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Waiting for Godínez: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts (Encrucijadas/Crossroads Series)
Daniel A. Olivas
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By the author of Chicano Frankenstein, this is “Waiting for Godot” in a modern retelling with Borderlands immigration and ICE in the mix. Waiting for Godínez has been workshopped in Los Angeles and New York, had a world premiere in Sacramento, California, and is being shopped to Los Angeles, Arizona, and New Mexico stages.
Olivas’s extraordinary reimagining of a classic play lays bare the destructive and brutalizing effects of the United States’ anti-immigration policy on undocumented immigrants and their families. In Waiting for Godínez, the forever-waiting characters of Estragon and Vladimir are embodied in Jesús and Isabel, two Mexican friends living in the States. Each night Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents kidnap Jesús and throw him into a cage intending to deport him. But the agents forget to lock the cage, so Jesús escapes and makes his way back to Isabel as they wait for the mysterious Godínez in a city park.
At one point Isabel looks upon her exhausted friend and laments,
“What harm have you done to them? You are as much of this country as you are of México. But you are not home in either place. Ni de aquí, ni de allá.”
Waiting for Godínez humanizes the plight undocumented people face in a country that both needs and disdains them. Through a darkly comic absurdist lens, it implores us to reconsider this country’s policies in light of the fact that we are all human and deserve respect and dignity as we each try to make our way in a confusing and often indifferent world.
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Posts about this title from Bien Leidos
Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Sep 9 2025
Happy Tuesday, mis internet amigxs!\
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I'm beginning this post with an apology! I had a number of my September 2nd Latine releases marked as 2026 releases on my spreadsheet, so at the bottom of this post, you'll find 7 releases from last week!\
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I'm getting ready to start significant fall travel. Tonight, I leave for New York City for 4 days, back for a couple of weeks, headed out of town for my birthday and then home for a couple of weeks before heading to Dallas for the Hay Festival. It's going to be a busy fall intermingled with Latinx Heritage Month and I'm honestly so excited.\
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I'll be announcing The Posession of Alba Diaz by Isabel Canas as our October Book Club pick later this week on socials, but THIS post is YOUR chance, as Bindery subscribers, to have a chance at TWO copies of the book.\
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My last few introductions have been very long, but, this week, it's short and sweet to so we can get to all the amazing Latine releases this week, beginning with THE BOOK OF THE WEEK--\
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Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela (Audiobook) National Book Award finalist is back with a literary fiction novel about heartbreak, unconventional love, and the way a society could be.\
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The Center of the Earth by Darlene Campos: Darelene is the co-founder of LatinxPitch and this story centers around Dahlia, a young Ecuadorian girl whose father is an ambassador bringing Werner from Germany at the time of Hitler's rise to become part of her family in Ecuador. A lesson in growing pains and found family.\
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An Embroidery of Souls by Ruby Martinez (Audiobook) Jade can manipulate souls with the tug of a thread—it’s up to her, and a boy with a soul as bright as the universe to stop a creature on the loose before it claims its next victim in this lush, Mexican & German inspired romantasy.\
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Just Shine! by Sonia Sotomayor and illustrated by Jacqueline Alcantara: "How to be a better you" and also available in Spanish today\
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When We Find Her by M. Garcia Pena and illustrated by Andre Ceolin\
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Rafi and Rossi Menu! by and illustrated by Lulu Delacre: Releasing in both English and Spanish today!\
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MIDDLE GRADE FICTION \
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In The Company of Wolves by Antonio Farias: Historical fiction novel about Jamie, who goes to live with his paternal grandmother on the family ranch in New Mexico after his father is killed in Vietnam.\
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POETRY \
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Cipota by Chelsea Guevara: Salvadoran poet, Chelsea Guevara, covers rage, reclamation, and homecoming in this collection\
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LITERARY FICTION \
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All That Dies In April by Mariana Travacio: Taking place high above the Argentinian pampas, this story follows a small family on a solitary journey through the treacherous mountains in search of a better life.\
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KID'S NONFICITON \
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Origin: An Illuminating Look at Indigenous Peoples by Nat Cardozo and translated by Maria Jose Ferrada and Layla Benitez-James: 22 portraits of Inidgenous children and their communities from around the globe that discuss their connection to the land and environment.\
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SEPTEMBER 2nd LATINX RELEASES \
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Flight Plan M. Soledad Caballero: Poetry\
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Little Rebels by Yuyi Morales: Picture Book\
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Mexico's Day of the Dead by Luisa Navarro and photography by Christine Chitnis: nonfiction\
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The Shadow of the Mammoth Fabio Morabato and translated by Curtis Bauer: Translated fiction\
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Waiting for Godinez by Daniel A. Olivas: Literary fiction that is inspired by Samuel Becket's Godot play and our country's shitting imigration policies\
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A Chronology of Blood by Teo Shannon: Poetry\
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The Giving Flower: The Story of the Ponsettia Alda P. Dobbs and illustrated by Emily Mendoza: Picture Book\
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xoxo, Carmen
September 9th Latine Book Releases
19 books
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Bien Leidos\
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tomesandtextiles\
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• Sep 6 2025
Happy Saturday, mis internet amigxs!\
\
I'm beginning this post with an apology! I had a number of my September 2nd Latine releases marked as 2026 releases on my spreadsheet, so at the bottom of this post, you'll find 7 releases from last week!\
\
I'm getting ready to start fall travel. This week, I'll be in New York City for 4 days, back for a couple of weeks, headed out of town for my birthday and then home for 2 weeks before heading to Dallas for the Hay Festival. It's going to be a busy fall intermingled with Latinx Heritage Month and I'm honestly so excited.\
\
My last few introductions have been very long, but, this week, it's short and sweet to so we can get to all the amazing Latine releases this week, beginning with THE BOOK OF THE WEEK--\
\
\
\
Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela (Audiobook) National Book Award finalist is back with a literary fiction novel about heartbreak, unconventional love, and the way a society could be.\
\
MIDDLE GRADE HISTORICAL FICTION \
\
The Center of the Earth by Darlene Campos: Darelene is the co-founder of LatinxPitch and this story centers around Dahlia, a young Ecuadorian girl whose father is an ambassador bringing Werner from Germany at the time of Hitler's rise to become part of her family in Ecuador. A lesson in growing pains and found family.\
\
YOUNG ADULT FANTASY \
\
\
\
An Embroidery of Souls by Ruby Martinez (Audiobook) Jade can manipulate souls with the tug of a thread—it’s up to her, and a boy with a soul as bright as the universe to stop a creature on the loose before it claims its next victim in this lush, Mexican & German inspired romantasy.\
\
PICTURE BOOK \
\
Just Shine! by Sonia Sotomayor and illustrated by Jacqueline Alcantara: "How to be a better you" and also available in Spanish today\
\
\
\
When We Find Her by M. Garcia Pena and illustrated by Andre Ceolin\
\
\
\
Rafi and Rossi Menu! by and illustrated by Lulu Delacre: Releasing in both English and Spanish today!\
\
MIDDLE GRADE FICTION \
\
\
\
In The Company of Wolves by Antonio Farias: Historical fiction novel about Jamie, who goes to live with his paternal grandmother on the family ranch in New Mexico after his father is killed in Vietnam.\
\
POETRY \
\
Cipota by Chelsea Guevara: Salvadoran poet, Chelsea Guevara, covers rage, reclamation, and homecoming in this collection\
\
LITERARY FICTION \
\
All That Dies In April by Mariana Travacio: Taking place high above the Argentinian pampas, this story follows a small family on a solitary journey through the treacherous mountains in search of a better life.\
\
KID'S NONFICITON \
\
\
\
Origin: An Illuminating Look at Indigenous Peoples by Nat Cardozo and translated by Maria Jose Ferrada and Layla Benitez-James: 22 portraits of Inidgenous children and their communities from around the globe that discuss their connection to the land and environment.\
\
SEPTEMBER 2nd LATINX RELEASES \
\
\
\
Flight Plan M. Soledad Caballero: Poetry\
\
\
\
Little Rebels by Yuyi Morales: Picture Book\
\
\
\
Mexico's Day of the Dead by Luisa Navarro and photography by Christine Chitnis: nonfiction\
\
\
\
The Shadow of the Mammoth Fabio Morabato and translated by Curtis Bauer: Translated fiction\
\
\
\
Waiting for Godinez by Daniel A. Olivas: Literary fiction that is inspired by Samuel Becket's Godot play and our country's shitting imigration policies\
\
\
\
A Chronology of Blood by Teo Shannon: Poetry\
\
\
\
The Giving Flower: The Story of the Ponsettia Alda P. Dobbs and illustrated by Emily Mendoza: Picture Book\
\
xoxo, Carmen
EXCLUSIVE: September 9th Latinx Book Releases
19 books
Posts about this book from across Bindery
Bien Leidos\
\
tomesandtextiles\
\
• Sep 9 2025
September 9th Latine Book Releases
19 books
5
1
Bien Leidos\
\
tomesandtextiles\
\
• Sep 6 2025
EXCLUSIVE: September 9th Latinx Book Releases
19 books