Throughout Mexico and wherever Hispanics live, the legend of "La Llorona" has been told for generation upon generation. There are as many versions of the tale of the Wailing woman are story tellers. In this short novel by Rudolfo Anaya, the story assumes historic proportions. The author suggests that the first Llorona of the New World was Malinche, the consort of the Spanish conquistador, Cortez. In Anaya's version of the story, Malinche rises to noble and tragic stature. The legends of the world have been born of human experience. Over time, and in the telling and retelling, the people in the world's legends have tended to become suprahuman, mythological. To return such legendary people to their original roots, and thereby make them human again, requires a story-teller of considerable, if not exceptional, talent which encompasses an understanding of humanity that transcends time, place, language and culture. This precisely is what Rudolpho Anaya has accomplished in this, his most recent work, The Legend OF La Llorona. Based on the ancient Mexican legend, Anaya has rendered the story in the form of a brief novel. In doing so, Mr. Anaaya has given us a work not unlike those of the great Greek tragedies of Oedipus, who killed his father and marries his mother, and Medea, who killed her own children. Joseph Campbell, in his Historical Atlas of World Mythology, noticed the remarkable similarities between the myths of the world and concluded, "Through its millions of apparently separate individuals, the human race evolved in the way of a single life." Now, thanks to Rudolfo Anaya's creative re-creation of The Legend Of La Llorona, it appears that the ancient Mexicans and the ancient Greeks were not so different after all. Through their legends, and now through the artistry of Rudolfo Anaya, they speak to us about the ways and about the unity of humankind. --- from book's back cover
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More About the Author
Rudolfo Anaya is professor emeritus of English at the University of New Mexico. He was one of the first winners of the Premio Quinto Sol National Chicano literary award. Winner of the PEN Center USA West Award for Fiction for his novel Alburquerque, he is best-loved for his classic bestseller Bless Me, Ultima. His other works include Zia Summer, Rio Grande Fall, Jalamanta, Tortuga, Heart of Aztlan , and The Anaya Reader. He has also written numerous short stories, essays, and children's books, including The Farolitos of Christmas and Maya's Children.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A New and Different Version of An Old Mexican Legend,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Legend of LA Llorona (Paperback)
This book offers a wonderfuly different and fascinating version of the legend of La Llorona, as well as another view of the very interesting and controversial historical figure La Malinche. The reader sees a fictionalized but possible glimpse into the heart of a woman who helped Cortes bring down the Aztec empire, who bore the first mestizo children, who was considered a traitor to her people. This is definitely a book people should read, especially those who are interested in Mexican culture, history, and legend.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A New and Different Version of An Old Mexican Legend,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Legend of LA Llorona (Paperback)
This book is a wonderfully creative way of looking at the legend of La Llorona, as well as at a very interesting and controversial historical figure, La Malinche. The reader is able to get a fictonalized but very possible glimpse into the heart of the woman who helped Cortes bring down the Aztec empire, who bore the first mestizo children, who was considered a traitor by her people. This is definitely a book that people should read, especially those who are interested in Mexican culture, history, and legend.
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