Aura Xilonen
Author
Aura Xilonen (1995) is a Mexican writer based in Puebla, Mexico. Her first novel “Campeón gabacho” (Random House 2015) won the renowned Mauricio Achar prize and was a literary sensation. Her picaresque novel about the classic topic of Mexican immigration to the USA is written in a highly original language sometimes branded as “ingleñol” (from inglés = English and español = Spanish) and has so far been translated into eight languages. Europa Editions published the novel in English as “The Gringo Champion” in 2017. /// As of June 3, 2019
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The Gringo Champion
“And then it hits me, as the scruffs trail the gorgeous chickadee, hooting at her and talking dirty, that I can get myself another life by beating these pinches australs up. After all, I was born dead already, and nothing fucking scares me. […] And so I come up behind the guy and give him a sharp kick in the ankle, and he crumples over like a trivel running down a windowpane on a rainy day, and then I slam him in the cockles with all my might.”
— From “The Gringo Champion” (Europa Editions, New York 2017), translated from Mexican to English by Andrea Rosenberg
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All readings of Aura Xilonen in the Literaturhaus Zurich were sold out. Photo Ralph Hut
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Aura Xilonen has signed a photo of her that a reader had found on the internet. Photo Ralph Hut