Cemetery Boys

“But the brujx didn’t like forcing a spirit to cross over. As long as the spirits were peaceful and hadn’t turned maligno, the brujos left them alone. But no spirit could stay forever. Eventually, they would become violent, twisted versions of themselves. Being trapped between the land of the living and the land of the dead wore on a spirit, chipping away at their humanity. The parts that made them human eventually faded away until the brujos had no choice but to sever the connection to their tether and release them to the afterlife.”

Though the brujx community has a different relationship with death than non-brujx do, death is still inescapable. Spirits can only linger in the world of the living for a limited amount of time. The mention of a spirit turning “maligno” also foreshadows the fear that Yadriel harbors of Julian becoming violent, and of Tito’s eventual devolution.

“She had many names and iterations—Santa Muerte, la Huesuda, Lady of Shadows, Mictecacihuatl. It depended on the culture and language, but each representation and image came down to the same thing. To be blessed by Lady Death, to have his own portaje and to serve her, was what Yadriel wanted most in the world. He wanted to be like the other brujos, to find lost spirits and help them pass to the afterlife. He wanted to stay up all night on boring graveyard duty. Hell, he’d even spend hours pulling weeds and painting tombs if it meant being accepted by his people as a brujo.”

Lady Death comes in as many iterations and forms as the people who serve her do. Throughout the text, Thomas reiterates that the brujx community is composed of a variety of people from different cultures, races, and ethnicities. In such a seemingly inclusive community, the fact that Yadriel is unable to find belonging is even more tragic.

“Being gifted your portaje was an important rite of passage for every brujx. Every one, except for Yadriel. His quinces had been postponed indefinitely. He’d turned sixteen the past July, and he was tired of waiting. In order to show his family what he was, who he was, Yadriel needed to go through with his own quinces ceremony—with or without their blessings. His father and the rest of the brujx hadn’t left him with a choice.”

Yadriel decides to put on his own quinces ceremony, with a portaje made for him by his best friend. Yadriel does this without his family’s blessing or support. This scene parallels the found family experiences of many queer folks who are not accepted by their biological families as a result of their sexuality or gender identity.

“There were only two rituals that ever called for brujx to make an offering of their own blood. When they were born, their ears were pierced, releasing a pin-drop amount of blood. This act enabled them to hear the spirits of the dead. Yadriel’s ears were gauged with black plastic plugs. He liked paying homage to the ancient practice of brujx stretching their earlobes with increasingly large discs made of sacred stones, like obsidian or jade. Over the years he’d gotten them to about the size of a dime. The only other time brujx used their own blood as a sacrifice was during the quinces ceremony. The offering was made from their tongues to let them speak to the diosa, to ask Lady Death for her blessing and protection.”

Blood is an important facet of brujx culture and is often used as a sacrifice for healing by the brujas. The brujas only use animal blood is used, since human blood is considered especially sacred. This moment foreshadows Yadriel’s eventual use of his own blood to summon Lady Death and resurrect Julian. 

“A brujx’s quinces was the most important day in their life. Yadriel’s dad, brother, and abuela should’ve been standing next to him. As he knelt on the hard stone floor, the emptiness pressed around him. In the silence, he could hear the static of the uneasy candle flames. Under the hollowed eyes of Lady Death, Yadriel felt small and alone.”

Yadriel feels extremely alone as the only trans brujx in his community. He wants his family’s love and acceptance, and he is even more determined to prove to them that he is a brujo. This is Yadriel’s primary motivator throughout the rest of the novel.

“Being transgender and gay had earned Yadriel the title of Head Black Sheep among the brujx. Though, in truth, being gay had actually been much easier for them to accept, but only because they saw Yadriel’s liking boys as still being heterosexual.”

There are many misconceptions about gender, sex, and sexuality. Here, Thomas touches on the misunderstanding that some may have about a trans boy liking boys. By viewing it as heterosexuality instead of being gay and trans, Yadriel’s family fails to see him as the boy that he is.

“Yadriel admired her for her convictions, but he was also frustrated by them. All he wanted was to be accepted—he wanted to be given his own portaje, treated like any other brujo, and given the same responsibilities. Maritza, on the other hand, had been offered every right of the brujx, but she chose to reject it.”

As much as Yadriel loves Maritza, he believes that only his uncle Catriz understands what it is really like to be an outsider in the brujx community. Yadriel’s gender and Catriz’s lack of powers are not things that they chose for themselves. Conversely, in Yadriel’s mind, Maritza’s choice to be a vegan is a conscious choice to reject the brujx way. The fact that he feels this way shows how deeply he has internalized brujx traditions, even as he wants to update and modernize some of them.

“If Lady Death had blessed him, granting him the powers of the brujx, that meant he could summon a lost spirit. If he could summon a spirit and release it to the afterlife, then he would finally prove himself to everyone—the brujx, his family, and his dad. They would see him as he was. A boy and a brujo.”

Yadriel is determined to prove to the other brujx that he is a boy and a brujo. If Lady Death accepts him, the brujx community will be forced to contend with their own prejudice. They will no longer be able to use the excuse of precedent or tradition to exclude him. 

“He understood they were lucky in that way, to be able to see their dead loved ones again, but that didn’t make him feel better in the moment. A visit for two days once a year could never make up for the loss of having them around all the time. And there was another problem: If Miguel hadn’t passed to the land of the dead—if he was still tethered to this world—he couldn’t return during Día de Muertos.”

After losing his mother, Yadriel is excited to see her again at the upcoming Day of the Dead. Though he recognizes that the brujx are lucky to see and communicate with those who have passed away, Yadriel still feels grief and loss for his mother. Here, Thomas conveys the universality of mourning the loss of a loved one.

“There was a reason they had performed Yadriel’s portaje ceremony in secret. A reason that Maritza spent so long making his dagger without her dad knowing. The brujx practices were built on ancient tradition. Going against those traditions was seen as blasphemous. When Yadriel had refused to be presented to Lady Death for his quinces as a bruja, they wouldn’t let him go through it as a brujo. It was out of the question. It wouldn’t work, they’d told him. Just because he said he was a boy, that didn’t change the way Lady Death gave her blessings. They wouldn’t even let him try. It was easier to hide behind their traditions than to challenge their own beliefs and understanding of how things in the world of the brujx worked. It made Yadriel feel ashamed of who he was. Their blatant rejection felt personal because it was personal. It was an outright rejection of who he was—a transgender boy trying to find his place in their community. But they were wrong. Lady Death had answered him. Now, he just needed to prove it.”

Yadriel’s internal motivations are laid out for the reader. He deliberately chooses to go against the rest of the brujx because he knows that he is a brujo, and he has faith in Lady Death and her blessings. The brujx community’s traditions are seen here as completely binding, rules that everyone follows lest they be shunned.

“Enrique jabbed a finger toward the living room. ‘You stay here with the rest of the women!’ Yadriel flinched. Hot shame flooded his cheeks. He released the dagger, letting it fall to the bottom of his backpack. He glared up at his dad in an attempt to look fierce and defiant, even though his eyes burned and his hands quaked. ‘The rest of the women,’ he repeated, spitting the words out as if they were poisonous. Enrique blinked, anger flickering to confusion, as though Yadriel were suddenly coming into focus before him. He removed his cell phone from his ear. His shoulders sank; his expression went slack. ‘Yadriel,’ he sighed, reaching out for him.”

Enrique misgenders Yadriel in front of all the other brujx. Though Enrique speaks to Yadriel like this because he worries about him, it does not excuse the damage or hurt that he causes his son. To Enrique’s credit, he is immediately apologetic, and will later attempt to say sorry to Yadriel properly. 

“His dad’s face—the look of regret when he realized what he’d said to Yadriel—flashed in his mind. Yadriel was always forgiving people for being callous. For misgendering him and calling him by his deadname. He was always giving them the benefit of the doubt, or writing it off as people not understanding or being stuck in their ways when they hurt him. Well, Yadriel was tired of it. He was tired of forgiving. He was tired of fighting to just exist and be himself. He was tired of being the odd one out. But belonging meant denying who he was. Living as something he wasn’t had nearly torn him apart from the inside out. But he also loved his family, and his community. It was bad enough being an outsider; what would happen if they just couldn’t—or wouldn’t—accept him for who he was?”

Yadriel’s anger and frustration is entirely justified in response to his father’s misgendering of him. Yadriel is repeatedly forced to forgive those around him for not respecting him and his identity. By refusing to forgive Enrique so quickly, Yadriel begins to stand up for himself and demand the respect and acknowledgement that he deserves.

“The brujx thought he was just a product of the dilution of magic slowly working its way through their lineage. But Yadriel and his mom knew the truth. She bought him his first binder online and helped him tell his dad and brother. It was hard explaining himself and his identity not only to his family but to their entire community. They still didn’t understand, clearly, but at least with his mom around, they were working through it together. His mom championed for Yadriel to be given a brujo’s quinces, to be welcomed into the community as he was—a boy. She’d taken on the task of trying to explain to his dad that he was a brujo. He was a boy. He can’t just choose to be a brujo, he’d heard Enrique say from the kitchen one night as he and Camila spoke quietly over sweet coffee. It’s not a choice, his mother had said, her voice calm but firm. It’s who he is.”

Yadriel’s mother is the first to realize that her son is a brujo. When she is still alive, she reaffirms that Yadriel’s identity has never been a choice, but instead, a fact of life. By acknowledging that Yadriel is a boy and a brujo, Camila also suggests that Lady Death has already imbued him with the powers that he deserves.

“Catriz had long since been left out of the brujos and their tasks. It had been thousands of years since Lady Death had gifted the brujx their powers. At the beginning, the brujx powers rivaled that of the diosa. Women could regrow an entire arm or pull someone back from the brink of death with little more concentration than you’d need to do long division. The most powerful of the men could even bring the dead back to life when their spirits were beyond the brujas’ reach. But now, with the dilution of power over the generations, such extravagant use of their powers was impossible. Their magic was not a bottomless well. Drawing on your power to heal the living or guide the dead pulled from that well, and it took time for it to fill up again. Brujx were getting weaker, and there were those who were born with such shallow wells of power they could barely tap them for simple tasks without risking death.”

The magic of the brujx is not limitless and can be used up. The brujx appear to be a slowly dwindling people, with less and less power amongst them. When Yadriel resurrects four people, he accomplishes what brujx have not been able to do for countless generations. Yadriel’s power speaks to the importance of inclusion.

“Held on the second night of Día de Muertos, the last night the spirits of past brujx spent each year in the land of the living before returning to the afterlife, the aquelarre was a huge party held in the church. Every young brujx who’d turned fifteen and had their quinces pledged to serve Lady Death and help maintain the balance of life and death, as had all their ancestors who came before them. Then they were officially presented to the community. Yadriel and Tío Catriz both knew what it was like to see others perform their magic, to sit on the sidelines, powerless to do anything themselves.”

Yadriel and Catriz are kindred spirits. They are both often left on the outskirts of the brujx community because of their inherent difference. Their close connection later leads Catriz to attempt to convince Yadriel to join him in sacrificing four people to Bahlam.

“Yadriel knew about the claw of the jaguar, mostly because Lita would never let him forget it. It was an ancient set of four ritual daggers and an amulet in the shape of a jaguar’s head. The ceremonial blades had been used back when the dark art of human sacrifice was still in practice. When pierced into the hearts of four humans, the daggers used their spirits to feed the amulet, giving the brujx who wore it immense—but dark—power. Lita liked to pull the daggers out on special occasions—including Día de Muertos—to scare younger brujx and lecture them about the treachery of abusing their powers.”

This is the first mention of the claw of the jaguar and the sacrificial dagger. Lita is unable to find the dagger and repeatedly asks Yadriel to help her search for it. This foreshadows Catriz’s eventual use of the dagger to sacrifice spirits to Bahlam in exchange for power.

“Navigating pronouns was a minefield when language was based on gender.”

Pronouns are already difficult for those who are unfamiliar with following an individual’s chosen identifiers. Yadriel’s experience as a trans brujx is rendered more difficult by the gendered language used in Spanish. This is a common problem experienced by many trans individuals from families who speak languages other than English.

“His uncle’s expression was pained. Even though they were outsiders for different reasons, Catriz was the only one who could understand what Yadriel was going through. He was the only one, aside from Maritza, who put the work in to understand him. The rest of the brujx seemed to ignore him. They were so worried about calling him by the wrong name or gender, they would avoid him altogether.”

Yadriel’s isolation within the brujx community is explained further here. The other brujx completely ignore or avoid Yadriel due to their discomfort and fear of misgendering him or using his deadname. While it makes sense that they worry about addressing him incorrectly and want to respect his name and pronouns, avoiding him entirely only serves to further isolate and hurt him.

“Usually, his family couldn’t afford a yearbook. His sophomore year was the first time his dad had bought him one, even though they were hard up for cash without the income from his mom’s nursing job. On top of being the leader of the brujx, his dad also worked as an independent contractor to make ends meet. Most of his employees were other brujos, but projects were sometimes few and far between. It was the brujas, working as doctors, doulas, nurses, and psychologists, who were the financial heads of the households.”

Yadriel’s family is not wealthy, but the brujx community protects and looks after each other. Though it is extremely traditional regarding gender roles and powers, brujas are the main breadwinners of brujx families. This is already a sign of growth and change that the brujx community has adapted for the betterment of their people.

‘“Queer folks are like wolves,’ Julian told him. ‘We travel in packs.’”

The queer teenagers in Julian’s group of friends have no one else to rely on. They become a pack within themselves; a found family that protects and looks out for each other when no one else will. Like wolves, these teenagers are willing to do anything for their pack and are ferociously protective of each other.

“He stole a couple of glances over at Julian. He’d said it so…‘casually’ wasn’t the right word, but maybe ‘easily’ was. Whenever Yadriel came out to anyone, it was always an ordeal that he overthought and dragged out. It was nerve-racking, waiting to see someone’s reaction, whether they would reject him, or even understand what it meant when a trans boy said he was gay. But not for Julian. He’d said it as almost a challenge. In a way that said he didn’t care what you thought.”

Julian’s attitude towards his sexuality is the opposite of Yadriel’s anxiety about coming out. While Yadriel is consumed with worry and anxiety, Julian is unconcerned with how other people view him or his sexuality. Julian does not care what others think of him, and this helps Yadriel realize that he cannot control how others look at him.

“A large skull was spray-painted off to the side in shades of neon purple, pink, and blue. Most of its teeth were missing, but the ones that remained were crooked and gold. Below in lopsided black letters was HAY NIÑAS CON PENE, NIÑOS CON VULVA Y TRANSFÓBICOS SIN DIENTES. In the lower corner, it read, ST. J.”

This graffiti reflects Julian’s earlier quote about queer people being like wolves. By spray painting this above their hideout, Julian effectively declares war on anti-trans sentiment. He viciously defends transgender folks and is not above punching those who may do harm to them.

‘“Like, is this Lady deciding who counts as a man and who counts as a woman? What about nonbinary people? Or intersex? Or agender?’…‘There’s no way y’all have been around for thousands of years without there being one person not fitting into the ‘men are this, women are that’ bullshit.’ Julian sounded so convinced, so sure. His obsidian eyes locked onto Yadriel’s. ‘Maybe they hid it, or ran away, or I dunno, something else, but there’s no way you’re the first, Yads.’”

Julian points out that there is no way that Yadriel is the first trans brujx in history. Julian also lays out the numerous problems that come with a system of magic based on gender: Gender is not a simple binary, so countless issues arise when people operate on the assumption that only men and women exist. Thomas makes it clear that gender is a spectrum and should be embraced as the complicated thing that it is.