In May 2001, a group of men attempted to cross the border into the desert of southern Arizona, through the deadliest region of the continent, a place called the Devil's Highway. Fathers and sons, brothers and strangers, entered a desert so harsh and desolate that even the Border Patrol is afraid to travel through it.
For hundreds of years, men have tried to conquer this land, and for hundreds of years the desert has stolen their souls and swallowed their blood. Along the Devil's Highway, days are so hot that dead bodies naturally mummify almost immediately. And that May, twenty-six men went in. Twelve came back out.
Luis Alberto Urrea tells the story of this modern odyssey.
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(pronounced "oo-Ray-ah"), 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, is a prolific and acclaimed writer who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph.
Born in Tijuana, Mexico to a Mexican father and an American mother, Urrea has published extensively in all the major genres and is currently published by Little, Brown and Company. The critically acclaimed author of 11 books, Urrea is an award-winning poet and essayist. The Devil's Highway, his 2004 non-fiction account of a group of Mexican immigrants lost in the Arizona desert, won the 2004 Lannan Literary Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Pacific Rim Kiriyama Prize. A national best-seller, The Devil's Highway was also named a best book of the year by the Los Angeles Times, the Miami Herald, the Chicago Tribune, the Kansas City Star and many other publications.
Urrea lives with his family in Naperville, IL, where he is a professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
1. Saturday, May 19, 1:40 p.m. Group entered by vehicle at Quitobaquito.
2. Saturday, May 19, 3:00 p.m. High temp. 96 degrees. Group was dropped off at this location and told to follow the guides on foot.
3. Saturday, May 19, 11:30 p.m. Group arrived at this point and observed lights that they believed to be a Border Patrol Agent in Bluebird Pass.
4. Sunday, May 20, 6:00 a.m. Group continued northwest and attempted to cross over the Growler Mountains several times.
5. Sunday, May 20, 2:00 p.m. At this point, the group decided to rest during the heat of the day. After resting until night, the guides were disoriented and began walking westbound away from Ajo.
6. Sunday, May 20, 9:00 p.m. High temp. 96 degrees. The group arrived at the Granite Mountains. By this time, they were out of water.
7. Monday, May 21, 6:00 a.m. The two guides collected money from the group and said they were going to get water. They told the group to wait in this location and abandoned the group.
8. Monday, May 21, 2:00 p.m. High temp. 95 degrees. When the group realized that the guides were not coming back, they decided to continue on. The group was desperate and out of water.
9. Tuesday, May 22, 2:00 p.m. High temp. 108 degrees. Two members of the group became ill and died in this location during the day.
10. Tuesday, May 22, 11:00 p.m. Other members of the group became ill in this location and five left to go for help.
11. Wednesday, May 23, 5:00 a.m. The guides that had abandoned the group continued walking northwest, almost reaching Dateland, Arizona, before they were overcome by the heat.
12. Wednesday, May 23, 7:30 a.m. One of the five who had left the group became ill and was left behind in this location.
13. Wednesday, May 23, 10:00 a.m. High temp. 110 degrees. Initial group of four was encountered by Wellton agent here as he was cutting the Vidrios Drag.
14. Thursday, May 24, 5:00 a.m. Another member of the group was tracked to this location, where he was found deceased.
15. Thursday, May 24, 6:00 a.m. another member of the group was tracked to this location and found alive.