Martha Bátiz and Martin Boyd at the book launch for “Papalotero”

A heartfelt thank you to all who attended the book launch for my novel Papalotero at Accents Bookstore, this week. For those who missed it, an excerpt from the presentation on the novel by Mexican-Canadian writer Martha Bátiz is included below. – Martin Boyd

Martha Bátiz

What is Papalotero about, and what is a papalotero, anyway? Simply put, a papalotero is a person who flies kites. The Mexican word is quite fitting because the main character in the novel is Miguel Ángel Ramírez, a young Mexican immigrant who lives in Toronto with his mother, and who builds and flies kites for a living. When he meets Teresa Jones, a young girl who has not found anything she can feel passionate about yet, and who is constantly pushed by her academic parents and brother to attend college because otherwise she will be seen as an utter failure (note to self: never be such a mother to my children!), he helps her consider her options from a different perspective. While guiding Teresa towards a more positive attitude, he also helps Teresa’s best friend, Elena, to face her worse fears and play the cards that life has dealt her, which are not as nice as she wants everyone to believe. Miguel Ángel does this with the constant support of his mother, a woman who has overcome great loss and pain and, precisely because of this, has learned to appreciate life even more. For people who are not familiar with Mexican culture and idiosyncrasies, like Teresa and Elena, Miguel Ángel is, understandably, a scary person. He is not worried about the things that concern most people: pursuing a career, finding a job, getting established, being wealthy or famous or successful, all the usual goals people have. He knows that none of those things are really important if, deep down, you are not happy and if you are not pursuing your passion. So what if your passion does not fit society’s standards and expectations? Of course, such thoughts are shocking for Teresa and Elena, who have always felt forced to fit in and to follow the rules.

There is a deeper meaning, and a deeper story, behind Miguel Angel’s apparent little ray of sunshine. He was a “miracle child”: a survivor from the Mexico City earthquake of 1985, in which 16 newborn babies were rescued after spending a week buried under the rubble. In real life, 14 out of those 16 children survived. 13 of them are still living in Mexico, and one of them lives in the United States. And then there’s Miguel Angel who, thanks to Martin Boyd, lives in Toronto. So this papalotero also shows Teresa and Elena, and everyone reading the book, that nothing is what it seems, and that if we take the time to get to know people’s stories instead of being afraid of how different they look from us or how different their way of thinking and expectations are, we can learn valuable lessons and enrich our ability to keep trust and hope thriving.

I must confess that when I started reading Papalotero I was myself kind of feeling down: the weather had been awful, I was overwhelmed by work and just plain tired. When I read that Teresa was wearing a t-shirt that said Life Sucks, I agreed with her. Yet as I read on and discovered how much of Teresa and Elena was inside me, I realized I had to let go of the vices that I shared with them and welcome Miguel Ángel in (or should I say, recover my inner Miguel Ángel? I am Mexican, after all). And slowly but surely I started feeling better. Miguel Ángel soothed me, and reminded me how precious life is, regardless of its challenges. Not many novels have this effect on me, but Papalotero did and, although I cannot say I’m ready to drop everything and go out and fly a kite just yet, I feel grateful. This is why I recommend this book not only to anyone who’d like to enjoy a well-crafted story, but especially to those who need to recharge their batteries in order to keep their faith – and their hope – growing strong.