Review: Cumandá by Juan León Mera
A Classic of Latin American Literature Translated by Noé O. Vaca
In this fast-moving story of love, drama and tragedy, Cumandá, a pure and beautiful young Amazonian woman and Carlos, son of a Dominican friar, pursue a relationship at odds with Cumandá’s tribal obligations and their cultural differences.
Amazon Jungle Setting
The extravagance and magic of Latin American description is most evident in the opening chapters, where the reader is entangled in lush rainforests and drenched in the raging rivers and waterfalls of the western Amazon. The jungle remains the backdrop to the human drama, as lives are pitted against the perils of the environment at every turn and twist of the plot and the reader senses the author’s admiration of the survival skills of the jungle people.
The Story
The story begins with an Indian revolt and the destruction of the family and possessions of the rancher Juan Domingo Orosco, as revenge for the maltreatment and abuse of his Indian workforce. This bloody and violent past shadows Carlos and Cumandá as they dance towards each other through the trees, sidestepping and finally confronting present, no less horrific, obstacles to their love. Finally, Cumandá’s sacrifices to save the life of her lover extend far beyond her acceptance of a ritual marriage to the elderly chief of the Yahuamaqui tribe.
The ending must have been rather satisfactory for the audience of its day in predominantly Catholic Latin America. Traditional tribal practices are paraded as contrary to the teachings of God, sins are averted and hell on earth must be endured as a penance by those who live on.
As the story has its predictable elements, it is a shame that the twist near the end has been revealed in other reviews and even on the back cover of this edition. Engineering a reading without knowing the detail of the ending is bound to enhance enjoyment. Though the reader may need to suspend belief when invited to accept the purity of the love between Carlos and Cumandá, this story of devotion, courage and tragedy has timeless appeal, now accessible to an English-speaking readership.
Presentation
The translation, by an Ecuadorian emigrant for whom English is presumably a second language, is sometimes stilted, and the book may have benefited from some meticulous editing (a scrambled and repeated sentence appears on page 163). As is often the case with translated works, it is difficult to know whether the use of terms loaded in values (“savage”, “barbarian”) reflect the perspective of the times, or perhaps may be literal translations of words with varying shades of meaning in the original Spanish. In the end, a few minor imperfections simply serve to provide a feeling of authenticity to the experience of reading this Ecuadorian classic.
Books may not be judged by covers, but the representation of the pale-skinned Cumandá with cheeks streaked in red achiote is evocative. Inexplicably, a daffodil takes the place of a jungle orchid in her hair.
Details
"Cumandá" by Juan León Mera (2007)
Publisher: Authorhouse
ISBN-13: 9781434325990
Cumandá cover
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