Is this semi-biographical?
There are many true stories about my family in the book, including most of the first chapter where the Rosa character rushes back to Mexico to see her dying grandmother. The historical happenings in the book are real, and the Mayan legends that introduce many of the chapters are stories I heard growing up. But the main storyline is fiction. One of the hardest parts of the writing process was the research around the Mayan legends, and figuring out what legends I could use to introduce different chapters in the book. I had started with the story of Dziu’s Son, which was such a great match for my first chapter that I felt I needed to do an equally good job tying other legends to what was happening to my characters. |
Anything else that you think would be interesting?
A number of people who have reviewed the book on the internet have commented that it helped them see Merida and even Cancun in a new light. Most people don’t have an appreciation of the rich culture and architecture of the region, and I try to use this as the backdrop for a story that is really about friendship, eternal love and sacrifice. The title of the book has been a little controversial among Yucatecans I know. Most people there spell the wild flower after which the book is named “xtabentun.” We were a little worried about trademark issues with a liquor of that name, and in doing research I learned that in the depiction of the Mayan language in western alphabets the “m” and the “n” are really a matter of personal preference. So “Xtabentum” was perfectly acceptable. By the way, to pronounce it, make the “X” sound like “Sh”: Shta-ben-TOOM. |
Why did you want to tell this story?
My mother died when I was born, and I was raised by my grandmother; she was like my mom. My grandmother was from Merida, Yucatan and she always told me fascinating stories about her life and that part of Mexico. After I came to the U.S., I was taking some English classes at DePaul University and was asked to write a story in one of those classes. My professor liked the story, and this story basically evolved into Chapter 1 of Xtabentum. After taking a few years to focus on raising my kids, I decided to expand on this, and interweave real events from the life of my grandmother and other ancestors with the many interesting things that happened in Merida in the early 1900s, just after the Mexican Revolution. |
Some other titles I considered:
For the Love of Fresh Tortillas Like Lightning Flashes on Machetes Eyes Like the Caribbean Sea |