Laura Resau’s two novels for adolescent readers take place in both the U.S. and Mexico, examining local and indigenous cultures with a tone leaning more light and inquisitive than heavy and politically correct. It’s easy to discern where Resau’s sympathies lie, but her approach focuses on people, not politics. As the cultures of El Norte, Mexico and Central America become increasingly intertwined, the insights into the unfamiliar offer one avenue for understanding why undocumented workers assume such enormous risks with their lives and fortunes. Resau, a finalist for a 2007 Colorado Book Award, will read from her new novel, “Red Glass,” at an event with fellow nominee Todd Mitchell at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Tattered Cover, 2526 E. Colfax Ave.
Q: You lived in Oaxaca, Mexico, after graduating from college. What brought you there?
A: I wanted to teach English as a second language, and I’d sent applications all over the world. The University of Oaxaca was the first to offer a job. It turned out to be an indigenous region, and many of my students invited me to their villages on weekends and holidays, so I spent a lot of time participating in village life.
Q: What surprised you?
A: One thing was that, even in those remote villages, a lot of those families had husbands, brothers, sons and fathers working in the U.S.
Q: What aspect of village life did you find most intriguing?
A: I spent a lot of time with the local healers. They did healing rituals with me, and I’d accompany them when they went to gather herbs. After I got my master’s degree in anthropology, I went back and did some medical anthropology research in a Oaxacan village on practices surrounding childbirth.
Q: What do they use in their rituals?
A: They often use eggs. Eggs are very common in spiritual healing, in getting rid of bad energy and evil air. Sometimes they use chickens. They rub a live chicken all over you. The idea is that the chicken absorbs all the bad air and bad energy.
Q: What happens to it afterward?
A: They kill it.
Q: Do they eat it?
A: No. When something is used in a healing ritual, it’s considered contaminated by the bad stuff it’s taken on. Most materials used in cleanings are thrown in the river, or the healers take the materials to a remote place where no one can come across it, and get rid of it that way.
