Guest Columnist: Xánath Caraza. Isabel Allende. La isla bajo el mar

La isla bajo el mar
Book Review by Xánath Caraza

La isla bajo el mar
Novel by Isabel Allende

I was on page 335 of La isla bajo el mar when I found out about Haiti’s earthquake on January 12, 2010. Literally my heart collapsed along with the many buildings in Port-au-Prince and my thoughts and prayers are with the many Haitians suffering right now. I personally know a little of what it is to lose a house to a disaster. However, the human losses are definitely out of my spectrum even though I sympathize so much with Haiti. Inner strength comes in unimaginable and literally mysterious ways.

La isla bajo el marr by Isabel Allende was released in August 2009. I learnt about it in September and since then, I had been wanting to submerge myself in the novel. La isla bajo el mar was originally written in Spanish and will hopefully soon be released in its English language translation.

La isla bajo el mar is a novel that takes place in La Hispaniola at the end of the XVIII century. It focuses on the then French colony, now Haiti. I was excited to grow along with the main character, Zarité, and along the way learned about the history of La Hispaniola, especially of what is currently Haiti. For instance, Haiti was the only colony in the Americas where a revolution was carried out by slaves and was successful.

Not only did I learn of a more general historical context of what is today Haiti, but also I explored the personal experiences of the fictitious main character, Zarité Sedella, who no matter what happens in her life, considers herself under the protection of good fortune. Zarité was born a slave and at the age of nine was sold as a domestic slave to a new owner. Early in her life, she was advised by Honoré to dance in the traditional celebration with rhythmic drums of noches de calenda, since a slave who danced was free. “Baila, baila, Zarité, porque esclavo que baile es libre…mientras baila”. She had dreamt of becoming free from an early age, and dancing gave her strength to go on.

Of the historical aspect of Zarité’s experience, during the noches de calenda, the dances turned into Voodoo ceremonies. The Voodoo religion was brought to this continent by African slaves during French and Spanish colonial times and was misinterpreted by many at the time.

In light of Zarité’s more individual character development outside the historical aspect, the description of spiritually strong characters, such as Zatité as well as others could not be missed. I fell in love with Zarité’s spiritual strength. Zarité Sedella is not a flat character. She showed me psychological and geographical changes throughout the novel. Psychologically, I saw her move from fear, love, strength, and freedom. All these psychological changes happened in places such as a slave trade boat, where she was conceived and born, as well as in Haiti, Cuba, and finally New Orleans. Zarité went through different stages, from a slave, lover, mother and finally a free woman. Her strength came from her beliefs and the celebration of her African roots. She never lost the freedom of her own thoughts in spite of being a slave.

Lastly, I want to say that a good book allows me to feel what its characters are experiencing. Some of the feelings I experienced with Zarité Sedella were friendship, love, loss, redemption, bondage, and freedom. I enjoyed the love story of Zarité and Gambo while intermingled in the beginning of the Revolution in Haiti. I also danced with Zarité Sedella during the noches de calenda and celebrated her emancipation. Therefore, I believe you will enjoy La isla bajo el mar by Isabel Allende as much as I did. My explanation of what Honoré says is: Dance, reader, dance with the reading of a book and never lose the freedom of your own thoughts. Ciao, chao y feliz lectura.


La isla bajo el mar
Reseña por Xánath Caraza

La isla bajo el mar
Novela por Isabel Allende


Estaba en la página 335 de La isla bajo el mar cuando supe del terremoto en Haití el 12 de enero de 2010. Literalmente my corazón colapsó junto con muchos de los edificios en Puerto Príncipe y mis pensamientos y oraciones están con los muchos haitianos sufriendo ahora. Personalmente estoy un poco familiarizada con lo que significa perder una casa por un desastre. Sin embargo las pérdidas humanas están definitivamente fuera de mi espectro aunque simpatizo mucho con Haití. La fuerza interna viene de maneras inimaginables y literalmente misteriosas.

La isla bajo el mar r fue escrita por Isabel Allende y salió al público en agosto de 2009. Me enteré de ésta en septiembre y desde entonces he querido sumergirme en la novela La isla bajo el mar fue originalmente escrita en español y espero esté pronto al alcance del público en su traducción al idioma inglés.

La isla bajo el mar es una novela que sucede en La Española a finales del siglo XVIII, enfocándose en la región de la entonces colonia francesa, hoy Haití. Estaba entusiasmada por crecer con Zarité en la novela al tiempo de aprender sobre la historia de La Española, especialmente lo que actualmente es Haití. Por ejemplo, Haití fue la única colonia en América donde la revolución se llevó a cabo por los esclavos y triunfó.


No sólo aprendí de un contexto histórico general de lo que es Haití, sino que también exploré la experiencia personal del personaje ficticio principal, Zarité Sedella, a quien sin importar lo que suceda en su vida, se considera bajo la protección de su buena estrella. Zarité nació esclava y a la edad de nueve fue vendida como esclava doméstica a un nuevo dueño. Muy temprano en su vida, fue aconsejada por Honoré para que bailara en celebraciones tradicionales con tambores rítmicos en las noches de calenda, ya que esclavo que baila es libre. “Baila, baila, Zarité, porque esclavo que baile es libre…mientras baila”. Ella había soñado con ser libre desde muy joven y el bailar le daba fuerza para continuar.

De los aspectos históricos de la experiencia de Zarité, en las noches de calenda, los bailes se transformaban en ceremonias vudú. La religión vudú fue traída a este continente por los esclavos africanos durante el período colonial español y francés y fue mal interpretado por muchos en aquel tiempo.

En cuanto al desarrollo individual del personaje Zarité fuera del aspecto histórico, la descripción de personajes fuertes espiritualmente, como el caso de Zarité, entre otros, no podía faltar. Me enamoré de la fuerza interna de Zarité. Zarité Sedella no es un personaje plano. Me mostró cambios psicológicos acompañados por los geográficos a lo largo de la novela. Psicológicamente la vi desplazarse entre el miedo, amor, fortaleza y libertad a través de un barco de esclavos, donde fue concebida y nació, tanto en Haití, Cuba y finalmente Nueva Orleans. Zarité pasó por varias etapas, desde esclava, amante, madre y finalmente una mujer libre. Su fuerza venía de sus creencias y la celebración de sus raíces africanas. Nunca perdió la libertad de sus pensamientos a pesar de ser esclava.

Quiero concluir diciendo que un buen libro me hace sentir lo que sus personajes van experimentando. Algunos de los sentimientos que experimenté con Zarité Sedella fueron amistad, amor, pérdida, redención, cautiverio y libertad. Disfruté la historia de amor entre Zarité y Gambo mientras se mezclaba con la Revolución de Haití. También bailé con Zarité Sedella en las noches de calenda y celebré su emancipación. Por lo tanto, pienso que vas a disfrutar de la novela tanto como yo lo hice. Mi explicación a lo que Honoré dice es: baila, lector, baila que con la lectura de un libro nunca se pierde la libertad de pensamiento. Ciao, chao y feliz lectura.


Xánath Caraza is a member of Latino Writers Collective, Kansas City MO

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Thania in Santiago, Chile - travelogue

Under the influence of books
- guest posting from our world traveler Thania Muñoz, of La Semana Negra fame.

The first time I set foot in Chile was three years ago. I made the decision to study abroad in my third year of college when I was starting my Spanish major. I was part of the California State University one-year student exchange program.

I still remember how interesting and exciting my first Spanish literature classes in college were. I wanted to be reading and re-reading all the time. Even though I have been close to literature most of my life, I felt as if I was behind, that I needed to read so much more, and I did. I read books that weren’t in the classes’ syllabi, searching for new, young authors and writing summaries of each book I read.

One of my professors noticed my interest and lent me Isabel Allende’s My invented country: a memoir. This book is a wonderful memoir about the author’s native country Chile. After reading this book I decided that I needed to go to Chile and see with my own eyes what she had described. My first trips to Latin America, imaginary of course, had started through books, but now I was ready to start my first REAL trip.

Excitedly, I approached the international office of my university. They had millions of places to choose from like China, Hawaii, England, México, but none in my native country, like Querétaro, Hidalgo, Guadalajara, excited me. I wanted to go to Chile; I wanted to go to that faraway country shaped like a skinny, bitten chile. I confess: it wasn’t only Allende’s book that made me want to go to the southern cone--as we call the southern part of the continent--it was also that it was very far away; I wanted to be there in South America where most of my favorite books had been written.

After visiting the international office a few times, I found out Chile’s student exchange program was a whole year long, not one semester or summer session, as I had originally planned for. I didn’t feel ready to be away for such a long time, in a strange city, in a foreign country. For a week I debated the idea of being away from my family, friends, professors and my warm life in sunny California. But I was twenty-two, almost done with college, working part-time at a retail store and hanging out at local coffee shops. I didn’t have much to lose. Even before telling my parents, I started filling out the paperwork at the international office.

I wish to keep to myself all the family drama that started because of this decision. Oh, ok, I’ll share the obvious: yes, my father was scared. He didn’t believe a “young” girl could be safe in a foreign country. My mother cursed books (sometimes she stills does). She couldn’t believe I had made a decision, based on a book by some “lady,” as she commonly referred to Isabel Allende.

Nonetheless, I wanted to go and nothing scared me: not long essays that I had to write to prove I was capable of studying away in prestigious, not the all-Spanish-speaking university (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), not the selecting committee interview, nor embassy, financial aid workshops, angry parents and voltage converters. After being selected by the international office as one of the deserving participants of Chile’s student exchange program, I cried. My dream was, little by little, becoming a reality.

I still remember the chills I felt when I stepped out of the Santiago’s airport three years ago. When I arrived early June, coming from a Californian summer to a South American winter, it was a drastic change. The first weeks were full of long and cold walks around the city. I got lost every time I stepped out of the house, but I asked for directions, even though most of time they weren’t good directions. I enjoyed getting lost or sitting on a bench staring at a map, completely overwhelmed by the city's complexity, but happy I could walk anywhere, take a very clean, reliable underground metro or a yellow bus driven by a fast and impatient driver.

The classes I took at “la Católica,” as the university is commonly called, were completely different from my literature classes in California. I took all Chilean-related literature classes, history, politics and culture. I read everything I got my hands on and enjoyed every minute I spent at school. I won’t lie, I also enjoyed going out with friends to bars and having a “piscola” (a mixed drink: Chile’s aguardiente called pisco mixed with coke or sprite).

I met wonderful people. Classmates not only helped me in school, but took me out to traditional Chilean places in Santiago; talked to me about their country’s poetry for hours (as if their life depend it on it), taught me Chilean idioms, invited me to their home to have “once” (a light meal in the afternoon: tea or coffee and bread, “marraqueta”, with cheese or jelly) or to a party that lasted until seven in the morning.

Was Chile all Isabel Allende had led me to believe? Was I happy I had traveled to a far away place led by a book? Answer to the first question: No. To the second: Yes. Allende’s book was a memoir; it was written from the heart, it was her own Chile and her “invented” country. The one I got to know was a lot different, and I loved it. I enjoyed every step I took in that noisy South American city, every bite of its delicious cuisine, every poem I read in class, or outside, every conversation, every Chilean landmark I set foot on and more.

I was happy, and still am, that my real travels were initiated by descriptions in a book by some “lady”, as my mom will say. It was a wonderful year abroad; an exciting time away from California’s coffee shops and retail stores. That is why I did it again.

I’m in South America right now, collecting new memories. Now, will the second time around be as exciting as the first time? Probably not, but I know Santiago de Chile all too well, and I’m sure it still holds some secrets it can’t wait to tell me.

Saludos y abrazos desde bien lejos!
Thania Munoz

Pedacitos de Abril

Spring is busting out - and April is Poetry Month. The earth thrives and the blood revives. My tuner is set to a variety of wavelengths. I'm reading things like Bronx Noir, edited by S.J. Rozan (Akashic Books, 2007) and South by South Bronx, Abraham Rodriguez (Akashic Books, 2008) and Jack Kerouac: An Illustrated Biography, David Sandison (Chicago Review Press, 1999) and Literary Genius, edited by Joseph Epstein (Paul Dry Books, 2007) and Denver's Larimer Street: Main Street, Skid Row and Urban Renaissance, Thomas J. Noel (Historic Denver, Inc. 1981) and Ultimate Spider-Man, Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2002). I eagerly anticipate The Savage Detectives, Roberto Bolaño, (Picador, 2008) and Mario Acevedo's The Undead Kama Sutra (Eos, 2008). I'm writing short stories but I failed to get anything ready for the Liquid Poetry Contest, which put out a "call for lyrics celebrating beer, beer culture, and beer-blessed fellowship and inspiration." The party is April 11 at the Wynkoop Brewery in Denver. Maybe next year. William Burroughs wrote: "The only real thing about a writer is what he has written and not his so-called life." That is so true it hurts.

And now, the news.


ISABEL ALLENDE - APRIL 10
Award-winning novelist Isabel Allende will read from and sign her new book The Sum of Our Days (HarperCollins, 2008), the sequel to her bestselling memoir Paula. In this heartfelt memoir, Isabel Allende reconstructs the painful reality of her own life in the wake of tragic loss - the death of her daughter, Paula. Narrated with warmth, humor, exceptional candor, and wisdom, The Sum of Our Days is a portrait of a contemporary family, bound together by the love, fierce loyalty, and stubborn determination of a beloved, indomitable matriarch. Free tickets for the book signing will be available at 6:30 pm; one per person in line. Seating for the presentation prior to the book signing is limited, and available on a first-come, first-served basis to ticketed customers only.

April 10, 7:30 p.m. Tattered Cover, LoDo, 1628 16th Street, Denver, 303-436-1070


NERUDA POETRY FESTIVAL - APRIL 17 - 19
Nationally recognized spoken-word artists join local word slingers for this annual rhythm and rhyme feast. Here's the schedule:

April 17 - Tributes to raúlrsalinas and Lalo Delgado, a reinterpretation of the words of these two writers by Su Teatro actors. 8:05 p.m.; $15 general, $12 seniors and students.

April 18 - Annual Barrio Slam; $500 Grand. 6:00 p.m. open mic, 7:00 p.m. slam; $10

April 19 - Literary Salon, in collaboration with El Lab at Belmar; 4:00 p.m.; $12 general, $9 seniors and students -- Taco Bar and poets!Publish Post

April 19 - Palabras Vivas. Featuring Sandra Maria Esteves, Nuyorican Poets Cafe founder, visual artist, poet, author. 8:05 p.m.; $15 general, $12 seniors and students.

El Centro Su Teatro, 4725 High Street, Denver, 303-296-0219

SWIFT JUSTICE DOCUMENTARY FUND RAISER - APRIL 10
Swift Justice tells the story of the families and community affected by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at the Swift Meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado on Dec. 12, 2006. The film’s goal is to present the issue of immigration reform in a balanced and responsible way to educate and inform people about this complex issue so they can contribute toward solving it. Little Voice is an award-winning, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that uses video, technology and grassroots outreach to raise awareness of social issues and inspire positive social change. For reservations call Strings restaurant at 303-831-7310. Cocktails from 5:30-6:30; dinner from 5:00-10:00. Suggested $50-tax deductible donation. The night of the fundraiser, 10% of all dinner sales will be donated to Little Voice's Swift Justice Documentary. If you cannot come, please consider making a donation to Little Voice.

April 10, 2008 from 5:30pm - 8pm
Strings at 1700 Humboldt St., Denver, Co.

GEORGE YEPES - APRIL 17
Announcement from Ventura College:

The Ventura College Spring 2008 Arts and Lecture Series continues with a lecture with George Yepes, Cultural Artist on April 17 at 7:00 p.m. in the Second Floor Reading Room of the Library and Learning Resource Center on the Ventura College (Ventura, CA) campus.

The event is free, parking is $1 and refreshments will be served. For additional information, call the Public Relations Office, Ventura College, (805) 654-6462.

George Yepes was born in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. He moved to East Los Angeles at the age of four. He earned a degree from California State University, Los Angeles, in business administration, and joined the Public Art Center, leaving behind his hard street life and gang membership. He also took painting classes at East Los Angeles City College and worked both as an accountant and a muralist.

One of the more prolific painters in the Chicano Mural Movement of the late 70's, Yepes gained his early reputation as a ferocious painter when he painted with notables from Carlos Almaraz and Frank Romero to Gilbert "Magu" Lujan. He then became an instrumental partner in the mural group East Los Streetscapers from 1979 to 1985 until he decided that group painting wasn't suited to his temperament or pace. With grand scale and furious momentum Yepes has painted over 800,000 square feet of eloquent social, historical, and sacred images onto the facades of everything from churches, hospitals and freeway overpasses to album covers. His 28 murals are landmarks in Los Angeles, as are the 21 murals his Academia de Arte Yepes students have painted. Yepes established the Academia de Arte Yepes, the first free mural academy for young students in Los Angeles. Yepes has taught nearly 1500 low-income students over the last decade through the Academia. His mural painting concepts and designs continue to be studied by graduate students and scholars across the United States.

Later.