THE SAVIOR OF 6TH STREET

The world of a talented L.A. painter is upended when a woman buys his artwork.

Virgilio Santos, a self-described “former street artist and small-time savior,” lives on Sixth Street in downtown L.A. In between life at his apartment with his mother, who practices Santeria, and the time he spends painting at the community center, Virgilio hangs out often at his beloved Sixth Street Bridge. Beatrice Schein, an art curator, sees Virgilio’s paintings and buys them all, offering to propel him to stardom in the art world. Beatrice’s privileged worldview and white-savior tendencies, as well as warnings from his loved ones, make him reluctant, but Virgilio accepts her offer. Meanwhile, a construction project has the neighborhood crisscrossed with tunnels that house various illicit activities, from cockfighting to drug rings. Virgilio’s friends Concha and Sexto are caught up in all of it. Virgilio learns that the “King of the Underworld” is actually Beatrice’s father and that he must avoid romantic involvement with his latest art patron; otherwise, Mr. Schein will tear down his apartment and the Sixth Street Bridge. Everything comes to a head when Virgilio is on his art tour with Beatrice in Paris. Ortega-Medina’s book, with its obvious references to Dante’s Inferno, has a lot going on, but in a good way. Virgilio’s tale engages readers throughout, even though his self-perception—particularly regarding his relationships with those around him—is somewhat skewed. The novel’s tunnel world is also fascinating. The secondary characters, however, often seem to be in service to Virgilio and little else. Virgilio’s mother, Celia, worries about Virgilio; Concha, a trans woman, is in love with Virgilio; Sexto, Virgilio’s “oversexed” friend, lusts after Virgilio, etc., etc. Essentially, Virgilio is a respected, talented, and attractive young man, and everyone wants a piece of him, and he must take on the burden of “saving” these people by being there for them, even though what he wants most is to paint. This portrayal of Virgilio as the sun with the other characters orbiting around him grows tiresome, even as the plot surrounding these characters thickens.

A lively story with an intricate setting but single-note supporting characters.