Montalván, la negra

Zoila Aurora Cáceres Moreno (1872-1958) was a pivotal figure in Peruvian and Hispano-American Modernism, a feminist pioneer, and a transdisciplinary intellectual. Her nouvelle, Montalván, la negra, originally published in her 1929 collection La princesa Suma Tica, reveals a lesser-known facet of her work: a keen interest in Afro-descendant racial politics. It is a powerful reinterpretation of Peruvian slavery through the lens of a fictional insurgency, blending modernist, realist, and even naturalist tones.

Set in a colonial hacienda, Montalván, la negra offers a scathing condemnation of slavery, utilizing melodramatic and emotional devices to convey the brutal abuses of the system. Through the foundational couple Perico (a mulatto) and Zoraida (a white woman of Moorish descent), the novel exposes the radical insurgent response of Afro-descendant slaves and critiques colonial power. Cáceres Moreno's narrative disrupts the typical “negrista” framework by empowering its Black characters, notably Dolores, a “bruja” (witch) figure who uses magic as a device for political transformation.

The novel intricately weaves together themes of racial identity, gender-based violence (both against enslaved women and Zoraida by the overseer Zacarías), and social rebellion. It highlights an alliance forged between women across racial and social divides under patriarchal oppression. The climax, marked by explicit violence and a dramatic act of vengeance, firmly positions the work within a tradition of resistance.

Montalván, la negra thus stands as a crucial text for understanding Afro-Peruvian literary history and the broader Afro-Hispanic narrative tradition. This edition, expertly edited by Eduardo Huaytán Martínez and Andrew Reynolds, meticulously clarifies archaic linguistic forms and provides extensive cultural and historical notes, making this complex and thought-provoking work accessible to contemporary readers and scholars. It is an invitation to rediscover a profound voice in Latin American literature that continues to resonate with vital questions of identity, justice, and social change.