The Five Acts of Diego Leon

Acclaimed author Alex Espinoza, whose writing Lisa See has called "fresh, magical, beautiful, and evocative," returns with a captivating, unforgettable novel set in Hollywood's Golden Age, as a gifted and determined young man leaves Mexico--and everything he's ever known--to follow his dreams. Growing up in a rural village at the height of the Mexican Revolution, Diego Leon has many first loves: singing, dancing, and hearing the stories of his ancestors, the P'urhepecha. But when tragedy strikes, young Diego is sent to the city to live with his aristocratic grandparents, who insist he forget his roots and groom him to take over the family business. Under pressure to enter a profession--and a life--he cares nothing for, and haunted by the violence once again erupting all around him, Diego flees his war-torn country to forge his own destiny. Diego arrives in Hollywood in 1927, when silent films are giving way to talkies, Prohibition is in full swing, and "Latin lover" types are sought out even as they are looked down upon. Working his way up in the movie business with talent and ingenuity, Diego soon figures out that getting one's face on the silver screen has as much to do with what goes on behind the camera as what goes on in front of it. But the closer Diego comes to stardom, the more he finds that the past is not so easily escaped, as he is drawn again and again to the painful legacy of history and the wounds of his homeland. A sweeping, sensual novel of love, ambition, and identity, "The Five Acts of Diego Leon "bears all the marks of a classic Hollywood story: romance, betrayal, glamour, and an underdog hero to root for till the end. "An elegant, startling vision of a Mexican in America, "The Five Acts of Diego Leon" proclaims the ascendance of a unique new talent, Alex Espinoza--a Chicano in America certain to surpass the fame of his novel's silent Hollywood hero. Espinoza takes our literature from a mute, black-and-white era to a national stage with full-spectrum color, in high-tech surround sound."--Dagoberto Gilb, author of "Before the End, After the Beginning"

About the Author :
Alex Espinoza was born in Tijuana, Mexico. He came to the United States with his family at the age of two and grew up in suburban Los Angeles. Author of the novel "Still Water Saints, "he received an MFA from the University of California, Irvine. A recipient of the Margaret Bridgman Fellowship in Fiction at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, Espinoza is currently an associate professor of English at California State University, Fresno.""

Review :
"Excellent....["The Five Acts of Diego Leon"] has many of the elements of the classic Hollywood novel, but works on a much larger canvas." --"Los Angeles Review of Books" "Alex Espinoza's vivid storytelling leads us through a hall of mirrors that's as fragmented and multifaceted as identity itself." --"Los Angeles Magazine " "A story undertaken with gusto, imagined with daring." --"The Washington Post Book World ""There's a lot of action in this story...As a young Latino in Hollywood during the 1920s, Diego hopes to be the next sought-after leading man...Espinoza ties the locations and the historical action together well, reflecting the tumult in the political and social landscape of the first decades of the last century." --"Historical Novels Review" "Espinoza shows how every gay man in this closeted era was a kind of actor, whether they worked in movies or not ... In telling the story of one fictional character, "The Five Acts of Diego Leon" invites readers to ponder the many real people in the past -- and even the present -- who have been forced to conceal their true identities, keeping secrets but sometimes channeling their hidden angst into art." --"High Country News " "The re-creation of Hollywood's golden era is vivid ... The dialogue is crisp, the characters are well-delineated, the story moves quickly." --"Library Journal " "With its colorful narrative and historic sweep, "The Five Acts of Diego Leon" has both a story line and characters that a wide readership will surely enjoy." --Oscar Hijuelos, author of "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love " "A story that begins in revolutionary Mexico and travels to Hollywood during the film industry's transition from silent films to talkies, "The Five Acts of Diego Leon" breaks greater silences--taboos of race and sexuality, of reinvention and assimilation--in a fantasy called Hollywoodland." --Sandra Cisneros, author of "The House on Mango Street" "Fresh, surprising, and delightful. There is nowhere this gifted writer can't go." --Luis Alberto Urrea, author of "The Hummingbird's Daughter " "An elegant, startling vision of a Mexican in America, "The Five Acts of Diego Leon" proclaims the ascendance of a unique new talent, Alex Espinoza--a Chicano in America certain to surpass the fame of his novel's silent Hollywood hero. Espinoza takes our literature from a mute, black-and-white era to a national stage with full-spectrum color, in high-tech surround sound." --Dagoberto Gilb, author of "Woodcuts of Women " " " "With its colorful narrative and historic sweep, "The Five Acts of Diego Leon" has both a story line and characters that a wide readership will surely enjoy." --Oscar Hijuelos, author of "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love " "A story that begins in revolutionary Mexico and travels to Hollywood during the film industry's transition from silent films to talkies, "The Five Acts of Diego Leon" breaks greater silences--taboos of race and sexuality, of reinvention and assimilation--in a fantasy called Hollywoodland." --Sandra Cisneros, author of "The House on Mango Street" "Fresh, surprising, and delightful. There is nowhere this gifted writer can't go." --Luis Alberto Urrea, author of "The Hummingbird's Daughter " "An elegant, startling vision of a Mexican in America, "The Five Acts of Diego Leon" proclaims the ascendance of a unique new talent, Alex Espinoza--a Chicano in America certain to surpass the fame of his novel's silent Hollywood hero. Espinoza takes our literature from a mute, black-and-white era to a national stage with full-spectrum color, in high-tech surround sound." --Dagoberto Gilb, author of "Woodcuts of Women " " " "A story that begins in revolutionary Mexico and travels to Hollywood during the film industry's transition from silent films to talkies, "The Five Acts of Diego Leon" breaks greater silences--taboos of race and sexuality, of reinvention and assimilation--in a fantasy called Hollywoodland." --Sandra Cisneros, author of "The House on Mango Street" "Fresh, surprising, and delightful. There is nowhere this gifted writer can't go." --Luis Alberto Urrea, author of "The Hummingbird's Daughter " "An elegant, startling vision of a Mexican in America, "The Five Acts of Diego Leon" proclaims the ascendance of a unique new talent, Alex Espinoza--a Chicano in America certain to surpass the fame of his novel's silent Hollywood hero. Espinoza takes our literature from a mute, black-and-white era to a national stage with full-spectrum color, in high-tech surround sound." --Dagoberto Gilb, author of "Woodcuts of Women " " " Advance praise for "The Five Acts of Diego Leon" " " "An elegant, startling vision of a Mexican in America, "The Five Acts of Diego Leon" proclaims the ascendance of a unique new talent, Alex Espinoza--a Chicano in America certain to surpass the fame of his novel's silent Hollywood hero. Espinoza takes our literature from a mute, black-and-white era to a national stage with full-spectrum color, in high-tech surround sound." --Dagoberto Gilb, author of "Before the End, After the Beginning " "Alex Espinoza writes in the grand style. This book sweeps us from Revolutionary Mexico to the glittering heart of Hollywood in its heyday. It is fresh, surprising, and delightful. There is nowhere this gifted writer can't go. We are lucky to go along with him." --Luis Alberto Urrea, author of "The Hummingbird's Daughter" " " Praise for Alex Espinoza's "Still Water Saints" "[A] stunning debut . . . It feels like magic."--"Los Angeles" "Alex Espinoza's "Still Water Saints" is a cycle of tales as perfect as the beads of a rosary. One alone is a little miracle; the whole together is capable of renewing one's faith in new fiction."--Sandra Cisneros "Elegantly crafted . . . If magic is in short supply here among the new housing developments and the strip malls, faith in every incarnation is thriving.""--The Washington Post" " " "Enchanting . . . ["Still Water Saints"] does not ask us to suspend disbelief even while it bewitches. . . . It plunges you into a community that reminds us that all communities, no matter what their ethnic makeup, experience many of the same dilemmas and challenges.""--San Francisco Chronicle" " " "[Espinoza] treats us to a rich, episodic gem of human foible, need, greed, beauty, and weirdness. . . . His style is ominous, layered and clean--reminiscent of a Hieronymus Bosch painting. "Still Water Saints" is charming. . . . Its whimsy has teeth.""--Los Angeles Times Book Review" "An elegant, startling vision of a Mexican in America, "The Five Acts of Diego Leon" proclaims the ascendance of a unique new talent, Alex Espinoza--a Chicano in America certain to surpass the fame of his novel's silent Hollywood hero. Espinoza takes our literature from a mute, black-and-white era to a national stage with full-spectrum color, in high-tech surround sound. --Dagoberto Gilb, author of "Before the End, After the Beginning"