Questions and Swords: Folktales of the Zapatista Revolution

by Subcomandante Marcos, Domitila Dominguez (Illustrator), Antonio Ramírez (Illustrator)

Once again sharing the wisdom of Old Man Antonio and his Mayan heritage, Subcomandante Marcos tells two folktales from the Zapatista rebellion against the Mexican Government. "The Story of the Sword" is an ancient parable that demonstrates how the indigenous peoples of Mexico can finally defeat the European invader. The tree, for instance, tried to fight the sword, but was defeated. The stone likewise tried to fight the sword, but was defeated. But not the water. "It follows its own road, it wraps itself around the sword and, without doing anything, it arrives at the river that will carry it to the great water where the greatest of gods cure themselves of thirst, those gods that birthed the world, the first ones." "The Story of Questions" relates how two gods, Ik'al and Votan, wander the earth wrapped forever in each other's arms. These two gods are the Ying and the Yang, the yes and the no, the night and the day of the Mayan universe. Antonio says, "When they got here they made themselves one and gave themselves the name of Zapata." Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska and Native American poet Simon Ortiz contribute commentary to explain the significance of the Zapatista Rebellion to the 21st Century. They also discuss the use of folklore and artistic expression to expand our understanding of political thought. Well-known Mexican artists Domitila Dominguez and Antonio Ramirez —co-directors of the Colectivo Callejero in Guadalajara—each illustrated one of the stories. The Colectivo is dedicated to expanding the understanding of revolutionary thought through artistic expression. This beautiful full-colored edition—the successor to The Story of Colors that received international notoriety when the National Endowment for the Arts rescinded funding for its publication—will serve equally well as a coffee table book as well as a serious read for lovers of Latin American literature.

Genres: History, Indigenous, Childrens

112 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2001

About the author

Subcomandante Marcos (date of birth unknown) is the spokesperson for the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), a Mexican rebel movement. In January 1994, he led an army of Mayan farmers into the eastern parts of the Mexican state of Chiapas in protest of the Mexican government's treatment of indigenous peoples.

Marcos is an author, political poet, adroit humorist, and outspoken opponent of capitalism. Marcos has advocated having the Mexican constitution amended to recognize the rights of the country's indigenous inhabitants] The internationally known guerrillero has been described as a "new" and "postmodern" Che Guevara. He is only seen wearing a balaclava, and his true identity remains unknown.

Reviews

[Manuela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated and a great introduction to the Zapatista movement.

[Julia Hannafin · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved reading the story of questions, and of the story of the sword, the tree, the stone & the water. the idea of "walking with questions" is sticking with me, as is the call to "resist like the water". simon ortiz and elena poniatowska's essays gave clarity and context, stretched the specific struggle of the zapatistas in chiapas to the global struggle of indigenous people.

"Desde entonces los dioses caminan con preguntas y no paran nunca, nunca se llegan y se van nunca."

kids should read the folktales! and everyone should read the whole thing.

[Devin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, artistic book on the folktales of the Zapatista Revolution as told by Indigenous Mexican writers and Subcomandante Marcos himself. This is certainly a form of revolutionary art. Highly recommend.

[Anastasia Zamkinos · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction! Not meant to be a deep treatise-- just a thoughtful primer on the movement and the water. Plenty of wisdom in fairly few pages.

[Clivemichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction via "folk tale" stimulating art/illustrations

[Gina Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://ginasblogging.blogspot.com/200...

[pippi · Rating 2 out of 5]

if you keep up to date with the communiques don't read this book because these are just old antonio and don durito stories... unless, of course, you are starting a zapatista library.