Escape From Natura Meta

Gabriel is a boy born into the Natura Meta tribe ruled by The Council where faith has been replaced by the pursuit of the "benefit of all." He's slated to transition to female to meet a societal quota. Beatriz, his ancestor, appears in his dreams. She helps him discover his faith against an apocalyptic backdrop of tyranny disguised as "benefit of all." He escapes into an unknown world to fulfill a mission. The Creole in Louisiana teach him their ways. He begins to take his own steps as a man. He finds his first love in the desert among the Jews. The cowboys in Texas enslave him. Gabriel grows in freedom as the cycle of being wounded and healing, the cycle of mourning and moving forward, make him stronger. He begins weak and ignorant, but he becomes an authority with the help of the many teachers he comes across. In Mexico, he finds what he has been looking for. He builds a community of Christians in a godless world. Natura Meta puts a ransom on his head. He is a wanted man and must return to his tribe of origin to fight for true freedom. The war against Natura Meta begins.

Jesús Canchola Sánchez had his first short story published at the age of 7 in his Chicago elementary school newspaper. He's the author of the children's book "Pepito Has a Doll" (2021). He received the Hispanic Playwrights in Residence award by INTAR Theater and won the Pregones Theater Asunción Playwrights Competition. Canchola Sánchez is the writer/director of the Mexican feature film "Bittersweet Waters" (2019).