We chat with author Jonny Garza Villa about Canto Contigo, which is a love letter to Mexican culture, family and legacy, the people who shape us, and allowing ourselves to forge our own path. along with a glorious rivals-to-lovers romance about finding the one who challenges you in the most extraordinary ways.
Hi, Jonny! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello! I’m Jonny Garza Villa; Texan; Sagittarius sun, Capricorn everything else; plant parent; avid Dungeons & Dragons player (Bard main); and an author of contemporary young adult books including Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun, Ander & Santi Were Here, and, most recently, Canto Contigo.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
For me, it was definitely more the love of stories and storytelling and coming from a family of storytellers. I think maybe many Mexican and Latine readers might be able to relate, but I have some great storytellers in my family, notably my grandfather and my uncle (my mom’s brother). I have so many memories of sitting at the dining table at my grandparents house and all of us there for thirty minutes, an hour, two hours after we’ve finished eating, a pitcher of tea being passed around as we listen to their stories of growing up and life and the lives of others that they’re now sharing with us. When I decided I wanted to give writing a try, that was my goal: to tell stories that would invite the reader to sit with these characters and just enjoy sharing that space for a while. Still, I consider myself a storyteller first rather than an author.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Hank the Cowdog series always comes to mind with this question. Big fan.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Simon vs. the Homo Sapien’s Agenda by Becky Albertalli.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert. I don’t think there is any other book that has stressed me out, broken me, and put me back together the way that book did. It might genuinely be my favorite book ever.
Your latest novel, Canto Contigo, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Mariachi, First Love, Grief, Pendejismo
What can readers expect?
Readers can expect an “unlikeable” protagonist in Rafie, but, hopefully, will come to see him and his struggles and grief and growth as simply human rather than unlikeable, and maybe even relatable. They can expect, returning to that grief drop for a second, some tough moments as he figures out life after experiencing his first big loss with the death of his abuelo. But they can also expect a really fun rivals-to-lovers romance between two very hardheaded mariachis, so much queerness, lots of San Antonio energy, lots of music, and, essentially, a story about creating your own path in life and taking up space and embracing all the people who make life more vivid and beautiful.
Where did the inspiration for Canto Contigo come from?
Speaking on the romance part of it, I came across this photo on Twitter a few years ago of two male presenting mariachis presumably kissing behind a sombrero. I saw that picture and was immediately like, “I need to tell their story!” But, as it’s also a story of grief and loss, that inspiration came from my own life and my Granddad, who was a mariachi and lived for many years with Parkinson’s Disease and seeing how that eventually took away his ability to play guitar and sing. I wanted to write something for him.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Xolo was my favorite character to write. A fellow mariachi and twin brother to his much more universally likeable sister, he—I wouldn’t call him a bully, but he very much became my way of being able to unapologetically put Rafie in his place sometimes when he needed it. Xolo, at his core, has a very protective nature when it comes to his friends and his group, and he is loving as much as he’s also constantly in “Beware of dog” mode. I think anyone who comes into Canto Contigo immediately thinking that Rafie is a lot, is going to really enjoy Xolo.
I also really loved all the interactions between Rafie and the calavera. Bringing that magical realism into the story was truly a very late addition, but now I can’t imagine this book without it.
With this being your third published novel, what are some of the key lessons you’ve learned since your debut when it comes to writing and the publishing world?
Never stop learning. Never stop looking for things that inspire you. As someone who never grew up wanting to be a writer, missed out on the fan-fiction to author pipeline, never took a creative writing class or graduated college, and kind of just jumped into attempting to write a book ona whim about five and a half years ago, seeing the ways I’ve grown and gotten smarter and more aware and better book after book after book has been really cool, and I always look forward to learning even more as I start on more books and read more books.
What’s next for you?
My fourth young adult novel is coming sometime, I believe, in the first half of 2025. As is the way in publishing, I can’t speak too much on it right now, but it’s a book I’ve been wanting to write for a long time—like, since my debut published in 2021—and I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what this story looks like for just as long, so I am incredibly happy to see it finally come to life. The vibes are very much a return to Corpus Christi, Texas, to claiming soccer for the queer folks, and to realizing that it’s perfectly fine if we’re still figuring ourselves out, still learning new things about ourselves. That everything we think we know about ourselves today doesn’t have to be the be all end all for our entire life.
Lastly, are there any book releases that you’re looking forward to picking up this year?
As a Racquel Marie fan, I cannot wait for This Is Me Trying. Of course, like the rest of the world, I’m vibrating with anticipation about Celestial Monsters, Aiden Thomas’ sequel to The Sunbearer Trials. And The Sons of El Rey by Alex Espinoza; it’s a multi-generational/multi-narrator story that is about luchadores and is queer and honestly, I’m not sure I’ve ever been so excited about a book before in my life.
