Cover reveal! The Savior of 6th Street by Orlando Ortega-Medina
We here at Spine are excited to reveal the cover of Orlando Ortega-Medina's new novel The Savior of 6th Street, an urban magical realism novel that will appeal to fans of Toni Morrison, Junot Diaz, and Haruki Murakami.
Publisher Cloud Lodge Books describes the synopsis:
“Deserted by his father at the age of four and raised by his voodoo queen mother on the fringes of Skid Row, Los Angeles street artist Virgilio Santos believes it his mission to save the down-and-outers in his neighborhood. But when he crosses paths with Beatrice Schein, an alluring Westside art collector with an aim to promote him to the international art world, Virgilio is tempted to turn his back on his friends. That is, until he discovers that Beatrice’s father is the principal financier of organized crime in his neighborhood with plans to tear it all down for redevelopment. Rendered with urgent intensity, The Savior of 6th Street is a literary tour de force that confirms Orlando Ortega-Medina as one of the most original storytellers of our time.”
Photo courtesy of Cloud Lodge Books
Award-winning author Orlando Ortega-Medina is responsible for the striking cover, after discovering the work of Gerardo Castro:
“In my writing process, I often seek out both audio and visual inspiration to enhance the themes I’m trying to tease out of the narrative. In the case of The Savior of 6th Street, one of the themes of the novel is how the practice and rituals of Santería can offer protection to its devotees.
(Note: Santería is an Afro-American religion that developed in Cuba between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretismbetween the traditional Yoruba religion of West Africa and Roman Catholicism.)
I spent a few months researching Santería for the novel and trawling the internet for visual representations of both its practice and its various divinities. I eventually came across the breathtaking imagery created by Gerardo Castro, a New York-based painter originally from Puerto Rico. I was so taken with Gerardo’s work, I brought it to the attention of my publisher, Cloud Lodge Books, and asked them if they might approach Gerardo about featuring one of his paintings on the book cover. We worked with Gerardo to determine which of three possible images would be the most appropriate for the novel and eventually settled on the alluring Afrofuturism Yemaya, a representation of the Mother of the Oceans, which was a perfect choice, considering the main character’s mother is meant to be a representation of her.
Once we had Gerardo’s consent, I mocked up the cover on Canva, and CLB turned it over to Duncan Potter of Riverside Publishing Solutions to properly execute the design for publication.”
I got in touch with Castro to see how he felt about having his painting chosen for the cover:
"I’m excited to have my work Afrofuturism Yemaya chosen for the cover of The Savior of 6th Street. When I painted the piece, a few years ago, I never imagined that it would be used for the cover of a novel. Knowing that Orlando Ortega-Medina connected with the painting, and saw it appropriate to the essence of the novel, deepens the connection between the artist, the author, and the reader. The artwork appropriately captures the mood of the novel and pays homage to the main character’s connection to Yemaya. My sincere and appreciative thanks."
Full cover
Cloud Lodge Books releases The Savior of 6th Street on October 22, 2020.
Editor, artworker and lifelong bibliophile.