Robert Sanábria, a decorated retired Army lieutenant colonel, is a renowned sculptor and author living in Northern Virginia. Born in El Paso, Texas, he moved at age four with his mother and three siblings to Southern California. There, he spent the next 10 years growing up in a Methodist Church sponsored orphanage for Latino children.
A professional sculptor, Sanábria has created 25 major commissions for municipal projects, religious institutions, and commercial and private collectors. His artistic works are included in the permanent collections of 12 museums, synagogues, universities, and public spaces. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Maryland.
Sanábria is also the author of two LA-based books: Stewing in the Melting Pot: The Memoir of a Real American and the new thriller The Last Califórnio, which he discusses in detail in the revealing interview below.
About the Book
The idea for the book came from the research for Sanabria's memoir Stewing in the Melting Pot: the Memoir of a Real American. In The Last Califórnio, Mexican journalist Gar Montalvo tries to expose a corrupt government minister after he discovers the minister ordered the murders of Gar's family. Unfortunately, he becomes a target and flees across the Rio Grande and into the United States as an undocumented immigrant. Gar heads to Los Angeles, where he unveils his heritage of land and becomes involved in a high-stakes game of politics and an unexpected love affair with a beautiful paralegal named Eva Munoz.
The idea for the book came from the research for Sanabria's memoir Stewing in the Melting Pot: the Memoir of a Real American. In The Last Califórnio, Mexican journalist Gar Montalvo tries to expose a corrupt government minister after he discovers the minister ordered the murders of Gar's family. Unfortunately, he becomes a target and flees across the Rio Grande and into the United States as an undocumented immigrant. Gar heads to Los Angeles, where he unveils his heritage of land and becomes involved in a high-stakes game of politics and an unexpected love affair with a beautiful paralegal named Eva Munoz.
The Last Califórnio by Robert Sanábria can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BetterWorldBooks, Diablo Rosso, Foyles Bookshop, and Powell’s Books.
Q and A with Robert Sanabria:
Q. How did you come up with the idea for The Last Califórnio, and who do you see as your target audience? A. I’ll begin by mentioning that The Last Califórnio evolved, rather than having an outline of a more or less complete idea. I wanted to try to write from the perspective of a Mexican national, who crosses the Rio Grande and experiences life in the U.S., particularly in the climate of racial/ethnic hatred and fear of immigration. It started with the idea of a man running from his pursuers, as yet unidentified, and crossing the river illegally. Once I had him on the other side, then what?
I also wanted to make use of the Old Pueblo of Los Angeles, in the story. That place has a special meaning in my memory, because it was in an adjacent building on the north edge of the Placita, then known as the Plaza Community Center, to which my mother had taken me and my siblings for physicals before entry to the Children’s Home in Sierra Madre, California. With those parameters in mind, I began to think about how to get my man from Mexico City to Los Angeles, what would happen to him along the way, and what he’d do when he got there.
The idea for The Last Califórnio began to emerge when I recalled the research I did for my first book. In it I wrote about growing up in the orphanage for Latino children, located in Sierra Madre. It turns out that Sierra Madre was once part of the Rancho Santa Anita, one of more than 800 such land grants. Before the research, I hadn’t known anything about the ranchos or the rancheros, who called themselves Califórnios. It was an easy step to make my protagonist a descendant of the Californios, and bring in the whole matter of the 1846-48 U.S.-Mexico War. The problem was how to that without writing another history book on the subject.
I always had a general American target audience in mind, particularly because of our intimate historical relationship with Mexico. That involvement continues today, and will. I don’t see how it’s possible for Americans not to be aware of and be concerned about Latinos comprising an increasing percentage of the U.S. population, the continuing immigration debate, and our huge drug usage that’s driving the narco wars in Mexico,
Q. Where do your fictional characters come from? Are they inspired by actual people you know?
A. My characters are all fictional, each one arriving in the manuscript as the need arose. Though I’m not an attorney, I tended to identify with my character, Hernán Gárza, as an older man and a mentor to a younger one. I had him serve in Korea as I did.
Q. You’re a writer, a master sculptor, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, a teacher, not to mention your many family roles. How do you manage to get so much done?
A. I’ve often felt that I lost a lot of time by having been placed in an orphanage. My parents were immigrants, who were hardworking, but uneducated. When I finished high school and wanted to go on the college, my mother’s response was, “Don’t you think you’ve had enough education? It’s time for you go to work.” Without support from them, my continuing education was up to me. Consequently, it took ten years of night school and a year and one half leave-of-absence from the Army to graduate with a BA degree from the University of Maryland. In short, I’ve being playing catch-up for most of my life.
Retiring from the Army, when I was still fairly young, gave me the opportunity to continue my education using the GI Bill. I’d always made art in some form since childhood. It seemed logical to do something in that field after the Army. Sculpture grabbed and held my interest and I’ve made a second career of it, but again catching up. As an intelligence officer in the Army, I did some writing, and afterwards wrote a few art-related articles. Writing the memoir came about mainly as a catharsis for my childhood years. The experience of having the memoir published encouraged more writing. It took ten years to write The Last Califórnio because I also pursued a career as a professional sculptor. For years, my schedule has been to write for three hours each morning and work in the studio in the afternoons. That schedule is modified when I receive a sculpture commission with a defined time frame.
Q. Your first book, Stewing in the Melting Pot was a memoir. Your new book is a fictional thriller. Was it difficult changing from nonfiction to fiction? How, if at all, did your writing and research process change?
A. I had no problem changing from nonfiction to fiction. The research for the former dealt largely with finding and questioning my former home-mates, researching the town of Sierra Madre and its people, as well as the Methodist faith and Church, and its Plaza Community Center, which established the Children’s Home I grew up in. I also researched my mother’s background and the Mexican Revolution during which she was born. I never knew my father. After leaving the orphanage to live with my mother and stepfather, I never again lived in a Latino environment. Consequently, to write the novel, I needed a window into that community and began to read and or to support Latino-oriented organizations. Thus, research for the novel involved what I’ve mentioned above, as well as politics in Los Angeles. Geography was important and current events having to do with census counts, immigration and the treatment of Latinos in the country. I support MALDEF, La Raza, The Southern Poverty Law Center, and the UFW. For a few years, I subscribed to Hispanic Weekly Report, La Opinion, Los Angeles Magazine and the LA Times.
Q. One of the themes you explore in The Last Califórnio is illegal immigration, a hot-button political topic these days. Were you worried at all about addressing this important issue in a work of fiction? Should a writer even worry about potential negative responses from his or her work?
A. I don’t think a writer should pull his punches in a work of fiction, and be concerned with how he or she will respond to questions on hot button issues. I’m having my first signing for the novel on Thursday evening and fully expect to be asked about illegal immigration. My answer: While I sympathize with an immigrant’s desire to come here for a better life, his or her coming here illegally is still against the law. On the other hand, both immigrants and Americans should obey all of our laws. Many Americans have been complicit by hiring illegal immigrants for questionable personal or commercial gain. We’ve gone too long without a comprehensive solution to immigration. The State of Utah has a plan in effect, which holds promise as a blueprint for the country. It is based on the premise that immigrants, even illegals, benefit the country and they should be respected, rather than reviled.
Q. Another hot political topic these days is the violence occurring, seemingly on a daily basis, in Mexico’s drug wars. Can fictional works like yours help us better understand this situation? Is there hope in solving these problems?
A. As regards the violence occurring in Mexico’s drug wars, again our complicity is glaring. Just as Illegal immigrants come here for the market, drugs also come here because of the tremendous drug use by our population. The cartels respond accordingly. I only mention drugs tangentially in the novel, since that was not my focus and more concerned with an historical aspect.
Q. You served as president of the Artist Equity Association in Washington, D.C..; you’re a founder and former board officer of Touchstone Gallery, an artist’s cooperative in D.C. You’re also a founder and longtime board member of the Loudoun Arts Council. What do these organizations mean to you and how can readers learn more about them?
A. As an artist, I believe that advocating for art and artists is a responsibility. Unfortunately, the national office of Artist Equity Association has now passed from the scene for lack of money. When my wife, a painter, and I came to Loudoun County, I was asked to found a Chapter. However, I realized that the community of visual artists in the county would be far too small to support such an organization. Instead I suggested organizing a council that would include theater, literary, and music groups, as well as visual artists. I feel very good about the fact that the LAC has grown and continues to thrive. Though I left the Touchstone Gallery years ago, it, too, not only thrives, but is also the only artist’s cooperative still functioning in Washington, DC.
Q. I hate the saying, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” That’s why I love the fact that, with all that you’ve accomplished in your life, you still list teacher as one of your many of successes. How have teachers affected your life and how has teaching benefitted yours?
A. In my memoir I credit a math teacher with showing me that I could not only understand mathematical concepts, but also help my fellow students with their lack of understanding. More than anything else, that experience restored my self-esteem at a time in my teenage, when I sorely needed it. I’ve had a few similar experiences throughout my life. From time to time in the Army, I had mentors, who helped me along with good advice. In graduate school an older sculpture instructor, not formally trained, taught me the importance of expressing myself in my art. I should add, that I wrote the novel while a member of a writer’s group, which I acknowledge in the book.
Q. If you could only read three books for the rest of your life, what books would they be?
A. My reading is eclectic and ranges from biographies (Truman) to histories (Blood and Thunder), to philosophy (The God Delusion) and to a wide variety of novels. It would be very difficult to pick only three books to read during the rest of my life.
Q. What book is on your night stand right now?
A. On my nightstand right now is Mankel Henning’s The Troubled Man.
Q. What’s next for Robert Sanábria?
A. My next effort is another memoir, this time about my years in the Army. I’m focusing relationships with the people I encountered, rather than military operations and the like.
To learn more about Robert Sanábria, his art and writing, visit his official website at www.sanabriastudios.com.
Read more great Author Interviews from Frank Mundo, The LA Books Examiner.
Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales (foreword by Carolyn See), which is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and Borders in paperback and in eBook. The Brubury Tales won Reader View’s 2011 Reviewer’s Choice Award for Poetry Book of the Year and The 2011 Bookhitch Award for Most Innovative Poetry Book of the Year.
LA Books Examiner’s Author Interview Series
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