Angelitos

From internationally renowned Ilan Stavans, in collaboration with award-winning illustrator Santiago Cohen, comes Angelitos: A Graphic Novel, an explosive new graphic novel about a college student and his interactions with Padre Chinchachoma, a charismatic Catholic priest who devotes himself to rescuing homeless children in Mexico. Though his work gives hope to the desperate masses of children on the streets of Mexico City, his efforts interfere with and infuriate the police—with dire consequences. Set in a deeply classist society and against the backdrop of the tragic destruction of the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City, the core of the story also revolves around the student’s fear that Padre Chincha might be sexually abusing the children he rescues, at a time and place when such actions went unchecked by the Catholic Church.

Though Angelitos: A Graphic Novel is a fictional retelling of a desperate time, it draws on autobiographical elements to tell the real-life story of Alejandro García Durán de Lara, popularly known as Padre Chinchachoma, a complicated figure revered by some and reviled by others. 

Ilan Stavans is a public intellectual, translator, essayist, lexicographer, and editor. He is the Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities, Latin American, and Latino Culture at Amherst College and the author of more than two dozen books, including A Critic’s Journey and Quixote. The recipient of numerous international awards and prizes, his work has been translated into fifteen languages and adapted into film, radio, and television. Santiago Cohen is an illustrator, animator, designer, and author. He has illustrated nearly twenty children’s books, including The Yiddish Fish and Before You Were Here, Mi Amor.