Customer Reviews

El espejo enterrado (Taurus Bolsillo) (Spanish Edition)

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I first read The Buried Mirror as a college student 7 years ago. Since then, I have travelled through Mexico, Guatemala, and Spain and have always looked to "The Burried Mirror" as a valuable source of insight to the cultures I experience.

For anyone who has ever wondered about how the cultures and histories of those from the Iberian Peninsula and the Americas have comingled and collided, this is the book for you!

Los espejos simbolizan la realidad............. De los espejos de obsidiana de la urbe totonaca de El Tajin a los espejos ibericos de Cervantes y Velasquez, el de la locura y el del asombro, un intercambio de reflejos ha ido y venido incesantemente de una a otra orilla del Atlantico. (Excerpted from the back cover of the book).

Such reflejos are the subject of the book, which is listed as an essay (ensayo) among the works of Mexican author Carlos Fuentes, but which should really be classified under the subject of History in that it traces the development of the Spanish speaking people from prehistory to modern times.

The book consists of 18 chapters as follows: "La Virgen y el Toro" (the Cretan and Greek roots); "La Conquista de Espana" (by Cartage and Rome); "La Reconquista de Espana" (by the Barbarians, later by the Moors); "1492: El Ano Cruzal" (the expulsion of the Moors by the Catholic kings, and the discovery of the New World); "Vida y Muerte del Mundo Indigena" (the natives of North America, Cortes and Moctezuma); "La Conquista y la Reconquista del Nuevo Mundo" (the conquest of the New World, the new towns, the universities, the new religion); "La Era Imperial" (the problems with the administration of the New World, the defeat of the Spanish armada by Francis Drake); "El Siglo de Oro" (literature and art in imperial Spain - Cervantes, Calderon de la Barca, Velasquez, Tirso de Molina, Francisco de Zurbaran); "El Barroco del Nuevo Mundo" (problems and unrest in the New World, Aleijadinho, Juana Ines de la Cruz); "La Epoca de Goya" (Melchor Gaspar de Jovellanos and Francisco de Goya y Lucientes); "Hacia la Endependencia: Multiples Mascaras y Aguas Turbias" (the unrest among the Creoles and the desire for independence); El Precio de la Libertad: Simon Bolivar y Jose de San Martin" (the expulsion of Spain from Latin America); "El Tiempo de los Tiranos" (Juan Manuel de Rosas in Argentina, Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia in Paraguay, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, Benito Juarez and Maximilian and Carlota in Mexico); "La cultura de la Independencia" (Latin America looks back at Spain while neglecting the local Indians and blacks, Argentine gaucho Jose Hernandez and his poem Martin Fierro, Cuban writer and patriot Jose Martin, Mexican cartoonist Jose Guadalupe Posada); "Tierra y Libertad"(The Mexican revolution of 1910, Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa); "Latinoamerica" (the general situation and problems of modern day Latin America); La Espana Contemporanea" (the general situation and problems of modern day Spain); La Hispanidad Norteamericana" (a very interesting chapter providing statistics on the total number of Hispanics as well as the number of Hispanic illegals in the United States, describing the invaluable contribution of the Hispanic people to the US economy and more).

El Espejo Enterrado may be listed as an essay, it may be classified as a history book, yet it is more than that, because Carlos Fuentes is more than an essayer or a historian. He is a multifaceted artist who sees and describes reality in a more comprehensive as well as captivating manner than the average essayer or historian would. He does not just give the description of the events that shaped the history of the Spanish speaking people, he makes them interesting, he makes the reader want to learn more. For example, by discussing the individuals whose thoughts and actions influenced the decisions of the Spanish speaking people (e.g., Jean Jacques Rousseau and Napoleon); by relating the major events from which those related to the Spanish speaking people developed (e.g., the Renaissance, the French Revolution, the American Revolution); or by describing the works of the Spanish speaking artists who reflected the periods during which they lived (e.g., Don Quixote, La Vida Es Sueno, Las Meninas, La Maja Desnuda. Hence with this book, the reader will learn more than the history of the Spanish speaking people, he/she will meet (again) some of the great thinkers of the Western world, he/she will be reminded of the history of the Western world, he/she will learn about the products of the most illuminated minds of the Spanish speaking world. He/she will also discover about many word origins, (how many among you reading this review know the meaning of the word Saragoza, the origin of the name Malinche, the identity of the woman from whom California got its name, the reason why they call the turkey guacolote in Mexico). And he/she will acquire an awful lot of useful information which would otherwise not be easily available all in one book, for example, the real significance of Goya's Saturn Devouring his Children".

This is a book that, once started, cannot be put down. A book that many will wish will never come to the end.

Available in Spanish, as well as English with the title The Buried Mirror - Reflections on Spain and the New World, a must for anybody who is interested in history, in the works of the creative mind (including its author's) and the origin of things. Perhaps a must for just anybody interested in expanding his mind, whether or not of Hispanic descent. 

"EL ESPEJO ENTERRADO" ES UN LIBRO QUE NO PUEDES DEJAR DE LEER. TIENES QUE TOMARTE UN TIEMPO PARA LEERLO Y APRENDER DE O RECORDAR LA HISTORIA DE TODO AMERICA.

I have really enjoyed using this book. I am in several spanish classes at college and I have found that Fuentes' book is an easy read; you are able to understand and visualize some of the history of Latin America. The structure of the book is less like a textbook and more like a novel, the facts are all there, they are just presented in a different way, a more subjunctive way. I encourage those who need a good resource on the history and culture of Spain and Latin America to consider this book.

The book arrived on time, as the vendor promised and it was in good shape also. Thank you for being honest.

The book is excellent but may not be available for everyone to read. I am a student at FIU in Miami Florida and I am unable to buy this book. As a future educator my most important goal is to be able to allow every potential student that wants to read be able too. Please allow the books to be more accesible to all people through reduced stuent pricing or any other methods that will allow individuals to have the opportunity to enhance and inrich their nowledge. thank you for your understanding. (bolivar68.aol.com)

Reviewing a book that i received, have not read it, but it's in great condition and shipping was very quick. Thank you.

Fuentes dice en el Espejo Enterrado que Rocinante es una yegua y no es cierto. Reto al mismo Carlos Fuentes a que me lo demuestre.