Muddied Waters: Race, Region, and Local History in Colombia, 1846-1948 (review)

282 Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies onryA Gabrieb Mistral Reader (1993), which contains twelve of the prose pieces offered here as well as a selection of poetic offerings. Scholars will benefit from the interpretive power of the translations , though they will regret the absence of bibliographical data concerning the original sources of the texts. Enthusiasts will most certainly weave between the Spanish and English in order to enhance their enjoyment and undersranding of the pieces. Such individuals would have little to critique in the renderings in English, though on occasion the translations seem slighdy off the mark. Examples of these occurrences include "picaro" as "smart-ass" (6), "el mayor azul" as "an ur-ancient blue" (13), "una dueña en la tierra" as "an inhabiter of the earth" (14) "vicio de la costumbre" as "vice of habituation" (17), "el Niño de Belén" as "the Babe of Bethlehem" (55), "[e]s un misterio al que asiste Dios y tu alma" as "[i]t is a mystery, assisting both God and your own soul" (89), "una lumbre azul" as "a blue shade" (97), and "al alabar" as "while admiring" (112). In contrast, the reproduction of the texts in Spanish is virtually error free with the exception of minor typographical errors such as "viente" instead of "veinte" (38) and "verdadura" instead of "verdadera" (44). One typographical error in English causes an entire phrase to be misunderstood. The Spanish "pediré que me llamen" became "I'll...ask what they call me" instead of "I'll..ask that they call me" (69). For the most part, however, any departure from the Spanish text reflects a concern for ease of comprehension and the natural flow of English. Tapscott has succeeded in combining commonly anthologized and little-known pieces in a powerful bilingual collection that will broaden Mistral's fame and strengthen her reputation as a voice of reason and love. University of Texas Press should be congratulated for continuing to support the endeavors of scholar/translators like Tapscott who are bringing the best of Latin American literature to the attention of the English-speaking world. Cathy L. Jrade Vanderbilt University MuddiedWaters: Race, Region, and Local History in Colombia, 1846-1948 Duke University Press, 2003 By Nancy P. Applebaum This in-depth historical analysis is the result of extensive research and study of the multiple and complex interactions between races, regions and nations as they reveal the privileging of certain racialized regional identities in Colombia and provides detailed information as well as regional maps. The title itself is a play on words referring to the favoring of whiteness over other races, as well as a reference to the name of die town most analyzed, Rio Sucio. While the investigation focuses on the region of Rio Sucio, it does not do so in isolation but rather draws on surrounding villages and other Latin American experiences in its analysis. The book is divided into three distinct sections . The first part investigates the period between 1840 and 1880, presenting the violent confrontations between Liberals and Conservatives and the powerful divisions that continued throughout this era, and, some would say, are continued today. These observations are based on published texts that demonstrate certain racial and sexual stereotypes with respect to Antioquia and Cauca in which Antioquia is the white, pureblooded beauty and Cauca is die dark beast, while stressing the Antioqueño migrations into northern Cauca, or the whitening process, as established dirough both published and archival texts. At the same time, she presents the ambiguous relationships of indigenous peoples in dieir own processes of colonization and politization, destroying the up-down stereotype of traditional colonization. The second part of the book deals with 1886 to 1930, a period also known as the "white republic" and die "Conservative Hegemony" and examines die Regeneration movement which past legislation designed to civilize and incorporate indigenous communities. This legislation was then used by die indigenous communities, at some great cost, to protect their communities in general and landholdings in particular. Also noted in diis section is diat the Constitution of 1886 established a centralist politics which continues to affecr the Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies 283 Colombian Departments even in...