Interview with Judge Santiago Burdon - 2022
Interview # 15 (Fiction, Short Stories, Transgressive Fiction, Autobiographical Fiction)
The Odyssey of Judge Santiago Burdon begins in Chicago, Illinois, the City of Big Shoulders, as Sandburg called it in his poem "Chicago". He was born during Mayor Richard Daley's first days in office and Eisenhower's first term as President. His father named him Judge, hoping he would pursue a career in law. He had no idea his son would end up appearing in front of so many.
He attended universities in the United States, England, and Paris, directing his focus on Victorian literature.
Judge Santiago Burdon's short stories and poems have been featured in over one hundred magazines, online literary journals, podcasts, and anthologies. His books include Stray Dogs and Deuces Wild: Cautionary Tales (Horror Sleaze Trash Press, 2020), Not Real Poetry (Impspired Press, 2021), Quicksand Highway (Horror Sleaze Trash Press, 2021), and Fingers in the Fan (Impspired Press, 2022). His website can be found here.
Randal Eldon Greene: You are a character in these stories. And these are stories of sometimes illegal, sometimes immoral, and sometimes outlandish behavior. I have to ask, how close to your lived life do the stories in your books such as Fingers in the Fan and Stray Dogs and Deuces Wild come?
Judge Santiago Burdon: Think on this—I live in Costa Rica. Most of the time homeless. I can't have money sent in my actual name . My cousin is a notorious Narco Traficante now in prison in the United States.
My stories are purely fictional. I invent them . However many have commented that the stories ring with too much truth to be fiction. Not many people have the kind of imagination to create these stories. You decide which. My quote, "The best part of truth are the lies."
Randal Eldon Greene: There is a comic, recurring character in your books who goes by the name Johnny Rico. He's boisterous, a bit of a drunken idiot, and a talented drug smuggler. Is he an amalgam of personalities or someone ripped straight from the streets of Cartagena?
Judge Santiago Burdon: Everyone loves Rico. Some background on my carnal.
A profile of the character Johnny Rico:
We became acquainted in a Mexican prison, where I was a guest for eight months. I make it a policy to never associate with people I'd met in prison once I was back on the outside, but Johnny Rico was the exception to the rule. Sort of like a mild virus you're unable to shake, you know you're infected, but you just learn to live with the malady.
Always with a bandanna around his neck, and most of the time it clashed with his shirt. He said it serves as a fashion statement, but I've never been able to figure out what exactly he was trying to say. Then there's his common practice of always wearing mismatched socks. I'm sure he's colorblind and I've tried to demonstrate the fact with a simple test numerous times, but he refused to take part in my experiment.
He's very egocentric and will never admit to making a mistake or having a disability, but he's my carnal and has always been there for me. My proverbial Colombian guardian angel. I gave him the last name Rico, which fits his personality hand in glove. Commonly translated as "rich" or "wealthy", it can also mean exceptional, and for better or worse, that is Johnny all the way.
I've never had to worry about my welfare when Johnny was on watch. Even Jesus Christ wouldn't be able to get to me if he was standing guard. We were partners in the import-export business. I'm sure he's clinically insane but has always watched my back and is the only person I trust in the world despite his eccentric behavior.
An example: He had a Dodge Duster for a couple of years which I’m sure was stolen. The Duster became a victim of one of Johnny's psychotic episodes. After a three day cocaine binge, accompanied by a case of Scotch and an array off prescription medications he pilfered from the last Psychiatric Hospital where he resided for a week. They demanded he leave, they'd had enough of "his Riconess."
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