Ernesto Gamboa may have been violently murdered during a big speech on Honduran Labor Day, but he doesn't seek vengeance. The labor leader knows exactly why he was assassinated. He fought for workers' rights, and the government was unhappy with his activism. During the politically tumultuous times of the 1980s, it was easy for those in power to arrange such an act.
Instead, Ernesto is interested in figuring out why he is still walking the earth. One minute he is delivering his speech, and the next he is standing over his own dead body. His loved ones don't recognize him. He attends his own funeral as a complete stranger to them.
As Gamboa examines his death, he also looks back on his life. Flashbacks show his violent conception and supernaturally portended birth. A powerful storm and a mysterious owl mark Ernesto's delivery. When the midwife sees the new baby, she notices a peculiar mark on his chest. Is it a clue to Ernesto's strange predicament?
In Ernesto Gamboa, Honduran-born Orlando J. Addison draws attention to the rich history of the Afro-Honduran community, and he gives a voice to those Honduran workers who tirelessly struggled for better living and work conditions.
About the Author: Orlando J. Addison was born in Honduras, where he lived and studied throughout the Central American political upheavals of the 1980s. Addison uses his experiences as inspiration for his writing.
Addison received his degree in social science from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Honduras. He later came to the United States, and he earned a master's degree in divinity from the Virginia Theological Seminary. Addison served as an Episcopal priest and vicar of Holy Faith in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Addison writes about the Afro-Honduran experience and Afro-Latino culture. He has previously published two bilingual poetry collections-Night Was Afraid to Fall and Canto Afrolatino / Afro Latin Song-and a novel, Happy Land. The Spanish-language version of his second novel, Ernesto Gamboa, won the International Latino Book Award. Addison has also written for the Nuevo Herald and other Hispanic newspapers.
Addison invites readers to contact him at ojaddison@gmail.com.
