Jan
17
Asturias: Post 2
Posted by: | January 17, 2010 | Comments Off on Asturias: Post 2
The play, “Culcucán serpiente envuelta en plumas” is the third part of the book “Leyendas de Guatamala” and serves as the conclusion to the book. The play in written in the style of ancient Mayan legends, it incorporates elements of magic and myth. The characters in the story are personifications of different elements such as the wind and the sun or personification of nature, like flowers. The characters in the story is what really gives it the sense of being an ancient Mayan legend. And the story serves to explain the universe and the reason why the things on Earth are the way they are, especially why the day changes into night. The story debates if the things we see are real or merely the illusion of being real, and the illusion being controlled by mythical creatures, especially Culculcán. I think the story serves as the conclusion of the book because Asturias is debating reality of the present woorld against the Mayan myth and history. In the story you have Guacamayo fighting that the passing of day to night is just an illusion.
The ending of the play became more confusing to me, it was hard for to understand the role of Yaí, I think I got the sense that Guacamayo was trying to use Yaí in order to prove Culcucán wrong but some how Guacamayo was fooled in the end.
This ending would consistent with the rest of the book, “Leyendas de Guatamala” because it would support the beliefs of the ancient Mayan legends; that the “Gods” are in control and determine what we see. Asturias writes to show that the modern world is based on the past and Mayan beliefs and again the play accomplishes this by explaining what we see in the present using the style of a Mayan legend and their beliefs.
Overall, I liked the play. Like the other stores in the book it reading the legend felt like it was being told out loud to me. The language was more simple than the others, making it easier to understand.
