Author's Notes:
Over 200 women have been raped, mutilated, and murdered in Juarez over the past 11 years. Most of the victims were teens or in their early twenties, some were only children. The police claim to be doing all they can, but still these gruesome murders continue. I wrote this as a story with many biblical symbols and references, but more importantly, I wrote this as a tribute, or maybe it is a warning, a warning of what is happening right on the border of America, what has been happening for years, without any end in site. There have also been claims that members of the law enforcement are responsible for these murders. Also, a long history of victim blaming is going on, as politicians often accuse the women who were murder of being whores (putas) or easy women (faciles). This story was based around a song by Tori Amos, which is based on the events happening in Juarez. This is what she had to say about her work:
"I read an article about several hundred women in Juárez, Mexico, who had been taken out to the desert and brutally raped and murdered. When they didn't come home, their brothers would go and look for them, and many times they'd find nothing. Sometimes they'd find a hair barrette or a sock or something they knew was their sister's. The authorities haven't really done anything about it...they get into this serial-killer theory. I mean, how much serial can one man indulge in? So as the song started to develop, I really began taking the voice of the desert, singing in that perspective."
-- Tori; A.P. Magazine, Oct 99
This story is not the voice of the desert, but the voice of the brother, searching for his sister who hasn't been found yet. In the song the refrain goes, "no angel came." I named my main character Angelo for a reason.
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Cherry Blossom