THE
INSURGENCE of CHAN SANTA CRUZ
CUAHTENOTL EPACT
Over
the first two decades of the 20th century, the only successful Native American
insurgence on the North American continent was waged in Mexico’s Yucatan. President Porfirio Diaz’s
ambitious commissioning of General Ignacio Bravo to seize and hold Chan Santa
Cruz, capital of the revolted Maya, succeeded… but the forces of occupation
found themselves surrounded by patient, implacable rebels and their equally
implacable monte.
In
this seventh book (of 10), Jose Macias and General Bravo meet in exile in
Havana where Jose is commissioned to pursue the murderous El Chacol and Bravo’s treacherous mistress, Consuela and
recover the securities which their new patron, Felix Diaz, requires to
prosecute his campaign against the beleaguered President Madero.
Jose,
accordingly, returns to Veracruz and finds himself in the middle of a
revolutionary campaign which, after a few early successes, results in the
defeat and imprisonment of Diaz. Using
informers, he tracks the sinister pair to the desolate mountain village of Cuahtenotl… notable only as a great dumping ground for the
regalia of former Porfirian celebrations. Amidst a great valley of garbage and broken
monuments, he pursues such clues as he can wrangle out of the taciturn and
spooky villagers, finally cornering the savage Chacol
and dispatching him.
Consuela
proves a much sterner problem.
(The
“Epact” is a span of five… sometimes six… days left over at the end of the year
among certain peoples who divide their year into twelve equal months of thirty
days, notably the Egyptians and various ancient civilizations of Mexico. The Maya call this wedge of time… unlucky in
every aspect… the uayab, and reckon it from July but
in Central Mexico, it falls at the end of October and beginning of November;
the cusp of the Days of the Dead… or the American and European holidays of
Halloween.)
This
is no festive holiday – rather, a communion of devilish and malicious spirits
that can be channeled by evildoers… like Jose and Consuela.
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AUGUST 14. 2017 |
AUGUST 7, 2017 |
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