DISAPPEARED

Roxana Ortega and Christian Barillas dramatize the alternating voices of siblings from Juarez, Mexico. Ortega reads the part of questioning, curious Sara, a newspaper journalist. Sara writes devotedly about the plight of Las Desaparecidas, the disappeared girls, after her best friend, Linda, vanishes without a trace. Ortega makes clear Sara’s commitment to her news stories, which gains urgency when her family’s safety is threatened. Barillas reflects parallel tensions in the life of Sara’s brother, Emiliano. Barillas expresses Emiliano’s sincerity and loyalty as he builds a small business to support his family and falls in love with a wealthy schoolmate. When he finds himself having to negotiate the burgeoning drug trade in Juarez, Barillas projects his increasing dismay and fear. The story’s tension culminates in the siblings’ life-threatening escape to freedom. S.W. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2017]