3 out of 4 stars
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'What does the word “Gringo” even mean?' This was among the many skeptic thoughts churning in my mind as I approached the book. Not being much of a fan of criminal stories, I was slightly apprehensive as to what this read would offer me. Suffice it to say, however, that I was pleasantly surprised! "Gringo" by Dan "Tito" Davis is a humorous, witty-styled self-authored memoir about life as an incognito American fugitive in Latin America. It was graciously ghostwritten by Peter Conti.
The tale started off with Davis’ childhood days, growing up in South Dakota, in a middle class family. One particular day in college, he was struggling hard to study for a biology exam that he was to sit the following day. To 'help' him out, a classmate handed him a White Cross, a stimulant drug, to keep him awake and focused. Just like that, he got totally swept off and immersed into the whole new, money-filled world of drug dealing.
Things took a downturn years later when he got arrested and served a jail term of 102 months for tax evasion. His wife divorced him and disappeared with all his wealth just as he was clearing his sentence, leaving him with absolutely nothing to fall back to upon release. It was in the process of building himself back up again that his friend Marvin framed him to the authorities, claiming that he (Davis) supplied him (Marvin) with cocaine. This got Davis arrested, but the lawyer managed to convince the court to release him on bail.
And that is how his life on the run began. He immediately took off to Mexico City under a false identity. According to him, "...he would rather die in Latin America than live in an American prison, especially for a crime he had not committed." The tale continues to recount his experiences learning the new language and culture in Mexico, the risk of smuggling himself to Venezuela with fake identification papers, and generally maintaining a low profile so as not to get in the radar of the FBI or federalés. How does he maintain his new masquerading life? Does he outsmart the cops forever or do they eventually catch up with him? I will leave these details for readers to discover.
Unlike typical drug cartel stories, this one steers clear of the usual graphic scenes of prison atrocities, dimly-lit, smoke-filled casinos rooms, grizzly assassinations of rival drug barons, drawn-out fights or street violence. Actually, Davis is such a gifted storyteller, that before I knew it, I was deep in the throes of his narration, laughing at his attempts to fit in a third grade class, for instance, or musing at the possibility of a mother delivering twins by the road-side then proceeding with her journey on a public bus!
I got to understand that in fact, not everyone on the FBI’s most wanted list actually committed the crime they are accused of, though as for the accurate percentage of these innocent ones, who knows? It’s a pity that since no-one is going to believe their innocence, they have to do whatever they see fit to protect themselves. I came to realize that not all drug barons are heartless, emotionless and granite-faced. I could connect with the emotional roller coaster of Davis as he longed for his second wife and step-daughter. I could feel his sense of frustration at being driven to this difficult destitute life due to betrayal by his purported friend. I actually admired his diligence in studies and the fact that he resolved never to touch another drug again! What’s more, he stuck to his resolve! However, I still do not approve of the vice of drug trafficking.
A note I have to raise though is that the kindle version I downloaded seemed not to be the final version of the book. It still had quite a number of outstanding editorial marks and notes. This can be seen at kindle location 124, 150, 174 among many others. The formatting, too, had not yet been finalized. For instance at the first section, “Praise for Gringo”, there is uneven spacing between the tributes, such that it becomes slightly confusing to identify which person or organization gave which tribute. I have not had the chance to see whether other versions of the book have similar challenges, but I trust they are in the final version. For this glaring setback, I rate the book a 3 out of 4 stars.
By the way, I googled the term “Gringo” – It means, (in Spanish-speaking countries and contexts) a person, especially American, who is not Hispanic or Latino!
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Gringo
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