Several people have questioned what motives emboldened me to write The Marién Revelation simultaneously in Spanish and English. I have to admit that, at first, the question made me a bit uncomfortable for two reasons; when a Spanish speaker asks I hear a tone in their voice that suggests a betrayal of my native language and when an English speaker asks, I sense a bit of doubt, as if they believe somehow my accent will transfer to the written word. Clearly, I realize that both reactions are simply based on speculation and my own insecurities. However, I have decided to address the question here.

I am originally from the border between Mexico and the United States; English has always been present in my life (although I did not learn to communicate in the language of Shakespeare until late adolescence). I respect English for it never came easy to me and for being the language spoken where I grew and became a man. My first literary explorations in this language were poems. Somehow, there have been times in which I feel compelled to express myself in English. Later, with the translation of When Alligators Sing, which was completed in collaboration with Ken Kimball, my partner in this journey, I grew to appreciate the tools the English language offered me, primarily organization and measure. I consider both derivatives of my academic studies in this country.

As I reflected and prepared the outline of the The Marién Revelation, I decided that both the Spanish and English versions would be written simultaneously. If Spanish is the blood that flows through the novel, English channels it. If English structures my text, Spanish stimulates it.

As I write this response, I do not know what the reaction will be from the English speaker regarding my “audacity” or that of the Spanish purist who may feel that my words have been contaminated. Regardless, The Marién Revelation is a story that chose to be told this way, using the tools from two linguistic codes though never mixed, come together and find harmony in me.