Loca
From Lambda Literary Award–winning author Alejandro Heredia comes a spellbinding debut about intersectionality, enduring friendship, and found family set at the turn of the millennium in 1999, following two Afro-Caribbean friends as they journey beyond the confined expectations of their home country in the Dominican Republic and begin new lives in New York City.

Sal and Charo, two best friends from Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, arrive in New York City and dream of making the United States their new home—but for very different reasons. Charo left Santa Domingo to escape the life of domesticity that was all but guaranteed for women like her, but soon finds herself in the exact situation she tried to avoid: partnered to a controlling man, mother of a young child, and working long hours as a cashier. Sal on the other hand, fled Santa Domingo after an unspeakable tragedy, hoping that the distance would allow him a fresh start. But trauma keeps him in its grips, and he’s unable to move on.

With both friends feeling the same pressures in New York that forced them from their homes, a chance outing at a gay bar introduces Sal to Vance, an African American gay man whose romantic relationship with Sal challenges him to confront the trauma of his past. Through Vance, Charo befriends Ella, an African American trans woman, and Ella’s refusal to be who or what society dictates she should be inspires Charo to reckon with the role she’s grown comfortable in. Sal and Charo soon find themselves part of a queer intersectional community who disrupt the status quo of gender politics and conformity, allowing both to create the family and identities they’ve always longed for.
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Loca
From Lambda Literary Award–winning author Alejandro Heredia comes a spellbinding debut about intersectionality, enduring friendship, and found family set at the turn of the millennium in 1999, following two Afro-Caribbean friends as they journey beyond the confined expectations of their home country in the Dominican Republic and begin new lives in New York City.

Sal and Charo, two best friends from Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, arrive in New York City and dream of making the United States their new home—but for very different reasons. Charo left Santa Domingo to escape the life of domesticity that was all but guaranteed for women like her, but soon finds herself in the exact situation she tried to avoid: partnered to a controlling man, mother of a young child, and working long hours as a cashier. Sal on the other hand, fled Santa Domingo after an unspeakable tragedy, hoping that the distance would allow him a fresh start. But trauma keeps him in its grips, and he’s unable to move on.

With both friends feeling the same pressures in New York that forced them from their homes, a chance outing at a gay bar introduces Sal to Vance, an African American gay man whose romantic relationship with Sal challenges him to confront the trauma of his past. Through Vance, Charo befriends Ella, an African American trans woman, and Ella’s refusal to be who or what society dictates she should be inspires Charo to reckon with the role she’s grown comfortable in. Sal and Charo soon find themselves part of a queer intersectional community who disrupt the status quo of gender politics and conformity, allowing both to create the family and identities they’ve always longed for.
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Loca

Loca

by Alejandro Heredia
Loca

Loca

by Alejandro Heredia

Audio CD

$39.99 
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Overview

From Lambda Literary Award–winning author Alejandro Heredia comes a spellbinding debut about intersectionality, enduring friendship, and found family set at the turn of the millennium in 1999, following two Afro-Caribbean friends as they journey beyond the confined expectations of their home country in the Dominican Republic and begin new lives in New York City.

Sal and Charo, two best friends from Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, arrive in New York City and dream of making the United States their new home—but for very different reasons. Charo left Santa Domingo to escape the life of domesticity that was all but guaranteed for women like her, but soon finds herself in the exact situation she tried to avoid: partnered to a controlling man, mother of a young child, and working long hours as a cashier. Sal on the other hand, fled Santa Domingo after an unspeakable tragedy, hoping that the distance would allow him a fresh start. But trauma keeps him in its grips, and he’s unable to move on.

With both friends feeling the same pressures in New York that forced them from their homes, a chance outing at a gay bar introduces Sal to Vance, an African American gay man whose romantic relationship with Sal challenges him to confront the trauma of his past. Through Vance, Charo befriends Ella, an African American trans woman, and Ella’s refusal to be who or what society dictates she should be inspires Charo to reckon with the role she’s grown comfortable in. Sal and Charo soon find themselves part of a queer intersectional community who disrupt the status quo of gender politics and conformity, allowing both to create the family and identities they’ve always longed for.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781797198873
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication date: 02/11/2025
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 1.50(h) x 5.00(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Alejandro Heredia is a queer Afro-Dominican writer from the Bronx. He has received fellowships from Lambda Literary, VONA, and the Dominican Studies Institute. In 2019, he was selected by Myriam Gurba as the winner of the Gold Line Press Fiction Chapbook Contest. His chapbook of short stories, You’re the Only Friend I Need, explores themes of queer transnationalism, friendship, and (un)belonging in the African Diaspora. Heredia’s work has been featured in Teen Vogue, Lambda Literary Review, Tasteful Rude Magazine, and elsewhere. He received an MFA in fiction from Hunter College. Loca is his debut novel.
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