Who narrates the story/How is the story narrated?
The story is narrated through a friend of the main character who is tasked with collecting Filiberto’s body and possessions. The story switches from the present to the past as this friend reads through Filiberto’s journal as he attempts to understand what happened.
Who is Filiberto? What does he do? What class is he from? What might he represent?
Filiberto is the main character of this story, whom we discover has died in the first line. The story follows through his journal entries as he buys a Chac Mool statue he believes to be a fake, only to discover it contains the soul of the God of Rain. His journal gets progressively harder to understand as he claims the statue comes to life and torments him, leading to the odd behavior his friend had been curious about.
Filiberto appears to be from an upper middle class. He has inherited a house big enough to have multiple empty rooms and lives there alone. He also seems to have the funds to purchase non-essentials, such as the Chac Mool, leading to the assumption that he is earning more than enough money to support himself.
I believe Chac Mool in this story represents the lasting effects of the conquistadors in Mexico and its identity. Chac Mool is only in Filberto’s house because the man who discovered the statue, Le Plongeon, removed it from its historical site, choosing to take Latin America’s history for himself, even though he had no ties to the land. The story represents how even actions hundreds of years before can cause a lasting impact on the lives of the current people due to the brutality caused by ripping the native people from their homes and beliefs. Much like the people of Latin America, the characters in this story are forced to deal with the current world and its issues, while at the same time dealing with a past they don’t fully understand.
What is a Chac Mool? (internet investigation)
Chac Mool is a general name given to statues and deities found in Latin America. When the first of these statues were discovered by Le Plongeon he gave it the name of ‘Chac Mool’, which has resulted in using the same term in the subsequent naming of other unrelated statues.
Who was the Le Plongeon referred to on pg 5?
Le Plongeon is the man who made the first discovery of a ‘Chac Mool’. He was the person to first give a statue of the native population of Latin America this name and created the trend to name all further statues and deities the same name.
How can we interpret Fuentes’ re-telling of Le Plongeon’s act?
From Fuentes’ statements in the story he seems to look down upon Le Plongeon’s actions. The clearest sign is him using the characters to speak unfavorably about Le Plongeon’s actions: “His spirit has lived in pitcher and storm, naturally; his stone is something else, and to have taken it from its hiding place is artificial and cruel. I think that Chac Mool will never forgive it. He knows about the imminence of the aesthetic deed” (“Chac Mool”). In this line the author clearly shows his dislike for Le Plongeon’s choice to remove the artifact from is historical site, removing a piece of Latin American history.
Describe the Chac mool. What is he like physically? What is his personality like?
Chac Mool is originally described as a stone statue with red sauce smeared over the belly. As the story continues his physical appearance begins to change, becoming more and more human like. He loses the stone exterior and begins to develop the yellow skin of a native. As the story continues to progress he starts gaining more and more human characteristics, such as wrinkles on his face. At the very end of the story the door to the house is opened by a man described as: “A yellow Indian appeared, in a house robe, with a scarf. His appearance couldn’t have been more repulsive; he gave forth an odor of cheap lotion; his face, powdered, trying to cover the wrinkles; he had his lips smeared with badly-applied lipstick, and his hair gave the impression of being dyed“(“Chac Mool”).
Personality wise Chac Mool also underwent a transition. In the beginning he exhibited more animistic traits, loud noises at night, physical anger, and hunting. However, as he became physically more human he began to exhibit more human traits. He insisted on having his food delivered, rather than hunting for it, he began to care more about appearance and goes through mood swings. However, throughout the story he views himself as a deity, and thus reacts badly to becoming more human, using all he can to resist the transformation and retain his appearance of godly power.
Do you find any relationship between this story and Paz’ essays?
Both this story and Paz’ essays use the history of Mexico to explain the actions and culture of current times. Both focus on how the choices and actions of the conquerors of the past created many current issues that affect the people of Latin America today.