Manuel Sanchez, Academic Transfer
Both a poet and a prose writer, Emmanuel Sanchez saw his exciting short story, “The Blacklist,” published in Illuminations, Vol. 16. Manuel talks with us about why he chose to write a story tinged with violence and what his writing hopes are for the future.
Illuminations: Hi, Manuel! You’ve submitted both poetry and prose to
Illuminations. Which do you prefer to write and why?
Manuel: I prefer to write prose because I have had a very active imagination
ever since I was an infant. Short stories are a way to let the imagination
flourish and to distribute a message for the reader in a more expanded form than
poetry. Poems can do the same thing, but a short story is more direct,
especially when you play around with characters and their context.
I: I see your point. Your short story, “The Blacklist,” published in Volume 16,
was about a retired criminal of the Frontier Cartel who had been caught
smuggling cocaine from Mexico into the U.S. Your protagonist serves time and is
placed in the Witness Protection Program, but violence hits him hard in your
story. Where did you get the idea for this story, and why was this an important
topic for you to write about?
M: I initially got the idea from the stories I hear about from my family back in
Mexico. And by using violence in the story, I wanted to portray to the reader
that violence is a harmful form of proving a point or marking a presence in
society. Sometimes we do things in an easy way so we don't have to struggle, but
the easy way is not always the best way, especially when it comes to earning
money in countries with less opportunities and more poverty. With my story, I
tried to prove that violence does not resolve anything but keeps a vicious cycle
going. The character is a victim of violence, just like many individuals who
have done things the easy way to improve their economy but have suffered losses
as a consequence. In my story, I don't glorify violence but see that ugly way of
it.
I: A powerful message! Do you have favorite authors/poets that you enjoy
reading?
M: I enjoy reading Ernest Hemingway because he was also a journalist and seemed
to express through fiction what he saw about the real world. He used his
imagination to modify the events he experienced or observed, and that is what I
did with “The Blacklist.”
I: You’re in the Academic Transfer program. What do you see yourself doing in
ten years, and do you see writing continuing to be a part of your life?
M: I see myself working as a journalist in television or radio analyzing and
informing about sports or anything else that is relevant in 2025. I also don't
want “The Blacklist” to be my last story.
I: What have been the responses of others after reading your story in
Illuminations?
M: I haven't had many interactions with readers yet. I do hope that changes in
the next following months. The couple readers that I have talked to ask me how I
invented all of the stuff that was in the story, and I usually answer, "Look at
what is going on." I do want to clarify that my story was written before “The
Blacklist” show premiered on television. The title of my story comes from a
"corrido" song popular in Sinaloa, Mexico, in a regional music genre in that
country.
I: What advice would you give others who’d like to try their hand at writing
stories or poetry?
M: I would recommend they do it because it is an easy way to see if you really
have talent in writing. There is a lot of quality that has been kept in online
databases or just in folders or binders that has not been published that could
have success if published. Just how you let your ideas flourish on paper, let
your writings flourish with editors!
I: Why not? And finally, the silly question of the day: If you could max out
your credit card at any store, which store would it be, and what would you buy?
M: I would max it out at Best Buy because I am obsessed with new electronic
innovations around the market. I would buy more speakers for my car and a new
television, stereo, laptop, phone, and many soccer video games.
I: Thanks, Manuel!
From “The Blacklist,”
by Emmanuel Sanchez:
[Anthony] parked in the gas station. What was significantly mysterious was that
the black 300 had also parked. His family got out and stretched toward the early
cold morning as if they were angels trying to reach Heaven. Anthony walked
around and saw that the only available sunlight was covered by the famous
mountains of Monterrey. The gas station was still dark, but he saw shadows
getting out of the Chrysler 300. He saw a man approaching him. He squinted and
distinguished Miguel Morales and three other members.
"Hello, Anthony," said Miguel.
"It’s you? Miguel?" said Anthony.
"Yeah, it’s me. You thought you could continue living a peaceful life after you
gave up our cartel's plans and drug routes?" asked Miguel.
"Those Americans forced upon me a life in the shadow of jail or liberty,"
explained Anthony.
"You're dead.... Kill him. Anthony is number one on my blacklist," said Miguel
to his men.
"How you know I was coming to Mexico?" asked Anthony.
"Money makes a monkey dance, an American police monkey, and ha-ha," Miguel
answered. In a sudden moment, Anthony saw his family run toward him after they
spotted the armed men.
"Stop!" shouted Anthony.
"Kill them!" screamed Miguel. The men gunned down the shadows of Martha, Teresa,
and Manuel. Anthony covered himself with the Escalade’s door. He cried. He
wanted to die of desperation. He heard more gunshots and the noise of bullets
hitting the Escalade's glass windows. Anthony looked up and saw sunlight beyond
the Silleta Mountain.