Robert Joe Stout

Where Gringos Don't Belong Robert Joe Stout

Where Gringos Don't Belong: Early in the evening of November 25, 2006, George Bynum, the protagonist of Where Gringos Don't Belong, leaves his Mexican novia Patricia among anti-government protest marchers in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico and returns to his apartment to finish a report for his employers, the Rural Development through Education Center. Before he can finish, his cell phone rings. "They're attacking! Killing..! They won't...stop!" Patricia's voice rings in his ears. He rushes out, hoping to find her, but blinded by teargas from a federal police assault trips and has to be helped to safety. He and several others, including a young woman named Claudi Auscher, make their way back to George's apartment. Claudi, who defines herself as "a Mexican Jew gypsy bitch rebel" joins George in his efforts to reestablish contact with Patricia, who has been flown to a maximum security prison along with other innocent victims of the militarized purge. George and Claudi are fictional characters but the events in which they've become embroiled are based on the actual political and social upheavals that reverberated through Oaxaca from November 2006 through April 2007.