
Santa
A Novel of Mexico City
The University of North Carolina Press
Published on 30. August 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-0-8078-7107-2 (ISBN)
Description
This enduring classic of Mexican literature traces the path to ruination of a country girl, Santa, who moves to Mexico City after she is impregnated and abandoned by her lover and subsequently shunned by her family. Once in the city, Santa turns to prostitution and soon gains prominence as Mexico City's most sought-after courtesan. Despite the opportunities afforded by her success, including the chance to quit prostitution, Santa is propelled by her personal demons toward her ultimate downfall. This evocative novel-justly famous for its vividly detailed depiction of the cityscape and the city's customs, social interactions, and political activities-assumed singular importance in Mexican popular culture after its original publication in 1903. The book inspired Mexico's first ""talkie"" and several other film adaptations, a music score, a radio series, a television soap opera, and a pornographic comic book. Naturalist writer Federico Gamboa, who was also a lawyer and politician, reveals much about Mexican mores and culture at the start of the twentieth century and beyond, from expectations regarding gender roles to the myth of the corrupting and decadent city. In describing how Santa is at the mercy of social problems beyond her control, Gamboa provides a rich historical portrayal of widespread conditions in the years leading to the Mexican Revolution. |This enduring classic of Mexican literature traces the path to ruination of a country girl, Santa, who moves to Mexico City after she is impregnated and abandoned by her lover and subsequently shunned by her family. Once in the city, Santa turns to prostitution and soon gains prominence as Mexico City's most sought-after courtesan. This evocative novel-justly famous for its vividly detailed depiction of the cityscape and the city's customs, social interactions, and political activities-assumed singular importance in Mexican popular culture after its original publication in 1903.
More details
Series
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Chapel Hill
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
New edition
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
442 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8078-7107-2 (9780807871072)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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E-Book
08/2010
The University of North Carolina Press
€24.49
Available for download
Person
Federico Gamboa (1864-1939) was one of the most important Mexican novelists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Translation