say the least—how development of Chavez Ravine was promoted, at one point, for public housing, and how it eventually turned out to be the new home of the Dodgers.
I also loved scrolling through YouTube for films taken during this time, watching the different buildings emerge, watching the cars and the fashions change over time. Something that was not part of my original research, but which was so stunning when I found out about it was the documentary, No Más Bebés produced by Virginia Espino, about the coerced sterilization of Mexican immigrant mothers while giving birth at a Los Angeles county hospital during the 1960s and 70s.
OLIVAS: We follow Manuel as he grows into adulthood. How did you decide to create this arc for Manuel? Did you experiment with different permutations of Manuel’s family life?
ZAMORANO: Up to this point, all of my novels, published and unpublished, centered on strong women characters. I set myself the challenge of writing about a good man. There are good men in my life—my son and husband, for example—and as I posed this challenge to myself, I knew my character had to be surrounded by strong, loving women. To see all this, we would have to see his life. I wanted a big sweep, and I didn’t think it would be as compelling told in flashbacks. I also wanted the reader to experience life’s uncertainty alongside Manuel.
OLIVAS: How long did you work on this novel? Were there any particular moments in creating this narrative that really stick out in your mind? How did your manuscript get into the hands of your publisher, Running Wild?
ZAMORANO: I began this novel in 2018. A few months later our government began separating families at the border. This book was and remains terribly timely. However, writing a book that may or may not be published wasn’t enough. I joined CLUE, an organization for social and racial justice, and began visiting the incarcerated undocumented, in Adelanto, to offer solace or support. It was very painful and uncomfortable, but not, of course, as painful as being incarcerated. Working with other people and organizations, we got three women out of there. I am very proud of that. In terms of how I found my publisher, Running Wild was soliciting submissions, so I submitted!
OLIVAS: What do you hope readers get from your novel, Dispossessed?
ZAMORANO: Entertainment, education, and an emotional journey of one man’s life.
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