Teresa Dovalpage was born in Havana, Cuba, and now lives in Hobbs, where she is a Spanish and ESL professor at New Mexico Junior College. She has published twelve novels and three collections of short stories. Her Havana Mystery series published by Soho Crime started with the culinary mystery Death Comes in through the Kitchen (2018), set in Havana and featuring Padrino, a santero-detective. It is loaded with authentic Cuban recipes like arroz con pollo (rice with chicken) and caldosa (a yummy stew). The second mystery, Queen of Bones (2019) includes elements of Santería and, again, food—clearly, the author loves to eat! It was chosen by NBC News as one of the top “10 books from 2019 by and about Latinos.” Both novels are rich in details about life in the island, the kind only an insider can provide. The third is Death of a Telenovela Star (2020) set on a Caribbean cruise and showcasing the dark—sometimes deadly—side of celebrity, as well as the shenanigans that often happen abroad a cruise ship. Upcoming is Death under the Perseids, where the author proves that there’s no such thing as a free cruise. Teresa also wrote A Girl Like Che Guevara (Soho Press, 2004) and Habanera, a Portrait of a Cuban Family (Floricanto Press, 2010).
In her native Spanish she has authored the novels Muerte de un murciano en La Habana (Death of a Murcian in Havana, Anagrama, 2006, a runner-up for the Herralde Award in Spain), El difunto Fidel (The Late Fidel, Renacimiento, 2011, which won the Rincon de la Victoria Award in Spain in 2009), Posesas de La Habana (Haunted ladies of Havana, PurePlay Press, 2004), La Regenta en La Habana (Edebe Group, Spain, 2012), Orfeo en el Caribe (Atmósfera Literaria, Spain, 2013), and El retorno de la expatriada (The Expat’s Return, Egales, Spain, 2014).Her short story collections are The Astral Plane, Stories of Cuba, the Southwest and Beyond (University of New Orleans Press, 2012), Llevarás luto por Franco (Atmósfera Literaria, 2012) and Por culpa de Candela (Floricanto Press, May 2009).
Once in a while she delves into theater. Her plays La Hija de La Llorona and Hasta que el mortgage nos separe (published in Teatro Latino, 2019) have been staged by Aguijón Theater in Chicago. Las muertas de La West Mesa was published by Label Me Latin@. https://teredovalpage.com.