caracoleando among worlds: reconstructing maya worldviews in chiapas

The contemporary literary movement of Maya writers of Chiapas and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (or EZLN) insurgency are intricately intertwined. Even as each has forged its own path, they are bound by a shared commitment to rescuing, reclaiming, and recentering Maya worldviews.

This shared vision emerges in Caracoleando Among Worlds, which provides an in-depth analysis of poetry, short stories, and one of the first novels written by a Maya Tsotsil writer of Chiapas alongside close readings of the EZLN’s six declarations of the Lacandon Jungle. Themes echoing ancestral connections, informing epistemologies, and sustaining cultural and spiritual practices emerge and weave the texts to each other. The work brings into the conversation literature that has been translated into English for the first time and places Maya writers of Chiapas in discussion with other Native American and Indigenous scholars.

This work shows how literature, culture, and activism intertwine, and offers a compelling narrative that transcends boundaries and fosters a deeper understanding of Maya identities and resilience.

Silvia Soto is associate chair in Native American Studies and an assistant professor in Chicano and Latino Studies at Sonoma State University.