Malvado: The Life and Times of John Manuel Solis
As told to Lloyd Winburn
This is an Autobiography.
The story of John Solis is a slice out of American Life ranging from 1945 through to present days. It touches very personally the lives of hundreds of people. It is a true story of a man who was not immoral but amoral. He loved and through connivance and unselfishness forced people to love him. His love was constant but his fidelity was not.
“Christ, I loved High School.” he writes and remembers everything about his schools. In grammar school he wins the marble contest and is in trouble at every level. In high school he stole the hearts of the girls, was the envy of the boys and competed with his older brother for attention.
The story reflects life in the waning days of the Great Depression; it describes the life of Mexican Americans in California as the Latino population changed from a simple minority to a major political power.
There is the detailed description of the passage of the Illegals crossing the border and finding a new life in the US. He used transport of illegals to mask his movement of drugs. Along the way there were cruel mistreatment of the Pollos by the Coyotes, the Guias and police. There are documented cases of rape by border patrol personnel.
Experience the graphic detail you read of the the roaring sexual revolution of the 1960’s
Then there is the dope. You will read of the life of a major drug smuggler moving 40,000 tons of marijuana through the Marine Corp facility in Oceanside, California, and his connections with the Tijuana Cartel. You will experience the tenseness of the situation as John is called before the Cartel members to explain: “John, they want to know. Are you the police.”
There are three murders with treachery, lies, snitches and opportunists. “These were not Sunday School teachers,” John tells us as he describes the murders and talks of characters motivated by greed and jealousy.
You will read of prison life and shed tears with the author as he confesses and pleads for forgiveness. You will read of his betrayal of his friends and family and the betrayal of those who ignored their promises to him and how he kept his word at great personal expense and discomfort.
In a historical context you will read how he and his family worked from early youth; how they joined the Braceros and Okies in the fields and follow John to the time he was imprisoned.
Every word is true; every event lived… and paid for. There were 40 months in solitary and is in close confinement.
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