Title: Los héroes impuros
First published: 1995
Description: "Excellent novel that falls within the now-common practice of recovering colonial discourse in contemporary Spanish American narrative. Different from other works that fictionalize the 'history'  of the chroniclers' stories, Morera chooses to fictionalize the conquistadors, mainly Pizarro and Núñez de Balboa. They interact with Piedra Ceñuda/Esperanza, a sort of Malinche/Doña Marina, who guides them. But Cima, Napa, and other native women have a different purpose: to undo the myths about the discovery and subsequent colonialization of the Americas. Thus, the fable moves from Central to South America, and Amerindians and Spaniards are represented in their complexity, not as binary oppositions. Yet, the narrative sees both as poetic and surreal heroes, a choice which sometimes undermines the narrative thread"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.
LC classification: MLCS 96/04838 (P)