Now Yadriel, with his new brujo powers hopes to help solve the mystery of the recent disappearance and death of a twenty-eight-year-old cousin Miguel, and help release Miguel’s spirit to the afterlife, finally proving to Yadriel’s community that he is a true brujo – and a boy. Yadriel meets secretly with his friend and cousin Maritza, and together they successfully perform the sacred brujo ritual that his community is denying him. It’s as if he thinks Yadriel is in a passing adolescent phase and will change his mind. They generally use his correct pronouns, but when his grandmother gets sentimental, she tells him he’ll always be “(her) little girl.” Most glaring, Yadriel’s father refuses to let Yadriel perform the important ritual that boys need to complete in front of Lady Death to unlock their brujo powers. Yadriel’s family claims to accept him as a boy. Yadriel’s only wish is to be seen and accepted as a brujo by family and community – a wielder of magic who secures safe passage for ghostly spirits into their next life. Yadriel is a Latinx trans teen boy who lives with his family in an East Los Angeles cemetery, with his powerful brujo father, Enrique Velez Cabrera being chief caretaker of the cemetery and leader of their traditional community of brujos and brujas.
Today, many Latinx people are striving to retain and cherish culture, and at the same time reclaim, empower, and celebrate the status of “the other” in combating homophobia, sexism, and other prejudices in society. The Latinx community and notably queer people within this community feel they have similarly been cast aside. In societies, witches are often seen as “the other” and outcasts. Modern Brujeria which is becoming increasingly popular, is magic that includes a blend of folklore, herbalism, African magic and healing, and Catholicism. In Hispanic and Native American cultures, the practitioners of this spirituality are brujas (female), brujos (male), and more recently brujix (genderqueer). The literal meaning of the Spanish word Brujeria is witchcraft. That and his Cuban/Mexican heritage are some of the inspirations behind Cemetery Boys.
It is appropriate for tweens, teens, and adults who enjoy reading young adult fiction.īefore we get started: What was the inspiration for this book?Īs a kid growing up in Oakland, California, Aiden Thomas hung out at a local cemetery with his friends. It is funny, magical, heartbreaking, at times spooky, has numerous plot twists, addresses many LGBTQ+ issues, and is fun. This Latinx young adult fantasy murder mystery is unlike anything I have ever read. This month’s book review is Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas, a queer, trans Latinx author who advocates strongly for diverse representation in all media.
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