A genre-bending debut with a fiercely political heart A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens explores the weight of the devils bargain following the lengths one man will go to for the promise of freedom. Hugo Contrerass world in Miami has shrunk. Since his wife died Hugos debt from her medical bills has become insurmountable. He shuffles between his efficiency apartment La Carreta (his favorite place for a cafecito) and a botanica in a strip mall where he works as the resident babalawo. One day Hugos nemesis calls. Alexi Ramirez is a debt collector who has been hounding Hugo for years and Hugo assumes this call is just more of the same. Except this time Alexi is calling because he needs spiritual help. His house is haunted. Alexi proposes a deal: If Hugo can successfully cleanse his home before Noche Buena Alexi will forgive Hugos debt. Hugo reluctantly accepts but theres one issue: Despite being a babalawo he doesnt believe in spirits. Hugo plans to do what hes done with dozens of clients before: use sleight of hand and amateur psychology to convince Alexi the spirits have departed. But when the job turns out to be more than Hugo bargained for Hugos old tricks dont work. Memories of his past-his childhood in the Bolivian silver mines and a fraught crossing into the United States as a boy-collide with Alexis demons in an explosive climax. Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens explores questions of visibility migration and what we owe-to ourselves our families and our histories.
