The Price of Paradise

by Susana López Rubio

was a chicherecú, a demonic imp with red eyes and sharp fingernails.

My maternal grandmother, Lala, practiced Santeria and

an ass like a twenty-dollar mule. Forajidos.” Guzmán’s face lit up. “A forajido! See? That’s a killer name for a cocktail.”

“Lala and I did something to purify me. Great-grandma ground up a garlic clove and mixed it with lime juice, and I drank it so it would clean out the blood I got from my dad.”