Learn what it means to be a fly in milk—a migrant child working in the fields of White America. A Brown teen in love with a White girl. A transplant into a whole other culture, so obviously out of place in a sea of European descendants.

What are the highs and lows in the quest to belong? How do naturalized citizens honor their Aztec, Nahua, and Tenochtitlan ancestors who assimilated into a brave new world after the Spanish conquest?

Join Victor Vasquez on a journey through his childhood, young adulthood, military service, and government service as a presidential appointee in the Clinton and Obama administrations. You’ll delve into the lives of his distant relatives — skilled warriors, builders, doctors, poets, and artists — as they, too, embarked on their own quests for destiny and identity.

The strange dichotomies of old and new, sacred and sullied, myth and truth are certain to captivate audiences and challenge preconceived notions about brown-skinned people everywhere.

The book of poetry, a companion to the memoir A Fly in Milk, offers a poignant and deeply personal exploration of a life richly intertwined with the vibrant tapestry of Mexican American heritage and the enduring legacy of Aztec roots. Beginning with the humble and arduous journey as a migrant boy and seasonal farm worker, the poems trace the resilience and determination that propelled the poet through the formative years of grade school, middle school, and high school. Each verse echoes the struggles and triumphs of navigating a dual identity in a land of opportunity and adversity.

Through a masterful blend of personal narrative and historical reflection, the poet weaves a uniquely individual and universally relatable story. The collection is a powerful testament to the enduring spirit of perseverance, the richness of cultural heritage, and the profound impact of a life dedicated to service and scholarship. It is a celebration of identity, a chronicle of growth, and an homage to the journey from the fields of labor to the corridors of power.