Email Author Russell Contreras

1999 Stories by Russell Contreras

• Lost in The Woodlands

  published December 23, 1999

  Dolores Dean lives in a small house made of pressboard with a rusted metal roof. When it rains, she puts out buckets to collect water from the... More >>

• Roll Over, Selena

  published May 6, 1999

  On August 14, 1994, Second Ward residents opening their windows for a warm breeze could hear, in the distance, Tejano music hitting its peak.... More >>

• Roping In Ratings

  published April 29, 1999

  A television tuned to KTMD-Channel 48 provides recent news on NATO air strikes. The next message updates viewers on another skirmish in a war much... More >>

• River Oaks Rip-offs

  published March 11, 1999

  From their independently operated stalls inside the warehouse-sized Market Place Antiques in West Houston, dealers display wares reflecting... More >>

• Crystal Clear Persuasion

  published February 11, 1999

  In an almost nightly ritual of 14 years, Alvaro "Al" Barretto made the rounds of his domain, the Crystal Nite Club, on a late Wednesday in... More >>

• Up To Date on '98

  published January 7, 1999

  In real life, stories don't end with "happily ever after." They roll forward with no regard for narrative neatness: The prince becomes king; he... More >>

• Don't Cry for Me, Houston

  published January 7, 1999

  The song was Madonna's. The singer wasn't. Betti Maldonado, impersonating the superstar in her Evita role as Eva Peron, welcomed guests at the... More >>