Bernardo and the Virgin: Making the Rounds

Recently, I discovered an online news article from the University of Costa Rica—dated April 7, 2008—that reports on a lecture that was centered on the novels The Tattooed Soldier, by Hector Tovar, and Bernardo and the Virgin. Needless to say, I was flattered and thrilled to learn of the attention.

The piece, written in Spanish, is titled “Central American Trans-imaginary Expressed in U.S. Literature,” and the author is Katzy O’neal Coto. The article begins by stating that Central American customs, traditions, language, and ways of being and thinking are still alive among the millions of immigrants who reside in the United States and are struggling to become part of a new multicultural reality.

Dr. Yajaira Padilla, Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas, who gave the talk, stated that both novels form part of a construct that allows members of the Central American diaspora to identify with an imaginary collective that exists beyond the borders of their homelands. These texts, she said, give readers a glimpse into the complex process of how immigrants define themselves as Central American or Central American-American, not only in relation to the multicultural U.S. imaginary, but also as part of what could be referred to as the Central American trans-imaginary.

The article goes on to say that the massive immigration of the 70s and 80s, due to the civil wars, lead Central Americans to establish economic, familial, cultural, and other such networks in their new homelands. Also, as a result of their displacement immigrants are constantly obligated to redefine their identities, both as a collective and as individuals.

Dr. Padilla posits that The Tattooed Soldier and Bernardo and the Virgin explore many of the questions that are raised by the evolution and transformation of Central American identities, particularly in those communities that have moved to the United States.

About Bernardo, she states that the novel provides an innovative look into the revolutionary and migratory histories of Nicaragua, incorporating the viewpoints of women and children of immigrants. Dr. Padilla goes on to explain that the novel is based on the true story of Bernardo Martinez, to whom the Virgin Mary appeared, as well as the stories of other fictional characters, among them: Sandinistas, an American priest, journalists, and Nicaraguans who reside in the States. Divided into three parts—covering the years of the Somoza dictatorship (1930-1979), the revolution (1979-1990), and the post-war years—the novel tells the story of what made Nicaragua what it is today.

The article concludes with the news that Dr. Padilla is studying the literary production of U.S. writers of Central-American heritage in an effort to help define Central American-American Literature, a branch of U.S. Literature that has yet to be recognized.

Click here to read the original.

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After learning about Dr. Padilla’s interest in Bernardo, I sent her an email expressing my thanks. In a most kind response, Dr. Padilla informed me that she is currently writing an article, for publication, on the novel. What’s more, she will be including Bernardo and the Virgin in the course on U.S. Latino and Latina Literature that she’s teaching next fall.

I can’t express how gratifying it has been to learn that a group of students will be reading and discussing my firstborn novel, come fall semester, in the University of Kansas.