Free Downloads City Of Kings (Discoveries Series)
Written in 1960, these stories unfold in the Mexican state of Chiapas—the later site of the Zapatista uprising, and the author addresses controversial questions of power, class, race, and language, giving insight into the historical background of a political struggle still going on today. The complex relationship of conquerors and conquered is explored with masterful writing that earned Rosario Castellanos a permanent place in the literary history of Mexican authors.
Series: Discoveries Series
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Latin American Literary Review Press; First edition. edition (January 1, 1993)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0935480633
ISBN-13: 978-0935480634
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,464,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #88 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical > Short Stories & Anthologies > Anthologies #314 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical > Short Stories & Anthologies > Short Stories #1133 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Hispanic
One of the things I appreciate about Castellanos is her unvarnished clarity in seeing and comprehending the complexities of a multiethnic society. Chiapas is the most ethnically diverse state in Mexico, with 28 of the known 63 languages of Mexico represented there. Castellanos is able to see the intricate connections between the white, mestizo (ladino) and indigenous groups, and the ways they interact without sugar-coating or villainizing her subjects. While it's clear that the indigenous peoples receive the majority of abuse and exploitation, her portraits of Modesta Gomez the "atajadora" and the other white and ladino characters, make it clear that they are themselves also victims in a network of abuse, abandonment, exploitation and violence. While the stories were written in the 1950s, and given that enormous social and economic changes have taken place there since the Zapatista uprising in 1994, the social undercurrents that inform this book are still recognizable.I'm taking a group of university students to San Cristobal this summer to study Spanish and the indigenous cultures, and "The City of Kings" will be required reading while we're there. For anyone wishing to get a snail's eye view of Chiapas and it's cultural heritage, you could do no better than this book.
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