Village Well to Host “Immigration, Gentrification, & Urban Politics” with Authors D’Ebre and Silva

Immigration, Gentrification, & Urban Politics will be the topics of the evening on Friday Jul 8 2022, beginning at 7pm with Authors Rodrigo Ribera d’Ebre (The Displaced) and Obed Silva (The Death of My Father the Pope.) Join us for a discussion on their books, how they came to life, and their inspiration for writing.

The Displaced, follows a group of people who are determined to save their homes and neighborhood from gentrification, even if it means turning to violence. Exploring an issue relevant to all major urban cities in the United States, Rodrigo Ribera d’Ebre’s exciting novel shines a light on the impact of rising land and home values that pits a more privileged populace against those who have lived in the area for generations.

The Death of My Father the Pope: A man mourning his alcoholic father faces a paradox: to pay tribute, lay scorn upon, or pour a drink. A wrenching, dazzling, revelatory debut. Told with a wry cynicism, a profane, profound anger, an antic, brutally honest voice, and a hard-won classical frame of reference, Silva channels the heartbreak of mourning while wrestling with the resentment and frustration caused by addiction. The Death of My Father the Pope is a fluid and dynamic combination of memoir and an examination of the power of language—and the introduction of a unique and powerful literary voice.

Rodrigo Ribera d’Ebre is the author of Urban Politics: The Political Culture of Sur 13 Gangs (2013) and the writer/director of the award-winning documentary, Dark Progressivism, an urban studies film that follows the trajectory and impact of Los Angeles gang graffiti, murals and tattoo art. He holds an MFA in creative writing and his work has been featured in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Design LA Magazine, Juxtapoz, Joyland and other publications. He writes for the Huffington Post and lives in Los Angeles.

Obed Silva was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States as a toddler. After years in the gang lifestyle—which left him paralyzed from the waist down, the result of a gunshot wound—he discovered the power of book learning, earned a master’s degree in medieval literature, and is now a respected English professor at East Los Angeles College. The Death of My Father the Pope is his first book.

This event is free, no registration is required.