Redemption: A Piece of 'Mi Vida': A Spaniard's Legacy

Santiago's family is multi-generational Spaniard who over several centuries, settled in the Española Valley in Northern New Mexico. Santiago is caught up in a world defined by a cultural continuum that is driven by Spain's military expansion throughout Europe and into the Americas. Santiago is surrounded by violence and heartbreak and finds himself being swept away by it. Santiago struggles to understand and survive as he watches his life, and that of his family, spiral out of control. Santiago is taken on a mysterious journey back in time to experience the life history of some of his ancestors. Intuitively he begins to understand the migration and isolation of their Spanish Culture into New Mexico. The isolation has resulted in a strong culture that was primarily driven by the Spanish Conquistador's military conquests. The reality surrounding the small Spanish towns and villages outpace their ability to interface with the burgeoning dominant Anglo Saxon culture. He does not understand that the culture has become dysfunctional and has turned on itself. What happens when a culture that is driven by aggression, conquest, and war, inherits a world where the established values, norms, and mores no longer apply? Where do the cultural norms of violence manifest themselves and why? Santiago is on a journey to find out. He is drawn into a new battle, a battle of cultures and of familial violence. As he continues on his journey, Santiago struggles with his culture's assimilation with Native American and Anglo Saxon cultures. The battle rages on between his life, and his familial Spanish legacy.

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