Xicoténcatl

by Félix Varela y Morales, Guillermo I. Castillo-Feliú (Translator)

As Spain's New World colonies fought for their independence in the early nineteenth century, an anonymous author looked back on the earlier struggle of native Americans against the Spanish conquistadores and penned this novel, Xicotencatl. Writing from a decidedly anti-Spanish perspective, the author describes the historical events that led to the march on Tenochtitlan and eventual conquest of the Aztec empire in 1519 by Hernan Cortes and his Indian allies, the Tlaxcalans.

Xicotencatl stands out as a beautiful exposition of an idealized New World about to undergo the tremendous changes wrought by the Spanish Conquest. It was published in Philadelphia in 1826. In his introduction to this first English translation, Guillermo I. Castillo-Feliu discusses why the novel was published outside Latin America, its probable author, and his attitudes toward his Spanish and Indian characters, his debt to Spanish literature and culture, and the parallels that he draws between past and present struggles against Spanish domination in the Americas.

Genres: Historical Fiction, School

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

The Venerable Félix Varela y Morales (November 20, 1788 – February 27, 1853) was a Cuban-born Roman Catholic priest and independence leader in his homeland who is regarded as a notable figure in the Catholic Church in both Cuba and the United States.

Reviews

[Zane]

wild historical fiction (and actually not by Varela!) but basically projecting european republicanism and democracy onto the Tlascala tribe. so hard to read, tone was Prim and Proper.

[Dusty]

I wrote a pretty vicious review of this book after I read it a couple of years ago for a class on "Hemispheric American Literature." Looking back, I think the problem was that I was reading the book without having a strong idea of the context of its publication or for any real purpose outside of simply wanting to enjoy it. To be clear, Jicoténcal is not a masterfully crafted novel. Its characters are static, and much of the action is relayed through lengthy speeches. But the book's goal is not to entertain, but rather to educate, and in the end I think the author, whomever "he" may be, accomplishes "his" aim of helping readers see in the events of the conquest of Mexico the seeds of tyranny that continued to plague the Americas in the era in which the book was written. Many of these lessons remain relevant today. Probably the first historical novel written in the Spanish language, Jicoténcal is an integral if not terribly fun relic of literary history.

Here's my review from the spring of 2012:

The editors of this edition must have their tongues in their cheeks when they subtitle Xicoténcatl "An Anonymous Historical Novel about the Events Leading Up to the Conquest of the Aztec Empire." First, although the book was published anonymously, scholars are pretty certain it was either co- or completely written by the Cuban priest Félix Varela. Second, it is not an "historical," but rather a very baldly "ideological" novel that Varela has written. In this book, Aztecs speak fluent Spanish. They deliver stirring speeches like characters in a Sophocles play, with plump entreaties to Honor and Dignity, and they carry on romantic and political intrigues just like characters in any romantic novel of manners. If there is, in fact, any history in Xicoténcatl, it's the history of the century in which it was published. The author exhumes long-dead Aztec heroes to claim their inheritance. Why should mid-century Latin Americans join together to overthrow the Spanish colonies? Because they must avenge the noble Xicoténcatl! A tedious novel, important mostly for the light its history sheds upon what Trouillot calls the "production of knowledge" in the nineteenth century.

[Hilary]

Pretty stereotypical and bad. It's a classic 19th century romance (meaning fiction) with all the typical characters (the valiant villian, the two-faced good guy, the evil antagonist, the brave-hearted hero, the wise old man, the poisonous seductress, the chaste and virginal heroine, the noble savage). The plot was predictable and rather tiresomely so (put those characters together in a melodrama and you've guessed it all). Don't read it unless you're forced to. Also, as a side comment, the typeface is really narrow and hard to read. A disappointment all around.

[Joseph]

The story of Xicotencatl revisits the establishment of the Spanish Crown in the New World and the events that lead to the destruction of the Aztec empire. By the middle of the 16th century, the Spanish conquistadores eradicated the Aztec Empire and its capital, Tenochtitlan, and forcibly converted the remaining indigenous population to Catholicism. The new Spanish regime instituted a racial caste system that conferred superior status and the highest-ranking posts in New Spain to the peninsulares and criollo groups, both of which refer to Spaniards who were born on the Iberian Peninsula.

The anonymous author centers the story around Xicotencatl — the romanticized, impassioned Tlaxcalan warrior — who exhibits his fierce national pride in a dramatic scene in which he expresses apprehensiveness to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores. The leader of the Spanish conquest, Hernan Cortes, arrives in Tlaxcala to propose forming an alliance against Tlaxcala's rivals in Mexica. In Xicotencatl's passionate speech, he appeals to the Tlaxcalan people to reject the conquistadors:

"These men, if they are not already some monsters, that the sea cast out on our shores, rob our peoples; they live at the caprice of their whim, thirsty for gold and silver, and abandoned to the earth's delights; they scorn our laws, they offer dangerous alterations to out justice and religion; they destroy our temples, they destroy our altars; they blaspheme the gods...and they are held to be celestial!"

This portrayal of the rapacious and greedy Spanish conquistadores contrasts with the narrator's description of the fiercely independent Xicotencatl and his followers, who would rather starve than align with the conquistadores. However, the politicians in the senate leadership are open to a temporary alliance with Cortes to defeat the rival Mexica tribe and advance their own strategic goals. The narrative takes a tragic turn when Cortes learns of the political division between the Tlaxcalan leadership from a maiden, La Malinche, and in an act of betrayal, exploits the tension to the Crown's advantage and vanquishes the Tlaxcalan state.

Xicotencatl is a welcome addition to the historical fiction genre, and I am happy to read literature told from the perspective of indigenous people. I am not sure if the writing style works for the novel, but the story is still a helpful entry point to pre-Colonial Mexico and its rich historical past.

[Becca Wittman]

honestly not bad for a political manifesto from the 1800s

[Bruce Johnson]

Very interesting as a historical document. Not a great novel in and of itself, though.