Latino Sci-Fi: Cognition and Narrative Design in Alex Rivera’s Sleep Dealer

What is science fiction (sci-fi), and why are there so few such works created by Latinos in the United States? While the first part of my question has already been explored in excellent detail by pioneering scholars such as Darko Suvin, Fredric Jameson, and Brooks Landon, the second part both taunts and tantalizes. The most direct answer suggests the mystery surrounding the relative absence of sci-fi in Latino/a fiction. Eric Garcia’s The Repossession Mambo (2009) and Junot Diaz’s tentatively titled Monstro indicate that despite the significant forays into sci-fi worlds by Latinos, their numbers remain remarkably low.