Friend to the VL familia and the brains behind the PANIC! series in which our own Mamita Mala has performed, Charlie Vázquez is releasing his second novel this month. Contraband is available April 15, 2010, below is the synopsis, which I have to say is intriguing and I’m excited to get my hands on this book:

Inspired by Latin-American revolutionary struggles, this riveting work of Latino noir follows the paranoid underworld exile of Volfango Sanzo, a man so haunted by his secrets that he escapes to sprawling networks of underground tunnels and labyrinths in near-future America—where dissidents and “lunars” are seeking refuge from the smoldering ruins of a nation plagued by a deadly civil war and revolution. Volfango is certain that renegade genes in his DNA will be exposed by government-mandated “gene tests,” so he vanishes before his scheduled test date, terrified of being discovered and executed. He also suspects he is being hunted by a government ministry, who wishes to silence him before he speaks. What will he find in those dangerous underground worlds populated by rebels and pariahs? And what secrets does he keep? Will he survive against bleak odds in an underworld where sunlight, food and water are scarce?

Seriously, don’t you want to read the book….like right this second! You can reserve your book now by clicking here.

Below is a video of Charlie reading his bilingual poem “Bronx Dharma” while learning to use his new video camera from his Youtube channel.