Campos de Fuego: A Brief and Fantastic History of an Expedition Into the Volcanic Region of the Pinacate

Contributors

Gumersindo Esquer

Editors

Benjamin T. Wilder
Bill Broyles
Gayle Harrison Hartmann
William K. Hartmann
Josué Barrera Sarabia

Summary

Campos de Fuego is a little-known gem of Southwestern literature. Set in the Pinacate region of Northwestern Mexico this fantastical novel was first published in 1928 with reprints in 1985 and 2013. Esquer’s novel has persisted with the help of his family and several generations of Sonoran Desert aficionados, but until now was only available in Spanish. Irwin Hayden, father of renowned Pinacate archaeologist Julian Hayden, put Esquer’s words into English. The Desert Laboratory and the Instituto Sonorense de Cultural now proudly present Camps de Fuego in Spanish and English. Join Gumersindo as he takes us on a jounery of discovery and exploration into the region recognized by many as the desert’s heart. Perhaps more than anything, Esquer’s novel reminds us of the importance of daring to enter and explore the unknown. That kernel of curiosity that drives us to see what lies under the sand or on the other side of the mountain leads to more than a personal experience. It leads to understanding, moments otherwise unrealized, connecting with neighbors across metaphorical and physical borders, and a deeper appreciation of the world in which we live.