The Transborder Space in «Pilgrims of Aztlán» by Miguel Méndez M.

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the novel Pilgrims of Aztlán (originally from l974) by the Chicano author Miguel Méndez M. with respect to the presence of the transborder space: its context, its definition, its descriptions and its many manifestations within the text. First, data is provided regarding the nature of the border between Mexico and the United States with the objective of offering a geographical location by demonstrating its uniqueness. In the process, its similarities are discussed in relation to certain classical Mexican works (Los de abajo by Mariano Azuela, Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo, and La región más transparente as well as La muerte de Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes) and with the dictator’s novel El Señor Presidente by Guatemalan author Miguel Ángel Asturias, in order to establish the literary project of Peregrinos de Aztlán within the transborder space. The Chicano writer’s vision is explained along with the many characters who occupy a space in which they have to struggle not only for their survival but also for their validation and self-realization. As a response to such varied challenges, the novel proposes that the only viable alternative is to be inspired by the myth of Aztlán as a place that the characters can call their own.