The Mask of El Cóndor

About this book:

Seventeen-year-old Teo Silva has spent a lifetime in the shadow of El Cóndor—the legendary luchador who flew from the turnbuckles of East L.A. to the arenas of Baja, and who now lies buried beneath a headstone on 1st Street. When Teo inherits the mask, the leather fits like a second skin. The problem? Their uncle wants to sell it to pay the water bill. Their abuela wants the family land to stay in the family. And the gym owner with the broken nose and the boiler-plate chest says Teo doesn't have the meat for the business—just the bones.

But the mask doesn't care about gender, or grief, or whether the world sees a boy or a girl when the bell hasn't rung yet. It only cares about the heart underneath. As Teo trades the family bungalow for the splintered canvas of Gimnasio Cuauhtémoc, they'll learn that lucha libre isn't spectacle—it's covenant. Every high-flying risk is a promise kept to the dead. Every bruise is a receipt for the living.

From the alleyways of Olympic Boulevard to the blinding lights of the main event, *The Mask of El Cóndor* is a visceral, tender, and unflinching debut about claiming your name when everyone else thinks they own it. Step through the ropes. The air is waiting.