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Gabacho: Drugs Landed Me in Mexican Prison, Theater Saved Me
A young man's rebellion lands him in a Mexican prison, where theater becomes a lifeline in this memoir of angst, crime, friendship and redemption.
Richard Jewkes was in his senior year as a University of Utah theater student when he became disenchanted with his strict Mormon upbringing. Over Christmas break, he and a college friend took off for Mexico seeking adventure. If the adventure hadn't included smuggling drugs, it might have just been another college road trip. But after a disastrous encounter with a drug cartel, the two young men ended up arrested by Mexican Federales while trying to make it to the US border.
When Jewkes and his friend are tossed into a Mexican prison, they anticipate torture, assault, and even death. After a fight with a notorious killer and struggles with tormenting guards, they make a disastrous escape attempt. But ultimately, Jewkes finds his path to survival when he starts a theatre group with a rag-tag bunch of fellow convicts.
Richard Jewkes was in his senior year as a University of Utah theater student when he became disenchanted with his strict Mormon upbringing. Over Christmas break, he and a college friend took off for Mexico seeking adventure. If the adventure hadn't included smuggling drugs, it might have just been another college road trip. But after a disastrous encounter with a drug cartel, the two young men ended up arrested by Mexican Federales while trying to make it to the US border.
When Jewkes and his friend are tossed into a Mexican prison, they anticipate torture, assault, and even death. After a fight with a notorious killer and struggles with tormenting guards, they make a disastrous escape attempt. But ultimately, Jewkes finds his path to survival when he starts a theatre group with a rag-tag bunch of fellow convicts.
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
324 pages, ebook
Published July 16, 2019
14 people are currently reading
214 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 12, 2019
This is a story about two guys who decide to go on an adventure during Christmas break at college, and take their rent and tuition money down to Mexico and try to turn it into some cocaine that they can take back to the dorms and sell to make a profit, or maybe trade the Bronco they are driving with stolen plates for drugs. Richard bought it just for that purpose on a low payment plan, then reported it stolen just before leaving. They planned for months and think they have it all covered. They have second thoughts just before they go, but decide this is the perfect time to do it. They will be ok and come back with some good drugs that they can sell and make some good money to pay for their rent and tuition for the rest of the whole year, and be set good.
Of course, things don’t work out quite as they’ve planned, as they are total greenhorns with no experience and they get arrested. They end up in a Mexican prison with little money, no Bronco and no drugs to sell. They are in a lot of trouble. They need to come up with money for a lawyer to either try to get them a lighter sentence, or bribe their way out, or get them transferred to serve the remainder of their sentence in the US. The friends, Jeff and Richard, are becoming more at odds the longer this goes on, and by the time they are locked up in prison for a few weeks, they are barely talking. They can’t agree on how to handle the situation. Richard knows that they have done wrong, and that they have to take responsibility and do their time. Jeff however, feels that since they were only able to end up with marijuana, which is hardly worse than alcohol and should be legal, they shouldn’t be locked up at all, in his mind. So he is going to try to find a way to escape and not even bother trying to find a lawyer or contacting anyone back home. He seems very jittery and stares out the window a lot.
Richard decides to try and get a theatre group started, for something to pass the time, as he figures he’ll be there at least a couple of years, and he was planning on starting one that was independent back at college after the holiday break was over. He had talked to the others involved in it, to see if there was any interest and they seemed skeptical but interested. So he put out feelers in the prison to see if he could get any actors and helpers, and also set out to learn Spanish in a hurry.
I recommend this book for those that enjoy this type of memoir. I’ve read other books by the co-writer and he does a good job. This turned out to be a decent story to check out and I’m glad I read it. A bit of true crime, prison insider things and trying to make something positive out of the situation. Advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, authors Richard Jewkes with Brian Whitney, and the publisher.
Also on my BookZone blog:
https://wordpress.com/post/bookblog20...
Of course, things don’t work out quite as they’ve planned, as they are total greenhorns with no experience and they get arrested. They end up in a Mexican prison with little money, no Bronco and no drugs to sell. They are in a lot of trouble. They need to come up with money for a lawyer to either try to get them a lighter sentence, or bribe their way out, or get them transferred to serve the remainder of their sentence in the US. The friends, Jeff and Richard, are becoming more at odds the longer this goes on, and by the time they are locked up in prison for a few weeks, they are barely talking. They can’t agree on how to handle the situation. Richard knows that they have done wrong, and that they have to take responsibility and do their time. Jeff however, feels that since they were only able to end up with marijuana, which is hardly worse than alcohol and should be legal, they shouldn’t be locked up at all, in his mind. So he is going to try to find a way to escape and not even bother trying to find a lawyer or contacting anyone back home. He seems very jittery and stares out the window a lot.
Richard decides to try and get a theatre group started, for something to pass the time, as he figures he’ll be there at least a couple of years, and he was planning on starting one that was independent back at college after the holiday break was over. He had talked to the others involved in it, to see if there was any interest and they seemed skeptical but interested. So he put out feelers in the prison to see if he could get any actors and helpers, and also set out to learn Spanish in a hurry.
I recommend this book for those that enjoy this type of memoir. I’ve read other books by the co-writer and he does a good job. This turned out to be a decent story to check out and I’m glad I read it. A bit of true crime, prison insider things and trying to make something positive out of the situation. Advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, authors Richard Jewkes with Brian Whitney, and the publisher.
Also on my BookZone blog:
https://wordpress.com/post/bookblog20...
October 14, 2019
Two college boys from Utah, Richard and Jeff, get the bright idea to go to Mexico to buy cocaine to bring back and sell to make some quick money. Of course, their best laid plans did not come to fruition and they ended up getting arrested and put in a Mexican prison. Richard was a theater major in college and he organizes a theater group and they put on plays. This book is very interesting and I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend this book.
September 2, 2019
Gabacho:Drugs Landed Me In Mexican Prison, Theater Saved Me
by Richard Jewkes & Brian Whitney
2019
WildBlue Press
3.5 / 5.0
A story of friendship, crime, choices and survival.
Jewkes was born into a conservative mormon family. He followed the rules, attended church and got good grades. In 1979, during his Senior year at University of Utah, he and a friend were stopped crossing the Mexican border to the US, during the Christmas break. They had 10 kilos of marijuana in their Ford Bronco. They wanted to buy cocaine to sell in the states, but they did not have enough money and felt grateful to drive away alive, and marijuana was better than nothing. Except it was low grade and worthless.
This story of their time in Mexican prisons is as eye-opening as it is violent. Eventually they were transferred to a prison in the states.
by Richard Jewkes & Brian Whitney
2019
WildBlue Press
3.5 / 5.0
A story of friendship, crime, choices and survival.
Jewkes was born into a conservative mormon family. He followed the rules, attended church and got good grades. In 1979, during his Senior year at University of Utah, he and a friend were stopped crossing the Mexican border to the US, during the Christmas break. They had 10 kilos of marijuana in their Ford Bronco. They wanted to buy cocaine to sell in the states, but they did not have enough money and felt grateful to drive away alive, and marijuana was better than nothing. Except it was low grade and worthless.
This story of their time in Mexican prisons is as eye-opening as it is violent. Eventually they were transferred to a prison in the states.
September 7, 2019
Like the story ok
I would have given this book 3 stars if not for the NUMEROUS typos and grammatical errors which take you out of the story trying to figure out what the sentence is supposed to say. The story is good and very interesting, some of the writing was a little disjointed and repetitive but besides the grammar errors and typos it was a decent read.
I would have given this book 3 stars if not for the NUMEROUS typos and grammatical errors which take you out of the story trying to figure out what the sentence is supposed to say. The story is good and very interesting, some of the writing was a little disjointed and repetitive but besides the grammar errors and typos it was a decent read.
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August 20, 2019Placeholder
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I won this book via Goodreads Giveaways
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews