Latin American Literature Commons^™

Cultural Transgressions In Omar S. Castañeda’S Remembering To Say ‘Mouth’ Or ‘Face’, Alicia Ivonne Estrada

Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature

This study examines the ways Omar S. Castañeda’s Remembering to Say ‘Mouth’ or ‘Face’ (1993) deconstructs national and hyphenated identities. It argues that rooting these short stories within the Popol Wuj’s narrative structure allows for the construction of different historical references and cultural genealogies, which are not solely based on national identities or histories. This is evident in the second section entitled “Crossing the Border,” which blends myths from the Popol Wuj with the characters, contemporary historical contexts in the United States and Guatemala. At the same time, the stories illustrate the protagonists’ multiple displacements, but also their links to …