Author stresses involvement of women
Females instrumental in success of Hispanic development, speaker says
by Mary Barrera, south news editor

    The female guerrilla warriors of La Zapatista wore ski masks to cover their faces as a symbol that they had been robbed of their identity, a novelist said last week.

   Critically acclaimed author, Graciela Límon, visited South Campus as part of the Hispanic Heritage Month activities sponsored by student activities.

   She discussed her most recent novel with students and faculty.

   Límon used the Zapatista guerrilla uprising in 1994 in Chiapas, Mexico, as the backdrop for her latest book, Erased Faces.

   “I did research in Chiapas after the war. I went to a small market to watch the people, smell the air and just experience it,” she said.

   The book is about an indigenous woman, a descendant of the Mayas, who had been traded for marriage at 12 years old in exchange for a mule.

   The dowry is a tradition that stands today, Límon said.

   The heroine eventually leaves her unhappy marriage and joins the guerrillas where women are welcome and assume many leadership roles. She finds a renewed sense of purpose and a sense of liberation as she is mentally transformed, Límon said.

   Women became leaders of squadrons and groups as warriors.

   In 1994, some cities surrendered to women, Límon said.

   “The issue of women is very real,” she said. “Indigenous males oppress the females.”

   Límon was born and raised in Los Angeles. She is professor emeritus at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where she taught U.S.-Latino literature and was department chair of Chicano studies.

   She has four other novels, published by the University of Houston Arte Publico Press, that deal with Hispanic culture: In Search of Barnabé (1993), The Memories of Ana Calderón (1994), Song of the Hummingbird (1996) and The Day of the Moon (1999).

   “As a writer, some people like your work and some don’t, ” she said. “You have to be honest with themes of culture and gender.”

   Límon commented on writing about sensitive issues.

   “You worry, but be courageous and write anyway,” she said.

   Her works have been well received by critics and are being taught at universities in several states.