7 minute read
INSIDE VOICES
INSIDE VOICES
Robert Gwaltney and Jeffrey Dale Lofton introduce author, Federico Erebia
Federico Erebia received the 2024 Lambda Literary Exceptional New Writer Award. His debut novel, Pedro & Daniel, follows two gay, neurodivergent, Mexican American brothers, over a twenty-four year span, who experience joy and laughter, despite years of abuse and oppression.
Pedro & Daniel has won numerous awards, starred reviews, and other accolades, including Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews and Bank Street. It was a finalist for the Ohioana Book Award and is long listed for the Massachusetts Book Award.
Federico is on the SCBWI Impact & Legacy Fund’s steering committee, the board of Read Your World, Inc., and is a state leader for Authors Against Book Bans. He is a member of various other writing groups.
Federico is also a retired physician, woodworker, poet, and illustrator. He enjoys the intersections of his gay, neurodivergent, and Mexican American identities. He and his husband live near Boston, Massachusetts.
Jeffrey/Inside Voices: What do you think your brother would think of the story you created?
And, will you tell us a little about him, what was he like?
Like I mention in the book, I think Daniel would have enjoyed the first draft, then gone nuclear with his red pen edits. But I think he would love the final product. I believe I brought Daniel back to life within the pages of the book. I also believe he would learn a lot about me, stuff that I couldn’t share when we were kids. He was witty, charming, sarcastic, loyal, and empathetic. He was also too trusting of others, which caused him strife after he left home.
Robert/Inside Voices: You are pretty direct about your thoughts on how our nation and politicians handled the AIDS crisis. Could you give us some detail about that?
The first cases of HIV were reported in June 1981. Ronald Reagan had become president 5 months before, so the first 8 years of the HIV pandemic were under the 8 years of Reagan as our president. His dismal record with regards to HIV speaks for itself, but here are some notable details: He first said the word AIDS in September 1985 when he was asked a question by a reporter at a press conference; he had been silent for over four years, and his words were not helpful for people living with HIV, or for the advancement of medical care.
In October 1986, the Surgeon General released a controversial report that was panned by Reagan and conservatives because it suggested safer sex education, not an abstinence-only approach. There is a lot of evidence that supports the claim that Reagan, his administration, and the virulent christian movement of the time could have done much more to reduce cases and advance medical research and care. Reagan gave his first speech about AIDS in May 1987, but he did not mention the words “gay” or “homosexual.” In June 1988, the Watkins report described a “lack of leadership” [implying the Reagan administration] as a major obstacle in advancing prevention, treatment, and cure. It offered many suggestions which were largely ignored.
For at least the first 30 years of the AIDS pandemic, the Popes and the Catholic church were against the use of condoms at all. They are against birth control, and still consider being gay a sin.
Other christian churches weren’t much better. Cultural villains who used conservative christian doctrine against gay people, like Jerry Falwell, Jesse Helms, Phyllis Schafly, Gary Bauer, and Pat Buchanan blocked many efforts to address the needs of people with and at risk of acquiring
HIV.
Jeffrey/Inside Voices: Your book takes an unflinching look at social isolation and physical abuse. How did you manage to write about such painful topics with such tenderness and grace?
I’m an avid reader. I know how I like to experience bad situations in a book. Ultimately, I use these four tools for writing difficult situations: I use nuance periodically; sometimes the boy being abused dissociates from the encounter; I use poetic verse, which can be so powerful because of how language, grammar, and punctuation are used; I sandwich bad situations between lighthearted or funny scenarios.
Robert/Inside Voices: You write from different points of view in Pedro & Daniel. Talk to us more about that decision.
Part 1 is told in slightly varying third person narration. I tell the reader to imagine that the narrator is the family doctor, or the neighbors, police, and priests who were aware of the severe domestic violence, but chose not to intervene on the boys’ behalf. These chapters allow the narrator to explain the boys’ circumstances in language and grammar that the boys would not have at five and six years of age. Part 1 is the foundation on which the rest of the story can be told.
Parts 2-5 are in first person narration, alternating between the brothers. In each successive chapter, the boys are a year older, so the reader experiences the physical, emotional, and psychological growth of each young boy until they are young men. In these chapters, the reader gets to know the boys well, often experiencing their private thoughts, fears, and joys.
Jeffrey/Inside Voices: You write in both English and Spanish. How do you weave those two worlds together in your book so seamlessly?
I varied my use Spanish: Sometimes I offered a complete translation right after the use of Spanish; sometimes I explained the Spanish by referencing a response to it, without translating it; sometimes I offered no translation, but the word’s meaning can be understood in context; sometimes I used Spanish, and offered no translation, suggestion, or clue, for a particular effect, but folks could Google it if they wanted. Each of these examples is a writing tool for incorporating other languages into a story.
Robert/Inside Voices: You use many proverbs in your dialogue. Why did you do that?
I’ve always loved proverbs and fables which can pack a punch in a few words or a few paragraphs. When I started combining a collection of short story [picture book] manuscripts, I started adding dichos as a way to unite the stories. There are over 200 dichos in the book. Those dichos have the cumulative effect of being an uncredited “adult” character that guides Pedro and Daniel throughout their lives. I love the effect these dichos have on the entire book.
Jeffrey/Inside Voices: You are an active and supportive member of the literary community who highlights other authors and creates opportunities to showcase their works as well as your own.
Tell us about some of your adventures.
I do a lot of volunteer work. I was on the DEI team of our regional SCBWI chapter. I am on the steering committee of the SCBWI Impact & Legacy Fund where I created the School Librarians’ Mini Library grants, which provides books by and/or about marginalized individuals to schools. I am on the board of Read Your World, Inc. where I created the 2025 Classroom kit poster, and The Pedro and Daniel Intersectional Book Awards. I am a state leader of Authors Against Book Bans. I strongly believe in paying-it-forward, and in helping others when I can.
Robert/Inside Voices: Your first career was not as a writer. Will you tell us how you ended up producing your debut novel?
I retired from medicine ten years ago. I had started a slow transition into woodworking. When the pandemic hit, I switched careers again, and started writing. In 2021, I was able to submit a picture book manuscript to my editor, without an agent, through a conference opportunity.
Eventually, I combined a collection of PB manuscripts, and wrote a novel. Within two years, Pedro & Daniel was published. It’s an unusual and very fast-paced publishing story.
Jeffrey/Inside Voices: What’s next for you?
I have started the process of querying agents. I’ve got several PB manuscripts and an unusual and provocative poetry collection. I’ve started both a GN and YA series with a dual timeline: present day Mexico and present day Mesoamerica [as if Europeans never stumbled upon Mexico]. I will be in two different anthologies coming soon.
