Novel
El secreto de Antatura
Not translated into English
Luisita Aguilera Patiño · 1953
Synopsis
A novel for young readers that brings back to life Paris, an indigenous warrior of the isthmus, one of the figures of the pre-Hispanic era that the author wanted to bring closer to the memory of young Panamanians. The story plunges the reader into the indigenous world before the arrival of the Spaniards, the one this philologist had studied in the legends, traditions and place names of her country.
Context
The novel appeared in 1953 from the Imprenta Nacional of Panama; the manuscript had won a prize in the national competition, in 1949 according to EduCLE. Its author had just published two collections of Panamanian legends, in 1949 and in 1952, and wished to address younger readers from a plot that brings the reader closer to the indigenous era. She had earlier devoted to the speech of her country a study, El panameño visto a través de su lenguaje, dated 1947.
Who it is for
For young readers, in Spanish, with no published translation. It helps to know that Paris was a Panamanian cacique at the time of the conquest.
Prizes and reception
Third prize in the Ricardo Miró competition; cited among the main works of its author, together with her studies on the language and legends of the country.