Yawar Fiesta (Texas Pan American Series) [Paperback]

Jose Maria Arguedas (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0292796021 | ISBN-13: 978-0292796027 | Publication Date: March 1985 | Edition: Underlining

Yawar Fiesta describes the social relations between Indians, mestizos, and whites in the Peruvian highland town of Puquio in the early twentieth century. Each group's reaction to the national government's attempt to suppress the traditional Indian-style bullfight reflects their attitude toward social change more generally. Included with the text of the novel is Arguedas' anthropological essay "Puquio: A Culture in the Process of Change," written eighteen years after Yawar Fiesta. The article emphasizes the social changes in the village that resulted from the road construction described in the novel. Jos‚ Mar¡a Arguedas is one of the few Latin American authors who loved and described his natural surroundings, and he ranks among the greatest writers of any time and place. He saw the beauty of the Peruvian landscape, as well as the grimness of social conditions in the Andes, through the eyes of the Indians who are a part of it. While Arguedas' poetry was published in Quechua, he invented a language for his novels in which he used native syntax with Spanish vocabulary, making translation into other languages extremely difficult. Frances Horning Barraclough has met the challenge and produced an excellent work that remains faithful to the author's use of language to reflect the lived experience of Peruvian Indians.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Spanish (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

Titles of related interest from Waveland Press: Arguedas, Deep Rivers (ISBN 9781577662440); Asturias, The President (ISBN 9780881339512); Azuela, Los de Abajo: Novela de la Revolucion Mexicana (ISBN 9780881336627); and Azuela, The Underdogs (ISBN 9781577662419). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr; Underlining edition (March 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292796021
• ISBN-13: 978-0292796027
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,360,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deserves More Attention, May 27, 2003

By 

Raj V. Mankad (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yawar Fiesta (Paperback)

This novel has no main characters, but somehow it works. With his extraordinary ability to see across class and ethnic lines, Arguedas constructs a whole community as the hero of the story.

Another translated novel by Arguedas, Deep Rivers, comes out so emotionally, it seems innocent of conscious craft and form. In Yawar Fiesta, however, Arguedas displays a more obvious mastery of the novel, pushing the genre and language into beautiful spaces of song and history. Arguedas's childlike way of observing, these incredible lyric passages that amp up the energy, expose worlds of injustice, resistance, joy, creativity, dialogue... I admire Frances Barraclough, the translator, for creating new hybrid spaces out of the wonderful mess Arguedas made of Spanish and Quechua.

For anyone with an interest in the Andean highlands, Arguedas is really a must read. If you're a trekker on the Inca Trail, take this book along with you. It will make a pilgrimage of your tourism.

5.0 out of 5 stars wild ride,,excellent book, January 16, 2012

By 

Fred C. Dobbs (Houston,TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yawar Fiesta (Paperback)

It's been years since I read this marvelous book, but it has stayed with me. It is utterly fantastic and full of raw life and vigor. It's a masterpiece of it's kind.