In the crowded heart of the Mexican capital, a fictional one-eyed private investigator shares a dingy flat with a flock of ducks and a rotating cast of lovers.
The central character in Paco Ignacio Taibo II’s crime novels is Hector Belascoaran Shayne, a former engineer who got a “certificate in detection” through a correspondence course. Belascoaran is a cynical, bumbling private eye who marvels at the chaotic street life unfolding around him in Mexico City.
Belascoaran doesn’t have a car. He calls himself a “street” detective. Usually he rides the overcrowded subway, squeezed between drunks and office workers and an interminable stream of vendors selling pens, Kleenex and balls made of super putty.
Read this story now for free
To continue reading, sign up for our newsletter and get unlimited access to WABE.org
You can select your preferences for news and local content. We will never share your email address. Learn how your newsletter sign-up will support WABE and Public Media
