Sylvia Aguilar Zéleny is a bilingual writer, with published works written initially in both English and Spanish. Her novel “Trash” is her first book to be written first in Spanish, then translated to English. The Deep Vellum publication, originally “Basura” in Spanish, was translated by J.D. Pluecker.
“Trash” interweaves the voices of three women with lived connections to the municipal garbage dump of Ciudad Juárez.
In Latin America, it is common for communities to develop around landfills, Aguilar Zéleny said in a December interview for the KTEP radio podcast “Words on a Wire.”
“And then I thought, what about the border one? If a dump site by itself represents so much of society, it’s the challenges, it’s the objects, again, it’s capitalism, it’s society. What would happen in the one at the border, at the border of El Paso-Ciudad Juárez. So that’s how it started,” she said.
El Paso Matters talked with the University of Texas at El Paso assistant professor of creative writing about her writing career and her book, which is the next selection for the El Paso Matters Book Club.
El Paso Matters: For those who aren’t as familiar with you, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Aguilar Zéleny: “I’m a bilingual writer and the author of ‘Todo Eso Es Yo’ (ITCA, Premio Nacional de Novela Tamaulipas, 2015); ‘The Everything I Have Lost,’ (Cinco Puntos Press, 2020); ‘El libro de Aisha’ (Penguin Random House, 2021) and ‘Trash’ (Deep Vellum, 2023).”
El Paso Matters: What are some key themes you would like readers, particularly El Pasoans, to take away from your book?
Aguilar Zéleny: “The culture of care, resilience vs domestic violence, the politics of affection.”
El Paso Matters: What’s your favorite line in the book and why?
Aguilar Zéleny: “And there, right there, we’d open up a bag and then another, one of those big kinds of bags, or dig and dig, and we’d find something, a frying pan, a bedspread, clothes, a pair of mismatched or matching flip flops, cans of food. Treasure.
“Unbelievable what people throw away, leave behind, forget. Even the most private things from a house end up here. Other people’s half-used things make us whole.”
El Paso Matters: Some of your books and writings deal with El Paso, immigrants, Hispanic culture and growing up in a binational region. What is the key to keeping readers that are not from the area interested in these topics?
Aguilar Zéleny: “To also depict the relationships and the politics of affection underneath a specific place and time, the universality of these matters.”
El Paso Matters: What is something unique about El Paso/Juárez/the border/southwest region that inspired or is portrayed in your book?
Aguilar Zéleny: “Bilingualism of course, but most importantly I am always amazed about the kindness and sincere solidarity of our community. This is essential in this novel.”
El Paso Matters: As an author, what do you make of the current national debate regarding the censorship of books at school libraries?
Aguilar Zéleny: “Banning books is yet another way to control who we are through what we think. Nothing scarier than an inquisitive mind. Therefore, it is our job as writers to continue publishing books not to teach anything but rather to start or continue necessary conversations.”
El Paso Matters: What’s next for you? Any upcoming projects or aspirations?
Aguilar Zéleny: “It helps me to be working on two projects at a time. I am wrapping up a coming of age novel titled ‘Rara,’ about a Mexican woman failing to adapt to her life in the U.S., and a young adult novel about a caravan of teenagers from Latin America trying to come to the U.S.”
El Paso Matters: Can you recommend three books by local authors for our readers?
Aguilar Zéleny: “Kafka in a Skirt” by Daniel Chacón; “Thirty Talks Weird Love,” Alessandra Narváez, and “Mother Tongue,” Rosa Alcalá.
The post Q&A with ‘Trash’ author Sylvia Aguilar Zéleny appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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