Chango, the Biggest Badass

An extraordinary surrealist historical novel, telling the story of the black experience in the Americas from the beginning of slavery to the death of Malcolm X through the experiences real and mystical of a variety of significant historical figures. Gods and humans jostle each other through its pages as Zapata tells the story of African resistance to enslavement and oppression from sixteenth century slave ship through twentieth century Chicago. Maroons in sixteenth century Colombia, the Haitian Revolution, the Mexican War of Independence, the South American independence struggle, the sculptures of of Aleijandinho, all take their turns in the book.