The Tijuana Book of the Dead

by Luis Alberto Urrea

From the author of Pulitzer-nominated The Devil’s Highway and national bestseller The Hummingbird’s Daughter comes an exquisitely composed collection of poetry on life at the border. Weaving English and Spanish languages as fluidly as he blends cultures of the southwest, Luis Urrea offers a tour of Tijuana, spanning from Skid Row, to the suburbs of East Los Angeles, to the stunning yet deadly Mojave Desert, to Mexico and the border fence itself. Mixing lyricism and colloquial voices, mysticism and the daily grind, Urrea explores duality and the concept of blurring borders in a melting pot society.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 13, 2015

About the author

Luis Alberto Urrea is the award-winning author of 13 books, including The Hummingbird's Daughter, The Devil's Highway and Into the Beautiful North (May 2009). Born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and American mother, Luis has used the theme of borders, immigration and search for love and belonging throughout his work. A Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2005 (nonfiction), he's won the Kiriyama Prize (2006), the Lannan Award (2002), an American Book Award (1999) and was named to the Latino Literary Hall of Fame. He is a creative writing professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago and lives with his family in the 'burbs (dreaming of returning West soon!).

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

--I don't believe
anymore, I don't believe,

I'm not convinced
that the temple ever earned my heart,
that life isn't better than this sacrifice,
that I am a slave to be butchered,

that I am born to die up there like my fathers
who built the temple with stones
on their backs:
I cannot believe

not for a minute
that I must submit
and only ever hope
to leave behind me

this poem.

-from Teocalli Blues (for Santino Rivera)

"Hymn to Vatos Who Will Never Be in a Poem" is a perfect end piece.

Soundtrack suggested by "48 Roadsongs":
Beau Jocque
Zydeco High Rollers
Caifanes
Wall of Voodoo
Concrete Blonde
Cafe Tacuba
Catherine Wheel
Love and Rockets
Maldita Vecindad
Lila Downs Tonantzin
...and crickets singing Neruda

[Jonfaith · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the themes are most timely, the verse is often ancient and likewise intoxicating. I read a number of these poems on the banks of the Ohio, while the heat index bounced above 103F. Much of the verse refers to vato culture, the desert, the mistrust and the loneliness -- there's a brutal sublimity. We can cite the poet Zimmerman, I pity the poor immigrant who wishes he would've stayed home. The milieu is proletarian and largely taciturn. There is a pluck to people's lives, also an ambition -- yet each is gradually shadowed in despair.

I was aiming for four stars until the final constellation about a bowling alley -- that was as painful as it was incredible. I have never read any of his prose but this was a most inviting point of entry.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fine collection of poetry, ranging from stories of the past to contemporary rages against people who see children at the border and carrying signs that read, "Not my children. Not my problem." Urrea dedicates this book "For these children we have spit on. May they rise." And the best of these poems, infused with this rage, are like white hot righteous protests against the darkness. The loss of so many children to murders in gang wars, to prostitution, to anything, are also honored, the dead and damaged memorialized here, and these poems are somewhat balanced by what seem to be somewhat older poems about his years growing up in Mexico. The book, more spiritual than political, finally, is elegantly constructed to begin with an exordium, "Ye Who seek Grace From a Distracted God" about these children and those that spit upon them. There are lamentations, there are blues poems, haiku, songs of praise, there are reminiscences about his own youth, about growing up writing poetry. The book ends with "Hymn to Vatos who will Never be in a Poem," which is wonderful, a positive embrace. The best poems for me are the white hot ones, the ones infused by that righteous rage, and the luminous book title poem, "The Tijuana Book of the Dead" which is an homage to that town, to Mexico, to his ancestors there, to all the lost children he knew and grew up with and worked with. Bury me in Tijuana, he says. A wonderful collection with soul, calling us out to love.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exquisite collection by Luis Alberto Urrea.
There was some very heavy and disturbing material in the first couple of poems (human trafficking, abuse), and l proceeded cautiously - but many other poems are lighter in nature: landscapes, travel, and observations. The sprawling "16Lanes" details growing up, bowling alleys, and his father.

Definition
Illegal alien, adj./n.
A term by which
An invading colonial force
Vilifies
Indigenous cultures
By identifying them as
An invading colonial force

Majority of the poems are in English, a few in Spanish. Urrea is a superb writer and I'm looking forward to reading his novels and literary nonfiction.

[Jlf888 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visceral, whether in English or Spanish. Too hard, at times, to face, which makes you realize you must face it.

A stanza from one of my favorites, Lines for Neruda:

The first poem I read
was the ragged V scrawled
in a brown sky by gulls
escaping the garbage dump at sunset
cutting under clouds
over the apartment blocks
going to a sea I knew
was there across the city
but never saw.

So much justice and so much gut here.

[Tara Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great poetry! The first few really moved me--made me angry, so I couldn't read them before bed. Lots of good imagery.

[Paul Edlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and heart-wrenching book. Urrea is my new author crush.

[Caroline Bock · Rating 5 out of 5]

In honor of National Poetry Month this April, I picked up this engrossing book of poetry at the library-- and I highly recommend it from the opening poem, "You Who See Grace from a Distracted God" about a working man or women's plight told in long, hypnotizing phrases to "Incident Report" about being a Mexican immigrant in a public library, these poems speak to now. They are about: immigrants, the dispossessed, all of us who struggle to make sense, make a living, made a life, in America. I salute this poet, not just for challenging the status quo with his work, but for the vibrancy of his language, the beauty of his words in the face of an often ugly world.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contemporary poetry is always a hard read for me - I'm one of those weirdos who actually likes rhyme schemes, poetic forms, etc - but this collection from Urrea is wonderful. Bleak, hopeful, brutal, sarcastic, truthful, and one 22page poem about a bowling alley (or his dad?). Several poems are entirely in Spanish, I was able to pick through them but I definitely missed things in those poems.

I heard echoes of things I've heard him say during interviews. Beautiful

[Mark Folse · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have a term in New Orleans, Culture Bearer, that we use for the Mardi Gras Indians and their musicians and other artists. Urrea is a culture bearer of the first rank, turning his eye in this other work to the subject of much of his prose: the plight of Mexicans and other immigrants to their own land in the United State. You cannot live in and have a valuable opinion about this moment without having read Urrea. He is a writer as central to his time and culture as Darwish and Said are to the Levant.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Border poetry to memorialize the oppression of The Cartel, the last book I read.Reminiscent of Richard Brautigan. Here's part of one, most are not as dark as this.

Siege Communiqué

In Tijuana.
they said Juárez
was the pueblo where old
whores went to die, where
25 cents bought flesh

by the river, no
body loved you, Sister—
so close to Texast
so far from
Revolución.

Today, they say
you are the cementerio
of hope: the only crop
in your garden of Río
Grande mud is bullets,

is machetes, is
acid baths for bones,
choruses of prayers
from those in torture church.
Hermanita of Perpetual

Sorrow, what flowers
do we hand you—we
who die now too.
We who dangle nude
and burned from bridges . . . .

.

[Rubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poetry in this collection was very diverse. The structure of the poems were unique and they altered in each individual poem. The structure often alters more than once in one poem. I felt a wide range of emotions while reading this collection: sadness, happiness, hope, and longing.

The characters/stories presented are all unique. There is Mexican imagery and American imagery. The book not only portrays what it's like to live in a border town, but it complicates the idea of a border town. It demonstrates the political tensions between Mexicans and Americans in a very straight forward, but still captures the emotions in dangerous rhetoric.

My favorite poem is the title poem, "The Tijuana Book of the Dead". As a Chicana reader, I understand the longing of wanting to return to a country/custom/religion of your ancestors.

[Julie Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tijuana Book of the Dead is incredible. The poems ranged from funny to beautiful to sad to contemplative. There's something for all tastes. I found myself rushing to "Google Translate" to understand the Spanish ones - it makes me want to learn Spanish! I'm kind of picky about poetry. Some poets are too ethereal to be coherent, but these poems have feet. They are grounded in real life and all of them give you something to think about. I would highly recommend it.

[Alix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bury me
Among tired men
Who smell too bad
To enter banks.

Bury me
Beside Women
Old at 23
Who stoop

To garbage gardens
To pull bones
From the ruins
For soup.

Bury me
Among children
You have spit on
In fields

Of shattered glass.
Pick there for my name
Like the ibis
After mustard seeds.

Give me back
To the poor.

So much identity inside a little book. Probably one of the best poetry collections I've read in a while.

[Aj ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

is it cheating if i skimmed and skipped almost the entire last half? some were too long, most werent for me :( i had such high hopes! my disappointment is not at all a reflection on this book or this author! i created expectations for what i wanted to get out of this book, and this writing style is just not what i prefer 🤷🏽‍♀️ this review is merely a collection of my thoughts & feelings for me to be able to look back on. if you enjoy this genre, you will love this book. x

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having recently moved to Texas, I wanted to get acquainted with new poets living and/or writing about the Southwest, especially the towns bordering Mexico. I happened upon this book in the library and took it home. Let me say that I loved it. Urea's poems can make you laugh and make you cry. This collection made me want to go out and read everything else he's ever written. Thumbs up for me.

[Francisco Vargas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of the author in general but like this volume of poetry the use of Spanglish read much more fluid than his novels. much more from the heart. I'm sure these are relatos he "borrowed" from Tijuana residents but nonetheless they touching.

[Chad Deal · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those of us who were impressed by Urrea's vivid, heart-wrenching journalism in The Devil's Highway, this poetry collection offers a more intimate look into the life and mind of one of the greatest borderland authors of our time.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful.

For the tatted up vato in his slaughterhouse boots on the #42 that always watched out for me even if he never said a word.
I love you

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great range of style and a fresh voice.
Favorite poems:
- Listen
- Typewriter
- 48 Roadsongs (flash poems while driving 1-70, etc)
- Definition

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just discovered this poet. Love love love this.

[Whitney Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A master of his craft. Poetry so raw and real it shakes your innards and takes up residence in your frontal lobe for days.

[Alejandro Curchitser · Rating 3 out of 5]

“24.
October
signifying
October

25.
Glove caught in roadside tree
waves to pilgrims
who'll not return.

26.
coffee in a Kansas gas station
the wind
big rigs
nude magazines
looking everywhere for home”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“…you have to remind the body it exists outside of moist night clenches and carnitas in green salsa. it's not all bad dreams,
lust and crouching near-sighted as a mole over clacking plastic keys…”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“I want to be that mouth.
I want to be that nipple.
I want to be that milk.

Bring me back
Ten thousand times
Bring me back: let me be
The whore in La Coahuila,
The sicario,
Let me be the Jesuit
At tacos El Paisano,
Who still believes
In Guadalupe and the lotería,
In Quetzalcóatl-“

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The Signal-to-Noise Ratio: Chicago Haiku
[excerpts]

“I will fuck you up
Come back here motherfucker
You 'bout to get served
#
Ogden & Western

Oil change and filter—
$39 Special!
Coffee and donuts
#
Chicago Sun-Times”

“Pigeon on the ice
Picking at yellow vomit
Of homeless soldier
#
South Loop

Do I transfer here
To catch the Orange Line?
I'll get fired for sure
#
Between Austin & Roosevelt

Paletas frescas!
Tacos, tortas, menudo!
Go back home, beaner!
#
Biograph”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

16 Lane
[excerpts]

“What is there to tell? Nothing. Another song of a clanging place,
noisy with echoes: nothing men and nothing women w/ nothing days dropped…”

“…going nowhere: nothing songs about nothing loves for
those who
had nothing going on in their beds back home or longed for nothing to take them before they had to get back—a car wreck, a heart attack
or the lottery, a lover or a miracle….”

“…And there goes Al on his lunch break, throwing a few frames on
lane 6.
He doesn't go for that sky blue ball, that's for goddamn queers:
his ball's
a heavy black & he keeps it polished like a mirrored skull: he
rolls a pure wad
of midnight, cabrones! That man can roll him a friggin' strike,
the Charlies say:
he shoots that bitch right down the off-side arrow etched in
the wood he
himself polishes three times a day, and that ball
goes like a rocket right at the #2 pin in the formation & they scatter like phone poles in a twister. Gone.

Wasn't a split made that man couldn't score.
Overhead, the chart always said: X X X XXXX…”

“…When she didn't smell
like onions
she smelled like bacon, I swear, & all she really wanted to do
was smell
like the ocean, like one of those hayfield breezes that slip out
of Kansas
before the purple stormclouds & wave through
fields like a flood you can see coming
for twenty miles. But she didn't get
down to the beach—it would be a three-transfer bus ride
by herself through those neighborhoods
w/ those people, you know the ones
I'm talking about…”

“…I would have for Norma, I would have grown up for her if
she'd waited,
but didn't know the words for I'd lick the back of your thigh, for
I'll climb under your skirt to smell you at the end of your shift.
She would
blush when I told her I loved her and her hamburgers and she'd say Al this is
definitely your boy! and flutter her twin bird hands all
over the counters…”

“… And Norma,
never been to Chicago, never seen Paris,
never been to New York City, never seen the Rockies, couldn't wash the yellow off her fingers, couldn't shake that cough,
would have gone home, said she would, said she'd
walk all the way home one day when she got good and tired of these 16 lanes. But she didn't.
She went to a small apartment in Normal Heights when they tore the Hillcrest down,
& someone put her ashes on a Greyhound one day in a paper-wrapped box: oh hell, I am the only one left who remembers
her name.”

[sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

While reading, I often wondered if I've crossed paths with this poet. Once I read I-25 / I-70 I knew he was writing about Colorado-- though he also writes about Chicago, California, Mexico, and much of the West. We've lived in similar places. He could have been one of my professors at Columbia. We could have been on the same el or driving next to each other in traffic.

This collection of poems reads like a mash-up of some of my favorites: Muriel Rukeyser, Charles Bukowski, Pablo Neruda, Eileen Myles, Sandra Cisneros. There are also specific references to William Carlos Williams ("on the tortillas / in the refrigerator-- / one dead rattlesnake" (Sonoran Desert Sutras, 86), Robert Frost, and Allen Ginsberg. Many of these references seem to work as the missing pieces or an alternative to white male poets, which is refreshing. Due to these obvious mentions, I would definitely teach this collection in a poetry workshop, there are so many poems to work with and have students pull apart-- these poems function in a way that I think students can see the moving parts and emulate their own.

While I didn't love all the poems (some of the endings seem expected or predictable), I am in love with Urrea's use of enjambment, lyric, and narrative. Looking forward to both his CNF + Fiction. I'm kind of disappointed I've never been introduced to his work before this. Denver Public Library for the recommendation win again <3

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Urrea’s fiction and nonfiction so thought I’d give his poetry a try for National Poetry Month. This collection was a little difficult As it is diverse in terms of subject and even narrator. He also pushes more on language and format. And while there were many poems that I didn’t feel like I really understood, a few were really memorable too.

I really enjoyed ‘Typewriter’, which was about dreams of becoming a writer and who is allowed to have that dream. In the same vein, I really liked ‘Hymn to Vatos Who Will Never be in a Poem’ as an argument about who poetry is for and what it can be about. The themes of power, class, race, language and identity in these two poems felt empowering and a bit sad too.

‘Skunks’ was about heartbreak – it was poignant and irreverent and totally sounded like Urrea at his best. ‘Song of Praise’ is a gorgeous ode to nature that was surprisingly sweet and evocative.

[Ben Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book of poetry, really quite profound. It was published in 2015, but even now 10 years later in 2025 these stories and poems of men and women and their beautiful lives on the US-Mexico border, is just as relevant today (if not more so).

My only regret with the book (and this is entirely my fault), is that since I don't know how to read Spanish or Nahuatl, I miss out on some of the beauty in these poems. Google translate helps, but it's not the same thing.

[Bryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to apologize-- I'm just not into poetry or short stories as much as full length novels. But I love Urrea's fiction, and he's a great speaker. I wanted to like this more, and there were many familiar Urrea themes. Ultimately, my favorite was the long poem Lane, toward the end. It felt autobiographical for him.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Urrea uses his poetry to shine a light on a realistic life of someone who crosses borders regularly and no longer belongs anywhere and is reminded of this frequently. Some of his poetry is very affecting. Only one or two of the poems seem to use well-worn depictions of the life of a minority in the developed world

[Jonathan Tennis · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author came highly recommended to me from someone who reads a lot and whom I trust so I tried really, really hard to enjoy this collection of poetry but could not get into it. There are a few poems I did enjoy - Arizona Lamentation, Skunks, Tecolote Canyon, Bravo 88, & The Signal-to-Noise Ratio: Chicago Haiku.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

"If it is true that everything good fades to zero, it is true that rust awaits also everything bad. The cancer cell starves to death when the patient passes. Even dreams run out of blood when you die, even memories."

Vivid remembrances of the bulldozed past. Haunted like Faulkner