El Centro author examines border in Crossings
This novel puts a human face on life along the United States-Mexico line
For resident Brian McNeece, El Centro is where he grew up, left to make a career and eventually returned to become dean of arts and letters at nearby Imperial Valley College.
The close proximity to the border in this area of the United States has made it a part of life for local residents on both sides and became the inspiration for McNeece to write a novel called Crossings.
It tells the story of Aurelio Gonzalez, an idealistic Mexican teacher who decides to cross the border into the United States in search of a better life and finds himself facing difficult decisions about his culture, his homeland and the people he meets along the way.
McNeece said the inspiration for Crossings came when he discovered that a small border community in California called Jacumba actually had a sister town on the Mexican side, Jacumé, which he never even knew existed.
During the 1990s, political pressure in the U.S. was leading to a law enforcement crackdown on the casual border crossing traditions in smaller communities like Jacumba/Jacumé.
McNeece said after existing like an eddy in a river with the rest of the world passing them by, some Mexicans suddenly found themselves in a political no-man’s land. He said the novel was a way of putting a human face to the stories of the people who were trying to live their lives in the midst of this sudden upheaval.
McNeece, who learned Spanish in high school during a stay in Mexico, said when he was growing up in El Centro, border crossings were a part of everyday life.
Back when he first started crossing, the nearby border community of Mexicali was very rustic, whereas today the city is sophisticated, with local young people looking to Mexico City for inspiration on things like fashion.
Many visitors to El Centro, including RVers from Canada, come for the mild winters, with January highs in the high 60s to low 70s F. During summertime, the temperatures are scorching and McNeece joked that they have two seasons in El Centro: pleasant and hellish.
He said a surprise to many people is the excellent birdwatching in the region, which is along a major flyway for migratory birds including Canada geese.
There are also some great areas for off-roading on quads and dune buggies that are popular with visitors, including Heber Dunes recreation area.
A unique draw for some visitors to this part of southern California is the Mexican border community of Los Algodones, which is said to have the highest concentration of dentists in the world. Many American and Canadian visitors cross the border to one of the modern facilities to get dental work done.
