This essay seeks to situate Eugenio Aguirre's novel, "Isabel Moctezuma," in the ongoing intertextual debate over the place of la Malinche in Mexican history and consciousness. As the title of the novel suggests, the protagonist is not Malinche, but rather another indigenous woman, the first-born daughter of the Aztec emperor, Moctezuma…

In her 2010 novel "Sangra por la herida," the Cuban novelist, poet, and essayist Mirta Yáñez constructs a panoramic view of metropolitan Havana, following the model of Latin American fiction starting in the 1980s based on a revised version of the detective novel. "Sangra por la herida" functions best as a narrative that…

This article examines Peruvian-American Marie Arana's second novel "Lima Nights" (2008) in which she represents Amazonian indigenous migrations to Lima, Peru during and after the Shining Path civil war years (1986-2006). As part of a generation of transnational US Latina authors in the post-2000 period, Arana recovers the image of the…

The work of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz contains many examples of positive representations of the Queens of Spain and the Vicereines of New Spain. These poetic portraits serve to counter the primarily misogynistic portrayals of ruling women of the seventeenth century. Most importantly, Sor Juana increased the visibility of the vicereine in colonial…

The most cursory examination of literary depictions of the physically blind reveals a myriad of colorful, diverse and often odd characterizations. Portrayals of the sightless typically present them in roles overwhelmingly unflattering and flawed. In Federico Gamboa's "Santa," the blind piano player and coprotagonist, Hipolito, is cast as pathetic…

This article examines Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda's choice to include articles depicting the advanced decay of cadavers, which are simultaneously horrible and awesome, in her women's periodical "Album Cubano de lo Bueno y lo Bello". Background on Avellaneda's biography, women's print culture, and theories of the sublime provide a frame for the…

Increasing attention to women writers and to Latin American literature has helped focus attention on Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a nun who produced some of the most important poetry and prose of the 1600s. Her greatness is seen in the abundance, variety, and excellence of her writing. (Author/MSE)

This serial issue features 6 members of the Indiana University System faculty who have focused their research on Latin America, past and present. The first article, "A Literature of Their Own," highlights Darlene Sadlier's research on Brazilian women's fiction and poetry that has led to an interest in the interplay of Brazilian and…

Explores Afra-Hispanic literature, the writing of black Spanish-speaking women of the Caribbean and Central and South America. The literary texts of Afra-Hispanic women reveal an emerging feminist consciousness. A more detailed analysis is given of the poetry of Virginia Brindis de Salas and Aida Cartagena Portalatin. (SLD)

This guide contains three Latin American study units for students in junior and community colleges on the topic of Mexican women in Anahuac and New Spain. Objectives are to help the student read history, exercise empathy, think critically, stimulate interest in the study of women, and understand the dignity and fascination of the Mexican heritage.…

Awareness of a new and altered method of teaching literature, similar to that described by Adrienne Rich, grew from the experience of teaching a small introductory course in twentieth century Hispanic women writers to students with diverse language, cultural, and economic backgrounds. Although about half the students were native Spanish speakers,…

This collection of six essays examines the ways in which literature, as a discipline, reflects ongoing scholarship on gender, race, ethnicity, social class, and sexual orientation. In "Rethinking the Discipline of Literature: Gender," Joan E. Hartman presents the results of a Modern Language Association survey that highlights the…