Jackson Heights Chronicles

September 25, 2006
Tobon paints a gripping picture of life and loss in the mean streets of New York's Jackson Heights, a multi-ethnic neighborhood in Queens with a large Colombian population. Known as the "Mayor of Little Columbia" (a character in the film Maria Full of Grace is based on him), Tobon is a New York City travel agent and community leader who aids the families of "mules"-Colombians who risk their lives by transporting drugs to the U.S. In this series of short fictions, Tobon-like protagonist Fernando deals with the mafia, the cruel "coyotes" paid to smuggle humans (and their drugs) into the U.S., daily neighborhood hardships and devastating family betrayals. Using deceptively straightforward prose, Tobon weaves suspense, nuance and drama into disquieting situations, with dialogues that interlace broken English and simple Spanish. The result is a grim, vivid mosaic.

September 15, 2006
These 11 stories center on the life and work of Fernando Padró n, known to the Latino community as the Mayor of Jackson Heights (a neighborhood in Queens, NY). Fernando's office is crowded with people needing different kinds of assistance, and as these episodes reveal, he is committed to finding solutions, from listening to a homeless man's tragic story to finding a coffin so that a murdered girl's body can be sent back to her home. Tobó n, who was featured in the 2004 film "Maria Full of Grace" based the character of Fernando on himself. In one of the early stories, a film student observes Fernando and makes a documentary about a legendary drug mule who escaped to a normal life. Through other stories, Fernando's life in Colombia and relocation to New York are recounted. We meet Fernando's supportive mother and resentful sister, as well as follow a story of a cop and drug mule who fall in love. The tales jump off the headlines, but Fernando's belief in good work turns even the most tragic incidents into inspirational events. Recommended." -Joshua Cohen, Mid-Hudson Lib. Syst., Poughkeepsie, NY"

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