The first half of the fourth draft of the novel Heart of Aztlán, which was originally titled Barelas. The manuscript, dated April 1973, contains minor edits, both typed and handwritten.
This is the second half of an early version of the novel Heart of Aztlán (originally titled Barelas) . Anaya started working on this draft in January of 1972, and completed it the following summer. The typed pages contain minor edits and marginal notes in Anaya’s handwriting, in both blue and black ink.
This is the first half of an early version of the novel Heart of Aztlán (originally titled Barelas). Anaya started working on this draft in January of 1972, and completed it the following summer. The typed pages contain minor edits and marginal notes in Anaya’s handwriting, in both blue and black ink.
In this short novel, Anaya experiments with a new style of writing: a New Age parable. The story tells of an exiled prophet who returns to his village after years of wandering in the desert. As he attempts to reconnect with his wife and community, he resumes his role as a visionary preacher, encouraging people to open up to the divine and fill their lives with the light of God.
A short novel published in 1984, in which Anaya reconstructs the famous story of La Llorona, delving into the tale's historical origins, mythological powers, and communal functions.
Lord of the Dawn is Anaya's exploration of the cosmology and the rich and complex spiritual thought of his Native American ancestors. The story depicts the daily world of man, the struggle between the peacemakers and the warmongers, and the world of the gods and their role in the life of mankind. --The University of New Mexico Press
"Alburquerque is a rich and tempestuous book, full of love and compassion, the complex and exciting skullduggery of politics, and the age-old quest for roots, identity, family. . . . There is a marvelous tapestry of interwoven myth and magic that guides Anaya's characters' sensibilities, and is equally important in defining their feel of place. Above all, in this novel is a deep caring for land and culture and for the spiritual well-being of people, environment, landscape."--John Nichols, author (The University of New Mexico Press)
Heart of Aztlán is the second novel in a trilogy begun with Bless Me, Ultima and concluded with Tortuga. Each of the novels involves a seer, a spiritual guide to help the characters deal with the problems they face and to help structure the spiritual wholeness, peace, and harmony that bring them understanding of their identity and purpose.
This early draft manuscript, which was originally titled The Roots of Sadness, is divided into two parts because of the length of the document. This part (Part 2) includes pages 100-213 of the draft, while part 1 includes pages 1-99. The draft is a typescript with fairly extensive handwritten edits and corrections by the author. Interestingly, in the second half of the manuscript, the author omits chapter heading markings, so chapter divisions have been estimated.